Search - Oh! Calcutta! on DVD

Content Advisory: Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1971 DVD Release: 05/30/2006 Format: DVD - Color Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 40 mins Studio: New Video Group Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Comedy, Musical, Satire

A production of Oh! Calcutta!, the late-'60s off-Broadway play that received infamy as the first nude musical, is captured here. The film is a record of the play rather than a cinematic adaptation, leaving its staging, revue-like structure, and frankly sexual content intact. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

An international cause célèbre when it opened on Broadway and London's West End in 1969, Kenneth Tynan's erotic revue Oh! Calcutta! was the sort of stage success that seemed a poor bet for a film adaptation, given its rambling episodic structure, frequent music and dance segments, and strong reliance on nudity and sex. However, the Broadway production was adapted for a videotaped edition that was shown in movie theaters via closed-circuit television on a "one night only" basis in 1972, and that recording of the show has finally made its way to DVD. New Video's DVD release of Oh! Calcutta! has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. An opening title card warns that the video elements used as source material are in less than pristine condition, and it's true that there is a certain amount of visual distortion and signs of tape wear scattered through the show, but the images are sharp by the standards of early-'70s video and the colors are rich and clear. The monophonic audio has been mastered over two tracks in Dolby Digital Stereo, and the sound quality is on a par with the visuals -- hardly perfect, but certainly adequate and better than some might expect given the age of the tape. The only bonus materials appearing on this edition are biographies for the cast members and a reproduction of the Playbill program for the show's original Broadway engagement. Time hasn't been as kind as one might hope to Oh! Calcutta!, but at least this release preserves the show in flawed but certainly watchable form and allows 21st century viewers to evaluate this artifact of the sexual revolution on its own terms. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide