The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection

This eight-disc boxed set compiles six beloved musicals from composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II on Blu-ray. Oklahoma! (1955), directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Shirley Jones as sweet farm girl Laurey and Gordon MacRae as love-struck cowboy Curly, is this set's crown jewel: the original Broadway production essentially redefined the style of stage musicals (one of the innovations that made it to the silver screen here is the ballet dream sequence, choreographed by Agnes de Mille). Oklahoma! was filmed in both CinemaScope and high-definition Todd-AO versions, which were shot simultaneously but with different takes and separate cameras. This release features a new restoration of the 65mm Todd-AO version, bringing a clarity that goes far beyond traditional prints. The far more somber Carousel (1956), which reunites MacRae and Jones and was helmed by Henry King, was the favorite of composer Rodgers; here, MacRae plays rough-and-tumble carnival barker Billy Bigelow, who woos, marries, and fathers a child with innocent factory worker Julie (Jones), only to die—but then escape from purgatory and return to earth in order to make amends to Julie for all the wrongs he subjected her to over the years. In Walter Lang's State Fair (1945), homespun Americana serves as a backdrop for the love that blossoms between two young couples: Margy and Pat (Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews), and Wayne and Emily (Dick Haymes and Vivian Blaine). Lang also directed the 1956 hit The King and I, with Deborah Kerr as the recently widowed Anna, who becomes a governess for the children of Yul Brynner's famously bald King of Siam. Director Joshua Logan brought South Pacific to the screen in 1958, pairing Mitzi Gaynor, as spunky Navy nurse Nellie Forbush, with Rossano Brazzi, playing enigmatic plantation owner Emile de Becque. Completing the collection is The Sound of Music (1965), from director Robert Wise, which features Julie Andrews as Maria, the young nun who becomes the nanny in the musical household of naval officer and widower Capt. Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Two of the films (South Pacific and The Sound of Music) have already appeared on Blu-ray; the other four are making their respective Blu-ray debuts in this collection, remastered from archival elements. Also included here are Fritz Lang's 1934 French version of Liliom, the antecedent of Carousel, starring Charles Boyer; and the extended “Road Show” version of South Pacific (in standard definition). The extensive extras spread across the set include audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, archival footage, and optional sing-along karaoke subtitles (the bonus disc from the earlier Blu-ray release of The Sound of Music is not included). A fine collection of some of the most enduring American movie musicals, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)