Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003)

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

One test of a documentary: Would you watch it more than once? Yes -- I've watched this three times with great pleasure and expect to do so again.Another test: Was it over too soon? Yes, emphatically; I wish the film were twice as long.Moreover, I found it extremely moving, even though I've never particularly considered myself a Broadway-show fan.Maybe, in part, it's because it's filled with terrific, nostalgic glimpses of old Times Square.The various featured performers, so many of them now no longer with us, are, of course, a joy (and in these snippets they all come across as charming and articulate and blessedly gifted at telling a funny anecdote), but special praise has to go to the editors; with its lively pace and rhythm, the film amounts to something of a master class in editing.Yeah, there are a couple of sourpusses on this site who've gone out of their way to dump on the film -- but their spleen probably has something to do with the lavish praise expressed in all the other comments, to which I suspect these contrarians are overreacting. So be it. I'm pleased, this time, to applaud along with the majority.P.S. I don't usually enjoy documentaries, but let me recommend one that, like this film, happens to be about show business: "Visions of Light," which interviews -- and displays the work of -- some of Hollywood's great modern cinematographers. I've never looked at movies in quite the same way again.

Honestly, there's nothing better you could do with your time or money than buy this movie and watch it immediately.I'd heard glowing reviews of this movie, so as soon as it hit Chicago I was first in line, bringing a friend along. The next day, I was back there again, with another friend in tow.Myself, my friends, and everyone else I know that's seen this movie feel it is the most important documentary ever made about Broadway. They say history is made by the people who lived it, and here--from his own personal passion--Rick has amassed the largest number of living legends ever to appear in the same film. Rather than a bland collection of facts, this movie is filled with life and energy and stories--both silly and heartfelt--by the people who were actually there. You can't beat Chita Rivera talking about the original production of WEST SIDE STORY, or Angela Lansbury and MAME, or countless others.As you watch, you're simply spellbound by the love and dedication that went into preserving these people on film and more so, by the love and dedication these legends have for Broadway stage. Your heart aches to be there, with them, in all the glory and splendor they recreate from their recollections.Quite simply, if you care about theatre in any way shape or form, this movie is required viewing. And if you don't care about theatre, this movie will make you a convert to the magic that is live theatre. Rick McKay is a saint of the performing arts and deserves entry into the theatre hall of fame for this movie, right alongside all the legends he interviewed.The only thing you could possibly have against this film is that it's too short. It's two hours, and when it's done, you want to sit for another two, and I imagine another two after that.

I saw this movie last year and loved it. It was before it had distribution and i have watched happily as it went on its way to national theatrical runs and greatreviews. I had heard that the filmmaker had changed it since then, but Iassumed it was minor. I am in Chicago for a gig and when I read the greatreviews in the Chicago papers today I ran to see it again - almost a year later. Amazingly, the filmmaker Rick McKay was at the theatre again! In a wholedifferent part of the country, as he lives in NYC and I saw the film AND him in LA. He must be the moist passionate filmmaker ever to have made this film with 100 stars and taken six years. But, most important, the film is much, much different. it is absolutely brilliant. Moving and touching. There were people laughing and sobbing at the sametime around me. It is such a lost era and it seems even more profound a yearlater. Not to mention that at least five of the stars have died in this last year, making it more precious. The audience gave McKay a standing ovation and he regaled him with stories. I know I have friends who are going to kill me. They were so jealous when I saw an advance screening a year ago and it has been opening up in ciites all over the country but a lot of people still can't find it. SO , the good news is that McKay announced that the film comes out on DVD on November 9th. "Loaded withextras," he said. I am counting days.Nobody wanted to leave the theater. Everyone waited after in the lobby forMcKay and he told stories after to us. It was like we were trying to hang on to the last of this era and time in the film. I read a review on Ain't It Cool News that said this movie is a national treasure. They are right. And so is McKay. It would have all been gone were it not for this film. Thank you.

Rick Mc Kay has given worldwide, movie audiences a glorious gift: "Broadway: The Golden Age". It's a Treasure of New York, The Theatre, Americana, Gypsies, Histories, and Dreams come true, by the dreamers who dreamed them, lived them, and vividly recount them, thanks to Mc Kay. "Broadway: The Golden Age" is a rich, reel legacy I wish everyone, everywhere could experience.