Product: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
You and Your Dreamcoat, Ahead of Your Time!
The film approach to this musical was a smart move-- the "we'll tape a performance" approach is kinda cheesy. The sets were great, especially the desert scene, and the costumes were imaginative. The songs were very nice; they go from a catchy jingle-type advertisement for "Jacob and Sons" to a Western theme ("One More Angel in Heaven"), to a somewhat 1920's approach in "Potiphar," to a 1960's Austin Powers-ish "Go Go Joseph", to the bluesy Elvis-themed "Song of the King", and to the Jamaican "Benjamin Calypso."Donny Osmond shines as Joseph: he can really sing! Richard Attenborough was very good as Jacob, who sang a few lines and was actually pretty good at it! Mrs. Potiphar (Joan Collins) was hilarious, as was Robert Torti as Pharaoh "The King." (He was my dad's favorite character; he's watched the Pharaoh's song about a million times.) The eleven brothers are really funny, too! The only character I have a minor problem with is the Narrator, played by Maria Friedman. She has great facial expressions, but her singing voice is less-than-stupendous. (Listen to some of the cast recordings, particularly the 1993 LA cast; you'll hear the difference.)PS - As for the supposedly pornographic scenes with Mrs. Potiphar, they happen so quickly and the plot moves to Joseph in jail so fast there hardly isn't any time for questions of any sort. I'm a Christian, and I've seen worse things on network television.All I can say is, Go, Go, Go, Joseph!