I checked out Judy Garland the Concert Years from the library. I thought it might be interesting. This program is a tribute to Judy. It is hosted by her daughter, Lorna Luft. Judy is most known for her work on The Wizard of Oz, but she did far more than just that.

She was a talented singer who could sing upbeat songs and ballads. She was a powerful singer that sang with so much emotion. She was also an actress, dancer and comedian. There are many different photo clips included in the program. There are various childhood and family photos. Judy started out signing with her sisters as “The Gumm Sisters” when she was just seven.

Performing at “The Palace” was the start of a new career for Judy Garland. Over the span of 19 years she did over 1,100 concerts, 30 television shows, and 13 albums. She won 5 Grammy awards, a Tony award and was nominated for 10 Emmy awards. “A Star is Born” was dramatically the most important film in her career. It was also the only film that Judy did with her husband, Sid Luft. On April 21, 1961 she performed at Carnegie Hall. There was a 2 record set sold from the performance that was a huge success.

This program shows Judy singing a duet with her daughter, Liza Minnelli. It also shows her signing a song to her daughter, Lorna and to her son, Joe. There is a clip of Judy dancing with Donald O’Connor and doing a comedy routine with Bob Newhart. She is shown singing with Ethel Merman and later with Barbra Streisand.

It tells of her friendship with President Kennedy. He would call her at times and ask her to sing “Over the Rainbow” to him over the phone. She was devastated when he was killed. When she went back to her show she sand Battle Hymn of the Republic while thinking of him.

Many different people share thoughts throughout the program. It would show Judy singing a song and then after it someone would be telling information. Those that talked in the program were: Melissa Manchester, Alan King, Sid Luft, Joe Luft, Rex Reed, Mort Lindsey, Tony Bennett, Bill Colleran, Nelson Riddle, Stephen Holden and Edward Albee.

She seldom sang Over the Rainbow on TV. It shows a rare time when she sang it on a show in 1955. There were numerous clips from movies and from different times she was onstage singing.

Chapters:

1. Introduction
2. Get Happy
3. Who?
4. Zing Went the Strings of My Heart
5. Medley: You Made Me Love You / For Me and My Gal / The Trolley Song
6. Until You’ve Played the Palace
7. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
8. Ol’ Man River
9. The Man That Got Away
10. When My Sugar Walks Down the Street / Born in a Trunk
11. Swanee
12. San Francisco
13. Hello, Dolly (with Liza Minnelli)
14. Liza / Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe
15. Lorna
16. I Left My Heart in San Francisco (with Tony Bennett)
17. Soft Shoe (with Donald O’Connor)
18. Love is Never the Same (with Lena Horne)
19. Comedy Sketch (with Bob Newhart)
20. Friendship (with Ethel Merman)
21. Get Happy / Happy Days are Here Again (with Barbra Streisand)
22. Battle Hymn of the Republic
23. Just in Time
24. Smile
25. Chicago
26. As Long As He Needs Me
27. We’re a Couple of Swells
28. Over the Rainbow
29. Credits

Menu:

1. Play Program
2. Chapter Selections
3. Play Bonus Feature “A Star is Born” Premiere
4. Biography
5. Filmography


My Thoughts:

I enjoyed some of this. However, I did think parts of it were boring. It was nice to see once, but I don’t think I would want to watch it again. The quality of the picture was not good. These recordings were done so long ago that the quality is no where near to what we are used to today. They are all in black and white. Some appear grainy and are hard to see.

The sound was about average. If you take in mind the age of some of these recordings it really wasn't that bad. The sound was better than the picture.

I really didn't know much about Judy Garland, other than her work on The Wizard of Oz. I was glad to learn more about her life, but some of the singing got long and boring to me. I'm not a big fan of her music so I got bored watching the singing. The interviews were good though. I wish they had interviewed her daughter, Liza. She was not interviewed though. I noticed in many of the scenes of Judy singing she looked like she was drunk. I don't know if she was or not, but she didn't look right. The interviews with the different people are all done in color. The running time is 85 minutes.

Judy Garland has been gone for over thirty years, but she will never be forgotten.




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8