‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ two-disc special edition
Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is the quintessential movie musical. This 1954 movie was based on the story “The Sobbin’ Women” by Stephen Vincent Benet. Howard Keel and Jane Powell star in this classic story of love in the old west.
Keel is Adam, the oldest of seven brothers. Living in the mountains they rarely get into town. One day Adam decides they need a woman around so he sets off to town to gather his supplies and find a wife. He meets Milly (Powell) who agrees to marry him, not knowing there are six more men up in the cabin.
Well, as time goes by Milly manages to tame the backwoodsmen and they soon decide they want their own wives. There are six women in town they have their eyes on. Taking matters into their own hands they kidnap the six women and soon they’re all living in the mountains, only the girls are in the cabin and the boys are in the barn.
The story continues through the winter as they are snowed in and they all fall in love by the spring. With fun dance numbers and a wonderful score, the movie has been a favorite among viewers for decades, and the story has been performed countless times in High Schools around the country. It’s truly a classic movie.
The brothers: Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank, and Gideon were comprised of several professional dancers and a couple professional actors. The women: Milly, Alice, Dorcas, Sarah Liza, Ruth, and Martha were also both dancers and actors.
There is a 43-minute bonus feature on this special edition hosted by Howard Keel. Even if you have this movie, it is worth getting this edition for this feature. The filmmakers, actors, and choreographer all talk about making the movie. Keel describes the film as “magic.” Because it was going to be shown in Cinemascope, they had to film it two times – once in Cinemascope and once for regular screens. They all discuss creating the elaborate barn raising dance sequence, which took a physical toll on several of the actors. But the final outcome was, to use Keel’s word, “magic.”
While it was originally intended to film the movie on location, that idea was quickly dismissed with the studio learned they would need to take a year in order to capture the four seasons.
All the information in this amazing bonus feature adds plenty of insight into creating this classic film. It’s definitely worth watching for any fan of the movie.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Two-Disc Special Edition is part of the Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered from their website or where Blu-rays and DVDs are sold. It includes the bonus as well as two versions of the film – the classic version and the rarely-seen 1.77:1 alternate Widescreen Version (1080p HD).
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
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