Hello, Dolly! Widescreen Edition | 
| Director: Gene Kelly
Actors: Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Marianne Mcandrew, Danny Lockin
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $7.99 (53%)
New (55) Used (21) Collectible (1) from $6.79
Rating:  155 reviews
Sales Rank: 697
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 146 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: FOXD2007580D
UPC: 245430757906
EAN: 0024543075790
ASIN: B00005JL1P
Theatrical Release Date: 1969
Release Date: August 19, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In early-20th-century Yonkers, a wealthy local merchant, Horace Vandergelder (played by Walter Matthau), hires matchmaker Dolly Levi (Barbra Streisand) to find a mate for him--but instead she decides to win him over for herself. His life is further complicated by his young niece, Ermengarde, who is determined to wed an artist Horace finds entirely unsuitable, and by his two hapless employees, who against Horace's wishes leave work to venture into New York so each can kiss a girl. Miserly, curmudgeonly, irascible Horace finds that matters have gotten completely out of his control--and the only person who seems to know exactly what is going on is the widowed Dolly Levi. The film is based on a succession of source material, beginning with the 1835 British play A DAY WELL SPENT by John Oxenford, Thornton Wilder's 1938 play THE MERCHANT OF YONKERS, and Wilder's successful 1954 adaptation of his own play, renamed THE MATCHMAKER, rewritten for Ruth Gordon and then made into a film by the same name in 1958 starring Shirley Booth. In 1964, Carol Channing starred in the story's next incarnation on Broadway: Michael Stewart's play HELLO, DOLLY! on which this film's screenplay is directly based.
Amazon.com
They just don't make musicals like this any more. There are some who would be grateful for that--the plot is but a flimsy excuse to string together song and dance numbers. Some of us, however, love big, splashy, overdone musical scenes, of which there are many. Glittering stage numbers showcase a commanding Barbra Streisand as Dolly Levy, a New York matchmaker who can find a mate for anyone. Anyone but herself, that is. Determined to marry wealthy Walter Matthau, she lures him out of Yonkers and sets about wooing him. Don't worry about the lack of a solid story or Gene Kelly's pedestrian direction. Watch instead for the musical numbers and the lavish costumes. Listen to Jerry Herman's score, and dance around the living room when a sequined Streisand arrives in a club as Louis Armstrong strikes up the title tune for her benefit. (Just pull the shades first.) Based on Thornton Wilder's play The Matchmaker, Hello, Dolly! won Academy Awards for best sound, art direction, and musical score. --Rochelle O'Gorman
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| Customer Reviews: Read 150 more reviews...
 OUTSTANDING June 21, 2009
Jan C. Garza-villarreal (BAKERSFIELD,CA)
THIS IS AN OUTSTANDING MUSICAL MOVIE, GREAT DANCING, COSTUMES AND SCENERY. COULD WATCH THIS OVER AND OVER. WISH WE WERE MAKING THIS TYPE OF MOVIE TODAY!
A LOOK BACK AT A DILLY OF A "DOLLY!" May 17, 2009
the masked reviewer
Barbra Streisand stars as the memorable "woman who arranges everything," Dolly Levi, in Gene Kelly's Oscar-winning 1969 film version of the Jerry Herman musical classic HELLO, DOLLY! Originally produced on Broadway in 1964, Hello, Dolly! is based on Thornton Wilder's 1954 play The Matchmaker. In her musical incarnation, Dolly! thrilled and delighted audiences in New York for over 6 years, featuring such legendary "Dollys" as Carol Channing, Ethel Merman and Pearl Bailey.
The setting is New York, just before the turn of the century. Matchmaker Dolly Levi, that seemingly ageless widow, sets out for Yonkers to deliver her hand-picked match for Mr. Horace Vandergelder (Walter Matthau), the "well-known half a millionaire." Vandergelder has his eyes on Miss Irene Malloy (Marianne McAndrew) but, before he leaves for New York City to propose marriage, Dolly has some ideas of her own. With her eye on the unsuspecting Horace, Dolly sets in motion a dizzying plan of "love happily ever after" involving everyone in Vandergelder's circle.
It's easier to view Dolly! years later and enjoy it now for what it really is. After you've been removed from the media hype, after the publicity and reviews blend into one another, the film stands not only asa a humorous and nostalgic peak at a bygone era in New York City, but a tribute to the bygone era of movie musicals. Reuniting director Kelly with many of the creative people from his days as an actor/director at MGM, the film, with it's grand artifice, eager cast and exuberant dancing, could easily have been a product of that old golden studio system.
Hello, Dolly! was released in 1969 at the tail end of a trend of big-budget musicals precipitated by the tremendous success of The Sound of Music in 1965. None of these films came close to duplicating its success and, subsequently, were blamed for the ruination of many studio balance sheets. Suddenly, the merits of these films were beside the point. While some deserve their fate of late-night cable obscurity, others, like Hello, Dolly!, do not.
Like most of the other road show musicals of the late sixties, Hello, Dolly! was considered overproduced and out-of-sync with the times. By the time Dolly! reached the movie screen, she had already been played by many larger-than-life ladies of the theatre. Her score, including the title song immortalized on pop charts by Louis Armstrong, was filled with brassy Broadway cheer, An intimate version of Dolly! would have worked against both the material and its leading lady.
Though criticized at the time for being too young, Streisand brought rapid-fire humor, sex appeal and, of course, an inimitable voice to the role of Dolly Levi. Her performance gives Dolly, and the film, an unexpected urgency previously hidden in all the familiar material. As film critic Pauline Kael wrote when the film opened, "she [Streisand] opens up such an abundance of emotion that it dissolves the coarseness of the role. Almost unbelievably she turns this star role back into a woman..." Director Kelly recognizes this as he balances her "big" scenes with those of quiet introspection. Streisand's delicate reading of "Love is Only Love" (dropped from Jerry Herman's Mame and re-written especially for this film) reveals a vulnerability and warmth in Dolly Levi that grounds the character and prevents her brash antics from turning to caricature. While she does at times seem to be possessed by the spirit of Mae West, Streisand uses this as a humorous facade for something much deeper and no doubt sensitive.
Until the success of recent films like Chicago, Hairspray and Mamma Mia, the traditional movie musical as a commercially viable genre seemed all but lost. The sporadic attempts at reviving the form (A Chorus Line, The Wiz) were close to disastrous. The lack of a unified team of musical talent (such as at the old MGM or 20th Century-Fox studios) made an actress such as Barbra Streisand all the more rare. Thankfully, Streisand emerged in films at a time when there was still opportunity to feature her musical talents. While still in her twenties, she blazed her way onto the screen like a seasoned pro, but, like her films, she seemed to belong to a different era.
Among Hello, Dolly!'s competitors for the Best Picture Oscar in 1969 were Midnight Cowboy and Z, signaling the beginning of a new wave of more socially relevant films that would bury the likes of such "dated" properties as Dolly!. Now looking back on these films, whatever their merits, they ironically all seem to be part of another world as equally "dated" as Dolly! But now, preserved on DVD in its original aspect ratio, Hello Dolly! sheds its "dated" reputation and becomes as timeless as its star and the era of moviemaking it recalls. It's so nice to have her back where she belongs!
So funny and entertaining May 6, 2009
Debra J. Hernandez
Always loved Hello Dolly. This is a great version. Great picture and sound. Nice extras
 It is all Barbara Streisand April 19, 2009
sarajan (California)
For the followers of Barbara Streisand, this is a great movie. There was just a bit too much of her for me. I will give this video away to a friend who really loves Barbara's movies. One go through was enough for me.
Hello, Dolly DVD April 6, 2009
J. Johnson (Louisville, KY USA)
I received the DVD in perfect condition in a very timely manner- I have not watched it all the way through yet, but it is perfect!
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