Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Leofwine_draca DOCTOR DOLITTLE is the famous film version of the Hugh Lofting novels, starring Rex Harrison as the fellow with a penchant for communicating with animals large and small. It was notoriously a flop on release but watching it these days it's hard to see why; the likable, fast-moving narrative features plenty of good songs and the situation is naturally humorous and allows itself to comedy. Harrison may have been one of the less friendly stars of his age but he fits the role like a glove and Anthony Newley and Samantha Eggar give good support too. Plus, if you're an animal lover then you'll enjoy the material anyway, because all kinds of breeds and species get plenty of funny screen time. I enjoyed it just as much as a well-regarded classic like THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Jimmy L. DOCTOR DOLITTLE (1967) is what a "family classic" should be. Entertaining the whole way through, with catchy and witty songs, colorful performances, plenty of cute animals, and a script packed with imagination and a sense of fun.DOLITTLE was a favorite in my family, and I grew up watching it on a VHS we'd taped from an old television broadcast. To me Rex Harrison was always "Doctor Dolittle", even though the film came late in his career. When I discovered his earlier film work, I was amused at seeing a "young Doctor Dolittle". So my views may be colored by nostalgia, although I recently saw the movie in its entirety for the first time in many, many years and found it to be great fun.The story has the feel of an episodic adventure, taking our heroes to different places and having them do different things. This keeps the audience engaged throughout the nearly two and a half hour running time. Doctor John Dolittle (Rex Harrison) is a physician in 1840s England who is more interested in the various species of animals than in his human patients. So he becomes a strictly animal doctor (veterinarian) and, with the help of his genius pet parrot, learns hundreds of animal dialects. The various side-adventures in this film are all in service of Dolittle's quest to find a mythical giant pink sea snail. First he showcases a rare two-headed llama (a "pushmi-pullyu") at a circus until he can earn enough money to set sail. From there come legal complications, a jail break plot, adventure on the high seas, and still more fun on an exotic "floating" island.Harrison gives a signature performance as the good doctor. Dolittle's a very kind fellow whose ideas about treating animals with as much respect as humans (and his practice of fitting short-sighted horses with glasses, for example) run counter to the prevailing minds of his "civilized" community. The man's an eccentric genius who doesn't fit in with human society. Harrison's portrayal gives Dolittle the amusing peculiarities of an absent-minded professor. His performance is pretty funny in an understated way.Singer-songwriter-actor Anthony Newley plays Irishman Matthew Mugg, one of Dolittle's few friends who, along with young Tommy Stubbins (William Dix), accompanies the doctor on his adventures. Matthew introduces Stubbins (and the audience) to the wonderful world of Doctor Dolittle, and the two "ordinary" characters act as proxies for the audience amid the fantastical happenings that seem to follow Harrison's character wherever he goes.Lovely Samantha Eggar plays Emma Fairfax (affectionately known to Matthew as "Fred"), who first sides against Dolittle, but comes to be enchanted by the life he leads. Miss Fairfax is meant to give the film a romantic subplot, but the intended romance is a bit confusing (surely Rex Harrison is much too old for Eggar).Richard Attenborough gives a tremendous, high-energy performance as Blossom, the owner of the circus. I love seeing him bounce around as he sings "I've Never Seen Anything Like It". Caribbean actor Geoffrey Holder (LIVE AND LET DIE) is great as the surprisingly literate tribal chief on the floating island.The songs by Leslie Bricusse are delightful. "Talk To The Animals" is a classic. "My Friend The Doctor" is contagiously joyful. I think the lyrics are particularly well-done on numbers like "I've Never Seen Anything Like It" and "Like Animals".The world of DOCTOR DOLITTLE is unforgettable. A mild-mannered Englishman travels the world in his top hat, conversing with dogs, pigs, whales, fish, horses, chimpanzees, seals, and elephants. It's a world of dancing two-headed llamas, centenarian parrots educated in thousands of animal languages (including "dead" languages like dodo and unicorn), islands that move about the globe, and giant moths that fly back and forth between the Earth and the moon (constantly attracted to the other's light). The script is clever and imaginative. Several scenes stand out: the horse eye exam, the circus, the cunning seal escape, the absurd shipwreck, the tribal execution, the pink sea snail.Having now seen the film as an adult, and finding the experience thoroughly charming, I can't believe how lowly regarded it is. DOCTOR DOLITTLE entertains from beginning to end with a sense of wonder, a sense of adventure, and a sense of humor. Rex Harrison anchors a solid cast and the songs are great. The movie is something unique. Something original and self-contained. Where else will you see a whale pushing an entire island across the ocean? Or a dog giving testimony in court? Or a tribe of natives performing Shakespeare? It's a family classic. What's not to like?I may have been pre-conditioned since childhood to like this film, but some of the criticism seems a bit over-the-top, stemming from dissatisfaction with the film's Oscar attention. Even if you don't enjoy roadshow-length family musicals, you must admit that the production is impressive from a technical standpoint (the sets, the cinematography, the special effects, the animal wrangling).I actually like DOCTOR DOLITTLE, directed by Richard Fleischer (20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA), better than its popular contemporary CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. The latter is fun despite its weaknesses, but DOLITTLE is something wonderful.

phillindholm Back in 1967, ''Doctor Dolittle'' was intended as the BIG ONE from Twentieth Century-Fox. Thanks,in no small part to it's huge budget, it received much more than it's share of publicity, both pro and con. Long before it was released, a major merchandising campaign began, much like those used by the Disney Studio. Countless singles and albums were released with everyone from Barbra Streisand to Bobby Darin putting their own talents to work on the songs. Elaborate plans were made for the various premieres. So Far, So Good. Then, the film opened.And what went wrong?. Just about everything. Sadly, what might have made a tolerable 90 minute fantasy,had instead become a bloated,stodgy bore,which satisfied neither kids or adults. The original Hugh Lofting stories were all but thrown away for another attempt to grab the brass ring with a hit ''Roadshow Musical''. Though Fox wasn't alone in trying to foist an over-produced would-be spectacular on an increasingly fed up public (Think ''Camelot'' ''Half A Sixpence'' ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' as well as their own ''Star'') ''Dolittle'' is the one which nearly closed it's studio. And it's all to clear why. Even if the film had the requisite appeal for kids (which it did not) the idea of marketing a then-colossal $18 million dollar production to them, was plain suicide. Still, the movie has it's good points. Rex Harrison, (in the title role ) who, at one point, pulled out of the film, (and was briefly replaced by Christopher Plummer) does manage to be fairly ingratiating, though his character doesn't have much dimension. The songs, while no great shakes, do provide attractive background music. The photography is beautiful. But both Samantha Eggar and (Sir)Richard Attenbourough are wasted, Anthony Newley, as usual, mugs his way through his part-as, appropriately,''Matthew Mugg''. William Dix, the talented young co star of ''The Nanny'' is literally, just along for the ride. Where are they off to?. A voyage to find the ''Great Pink Sea Snail''. And that's about it for the ''plot''. Not surprisingly, the film was cut prior to it's national release, one of the casualties being a musical number. At the beginning of the film, there was even a hint of a possible Love Triangle between Harrison, Emma Fairfax (Eggar) and Newley which was also apparently cut. And, with it went the only (possibly) interesting conflict in the film.It was probably no surprise after a listless thirty minutes,that a film taking so long to get where it's going, ends up going nowhere. And, for this, audiences were expected to pay inflated ticket prices and reserve seats in advance. However, thanks to the early negative response, they were spared the expense.The same was definitely not true for Twentieth-century Fox.

readinglips This film's reputation is so bad that you may be tempted to watch it. If so, you'll find a few charms ("Talk to the Animals" and "When I Look Into Your Eyes" numbers, great production values and a very game Rex Harrison) and riches of embarrassments.It actually starts off fairly well with Anthony Newley introducing Dolittle and explaining how the doctor shifted from human patients to animals. But as it grids on, songs begin to sound similar, dropped in only when it's time for something different (rather than growing out of the plot and characters). The script has a few clever lines, but mostly unbelievable characters (in particular, Samantha Eggar's character is angry without motivation, whereas she could have provided some much needed romantic interest) and situations. (Yes, it's a fantasy, but fantasies can be convincing.) Amazingly, Rex Harrison puts a lot of effort into his part and many of his scenes do pay off ("When I Look Into Your Eyes" song; courtroom scene). The photography, sets, costumes and other production values are gorgeous and you can see the money up there on the screen. But by film's end, one is appalled by the huge investment of time, talent and money, which yield so little result.