''South Pacific'' (also known as ''Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific'') is a 2001 American
romantic musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
based on the 1949
stage musical
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
of the same name, itself an adaptation of
James A. Michener's 1947 book ''
Tales of the South Pacific
''Tales of the South Pacific'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of sequentially related short stories by James A. Michener about the Pacific campaign in World War II. The stories are based on observations and anecdotes he collected while s ...
''.
Directed by
Richard Pearce, the film stars
Glenn Close
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...
,
Harry Connick Jr. and
Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija ( sr-Cyrl, Раде Шербеџија, ; born 27 July 1946) is a Croatian actor, director and musician. He is known for his portrayals of imposing figures on both sides of the law. He was one of the best known Yugoslav actors i ...
(credited as Rade Sherbedgia). The screenplay, adapted by
Joshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American director, writer, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical '' South Pacific'' and was involved in writing other musicals.
Early years
Logan ...
(who directed the previous
1958 film version) and
Lawrence D. Cohen, tells the story of a war-torn romance between a young American nurse (Close) and an older French plantation owner (Sherbedgia).
The film premiered on March 26, 2001 on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
to mixed critical reviews, praising its performances but criticizing the rearranged song order and removal of certain numbers deemed politically incorrect.
Cast
*
Glenn Close
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...
as Ensign Nellie Forbush
*
Harry Connick Jr. as Lt. Joseph Cable
*
Rade Sherbedgia as Emile de Becque
*
Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to:
Sports
* Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City
* Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...
as Capt. George Brackett
*
Lori Tan Chinn
Lori Tan Chinn is an American actress and comedian. She was a recurring character in the Netflix series '' Orange Is the New Black'' and currently stars as Awkwafina's Grandma on Comedy Central's ''Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens'' (2020–presen ...
as Bloody Mary
*
Ilene Graff
Ilene Susan Graff (born February 28, 1949) is an American actress and singer.
Life and career
The Queens, New York native began her professional career as a teenager when she performed as a background singer and commercial actress while attendi ...
as Singing Ngana
*
Natalie Mendoza
Natalie Jackson Mendoza (born 12 August 1976) is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her roles as one of the main characters, Jackie Clunes, in the British drama series '' Hotel Babylon'' (2006–2008) and as Juno i ...
as Liat
*
Simon Burke
Simon Gareth Burke (born 8 October 1961) is an Australian actor, active in films, television and theatre.
Biography
Simon Burke began his career at the age of 12, starring in Michael Cove's ''Kookaburra''; a painful look at a dysfunctional wo ...
as Harbison
*
Steve Bastoni
Steve Bastoni (born 4 March 1966) is an Award winning, Italian-born Australian actor. He became a household name in Australia for his role as Constable Yannis 'Angel' Angelopoulos in ''Police Rescue'' and as Steve Parker in ''Neighbours''. H ...
as Lt. Buzz Adams
*
Kimberley Davies
Kimberley Davies (born 20 February 1973) is an Australian actress most famous for playing Annalise Hartman on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1993 to 1996. She is sometimes credited as "Kimberly Davies".
Life and career
Davies wa ...
as Luann
*
Robert Pastorelli
Robert Joseph Pastorelli (June 21, 1954 – March 8, 2004) was an American actor.
After he acquired a reputation as a skilled character actor in the 1980s and 1990s, Pastorelli's career went into decline after the death of his girlfriend under m ...
as Luther Billis
* Craig Ball as Austin
*
Damon Herriman
Damon Herriman is an Australian actor. He is known for his film and television work in Australia and the United States. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Dewey Crowe in '' Justified''. In 2019, he portrayed the cult leader and crimina ...
as Professor
*
Salvatore Coco as DeVito
* Peter Lamb as Bruno
*
Steve Le Marquand
Steve Le Marquand (born 26 December 1967) is an Australian-born actor, known both locally and internationally for his film and stage work.
Personal life
Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1967, his family moved to Sydney when he was quite yo ...
as Stewpot
*
Simon Pryce
Simon James Pryce (born 7 March 1972) is an Australian singer and actor. He is best known for his work as the Red Wiggle of The Wiggles since 2013, and also for the children's show ''The Kingdom of Paramithi''.
Career
Pryce, whose grandparents ...
as Bass Sergeant
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
took place primarily in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, with some scenes shot in
Moorea
Moorea ( or ; Tahitian: ), also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word , meaning ...
, an island close to
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
.
Several new scenes, such as Nellie and Emile's first meeting at the officer's club, were added, and a new character was created to serve as Nellie's best friend and confidante. The sex scenes between Liat and Cable are also dealt with more frankly in the film than in the original 1949 musical.
Music
Sixteen songs from the musical are featured in the film, although "
Happy Talk" was omitted and "Bali Ha'i" was cut in half. Vincent Paterson choreographed the musical numbers.
A
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
was released on March 20, 2001.
# "Overture"
# "
There Is Nothing Like a Dame
"There Is Nothing Like a Dame" (for 4 part male voices, 2 tenors and 2 basses) is one of the songs from the 1949 musical '' South Pacific''. The song was written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is widely popular in the ...
"
# "A Cock-Eyed Optimist" - Close
# "Bloody Mary"
# "
Bali Ha'i
"Bali Ha'i", also spelled "Bali Hai", is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. The name refers to a mystical island, visible on the horizon but not reachable, and was originally inspired by the sight of Am ...
"
# "Twin Soliloquies" - Close
# "Some Enchanted Evening" - Šerbedžija
# "Dites-moi"
# "Younger Than Springtime" - Connick Jr.
# "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" - Close and Graff
#
Some Enchanted Evening
"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Singin': ...
(Reprise) - Close
# "
I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy
"A Wonderful Guy" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific.'' It was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production and sung by Mitzi Gaynor in the 1958 film adaptation.
In the show, Nel ...
" - Close and Graff
# "
You've Got to Be Carefully Taught
"You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" (sometimes "You've Got to Be Taught" or "Carefully Taught") is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''.
''South Pacific'' received scrutiny for its commentary regarding rel ...
" – Connick Jr.
# "This Nearly Was Mine"
# "Honey Bun" - Close and Graff
# "Finale Ultimo" - Close
# "My Girl Back Home" - Close and Connick Jr.
Release
Critical reception
Julie Salamon of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' praised the film and, particularly, Close's performance, writing, "Ms. Close, lean and more mature, hints that a touch of desperation lies in Nellie's cockeyed optimism. 'I'm stuck like a dope with a thing like hope' means one thing when you are in your 20's, something else when you are not." She also noted that the movie "is beautifully produced, better than the stagy 1958 film. ... The other cast members, including Ms. Close, also sing well." The ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' wrote that "Notions of racism toward the islanders were glossed over in the 1958 movie, but in tonight's remake, the racial themes are brought to the surface, to the production's advantage ... there's a heightened sense of drama and tension in the remake because the war is closer at hand ... the rewards are great."
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' noted:
There was criticism by some, for example, theatre critic and historian
John Kenrick because the order of the songs was changed, and because
Rade Sherbedgia, unlike previous Emiles, did not have an operatic singing voice. ''
Playbill
''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'' reported that "Internet chat room visitors have grumbled that Close is too old for the role of Nellie Forbush, who, in the song, 'A Cock-Eyed Optimist', is described as 'immature and incurably green'", but also that "
o-producerCohen said the 'May–December' romance plot point ... has less resonance with audiences today and it was cut. Nellie is ageless, in effect."
[Jones, Kenneth]
"Glenn Close TV Movie of ''South Pacific'' Gets DVD and Video Release"
. Playbill.com, August 29, 2001
In the 2008 '' Oxford Companion to the American Musical'', Thomas Hischak wrote:
Home media
The film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on August 28, 2001. Special features include
deleted scene
A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...
s and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
In 2013, it was reissued on DVD by Mill Creek Entertainment in a double-feature set alongside the 1993 TV remake of ''
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
''.
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Pacific (2001 Film)
2001 television films
2001 films
2000s English-language films
2001 comedy-drama films
2000s musical films
2000s romantic musical films
Films directed by Richard Pearce
Films based on musicals
Films about interracial romance
Musical film remakes
Musical television films
Films based on works by James A. Michener
Films based on adaptations
Tales of the South Pacific