Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999)

Very Cool!!!

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

I really love musicals, and this is one of my favorites. Of course it's silly and nonsensical, but who cares! I watch my DVD of this musical when I'm depressed and need a lift. Pure escapism! I've also seen it on stage three times, and I have loved it every time. There are some differences between the stage production and the movie, but both are very entertaining.This production is staged like a 60's show, and that just adds to the fun.Donny Osmond makes a great Joseph, and the other actors do a good job too. Nice!

A satisfying translation of a Biblical story into terms that everyone can enjoy.I never thought I could savor anything by Donny Osmond, but he is perfectly cast and superb in the role of a gifted if somewhat self-satisfied favorite son turned prophet and power behind the pharoanic throne.This is truly an opera, with a matchless chorus complete with masterful soloists. The musical narration of Maria Friedman -- whatever happened to this talented singer? -- kept things moving along seamlessly.I loved that this was set in a stuffy boarding school -- did anyone else think they saw Macaulay Culkin (born in 1980) sitting in the audience -- I thought the children's voices and vitality added nicely to the power of this production.I always felt this work was somewhat derivative of "Jesus Christ Superstar" but I think it holds its own nicely, decades after its creation.I wish more were done to bring other classic stories of the Bible and other works to the stage with this much vitality!

This filmed version of the play is both enjoyable and annoying. The story is a tuneful, mostly cheerful telling of the highlights of Joseph's story from his coat of many colors to slavery to power, but those looking for a reverent Bible story will be disappointed in this mocking and sarcastic show. On the plus side, Donny Osmond is quite appealing as the innocent Joseph and he sings with ease and emotion; his scenes are the best.My problems stem from the structure of the show. The action takes place on a school stage with the students often chiming in as a choir and it just doesn't gather any dramatic steam. The composers were only 19 and 21 when this was first conceived and they apparently let their youthful enthusiasm go unchecked; their music is catchy and the rhyming lyrics are clever, but there's no continuity or sense of serious theatre. One never suspends disbelief because we are constantly reminded it's a school play.The songs range from sweet to kitschy in pop, calypso, disco, and cowboy-country style. The props are painted cardboard and the costumes range from period to techno to kid-unfriendly suggestive. The narrator (Maria Friedman) has the most screen time and she's an annoying know-it-all who continually grabs the spotlight away from the action.Several of the songs are quite nice and will stick with you, especially "Any Dream Will Do" and "Close Every Door," and Pharoah's Elvis impersonation is funny, if weird. The show was originally aimed at children, but I think they might lose interest or be confused. The play lacks the substance of the composers' later "Jesus Christ Superstar" but is nice for Donny fans.

I'm trying to figure out how the LDS church let one of its star members display so much flesh in this adaption of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Despite that Donny Osmond gives a good performance in the lead role.Watching this photographed stage play I was thinking that somewhere those sets that Cecil B. DeMille made of Egypt for The Ten Commandments are laying around with nothing going on. Maybe they could have been used to give this a more cinematic feeling.Still the singing of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice score was top rate. And I did love the casting of Joan Collins as Potiphar's wife. Think of it, Alexis Colby trying to seduce Donny Osmond, the mind boggles with the possibilities. Maria Friedman as the narrator who carries most of the vocal burden is in fine voice.I would have liked more of a movie, still Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat works well enough for audiences of all ages.