Product: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
Give me my DVD, my amazing DVD!
There are some actors/actresses who were born to play certain parts, e.g., Yul Brunner and the King of Siam. Well, Donny Osmond IS Joseph! After seeing this, I cannot imagine anyone else playing Joseph so well, and so poignantly. Donny has the truly perfect voice and charisma for this role. I've have seen brief clips of other stage performances, and have heard the other stage soundtracks, and they just don't have it! One important thing that seems to be lacking in the previous encarnations is an enthusiasm for the role, something that comes through loud and clear with Donny Osmond. There simply is no other "Joseph" than him. He is truly an underrated performer.It was great choice to film this as a "movie" on sets, rather than just filming a stage show. While that would have been interesting, especially to those who had seen the play, it would not have done justice to it the way this did and would not have allowed for the varied staging that is evident here. The casting is excellent in my opinion, although I understand from several friends who saw the Stage Production here in Boston back in 1996(ish), the Stage Elvis (Johnny Seaton) and Narrator (Janet Metz) had a higher level voice control and stage "presence" than is so evident here ("simply awesome" us how one friend put it), the two certainly turn in stellar performances and their performances are entertaining and riviting. They both have quite good voices, and Pharoah really morphs with Elvis!Given that this play was, at least originally, staged with children in mind, the costuming is a bit on the risque side, and could certainly have been done without.Andrew Lloyd Webber also missed an excellent opportunity that might be missed on most people as far as history and factual storytelling goes. When approached by "Mrs. Potiphar", Joseph actually ran away from her, leaving "his outer garment behind", and she then falsly accused him of attempting to rape her,which is really why Potipar was so enraged. This would've added a whole other dimension to the song "Potiphar" and made his false imprisonment all the more "unjust", which in turn, would have added to the poignancy of Donny's best song in the show, "Close Every Door", but, hey, that's Hollywood! ONE WARNING! This will leave you singing and humming the songs for weeks and weeks on end!Donny Osmond will never again wear that "Amazing Coloured Coat" but as long as you own this DVD, he'll never really take it off for the last time!By the way, don't pass-up the CD featuring Donny Osmond from this Stage Tour. It is simply awesome! In many areas, the tempo and pacing of the songs is better than in this DVD. They make a truly wonderful set!