nycruise-1 David Sheehan needs to be drawn and quartered for his handling of this classic musical (ugh - the cross-fades during the Manson trio dance, the poor framing, etc).I love Chita Rivera but she is bit miscast as Fastrada.William Katt might sound better if he was miked to the camera.On the other hand, this is the only record we have this amazing musical circus. Obviously, even in pristine state, it would still lose something because it really is a live theater piece.I simply have newbies watch it, explain the mistakes/edits, and have them listen to the original cast album.

Etoile1215 I thought the movie was hysterical. I thought William Katt was amazing as Pippin... he has a great voice. and Ben Verene? yes. amazing. I agree though- the orgy scene- oh my goodness. way too much. but seeing as they're a Broadway company I guess they're able to do that. Two of our area high schools are planning on doing this show in the next year and I cannot imagine how they are going to be able do get it approved by the school board! its a good laugh. I suggest it to anyone over the age of 13 who isn't too squeamish. I didn't know anything about Theo's duck dying. that's sad. And the bed scene is so funny... I don't see how the production could be done without it! good luck pulling that off. all in all I think it was a challenging production that was done in a creative and classy way.

hempick I LOVE THIS MUSICAL (and this version in particular). I wish it would come back to Broadway and have Ben Vereen as the Leading Player again. Even though he is older, he would still be amazing. William Katt was great, Martha Raye was brilliant, and Benjamin Rayson was top notch as well.To the reviewer who said the ending is lacking: They did that on purpose. It is supposed to be anticlimactic. If you paid any attention to the rest of the show you would have realized how brilliant the ending is. They even say at the end that it is a 'musical comedy.' The ending is the funniest joke in the whole show.10/10

starsaturn33 I'm in a production of Pippin (Player, Girl, Beggar, Courtier), and one day, my director sat us down and screened this movie for us. Well, Ben Vereen is fantastic!!! And Chita Rivera IS Fastrada. I don't think that anyone else can pull off being sexy in the same way that she does. The only one who blew it in my book was William Katt. He was a HORRIBLE Pippin. And what the heck was he doing bouncing around the stage like that yelling the line "GLORY'S IN THE AIR!" And the only thing that didn't tickle me like the rest of the movie did (the bedroom scene was HILARIOUS)was the cuts. They cut out Theo's duck dying and most of the lines when Pippin was made King. Some of the adlibs, I admit, were pretty funny, i.e. when the leading player yells at Catherine about flubbing the line ("But he touched my hand, they don't normally do that!" "I don't care WHERE he put his hands!"), but others were just really dumb. And the orgy scene made me blush furiously. Now, I admit, my production is cutting the bed scene and the duck dying, but it would've been better if we hadn't. The same applies for this. But other than that, this is a great movie.