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Brigadoon
1954
Two New Yorkers, on a hunting trip to Scotland, stumble upon the legendary and magical village of Brigadoon, which appears once every hundred years. They are enchanted and charmed by this wonderful world and one of them falls for a beautiful woman who lives in it. Read more
| Starring | Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart |
|---|---|
| Director | Vincente Minnelli |
| Genres | Music/Musical |
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Critics' reviews (3)
View all -
This beguiling MGM version of Alan J Lerner and Frederick Loewe's magical stage musical about a Scottish village that comes to life every hundred years is an overlooked and often derided movie in director Vincente Minnelli's canon: time has proved there's no reason for such harsh judgement. It boasts a wonderful score and magnificent arrangements, plus an imaginative studio set, while the use of early CinemaScope enhances the brilliant lateral stage choreography. Yet the real heart of the film lies in the casting. The great Gene Kelly could not be bettered as the American in love in a faraway time and a foreign clime. His duet with Cyd Charisse — The Heather on the Hill — is enchanting (though, sadly, it was deleted from the British cinema version of the film) and, as Kelly's buddy-in-booze, Van Johnson positively shines.
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Likeable but disappointing adaptation of a Lost Horizonish Broadway musical, marred by artificial sets and jaded direction.
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A classic - if not the classic - Minnelli musical, Brigadoon is an explicit statement about (and partial criticism of)... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
View all -
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Absolutely Enchanting
My parents took me to an amateur theatre production of Brigadoon in Edinburgh back in 1976 and as an 8 year old I thoroughly loved it. Then I found out there was a movie when it came on TV and I loved it even more, the songs are wonderful, the story is fantastic and the characters memorable. If you dont fall in love with Brigadoon, well, youll have 100 years to wait to fall in love again!
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3 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Voice coach needs shooting
The Scottish accents are an abomination - the voice coach(es) should be shot. Irish accents masquerading as Scots are also unaccetable. The accents want to make you boak(a good Scots word).
The Scottish costumes are equally bad -they look like a USA Higland Games on a bad day
However there are some redeeming features - the dancing and some of the songs are quite delightful.
Not one of the better Hollywood musicals, but maybe worth wstching on a wet Sunday afternoon for a laugh -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Arr ye goen teh Brigadooooooon, laddie? Then yell be needen yer 12 guage pump action shotgun and yer tap shoes
As the fog clears on an expensive Hollywood set realistically resembling countryside with convincing wind effects, a mysterious choir softly narrate in harmony:
'Deep in the Highlands,
the Highlands of Scotland
In a cold and murky brae,
Deep in the Highlands,
The Highlands of Scotland,
Two weary hunters have lost their way...'
Two New Yorkers wonder across a heath wearing casual suits and carrying pump-action shotguns. Looking more like 1920's gangsters than lost hunters, they proceed to explain to eachother who they are, their background, their character and what they want out of life, pragmatically eliminating any future need to explain this later in the story through more subtle, conventional means.
Through a prettily shot sequence where the sunlight gradually reveals the new morning in the woodland, the mysterious 18th century town of Brigadoon appears. Its healthy, American/Scottish inhabitants begin to wake up, grinning from ear to ear as they do so, full of the delight of a new day and another chance to burst into song and dance at the drop of a hat.
This is a story about a town that, through a miracle, only exists for one day every 100 years and the fast-tracked romance between one of the lost hunters and a bonnie wee lassie from the glen.
I found this genuinely charming but as baffling as I find all musicals, where melodramatic dance and exaggerated physical expression replace comprehensible scripting of anything recognisable from real life.
Of particular merit for extreme melodrama is one of the extras on the DVD - The Sword Dance. One of the funniest and most bewildering things I've ever seen is how, through a traditional dance, onlookers become increasingly more and more concerned at the performance of one of the dancers who dances no differently from any of the other 5 men dancing with him. He then finishes and storms off, leaving a silent crowd of worried spectators in his wake. Absolutely bizzarre.
This kind of film is the reason I grew up so suspicious of adult behaviour, having witnessed such baffling performances from televised musicals as a child.
Absolutely mental - therefore well worth watching if you are either a musicals fan, a girl or a psychology student. If you are all three you should probably buy it. -
Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Arr ye goen teh Brigadooooooon, laddie? Then yell be needen yer 12 guage pump action shotgun and yer tap shoes
As the fog clears on an expensive Hollywood set realistically resembling countryside with convincing wind effects, a mysterious choir softly narrate in harmony:
'Deep in the Highlands,
the Highlands of Scotland
In a cold and murky brae,
Deep in the Highlands,
The Highlands of Scotland,
Two weary hunters have lost their way...'
Two New Yorkers wonder across a heath wearing casual suits and carrying pump-action shotguns. Looking more like 1920's gangsters than lost hunters, they proceed to explain to eachother who they are, their background, their character and what they want out of life, pragmatically eliminating any future need to explain this later in the story through more subtle, conventional means.
Through a prettily shot sequence where the sunlight gradually reveals the new morning in the woodland, the mysterious 18th century town of Brigadoon appears. Its healthy, American/Scottish inhabitants begin to wake up, grinning from ear to ear as they do so, full of the delight of a new day and another chance to burst into song and dance at the drop of a hat.
This is a story about a town that, through a miracle, only exists for one day every 100 years and the fast-tracked romance between one of the lost hunters and a bonnie wee lassie from the glen.
I found this genuinely charming but as baffling as I find all musicals, where melodramatic dance and exaggerated physical expression replace comprehensible scripting of anything recognisable from real life.
Of particular merit for extreme melodrama is one of the extras on the DVD - The Sword Dance. One of the funniest and most bewildering things I've ever seen is how, through a traditional dance, onlookers become increasingly more and more concerned at the performance of one of the dancers who dances no differently from any of the other 5 men dancing with him. He then finishes and storms off, leaving a silent crowd of worried spectators in his wake. Absolutely bizzarre.
This kind of film is the reason I grew up so suspicious of adult behaviour, having witnessed such baffling performances from televised musicals as a child.
Absolutely mental - therefore well worth watching if you are either a musicals fan, a girl or a psychology student. If you are all three you should probably buy it. -
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Lovely!
Magical film, harks back to a far less cynical age of movie-making. Yes there's ham and cheese a-plenty, but there's heart in this that's missing from many modern movies.
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3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Absolutely Enchanting
My parents took me to an amateur theatre production of Brigadoon in Edinburgh back in 1976 and as an 8 year old I thoroughly loved it. Then I found out there was a movie when it came on TV and I loved it even more, the songs are wonderful, the story is fantastic and the characters memorable. If you dont fall in love with Brigadoon, well, youll have 100 years to wait to fall in love again!
-
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Voice coach needs shooting
The Scottish accents are an abomination - the voice coach(es) should be shot. Irish accents masquerading as Scots are also unaccetable. The accents want to make you boak(a good Scots word).
The Scottish costumes are equally bad -they look like a USA Higland Games on a bad day
However there are some redeeming features - the dancing and some of the songs are quite delightful.
Not one of the better Hollywood musicals, but maybe worth wstching on a wet Sunday afternoon for a laugh -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Arr ye goen teh Brigadooooooon, laddie? Then yell be needen yer 12 guage pump action shotgun and yer tap shoes
As the fog clears on an expensive Hollywood set realistically resembling countryside with convincing wind effects, a mysterious choir softly narrate in harmony:
'Deep in the Highlands,
the Highlands of Scotland
In a cold and murky brae,
Deep in the Highlands,
The Highlands of Scotland,
Two weary hunters have lost their way...'
Two New Yorkers wonder across a heath wearing casual suits and carrying pump-action shotguns. Looking more like 1920's gangsters than lost hunters, they proceed to explain to eachother who they are, their background, their character and what they want out of life, pragmatically eliminating any future need to explain this later in the story through more subtle, conventional means.
Through a prettily shot sequence where the sunlight gradually reveals the new morning in the woodland, the mysterious 18th century town of Brigadoon appears. Its healthy, American/Scottish inhabitants begin to wake up, grinning from ear to ear as they do so, full of the delight of a new day and another chance to burst into song and dance at the drop of a hat.
This is a story about a town that, through a miracle, only exists for one day every 100 years and the fast-tracked romance between one of the lost hunters and a bonnie wee lassie from the glen.
I found this genuinely charming but as baffling as I find all musicals, where melodramatic dance and exaggerated physical expression replace comprehensible scripting of anything recognisable from real life.
Of particular merit for extreme melodrama is one of the extras on the DVD - The Sword Dance. One of the funniest and most bewildering things I've ever seen is how, through a traditional dance, onlookers become increasingly more and more concerned at the performance of one of the dancers who dances no differently from any of the other 5 men dancing with him. He then finishes and storms off, leaving a silent crowd of worried spectators in his wake. Absolutely bizzarre.
This kind of film is the reason I grew up so suspicious of adult behaviour, having witnessed such baffling performances from televised musicals as a child.
Absolutely mental - therefore well worth watching if you are either a musicals fan, a girl or a psychology student. If you are all three you should probably buy it. -
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Lovely!
Magical film, harks back to a far less cynical age of movie-making. Yes there's ham and cheese a-plenty, but there's heart in this that's missing from many modern movies.
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
excellent
i love the old films and this one didnt disappoint!!! an excellent watch for a rainy day or any day for tht matter lol
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It's a classic
This film is well known and is worth watching to get an idea of the stage musical. Unfortunately all the comments about the costumes, the accents, etc are fully justified - The film is dated and cut.
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All time classic!!!
A film which proves they don't need computer trickery to make a classic. I've loved this film for years and rented it for my 6 year old daughter to watch. Well, I've created another Gene Kelly fan! She was transfixed and as we have just come back from Scotland she now wants to go back and find Brigadoon to dance with Gene and Cyd!
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Not quite as i remembered!
I used to love this film as a child but found the incredibly bad attempts at Scottish accents were spoiling the film for me. The first half was a bit heavy going but by the second half, the story and characters gained more depth (rather than just singing and dancing and appearing to have a lovely time) and I have to say that I was still charmed by the overall concept of the film, that if you really love someone, anything is possible...
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FABULOUS!
THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MUSICALS. GENE KELLY IS THE BEST. A FILM ABOUT LOVE AND FAIRY TALES.
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Not like I remember
Well, a bit cheezy and a very wrong interpretation of the Scots. However, a typical joyous musical if you have 1 1/2 hours to burn.
Critics' reviews (3)
-
This beguiling MGM version of Alan J Lerner and Frederick Loewe's magical stage musical about a Scottish village that comes to life every hundred years is an overlooked and often derided movie in director Vincente Minnelli's canon: time has proved there's no reason for such harsh judgement. It boasts a wonderful score and magnificent arrangements, plus an imaginative studio set, while the use of early CinemaScope enhances the brilliant lateral stage choreography. Yet the real heart of the film lies in the casting. The great Gene Kelly could not be bettered as the American in love in a faraway time and a foreign clime. His duet with Cyd Charisse — The Heather on the Hill — is enchanting (though, sadly, it was deleted from the British cinema version of the film) and, as Kelly's buddy-in-booze, Van Johnson positively shines.
-
Likeable but disappointing adaptation of a Lost Horizonish Broadway musical, marred by artificial sets and jaded direction.
-
A classic - if not the classic - Minnelli musical, Brigadoon is an explicit statement about (and partial criticism of)... read more on Time Out
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