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Finian's Rainbow (1968)
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Fred Astaire Finian McLonergan
Petula Clark Sharon McLonergan
Tommy Steele Og the Leprechaun
Don Francks Woody Mahoney
Keenan Wynn Senator Billboard Rawkins
Barbara Hancock Susan the Silent
Al Freeman Jr. Howard
Ronald Colby Buzz Collins
Dolph Sweet Sheriff
Wright King District Attorney
Jr. Al Freeman
Al Freeman
Movie Details
Genre Musical
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Producer Joseph Landon; Joel Freeman
Writer E.Y. Harburg; Fred Saidy
Studio Warner Bros.
Language English
Audience Rating G (General Audience)
Running Time 145 mins
Country USA
Color Color
IMDb Rating 6.1
Plot
A funny thing happened to Finian's Rainbow in between its debut as a Broadway musical in 1947 and its appearance as a film in 1968. After 21 years, its theme of racial tension in the American South was no longer cutting edge, and the fact that its heroes are a group of sharecroppers called the Rainbow Valley Tobacco Cooperative dates it even further. Add a number of subplots and the heavy hand of a 29-year-old Francis Ford Coppola directing his first and only musical, and the two-and-a-half-hour running time feels bloated. Hermes Pan (best known for the classic Astaire-Rogers movies) is credited with choreographing the overbusy musical numbers, but he was reportedly overruled by Coppola at every turn. Still, there is a lot to enjoy in this movie, most notably Fred Astaire in his last lead role in a musical. Fred plays Finian McLonergan, an Irishman who has traveled to America in hopes of planting a pilfered pot of gold near Fort Knox and watching it grow. Even at 69, Fred shows he is still capable of a sprightly step and warbling "Look to the Rainbow." Another plus is the casting of '60s pop icon Petula Clark as his daughter, as she sings with an unaffected loveliness. Finally, the score by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg includes two of the best Broadway songs ever written--"Old Devil Moon" and "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"--as well as the comic ditty "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love." --David Horiuchi
Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 133
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Price $15.41
Links Amazon US
DVD Empire
IMDB
Edition Details
Format DVD
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio 2.35:1
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
Barcode 085391120827
Release Date 3/15/2005
Subtitles English; French; Spanish
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Watch Finian's Rainbow with Francis Ford Coppola: New Introduction and Commentary by the Director.
Featurette: The World Premiere of Finian's Rainbow
Theatrical trailer