Paint Your Wagon

UPC: 883929303120

Studio: Warner Home Video

Summary: After a debut on Broadway in 1951, Paramount spent an estimated 17 to 20 million dollars in production costs for this Lerner and Loewe musical. With Loewe's permission, Lerner wrote five additional tunes for the film with Andre Previn. Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) is the grizzled prospector trying his luck panning for gold in California. Pardner (Clint Eastwood) is his companion. When Ben buys a woman from a Mormon, Elizabeth (Jean Seberg) expects equal rights for her gender and chooses to live with both men. Ben and Pardner tunnel under the boomtown to gather the fallen gold dust that has filtered through the cracks of the saloon and other places. The musical comedy features 13 songs, the most recognizable being "They Call The Wind Maria". The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band helps out on the song "Hand Me Down That Can O' Beans". Both Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin are given a chance to show their vocal ability (or lack of it) in several songs. The initial release fell far short of regaining the millions put into the production, and most critics dipped their pens in poison to pan the picture -- though the film plays better than the critics would lead anyone to believe. Many jumped on the Paint Your Wagon smear campaign after the film proved to be not nearly as successful as other musicals. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – null Best Adapted Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Paint Your Wagon

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/08/2013

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DDS Dolby Digital Surround, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selection
1. I Stake This Claim [:07]
2. Terms Of The Partnership [3:21]
3. Muddy Drunk In The Street [7:25]
4. Auction [6:34]
5. Ben's Wedding Day [4:06]
6. Elizabeth's Cabin [3:18]
7. Jealousy [4:09]
8. Wife Guarding [3:27]
9. Detour [7:48]
10. Two Husbands [:31]
11. Intermission [7:13]
12. Pagans [1:27]
13. Digging A Tunnel [5:10]
14. Wand'rin' Star [7:31]
15. A Whole New World [2:24]
16. Gold Fever [5:52]
17. No Name City Goes To Hell [7:09]
18. So Long [7:11]

Craig Butler

Originally the recipient of truly dreadful reviews, Paint Your Wagon has grown in stature over the years. Though few would consider the film a classic, most now agree that the vehemence of the original reviews was based more upon the film's budget and the state of cinematic musicals in general at the time than upon its actual quality. Seen today, the film's biggest fault is also one of its stronger assets -- its cast. On the plus side, Lee Marvin,Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg provide a new take on musical comedy acting due to their considerable dramatic skills. On the negative side, not one of them comes close to carrying a tune. Eastwood's "I Still See Elisa" and "I Talk to the Trees" are particularly embarrassing, and Marvin's "Wand'rin' Star" is acknowledged as a low point in musical history. The score is better served by Harve Presnell, whose dramatic chops are inferior to those of his co-stars, but whose wonderful voice makes "They Call the Wind Maria" into the film's undeniable highlight. The screenplay is also problematic; individual scenes work well, but the entire polygamy angle is unconvincing and seems an effort to make the story in tune with the then-current "let it all hang out" philosophy. However, the film does have a genuine lustiness and a brand of masculinity not often encountered in musicals. And though often poorly performed, much of the score is pure gold. Overlong and problematic, the film still has a certain fascination all its own. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Paddy Chayefsky  Screenwriter 
Alan Jay Lerner  Composer (Music Score) 
Alan Jay Lerner  Producer 
Alan Jay Lerner  Screenwriter 
Frederick Loewe  Composer (Music Score) 
Joshua Logan  Director 
Andre Previn  Composer (Music Score) 
Nelson Riddle  Composer (Music Score) 
Tom Shaw  Producer 
Lee Marvin  Actor 
Clint Eastwood  Actor 
Jean Seberg  Actor 
Ray Walston  Actor 
Harve Presnell  Actor 
Tom Ligon  Actor 
H.B. Haggerty  Actor 
Geoffrey Norman  Actor 
Karl Bruck  Actor 
Alan Baxter  Actor 
Sue Casey  Actor 
John Mitchum  Actor 
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band  Actor 
Ben Baker  Actor 
Terry Jenkins  Actor 
Pat Hawley  Actor 
Alan Dexter  Actor 
Paula Trueman  Actor 
Robert Easton  Actor 
Harvey Parry  Actor 
H.W. Gim  Actor 
William Mims  Actor 
Roy Jenson  Actor 
L. William O'Connell  Actor 
Edward Little Sky  Actor 

Country: USA