The Csardas Princess (1971)

movie

(96)

Country: Austria, Hungary, West Germany
Genres: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Release: 1971-12-23
Director: Miklós Szinetár
Writers: Mischa Mleinek , Miklós Szinetár , István Békeffy , Dezsö Kellér
Language: German | Hungarian
Stars: Anna Moffo , René Kollo , Dagmar Koller , Irén Psota , Sándor Németh , László Mensáros , Karl Schönböck , Zoltán Latinovits , Péter Huszti , László Keleti
Runtime: 100 min
Awards: N/A
AKA: Csárdáskirálynő (Hungary) , The Csardas Princess (United Kingdom) , Die Csárdásfürstin , Silvia (Romania) , Księżniczka Czardasza (Poland) , Die Csárdásfürstin
Plot: Czardasfurstin is a personal favorite even if it is more than a bit outdated. This DVD is descended more from the Broadway/Hollywood style than from the Wiener Volksoper. The script was heavily rewritten but is far, far closer to the original than the horrible butcherings of Lustige Witwe, the best of all operettas of the era just before World War One. There is some rewriting of lyrics in the better known numbers, for example, the very popular "Let Me Dance and Let Me Sing". The changes are minor. Maybe Kallman had different versions. The writers added the non-singing role Miska to move the plot along. It makes the story fall together. With the scene shifting that film made available, a facilitator like Miska helps a lot. It is obvious that the singing is overdubbed. So what? Anna Moffo is gorgeous both in face and voice. Rene Kollo looks a decade younger than she. An excellent voice for the role. How can you not love Dagmar Koller? (See her on the recent Andre Rieu Live in Vienna. Still lovely.) Sandar Nemeth as Boni is a bit over-matched by Moffo and Kollo's singing but his dancing with Koller (who is excellent) makes up for it. (Moffo fakes the stage dancing. Step left. Together. Step right. Together. Repeat. But, she was not hired for her dancing. Again, so what?) The rest of the cast do a creditable job. Wonder how long it took Peter Huszti (Rohnsdorff)to get that broomstick out of his butt. The orchestration is a bit pinched. Instead of the big sound from a motion picture sound studio, we get the sound of a stage show pit band. Might even have been recorded in someone's garage. Considering that Kallman's writing is lush, almost gooey, we feel cheated. The subtitles suffer from what so many subtitles do. They are paraphrases, not translations of the original. Since they do not scan poetically, why paraphrase?Still, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Considering some of the schlock given 8's and 9's here, this is easily a 9 or better. If you are, like I am, an Unabashed Romantic Slob, this is well worth watching.
IMDB:tt0158570