Search - Shag on DVD

Michael C. (msc1208) from ROANOKE, VA
Reviewed on 9/6/2013...

Just wanted to point out something that the majority of everyone gets wrong when i see reviews of this film...the soundtrack with k.d. lang, Chris Isaak, Tommy Page, etc. (The music that is featured on the C.D. soundtrack) IS the music from the original theatrical version.

i saw this film several times in the theater in the summer of 1989 before i left for the Army and again in 1990 at a theater on a military base in Panama. plus i have rented the original HBO VHS rental release from 1990 so many times over the years i couldn't even begin to count.

it wasn't until the 1998 "MGM" VHS version that all the music was changed to somewhat more traditional beach music. and i can completely understand if you are a fan of beach music why you would prefer this version. Just want to make it perfectly clear that it is not the "original" version. I was lucky enough to get a VHS copy from HBO Video before it went out of print. i didn't discover that the music had been changed until i bought a copy of the MGM VHS for my mother and watched it with her. I am guessing maybe they may have had some legal issues with using the original music or maybe it was just cheaper to replace some of the songs.

I would have never bought the MGM DVD because i automatically assumed it was the same music as the MGM VHS. but LUCKILY (especially since this is way out of print at the moment) my sister bought the DVD and watching it with her i was pleasantly surprised to discover the original music had been brought back. so of course i bought the DVD as fast as I could and it isn't going anywhere. (sorry to those desperately searching for it.)

i think one of the main reasons it has gone out of print is because even though it is presented Widescreen it is not ANAMORPHIC. which means on any newer TV it will still be a Square in the middle of a rectangle and then a rectangle within that square. it is annoying and if you alter the screen format (which works in filling up the entire screen) the picture quality suffers terribly. maybe one day we can get a remastered version and hopefully a Blu-Ray. but not holding my breath that this is a high priority title for MGM. if we ever do get a special edition maybe they could include both versions of the film to please everyone.

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

It is IMPORTANT that you get the ORIGINAL on VHS

Y. Melon | Henderson, NV USA | 05/28/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I love love love this movie, but you have to make sure you get the VHS version (where the VHS cover is the cast riding in the car.) Lucky for me, this is the one I own. By mistake, I purchased the "wrong" version for a friend and we sat down to watch it together. The music in the DVD version is TERRIBLE compared to the original (don't even get me started on the c.d. soundtrack.) Whoever made the blunder of re-doing this for DVD re-release needs to be fired!"

1 star for the DVD, five stars for the VHS!

Doctor Phil | Chicago, IL | 10/02/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I guess I was lucky enough to get my hands on a VHS copy of this movie with the original music, which did not include any Chris Isaak or K.D. Lang songs. If this is a period movie (and it should be), then period music should be used in all the versions. It sounds like they couldn't get legal clearance to use all of the original music for the movie, so they replaced songs like "Another Saturday Night" by Sam Cooke with a song by K.D. Lang, who was probably still in diapers in 1963. That's where the movie took a dive for me in a big way on the DVD version and it only got worse as the movie went on. Other songs were swapped out and music was added in scenes, like at the Carnival and the "Wild Night" scene, where the original version had no music.

Maybe if enough fans of this movie complain, MGM will blow the dust off their checkbook and pay the original artists (or their estates) to get the rights to use their music. Some bonus features would be nice too. The least they could do was to allow 60 Minute Man to finish playing in the credits, like it did on VHS. If you are lucky enough to own an original VHS copy, you'll notice MGM did not run the full credits like you would normally see in a movie, which would include the music credits."

Y-E-L-L-O-W. You will marry Bullwinkle and have 5 kids

E. Lambeth | Paso Robles, CA USA | 04/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a brilliant movie, with the exception of the end where the girls sing together on the porchsteps of the sentator's summer home in Myrtle Beach. That little Dirty Dancing ripoff was really, really lame. But the rest of the movie was great! Robert Rustler, who didn't act in a billion other movies like I thought he would, gave the performance of his lifetime. Tyrone Power Jr looks like his daddy. You already know Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, and Annabeth Gish. Great eye candy for a really, really fun movie. It's a beach movie without the stupidity.I've probably watched this movie 50 times. Nothing like watching a summer vacation in Myrtle Beach to put you in a good mood. Hanging out at the Grand Strand...shaggin' and drinking bevos (oddly enough, a bevo was a non-alcoholic beverage in prohibition days...a fact that has nothing to do with this review)...that's the life!Shag has great music, fun dialogue, famous speeches, some hot shaggin', Elvis impersonators, and great party scenes that make the movie flow really fast while a smile is on your face the entire time.For the DVD, I didn't think the sound quality was very good. I have 50's movies that had better sound. I own Annette Funicello's Pajama Party on DVD. It has MUCH better sound. So that was disappointing, especially considering there's music throughout the entire movie. But even though the sound is a little disappointing and there's no special features in this movie (aside from a trailer), this movie is still one you should own.After about 50 views, I finally picked up on something that I thought I'd share, since I feel a warm sense of accomplishment. In the car ride, Melaina was giving Caroline (Pudge) her fortune. Caroline picked yellow. No idea why, since she wore a blue dress at the end of the movie. Anyway, she picked Yellow, and the fortune was: You will marry Bullwinkle and raise 5 kids (or however many kids; that's unimportant). Fast forward to the party scene...underneath the table that had booze sprinking off the tablecloth. Chip (her love interest in the movie) does a Bullwinkle impression! He blows Pudge away with it! From that point, it becomes a standing joke. HER FORTUNE WAS PROBABLY CORRECT! Isn't that something? Watch it again. Dance with it. Tie nylons to a bedpost and shag with yourself. It deserves the 5 stars I gave it for fun, nostalgia, music, and girls. It's the most fun!Don't get caught with your rooster showing. Buy the movie!"