User reviews

Sunday IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE was the first, if memory serves, Broadway musical based on a painting. This sensitive and moving look at the artist Georges Suerat, through his most famous work, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Le Grand Jatte", was unlike anything Broadway had seen up to this point. Suerat serves as sort of a narrator and Greek chorus, as well as the main character, as James Lapine's smart book takes what little was known of the artist's life and fleshes out characters from the people in the painting. Broadway's most gifted composer, Stephen Sondheim, crafted a lilting and beautiful score filled with clever lyrics and lush melodies. Sondheim is the best lyricist in the theater because he writes as people talk, not as they sing. The first act follows the relationship between Suerat, electrically portrayed by Mandy Patinkin and his model/mistress Dot, the luminous Bernadette Peters, as their on again off again relationship is constantly challenged by his obsession with his work. The second act features Patinkin as Suerat's grandson and Peters as his grandmother as we see the modern sculptor struggling with a heredity he continues to deny until a fateful trip to the island where the original painting had been done. Director Terry Hughes has lovingly captured this intimate story on video and given us close-ups and sweeping camera shots that were not possible to experience seeing the show onstage, making the show even more personal and involving. Mandy Patinkin commands the stage as George with a stylish stage presence and magnificent singing voice that fills the theater as well as the television screen and is matched note for note by Peters, who makes Dot a tragic and fragile heroine and brings a lovely touch of humanity to the ditzy grandmother, Marie. It should be noted that at the time this was filmed, Ms. Peters was vocally and physically exhausted. She had already left this show and was in rehearsals for the show that would finally win her a Tony Award, SONG & DANCE. Some vocal strain can be noted with Peters, particularly in one unmerciful close-up where her voice just gives out on her, but Peters is a pro and delivers a performance of opening night quality. Though not for all tastes, Sunday IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE is a lush and lovely musical theater experience that all those with a passion for the genre should experience.

Filmed by PBS television, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE is one of the rare times that a play was filmed using its original cast. Composer Stephan Sondheim is one of the unarguable legends of musical theatre, and, overall, this is perhaps his most complex and personal play. The show brilliantly captures all of the romance and heartbreak that come with the creation of art, and includes some of Sondheim's most memorable songs (the side-splitting title song, "Color and Light," "We Do Not Belong Together," "Child and Art," "Putting It Together," and the absolutely stunning "Move On," just to name a few). In the lead roles, Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters are absolutely terrific, each playing dual roles flawlessly.

The technical quality of PBS' presentation leaves something to be desired, with poor definition and even some shaky camera movements. Just having this theatrical milestone persevered on film, however, makes up for any such technical shortcomings. Highly recommended.

It is now about 20 years after the original airing of this masterpiece, and all it took was hearing one song for the whole of it to come back to me: the music, the colors, the way a masterpiece of visual art was brought to life on the stage.

I knew nothing of Georges Seurat prior to seeing the play. In fact, i still know practically nothing about him. That didn't matter one bit. This play uses the birthing of a new art form to examine life, love, culture and personal commitment.

Mandy Patinkin's performance in this televised version was masterful. The entire production was compelling and emotional. And -- in a rare treat -- the videotaped version of the live stageplay was effective and artfully accomplished.

If you have never seen "Sunday in the Park with George," find a way to do so. The show will not disappoint.

Yep, this is just absolutely brilliant. The new DVD has great quality as well, that's the way to see this if you missed it on stage. There's a reason this musical got the Pulitzer Prize, and it's evident in this astonishing film of the play. Patinkin and Peters are perfectly cast and do brilliant work. I can't speak highly enough of this- go and rent it, you'll see. True, it's a bit thick in the beginning, but it's worth the ride.

If you or someone in your life is an artist (regardless of the art form), this is a must-see. Sondheim and Lapine have illuminated the nature of art and artists in a way I've never seen surpassed. Yes, the songs are wonderful and Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin, the consummate interpreters of Sondheim, have never been better. But the insight into the often perplexing and frustrating world of the arts goes so much deeper. This is not a mere entertainment (though entertain it does) but a soul-searching treatise on what we do and why we are so compelled to do it. Watch this one and be prepared to see life a little differently after the experience.

Sondheim is a musical genius, and Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters are two of the most brilliant performers I have ever seen, so it is no surprise that this is such an excellent film. The music is gorgeous, and has the ability to touch your soul. The emotions conveyed by Patinkin and Peters are very real, and heartfelt. This makes me cry every time I see it. This show really captures the difficulties and detachment that can be applied to the lives of all artists, not just painters. This musical is well-written, well-cast, and well-acted, and I would highly recommend it, especially to anyone involved in the arts. One warning is that people who are not familliar with Sondheim should go into it with an open mind, because if you are expecting a typical Hollywood musical, it's not what you'll find. If you watch this on DVD, don't miss the commentary by Sondheim, Peters, and Patinkin (and possibly James Lapine), because it gives a lot of nice extra information.

Thought-provoking, emotionally soulful and extremely clever, Sunday in the Park With George is another Stephen Sondheim hit. Not his masterpiece(Sweeney Todd, though that is a subjective and very difficult choice to make) or his most accessible(Company), but it is a great show that will make you appreciate Sondheim more perhaps. Like a previous reviewer, some very close friends of mine disliked Sondheim initially but after hearing Sunday in the Park With George they converted and while not fans as such they appreciate him highly now. To get yourself acquainted or to re-visit the magic of this musical it doesn't get better than this production. Lushly produced, very intelligently staged and directed and well-photographed, this production of Sunday in the Park With George is a must see for Sondheim fans and admirers. The songs and score are wonderful, beautifully structured and highlights like Move On, Putting it on and Finishing the Hat are memorable. They are also very clever, because not only do they make an emotional impact but they interweave so well with the story and the characters' motivations and actually enhance them, often telling us what's happening within the music and lyrics. The arrangements are just beautiful and played and conducted just as much. Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin don't just have great voices but they are also great actors, and put real emotion into what they're singing and acting. Patinkin's voice is in slightly better shape, Peters occasionally sounds tired but mostly her singing is fine. And while Patinkin gives one of his best and accomplished performances, Peters is a revelation playing two different characters- sometimes in very quick changes- and is incredibly heartfelt. The supporting cast that include the likes of Dana Ivey and Charles Kimbrough are also on point, Frank Kopyc and Judith Moore are hilarious as ignorant American tourists with the over-exaggerated hand gestures and such. Also look out for Brent Spiner as a German servant, he's a pleasant surprise. In conclusion, beautiful, clever and affecting, couldn't be recommended more highly enough. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Working in a music library, I first encountered Stephen Sondheim's work in 1995 - and hated it!

I was shown this movie and changed my mind completely. As a piece of theatre it is superb and as a 'movie musical' - well there has been a lot worse. The music tells the story. If you've ever encountered Sondheim and hated him, please, please, please take a look at this show. If you can, check out 'Into the Woods' and 'Sweeney Todd'. The man's a genius. And so are Prince and Lapine. Performances by Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters are brilliant and very real. You can feel their emotions; worry, obsession, regret. Even if you don't usually watch musicals, give this one a go. You won't regret it.

P.S. Star Trek : Next Generation Fans - check out Brent Spiner in a very non-Data role. I nearly didn't recognise him, and it proves he can sing.

This is a masterpiece. Sondhiem and Patinkin: American theatre's greatest talents in their fields, join forces in a show of tremendous complexity and humanity. For the uninitiated this can be a hard one to warm up to; but stick with it. It's a play about how disjointed pieces of life and art, some of which are individually unappealing, can come together with such beauty, if the eye arranges them in a certain way. Patinkin is, as usual, amazing, Peters is heartbreaking, and Sondheim's score and lyrics take musical theatre to a new level. "Finishing the Hat" is the best marriage of song and singer in the history of the stage. What a wonderful meditation on art and life!

This is just about a perfect production, Peters and Patinkin are incredible (as usual), the sets, most of all the music, its so complex and beautiful. I was just stunned when i first watched it a few weeks ago. I couldn't stop thinking about it and the music was going around in my head. Of course i knew the song "Move On" which seems to recur throughout. The reason i got the DVD was because the cast recording CD is not currently available, but i've just seen that they are preparing an updated version of the original cast recording, including some songs they must have left out of the original, so i'm ordering that for sure!! Plus i love the painting as well, i've suddenly developed a great interest in 'pointillisme' and Georges Seurat. Very sad to hear about the death in Bernadette's family this week :( 10/10 from me.

This Public Broadcast System film of an American Playhouse production just wasn't very interesting or entertaining to me. "Sunday in the Park with George" is billed as a comedy, drama and romance. Perhaps there was some insight in the promoters who didn't list it as a musical. It is a musical, but one that is very short on music and talent.

The script for this play and film is very slow. The comedy is very little. And the music is sparse. The method used, of the painter set a little off-stage with the players on stage is so theater-bound as to be a distraction for film. It's one thing to go to a theater to see a live play, and another to see a story on film that should eliminate all the periphery. In live stage, it is part of the setting. In film, it's a distraction

The story itself isn't that good or interesting. The talent is so-so. I enjoy Bernadette Peters as an actress. As a singer, she is mediocre. But musicals should have excellent singers. Alas, this production was an early indication that the days of truly great singers for films (and stage) had passed.

Musicals since the last couple decades of the 20th century have had scores with jazzy numbers that tend to play over the vocals of the singers. So, better singers aren't as necessary. But this seems to create a type of artificial musical. No longer do we have films with glorious voices and songs that made up many of the grand musicals of the past. Are there no singers to replace Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and their likes? Are there no new singing actresses to replace Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Doris Day, Mitzi Gaynor or Shirley Jones?

There seem to be no male singers either to replace Gordon MacRea, Howard Keel, Nelson Eddy, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, or Bobby Darin. Nor are their modern song and dance talents the likes of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Ginger Rogers.

This filmed stage production just is not my cup of tea. One suspects it plays to a very narrow audience. Unless one is used to live theater and less than great musical entertainment, this film isn't very likely to be very enjoyable.

The fine rhythm match Seurat's unique painting. And changing keys in the middle of piece express complex feeling of George or Dot. I think the music is perfect to this musical. We can be surprised at by many scenes, because the story gets on without giving us enough information about their relationship. That makes the musical more interesting. The script makes two talking coincide with each other. It is great. At first two talking have different words, but their words come to meet. Expressing two scenes on one stage at the same time is very difficult but the script makes it possible. There are many rhymes in both songs and lines. Especially during painting, he mumbles rhythmically. Of course the songs are rhymed too. The music, performance and story harmonize well. The musical was made many years ago. Now there is higher technology for musical so that we can CG. Though this musical uses simple devices, we can enjoy it very much. The wonderful direction, script, songs and actors make it a great musical.