Pippin: His Life and Times

But it still manages to capture the look, feel, and spirit of the original stage production. Great musical numbers and dance numbers compensate, IMO, for the flaws of bringing it to video (and the original "director's cut" unedited version makes up for much of the cited flaws anyway).

Pippin isn't really adapted for video, but is rather simply a taping of a stage production (compare it to Cats - the video version _was_ staged for video). This is a mild flaw. Cats obviously takes advantage of F/X, close-ups, etc., while Pippin's camerawork is pretty much static.

The standout is Ben Vereen, at his peak here carrying the show. Chita Rivera (Fastrada) and Benjamin Rayson (Charlemagne) are the best of the supporting player. Katt and Denniston are kinda weak, and Martha Raye, while adequate, isn't as good as Irene Ryan in the original Broadway production.

Overall, Pippin is an entertaining musical which is competently captured on the (complete) video.

I first saw this movie while I was acting in a production of the show...just to get a feel for the songs and the choreography, not really paying much attention to the quality of the performances or the show as a whole. On repeated viewings since, however, I can say that...well, frankly, it doesn't make a very strong impression on me. I suppose there are several reasons for this; first of all, there's a lot of the script missing. But which script? There were actually two different "Pippin" scripts, which shared most of the songs and basic structure, but very little else. This production seems to be a mishmash of elements form both versions.

There are certain things I liked... Ben Vereen, of course, whose Leading Player was nearly flawless. William Katt did not sing as prettily as John Rubenstein, the original Pippin, but he seems to have a level of guts and passion that was missing earlier, as well, so that's okay, too. The nauseating "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" was cut (thank God). All good things.

But outweighed, unfortunately, by some negative aspects. First, casting...Chita Rivera has no place in the show. She doesn't sing it well, and the dance break seemed to be so that the producers could say, "Hey, look! We've got Chita Rivera!" The editing left a lot to be desired as well...there were whole expository scenes missing, and some really unnecessary ones left in. And most of all, it was just so FAST! Everyone spoke as if they would be penalized if the show ran over two hours...Ben Rayson as Charlemagne is most indictable for this, but all of the cast (even the incomparable Vereen) are guilty of it from time to time. I also felt that the ending was WAAAY too abrupt...there's so much more to be done with one of the most powerful final scenes in musical history, and they took the easiest possible exit.

All in all, I own it and watch it simply because there are way too few filmed stage versions of musicals available (the only others I can think of are Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Jeckyll and Hyde, Putting It Together, and Sweeny Todd).

I like movie musicals, but I like seeing them done on stage more than anything. I just wish there was a better reason than that for owning this one.

What a wonderfully filmed Broadway show! The show is wonderfully done and the direction by Bob Fosse is like always wonderful. Ben Vereen was great as the Leading Player; full of life and song. William Katt sings beautifully, my only regret is that he is a stick when he does.

The plot is simple. Pippin is a prince who wants to do something important with his life. First he becomes a warrior, and then he becomes obsessed with women. And so on. Yet he never finds what he wants to do until the end, in the delightful scene, entitled `Pippins Grand Finale'. What a show. What a circus.

A musical not to be missed. Its only flaw is that like all taped live on stage videos is that something is lost. But thankfully, not as much is missing here. We have great entertainment, and the show was incredibly funny. So now it is time for me to stop rambling on and for you to click that little `buy the DVD from Amazon.com' button and purchase this movie from Amazon. You won't regret it!

It got magic to do… Just for you!

MPAA: NR

My Rating: 13 and up for mature themes, language and a brief scene of violence.

My * Rating 8.6

This is one of the finest videos of a musical available anywhere. In addition to being an unbelievable musical, this top notch cast brings PIPPIN to an astounding level.

Particularly amazing is Ben Vereen... his singing, acting, and dancing abilities are on full display. Broadway legend Chita Rivera is also spellbinding in her small but show-stopping performance.

This is a musical not to miss!

Those people lucky enough to see this show in it's original Broadway run saw a brilliant cast performing a brilliant show with an equally brilliant director. The original cast, Ben Vereen, Irene Ryan (of Beverly Hillbillies fame) Leland Palmer, Jill Clayburgh, John Rubinstein, and others easily outshine William Katt (of Greatest American Hero fame) Martha Raye (of denture fame) and the rest. Still, it's a very good production, and nice to see that a Broadway show can, in fact, be filmed and appreciated without paying $100 to see it! The choreography is splendid. Katt's voice isn't horrible, in fact, he sings the difficult Stephen Schwartz music with apparent ease (not to same effect that John Rubinstein had, mind you) All in all, it's a good production, but more on par with what one would expect from a regional theater or really good community theater.