Finian's Rainbow

G

Released Oct 9, 1968

2 hr. 25 min.

Fantasy

List

53%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Feisty Irishman Finian McLonergan (Fred Astaire) and his faithful daughter, Sharon (Petula Clark), bearing a pot of gold stolen from the leprechaun Og (Tommy Steele), settle in the village of Rainbow Valley, Missitucky. Siding with local sharecroppers like Woody Mahoney (Don Francks) against a blustering, bigoted local politician (Keenan Wynn), the McLonergans get into a number of fanciful scrapes while being pursued by the magical Og, who will become mortal if he doesn't recover his gold.

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CodyZamboni

Movie is colorful to look at, and I like that majority of film was shot outdoors in sunny sunshine. Fred Astaire and Petula Clark are engaging and charismatic, but the best dance number is by the attractive mute girl, dancing in the pouring rain. However, the movie drags, is way overlong, all the songs are unremarkable and sound the same, the leprechaun was annoying, and alot of the humor falls flat.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/24/23

Full Review

Liam D

Despite some solid direction from Francis Ford Coppola (Jeepers Creepers 2, Kagemusha) and a lead performance by Fred Astaire (Ghost Story, On The Beach) it's a very boring and uncomfortable musical

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/22

Full Review

Frances H

Having the borakway recording when I was a teenager, the song renditions on my record were far better than the renditions here , for which I must blame the arranger of the music. Petula Clark can really deliver a song, but she didn't here and it was not her fault. The rest of the film was only so-so. I had seen this in a theater when I was a teen, but was not nearly as impressed with it as I was with other movie musicals, like Sound of Music, The King and I and Gig. But of course those were mad with huge budgets and Francis Ford Coppola even said that he made this flick on the cheap and it shows. My high school did this musical and it was far better--at least the cast was enthusiastic!

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/17/21

Full Review

steve d

An unwatchable, childish and embarrassing musical.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The problem with the movie is trying to understand the plot. Maybe it's the heavy Irish accents at the beginning or maybe it's the lack of narrative information. I watched with closed captions and understood it a lot better. In The Theater you have a program to help you follow the plot, in a Motion Picture, not so much.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I agree with Roger Eberts review that this film fared much better in its interpretation from stage to screen. It is lighter and not ponderously overbearing in length as the other blockbuster musicals of the 1960s ( ie. Camelot ) Fred Astaire and Petula Clark are a joy to watch. The exterior scenes are best. The dancing bright, easy, and fun. A great movie for a relaxing Sunday afternoon viewing.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

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Francis Ford Coppola

Director

Fred Astaire

Finian McLonergan

Petula Clark

Sharon McLonergan

Tommy Steele

Og the Leprechaun

Keenan Wynn

Senator Billboard Rawkins

Al Freeman Jr.

Howard

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Variety Staff

Variety

A light, pastoral fantasy with civil rights angles, underscored by comedy values.

Dec 11, 2007

Full Review

Tom Milne

Time Out

An underrated musical.

Feb 11, 2006

Full Review

Renata Adler

New York Times

Joyless.

May 9, 2005

Full Review

Robert Kotlowitz

Harper's Magazine

[Finian's Rainbow] looks as though it has been rehearsed for, say, two months, then photographed in a week's time.

Aug 12, 2020

Full Review

Penelope Houston

The Spectator

Francis Ford Coppola, whose previous film was the bouncing You're a Big Boy Now, again directs like a bulldozer with a sense of humour.

Apr 25, 2016

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Not as bad as legend has it, but Francis Ford Coppola's film of Finian's Rainbow can hardly be called good

Rated: 3/5

Mar 11, 2011

Full Review

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Synopsis

Feisty Irishman Finian McLonergan (Fred Astaire) and his faithful daughter, Sharon (Petula Clark), bearing a pot of gold stolen from the leprechaun Og (Tommy Steele), settle in the village of Rainbow Valley, Missitucky. Siding with local sharecroppers like Woody Mahoney (Don Francks) against a blustering, bigoted local politician (Keenan Wynn), the McLonergans get into a number of fanciful scrapes while being pursued by the magical Og, who will become mortal if he doesn't recover his gold.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Screenwriter: Yip Harburg, Fred Saidy
Distributor: Pioneer Entertainment, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Rating: G
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 9, 1968, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Sound Mix: Stereo

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