Hair

Yes, HAIR came out in the late 70's. But please don't call it a "disco-era" musical; there isn't a single thing in it that would suggest any detraction from its 1968 period. Judge it on its own merit; too often, a movie is compared to its stage roots and is inevitably crucified. As it is, the film plays out like one long, fantasy trip (whether that trip is substance-enhanced or not is your call)- starting with the "Aquarius" sequence and continuing on to the marvelous set pieces for "Manchester England," "Ain't Got No," "I Got Life," and best of all, the "Electric Blues"/"Hare Krishna" fantasy which shows lovers John Savage and Beverly D'Angelo literally flying through their own wedding ceremony. (BTW, the woman singing "Aquarius" in the film's opening is not Melba Moore, but Ren Woods- a wonderful singer-actress seen a lot on TV in the 70's, and star of the Los Angeles production of "The Wiz.") The opening Twyla Tharp corps-de-ballet shot right on the Central Park grounds- with Woods' solo in a dizzying 360 camera pan- is an awesome start to a rock-infested musical. Ms. Moore (who performed in the original Broadway HAIR) appears later in the film singing "3-5-0-0" with Ronnie Dyson in the war protest scene shot in Washington, DC. And there are moments- like the "Walking In Space" basic training sequence or the simple close-up on Cheryl Barnes's torch solo "Easy To Be Hard-" which are just plain astonishing.

The stage play "Hair" is primarily remembered now for two things....its shocking frankness and its music. In bringing the musical to the big screen (belatedly), the bulk of the stage version's loose plot was discarded and a more conventional storyline was created to link the songs together. This seems to either please or alienate people, depending on their relationship to the original show. In any case, the great majority of the songs are retained in this filmization which is more than can be said for many, many stage to screen adaptations. And what music! In most cases, the vocalizing even exceeds the quality of what could be found onstage, though the authenticity of the performers is obviously forsaken somewhat as the original cast was LIVING this at the time they were in the show. The film's plot concerns an Oklahoma farm boy (Savage) who's on his way to report for active military duty during Vietnam. He is waylaid in Central Park by a clatch of hippies led by Williams. He also spies the girl of his dreams (D'Angelo), a debutante who rides by on horseback in the midst of all the free love gyrations taking place in the park. The rest of the movie concerns the connections of these characters as they experience culture clash, sharing, understanding and even love. There is copious drug use and rebellion against the wealthy along with hallucinogenic dancing and skinny dipping. Eventually, one character makes a gesture for another which winds up costing more than could ever have been imagined. This moment makes for a hugely poignant ending to what is mostly a light-hearted and ebullient film. True, more than a little of the original subject matter has been tossed aside, but the filmmakers must be credited for (almost) successfully weaving a story around the songs (which are quite varied in their style and content.) The story fails with regard to creating a believable bond between Savage and D'Angelo that would endure the way it does in the story. They hardly spend any time together in the bulk of the film (and quarrel a lot during that!), yet supposedly have this amazing love. "Aquarius" gets the movie to a rousing, eye-opening start and it's just the beginning of many striking, effervescent musical moments in the show. Oddly, the one song that is badly arranged, poorly sung and just basically mangled is the title number! Most of the rest are excellent. NOTHING is better than complete unknown Barnes' rendition of "Easy to be Hard". She knocks the song completely out of the ball park and, sadly and inexplicably, her career went nowhere. Williams is, at times, deliriously sexy here. He comes off as annoyingly arrogant and stubborn at first, but eventually wins the audience over with his innate charm and vibrant talent. As the movie nears it's close, he soars into the hunk stratosphere when, ironically, he cuts his hair. Savage doesn't come off at all like an Oklahoman, but manages to display the contrast of his and Williams' characters. He does an adequate job in all departments throughout. D'Angelo (two years after her jaw-dropping role in "The Sentinel"!) is hardly debutante material and comes off as icy much of the time, but she has her moments as well. Chapin does a bang up job as her brother. The remainder of the hippie gang are acquired tastes. Wright does pretty well, but went nowhere after this. Golden just looks dazed and chews gum incessantly. Dacus is quite weak and does little to enhance the film. What's surprising is how a film that contains lengthy shots of bare breasts, male rear ends (and even split second male frontal nudity) was considered benign enough to warrant a PG rating, yet now, nearly 25 years later, America seems to still have a Puritanical viewpoint towards the human body when compared to other countries. The tide has turned backward from the free love and self-expression era (except in trash like "The Jerry Springer Show" and "Howard Stern".)

I saw "Hair" in the theater (Bellerose, NY) when I was fifteen years old. There are parts of this movie that have never left my consciousness. That's not an exaggeration. However, I don't find myself watching all of "Hair" all that often. I usually bail out about half way through. Tonight, I watched the whole movie. The first hour is excellent. One great song after another. The cast is very good, especially Treat Williams. "Hair" is also a beautiful looking movie. The second half, however, is not nearly as good. It has one clunker after another. It becomes a burden to watch. The LSD wedding scene is brutal. After the boot camp scene I felt like I went through boot camp. Then it picks up and the last fifteen minutes are great. Overall, "Hair" is a mixed bag. Dishonorable mention: Treat Williams' wig.

Now more than ever we need Peace & Love in this world!

This film really showcases the wonderful music of the Broadway show, and the fabulous Choreography of the legendary Twila Tharp! I saw it again after many years, and it still holds up well.

Thank you, MGM/UA for putting this on DVD! I love the option of seeing in Widescreen. MGM rocks for doing this on many of their DVD releases.

Ya gotta love Treat Williams as Berger and John Savage as Claude. They couldn't have picked better actors & actresses for this film! Beverly D'Angelo is such a 'hot mama' in this film--I had forgotten just how hot! WOW!

The supporting cast is absolutely great,

with the late great Nell Carter making a singing cameo in a couple of scenes, as well as the kooky Charlotte Ray (Mrs. Garrett on 'Facts Of Life')

The story gets a little weak toward the end, but the anti-war sentiment of the late 60's still holds up, and is relevant today.

It's beautifully filmed (quite a bit on location) and is so colorful and lovely and really brings the spirit of 1968 back on the big screen.

I saw this movie when it was released in 1979 when I was 15, and was moved by it then, and it still moves me now at 40. Some other reviews on here say they think it should have been made sooner--I don't think Hollywood was ready to make such a movie back in the late 60's-early 70's.

The Vietnam War ended in 1975, and the whole thing hit a little too close to home, I think for this story to be filmed before it was (like in 1969, 70, 71)

Bravo to Director Milos Foreman! I love this film!!!!!!!

It's nice to see it again, this time on DVD. It never looked better!

One night at home I had nothing to do, and I saw that Hair was on t.v. later. I was curious about it, I mean I had no idea what to expect. I had heard people make fun of it, and I had heard people praise it. So I had to watch, I had to have an opinion.

At the beginning of the film, I enjoyed The Age of Aquarius number, and was intrigued. However, when the number Hair came on, I didn't know how to react. I wanted to laugh at it and change the channel, I didn't want my siblings to make fun of me. Yet the song, though a little stupid, was also catchy. I kept watching. After I was finished watching the entire film, I had no idea what had just happened. I didn't know if I liked it or not, I did know that I wanted to see it again.

This is a strangely addicting film. I watched it three more times in the days following, and my final verdict is, I love it! I can't help it. It's just so fun! The fist time I watched it I was mocking it, but by the third time viewing it I was in anticipation over when the number Hair would come on so I could sing along. I especially loved the song, How Can People Be So Hard, it's a different pace from the majority of the film. What can I say, when it was over I was singing the songs in my head for weeks. I just have to buy it. I highly recommend this film to musical lovers (especially if you love musicals like The Who's Tommy). And although I know I would never be a hippie, this film makes me want to say "Heck with work, I'm going to grow out my hair so fleas can live in it!" Watch it, but beware, I think it just might do the same for you!!!