Movie DVD Store (UK) - Hair [1979]
![Hair [1979]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VM160A0RL._SL160_.jpg)
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List Price: £12.99
Our Price: £6.97
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
Starring: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden, Dorsey Wright
Directed By: Milos Forman
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5050070006810
Format: Dubbed
Label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM Entertainment
Region Code: 2
Release Date: 2001-08-06
Running Time: 121
Studio: MGM Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: 1979-07-12
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Editorial Reviews:
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Milos Forman's 1979 film of the 1968 musical Hair is far more watchable than it has any right to be. Controversial though the original stage version might have been at the time, it has not dated well. It was written back when most people thought the Vietnam War was a good idea and long hair on men a signifier of a hopelessly corrupt society, rather than the other way around. By the time the belated movie adaptation arrived attitudes had changed, and what made Hair so unique had become commonplace. However, the exuberance of the performances (led by Treat Williams) and the enduring appeal of some of the songs makes this movie version of Hair, even today, entirely impossible to dislike. On the DVD: The only extra is the theatrical trailer which, much like the film itself, is quite a cute period piece. Inexplicably, the scene-searching menu is not arranged by song, making it infuriatingly difficult to locate the tune you want, unless you already know the movie so well, which would leave little point in hearing these songs again anyway. --Andrew Mueller
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: My body went walking in space...over 20 years ago darn it!
Comment: I have loved the score nearly all my adult life, and even though it's a young mans film, I cannot be prejudiced being over 40.One of my parents was of that ilk when younger, and I can only be thankful that the unusual cigarettes were 10-15 times weaker then they are now, and aforementioned parent didn't develop schizophrenia, however, I digress..I can't see how they could have made a better film, what with wastrel hippies and so forth, and Treat Williams is a treat, as are most of the cast, and the music is in the top three of all musicals however staid they might have been in comparison..I just feel that the plot is a bit thin..glorious music, especially if you havn't heard it before, thin plot..an adorable film if your in your late teens and twenties, but darn it, I am not going to demote it to 3 stars like a did with Shampoo, I just can't, it was my bible when younger, so it jolly well gets four.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Celebrating love and freedom in the shadow of Vietnam
Comment: It is a great surprise to discover that a musical can celebrate 'Hippy' beliefs and still maintain a dark shadow. A draft-card is burned at the beginning of the film; the spectre of Vietnam is ever-present.
'Hair' is at once a study of class, individuality, 'Counter-culture' beliefs, gender-equality and anti-war activism. Added to this potent mixture is the symbolism of growing one's hair; alluding to personal assertiveness, freedom, natural beauty and individuality. Near the end of the film there is a touching scene of one of the hippies getting his hair cut. The mood is tense and a portent of tragedy looms.
The music is fabulous: percolating rhythms and tunes that stick in your head. Sometimes the lyrics are rattled off fast ('Donna') and the tumbling syncopated harmonies make it hard to catch everything ('Hair'), but you get quite swept up in the passion and energy. Treat Williams is phenomenal as the lead hippy, with a great voice to boot. In the middle of all the high-octane songs such as 'Black Boys/White Boys', 'Let the sun shine in', 'Good Morning Starshine', 'Aquarius' and 'Manchester England' there is a lovely soulful ballad, 'Easy to be Hard', that I had never heard before. Absolutely beautiful.
This is a thrilling film of an underrated musical. Within all the 'Hippy'-versus-'Straight' posturing, there is a deep well of meaning and truth. I wouldn't call myself a hippy, but I was enthralled and moved. Hair is great - Grow it! Show it!
Customer Rating:
Summary: How come this film is still giving us a truthful message?
Comment: This is a cult film for many reasons. First because of the phenomenal success as a musical both in Broadway and London, then as a musical film. The film is close to the play and some of the provocation of the play is no longer provocative twelve years later. The discourse against the Vietnam war is no longer a protest song against the war itself, but a strong song demonstrating how the young people of these late 60s managed to bring the political establishment down. Milos Forman play with some situations at the end of the 70s like the narrow minded justice, the self-centered umbilical righteousness of the rich or of the little ones who have just one rank of power more than the powerless. He also heavily plays with the racial element and the sexual ambiguity he builds all the time. The film remains pleasant and thoughtful. And of course it is a tremendous thrill to remember these years when we have had the privilege, and that was not a chance, to live them. November 11, 1969, Nixon ordering mass celebration for the 1918 armistice, which became the order for teachers at all levels to take their students to the celebration and the march, supporting thus the invasion of Cambodia that was in full swing. And some dare give lessons in democracy to foreign countries. I also remember the long campaign for the impeachment of Nixon in 1973-1974 that will eventually lead to his resignation and the swearing in of Gerald Ford, the first Vice President, and eventually President, of the US who had not been elected, since he was appointed Vice President by the Senate after Spiro Agnew had to resign to face trial, conviction and sentence for embezzlement. Of course that makes us think of today when in 2000 a president of the US was not elected by the people but by the Supreme Court, or of a war that was rejected by millions world wide from the very start, and even before the start, and was started against the better judgment of the United Nations and of three permanent members of the Security Council. And some speak of a new world order based on the respect of others. Modern Western man seems to have some problems understanding that the world is changing and has already widely and wisely changed. Modern Western man seems to be kind of out of sync and to need special evening classes to learn that democracy wants the majority in the world to be the majority, and the West is far from that majority, and that if the Soviet block had been able to understand that market economy is not capitalism but that market economy can be either socialist or capitalist the Berlin Wall would have fallen, but the other way round, and that China has learned that lesson marvelously well and is at the foot of the wall they have to climb over to learn that their socialist market economy has to lead to political democracy, but they will, just like Vietnam was able to reconstruct itself after thirty years of vicious war aggression and damage. In other words, Hair is a perfect food for thought.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Customer Rating:
Summary: Flower Power
Comment: Excellent movie with excellent songs performed by excellent artists.
A great musical film here we're talking about. As a fan of the musical, the film didn't once dissapointed me.
Highly recommended... The only point is: extra featurettes are not enough.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Okay. Not bad. Pretty good.
Comment: I had a cassette tape of Hair when I was a teenager back in the 70's, when I listened to it often - every day probably. I haven't heard it for year so when I was given the DVD for Christmas I was kind of cock-a-hoop and slightly nervous about playing it. When you're as old as I am, you cherish those memories of when you were young, innocent, naive - just growing up, and don't want them damaged. I've just watched the DVD and was pleasantly surprised ... even shed a tear or two. There's a story on the DVD that wasn't obvious on the music tape - or if it was, I was unaware of it. A young man leaves home to join the army and fight in Vietnam. He stops off in New York intending to see a few sights before signing up. There he encounters a group of friendly hippies and briefly drops out, turns on and tunes in to their way of life. They have a few small adventures then he leaves them to start his training. A short while later the hippies decide to drive to his camp, some 2,000 miles away, to visit him but aren't allowed in by the MPs. One of them, disguised as a sergeant, manages to drive in and swaps places with him so he can visit the rest of the group of friends who are waiting a few miles away. While he's visiting his hippie friends, the call comes to move out and the friend who is taking his place at the camp is forced to go along with the rest of the soldiers - to a war he hasn't been trained to fight. For some reason I was reminded of Forrest Gump, despite all the singing and dancing.The acting is good and the dancing is okay. The most important thing for me was that the music should be as I remembered it, and it was close enough to satisfy me. So I'm pleased to give this DVD my stamp of approval.
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