Elaine Stritch at Liberty (2004)

Load of rubbish!!

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

I was lucky enough to see this show at The Old Vic in London (where, albeit not on the night, this live recording was shot) so I was pre-disposed to like the DVD (the clue is in that word 'lucky') and if anything it eclipses the show if only because the camera can do what I couldn't from my mid-stall seat, namely close in on the eyes which is where it is all happening. What we have is a great blend of reminiscence, anecdotes and vocals and I for one would have been happy with twice the two-and-a-half hours she delivers. Okay, nobody is going to accuse her of being a great vocalist, least of all herself, but no one accused Mabel Mercer of being a great vocalist but no one gave a big rat's ass because Mercer, like Stritch, had a lot more going for her, the ability to 'live' a song and act it out to a fare-thee-well. As a rule my taste in female vocalists favors the 'cool' i.e. June Christy, Peggy Lee; the 'warm', Dinah Shore, Ella, and the vulnerable, Judy, for the brash, belter, Merman, Bassy, who think subtlety is to come down to high C. I have no time at all. Stritch can and does on occasion, belt with the best, but, like the finest vocalist working today, Marlene VerPlanck, she can also do wistful, a word that Merman and Bassy were incapable of comprehending. So, here we get Broadway Baby, I'm Still Here, Ladies Who Lunch, but we also get the ultra wistful I Must Have Done Something Good. You sure did, Elaine, you did something VERY good. In spades.

I know, I know - Elaine Stritch is a "legend" - she makes sure you know it, believe me... Maybe I'm the only one in the universe who felt like smacking her, but I did feel like smacking her. She does have some interesting stories about Old Hollywood, however the rest seems like a never ending, self-congratulatory vanity piece. I got the feeling that she's been practicing these "naked" little soliloquies for her audience of one, in front of the mirror, for years. Maybe that is the point of the show, I don't know. Perhaps some think she should be humored because she's 80, but crikey, I just found most of it insufferable. Sorry Elaine...

Picked up the DVD without knowing anything about Elaine Stritch.More than pleasantly pleased. Her candor is laudable. One views her life through a cabaret act, full of song and dance routines... Despite which, one looks into an absolutely "naked" soul. Interesting to watch this 80 year old woman, whose life has been so difficult, be so alive and dynamic. When most of her compatriots are dead she is continuing to grow and learn and give to us. For the first half hour or so it was mostly "cute", tolerable but just "cute". The rest of the film grabbed my mind and heart.Well done. I recommend it highly.

There are few stage legends left in our world today who have so much to tell, and Elaine Stritch is one of them. While not a household name to people, her face and voice may be. Recent movie goers recall her as Winona Ryder's loving but emotionally distant grandmother in "Autumn in New York"; as the crabby Ms. Crock in the otherwise medicore "Screwed"; and as Dyan Cannon's crotchety but lovable mom in "Out to Sea". However, to those who have an appreciation for the theater, she is, to put it bluntly, one of the most riviting performers I have ever seen, on stage, on TV, and in films. I had the priviledge of seeing Ms. Stritch this past February in her one-woman show at the Neil Simon in New York. (It is scheduled to run through May of 2002, so if you are in NY before then, do not miss it!) Let's just say it was a priority on the top of my list, even more so than visiting the remains of the World Trade Center. It is for more reasons than the shere entertainment value of Ms. Stritch's presence; It is for the reason we go on; we are survivors, and so is she. Elaine takes no qualms in publicly discussing her battle with alcoholism; While others have done as much and made it seem like voyeurism, she takes us in to her bosom, and embraces us with the love and affection of an Auntie Mame who has had the life, and lived to tell about it. Her wisdom, humor, and heart make this performance one for the history books. Years from now, people will be remembering this as the theatrical event of 2002. I did not know it aired on PBS in January until I came across the listing on here, and I hope that they repeat it; However, had I known, I would have taped it, and saved it for after I had seen it.In my movie reviews, I try to give a thorough summary of the plot without giving away key elements; I cannot do that here because to say too much is spoiling a delightful surprise. To say too little would be difficult, because what do I choose? I will say this: if you are familiar with Ms. Stritch's film work and a few of her Broadway recordings (such as "Company" where she sang the legendary "Ladies Who Lunch"), you already know a little bit about her. She sings "Broadway Baby" just as she lived it, from her way up the ladder, to some surprising encounters with future celebrities, to understudying the first lady of the American musical theater, to how she was perceived by theatrical community as "difficult", and to finally, how she finally conquored her alcoholism. And to go into "I'm Still Here" (which has been sung by some of the best), she deserves that honor; She truly is. Ms. Stritch, I longed to see you in a live theatrical event, and you gave me an evening of live theater that I will never forget.