Search - The Doris Day Special on DVD

Alice B. from SANDY, UT
Reviewed on 2/26/2017...

New In package. Doris Day TV Special with Perry Como and Rock Hudson 1971.

AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT WITH DAY

Paul Brogan | Portsmouth, NH United States | 02/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"CBS had the perfect remedy for chasing away the late winter blues when, in 1971, they presented two hours of great musical entertainment one Sunday evening.

Composer Burt Bacharach starred in a major special with guest star Barbra Streisand and it was enjoyed by millions. However, it was the second CBS Special of the evening that truly reminded viewers what the word Special meant when applied to musical entertainment. That's when Doris Day, then starring in the third season of her smash hit comedy series for the Tiffany Network, dusted off her vocal chords and dancing shoes and refreshed viewers as to why she was a legend in the musical department.

"The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special" was a musical dream hour that allowed the gifted lady ample opportunity to sing, dance and charm with all the natural gifts that she alone possessed.

Filmed in a lush garden setting, based upon Miss Day's own backyard in Beverly Hills, there wasn't an instant in which the audience, judging by the staggering ratings, was not totally won over.

Miss Day began her musical journey on a bicycle, then her favorite mode of transport for getting around Beverly Hills. A medley including her mega-hit "Secret Love", "Who Will Buy" from "Oliver", a bit of the Beatles and some Simon and Garfunkel, made for a captivating opening and it only got better.

"Hurry It's Lovely Up Here" from Streisand's then recent film, "On a Clear Day" was given new life by Doris Day's sparkling rendering. She introduces her dogs, sings to them and somehow manages to make it absolutely disarming.

During the breakneck hour, she models a score of fashions, sings and dances to "Gypsy in My Soul" and as a flapper to a Roger Miller tune.

Special guest star Perry Como scores a knockout and his chemistry with Miss Day is top-notch. They make beautiful music together while engaging in playful banter. "When You Were Sweet Sixteen", "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "If I Had My Life to Live Over" are only a few of their songs. They have some great fun built around Miss Day's hit recording of "Everybody Loves a Lover" and you'll hit a bit of "Summertime" by Gershwin, "In the Summertime" by Roger Miller and a couple of Latin American love songs sung to perfection by the delightufl duo.

A series of film clips from classic Day films leads to a delightful cameo appearance by frequent film co-star Rock Hudson but the best is saved for last. Miss Day ties it all together brilliantly with a classic rendering of the Judy Collins hit, "Both Sides Now" followed by flawless performances of two of her greatest hits - "It's Magic" and "Sentimental Journey".

Promised on the DVD, being released under the title, "The Doris Day Special" are an hour of extras including alternate takes, bloopers and commentary but the main reason to purchase this DVD is to see Doris Day in a rare musical foray.

Tens of millions tuned in to watch in 1971 and now, 35 years later, everyone has the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. If you're not a fan, you are guaranteed to be after spending two hours with Doris Day and her vocal chords of gold.
"

DORIS PLEASES, BUT DVD SHOULD'VE BEEN BETTER

Tom Anderson | Piney Flats, Tennessee United States | 03/15/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It really is great to see Doris Day again. I had forgotten all about this TV special (taped in 1970), until I saw it mentioned on a DVD website. Then I found it in a music/movie catalog that has the DVD in stock NOW as an exclusive until it's released in May to everyone!

Although the special is a little too cute and contrived for its own good (which was often the case for variety specials back then), I really enjoyed it--Doris is ALWAYS wonderful and is in great voice. It's also good to see Perry Como again, who is hard to find on DVD.

The special opens with Doris singing on a bike. This part was filmed instead of taped and doesn't look very good: dark, grainy, somewhat blurry and faded in color. This part also has its share of dust and speckles. When the special goes inside the studio and switches to tape, the picture brightens and the dust and speckles are gone; however the picture is still not what it should've been. The colors are bright and saturated, but the image quality is somewhat blurry and soft causing quite a loss of detail. Older taped material often looks like this when it has not been restored, but one only has to look at the DVDs of the restored Judy Garland TV shows or the Barbra Streisand specials of the 1960s to see material older than this that looks just fine. It's a shame nobody bothered to do the same here.

The bonus material isn't much to see, but at least it's something extra to watch. There are some outtakes and some of the musical numbers that were remixed to stereo with some of the technical preparation showing. There's a short ad for Doris' animal league, a spot promoting "The Doris Day Show" on DVD that only shows the series' opening credits (Picture quality is awful--I sure hope the DVDs look better than this!), and a blurb for "The Love Album," a gorgeous album that was finally released in this country a few months ago. It was originally recorded in 1967 but never released, as she and Columbia Records had parted ways. By all means buy this album, which is one of the best she ever made!

Don't let me disuade you from buying this DVD. If you're a Doris Day fan you'll definitely want it. I'm just saying that, quality wise, our Doris deserves better--and so do her fans."

Doris Day was/is an industry unto herself! Stunning!

Jeepster01 | Southwest US | 03/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No one..NO ONE can match this woman's talent. Watching her "do" anything is facinating. Listening to her sing is a mesmerizing experience and NO ONE can formulate or say anthing like she does. It's just genious at work. I know she doesn't understand it, it's second nature to her, but to us, it's sheer genious. She opens her mouth and there is that awesome voice......

She decided to not sing anymore for whatever reason no one really knows (her voice was super!) and she walked away from films and TV at the top. Those decisons were our loss, but at least we have these awesome pieces of genious to see and hear.

Doris Day's late son, Terry Melcher, said that "When she decided she was one inch past her prime, she was gone. Well, he also said that Doris' voice never sounded better, and that was in the late 80's! If Terry couldn't get her to record, I guess no one could. (remember he produced tons of gr8 recordings and acts, such as the Byrds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, etc. He also revived many of the old guard singers and produced new sounds for them, giving them their last huge hits on the airwaves. Those people include, Patti Page, Frankie Laine, Wayne Newton, to name a few.)

In 1985-1986 she made a pet care series out of Carmel, her home town now, called "Doris Day's Best Friends". It was on CBN. This is the series in which Rock Hudson appeared and was well advanced with HIV much to Doris' shock. He told her "I've got the flu and I just cannot shake it". But he promised Doris he would do the show first thing, and he did it. The last appearance he did in his life. Doris was really shook by his lack of health and appearance. She told him to move into one of her cottages on her property and she'd force feed him if she had to in order to put weight on him. In the series which only lasted one season, Doris sang up a storm, recorded like crazy under Terry's direction and those songs are stuffed away somewhere as is the series. Hopefully, it will be released for us to enjoy sometime soon as well. Really unique and fun songs from this series. Some written by Terry! One called "My Heart" is stunning, for example. Singing the title theme to her films is a Doris Day trademark, and this series is no exception with a fun hyped up tune, "Animals Are My Best Friends". Gr8 fun!!

This will be the best 10 bucks you will ever spend! Thank God for sending us such a fine person and for allowing us to enjoy these intimate moments with her voice and presence.

Doris Day ROCKS! And I wish we could clone her. Can you blame me?

JD

"