Search - Young at Heart on DVD

Doris Day & Frank Sinatra's Chemistry - WOW!

Coleen | Down in the alley | 11/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are expecting a DVD that is a big improvement on the video, this will disappoint. But if you absolutely love the film, the DVD is still worth getting. Now, the film itself shows what a terrific chemistry Doris Day and Frank Sinatra had together, and makes one wish they had done more films together, and certainly sang more duets. Doris is superb and Frank deserved an Oscar for his portayal of Barney Sloane, as hip and deep a job of acting as anything James Dean ever did and Dean had made his first film this same year (1954). Sinatra was (and is) so underrated as an actor in the 1950's. Someone put it well, there is no Frank Sinatra in this film, only Barney Sloane.
This movie leaves you wanting more MORE of Day and Sinatra together - that is my only criticism of it! A wonderful film."

EXCELLENT Film / DVD Good (Better than Video)

matty | Pennsylvania, United States | 02/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an outstanding movie for many reasons. For cinema fans only familiar with the "rat pack", this Frankie may be an eye opener. YOUNG AT HEART (1954) is a showcase for Frank Sinatra's excellent acting. He is intense, focused & nuanced, becoming one with "Barney Sloan," a gifted musician suffering through multiple "bad breaks" since birth & sorely lacking confidence.Doris Day also brings much to this classic with a very moving performance. She is warm, lovely & upbeat as the woman of Sinatra's dreams, & so expressive in her eyes! The chemistry between these two actors grows with their characters' relationship; they share a number of memorable scenes together. They are surrounded by a very good supporting cast, especially Gig Young & Ethel Barrymore.This is a romantic drama with superb singing. Doris & Frank's duet together is "You, My Love", which is a personal favorite. Ms. Day delivers several 50's pop songs beautifully. Frank makes his impact here as the saloon singer, with brilliant, moving renditions of "Someone to Watch Over Me," "One for My Baby," & "Just One of Those Things."Initially, this film is light-hearted & glossy - until Barney Sloan arrives. There are multiple issues that his character brings to the surface such as: "destiny" & the strength of the human will, the pain of loneliness, the power of hope, life-changing experiences, & recognizing "love".It's worth noting that the forty-eight year old YOUNG AT HEART was actually a re-make of a 1938 mega-hit "Four Daughters", & carries over some of its plot contrivances. . Don't let this bog you down. This little gem rises above it.In my opinion, the DVD is a visual improvement over the fuzzy video. Having both the Video / 40th anniversary edition & now the DVD, I've watched each, sometimes scene by scene, to compare, both on the same television. This video has the same small scratches, circles / spots that can be viewed on the DVD; note the gingerbread scene in the kitchen. The DVD's Major Plus: visual details, such as skin & facial features, are improved: Doris' cute freckles are back; thankfully, the character "Amy" no longer has a blackened tooth when she is tying Gig Young' s tie (as seen in Video); and Frank's face shows some scars in close ups, a realistic touch for his character. Actually, the DVD's visuals, preceeding the film, are quite beautiful! The DVD is reasonably priced, although I would have been willing to pay a little more for some extras, such as behind the scenes photos... Now if the film preservationists could help restore the original negative of this classic movie, that would be wonderful. YOUNG AT HEART deserves it -- How about it , AMC? ."

Never too Young!!

Yendor | Gilroy, CA United States | 08/06/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"YOUNG AT HEART is a decent melodrama intersped with a couple of musical numbers featuring the musical talents of Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. Doris Day's numbers are light and upbeat and Frank Sinatra plays meloncholy blues (as a 'piano man' at bar dives, i.e "One For my Baby-One More for the Road"). The only time they actually sing together is a duet near the end of the picture but its worth the wait because its a great song and a great performance. However, the dramatic scenes they share are just as good as Day and Sinatra have good onscreen chemistry. Its a shame they only made this one film together because they were good friends professionally off screen as well. Day/Laurie Tuttle is one of three musical prodigy daughters to Gregory Tuttle (Robert Keith -Lt. Brannigan in GUYS AND DOLLS). A songwiter, Alex Burke (Gig Young-THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?)charms his way into the family home becoming a border to get inspiration to writing a musical. He becomes the object of affection to the three daughters, but is smitten with Laura immediately. However, when he brings in a piano player, Barney Sloan (Sinatra) to help out, Laura falls for his low self-esteemed but talented musician personality. Sinatra gives a very low-key understated performance as the angry (thinks-he-has-no-talent) piano player and Day is as good as always. The rest of the film is a little predictable, but entertaining and engrossing nontheless as love triangle(s) and misunderstandings arise as part of the drama. Gig Young's character and performance as the charming good guy and lovable songwriter is a bright spot in the film but it is slightly overshadowed by magnitude and presence of the two lead performers. All together, a film with a palusible melodrama plot, great songs, and most notable for the one time pairing of Day and Sinatra who have great on screen presence together. Lastly an overlooked performance by Gig Young. Note: Look for Alan Hale, Jr. (The Skipper of Gilligan's Island)in a supporting role and also,the great Ethel Barrymore (Grand aunt of Drew) as Aunt Jessie."

Great film / Poor DVD

John M. | Southern CA | 01/21/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This excellent musical drama features some very good music (a few fine original songs for Doris Day and some classics from the Sinatra repertoire for Frank Sinatra to sing) and uniformly wonderful performances by the entire cast, which includes Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Dorothy Malone, Elisabeth Fraser & Alan Hale, Jr. Most of the previous reviews have focused on the film in general, so I will focus on the DVD.While having this film on DVD is welcome, this edition is very poorly done. It is mastered from a print full of scratches, glitches, jumps and those annoying circles in the upper right hand corner that signal a reel change. The color is somewhat washed out, but not too bad. The sound is listed as Dolby Surround 2.0 Stereo and sounds pretty good, but too bassy and muffled in some parts, other parts sounding fine. Considering that Republic Pictures also put out the 40th Anniversary VHS edition of this film in 1994, which was digitally mastered from the original negative, and looked great, I see no reason why the DVD shouldn't look at least as good. This was the biggest DVD disappointment I've had in terms of mastering quality in quite sometime. This film deserves better.Film - 4 Stars / DVD - 2 Stars"