South Pacific

Released Mar 19, 1958

2h 31m

Musical

TRAILER

for South Pacific 60th Anniversary (1958): Fathom Events Trailer

List

77%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Nurse Nellie Forbush (Mitzi Gaynor) of the U.S. Navy falls for middle-aged French plantation owner Emile De Becque (Rossano Brazzi), but recoils upon discovering that he's fathered two mixed-race children. When Nellie leaves him, the heartbroken Emile agrees to take on a dangerous espionage mission. In his absence, Nellie struggles to reconcile her prejudices with her love for him -- and after she spends time with his children and comes to care for them, fears that Emile may not return alive.

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Jim P

I have seen this movie five times now, and it gets better with each viewing! An amazing musical with clever catchy songs, two parallel love stories and breathtaking scenery. Try it, you may love it too!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

harwee h

One of the better musicals of that time. Handsomely shot, and the songs are snappy. Happy Talk being one of the most amusing that will keep you smiling. It still felt like 2 movies in one that are clashing (a musical and a war film), but somehow in the end it did work.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/25/23

Full Review

Joshua H

Although not a lot for the songs worked as well for me as maybe they should have done it makes up with an really well told story tackling some big themes making it a fantastic watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"Most people live on a lonely island Lost in the middle of a foggy sea..." So begins the song "Bali Ha'i" as sung by Bloody Mary in "South Pacific". I'm assuming when Mary says "most people" she means most people that she knows. For me, most people I know live smack dab in the middle of a huge continent where winter snow can drive you indoors for months at a time. We often wish we lived on an island in the middle of a sea. "South Pacific" is the film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical set in some islands in the middle of a sea. The movies stars Rossano Brazzi (singing voice dubbed by the outstanding Giorgio Tozzi) as Emile de Becque and Mitzi Gaynor as Nellie Forbush. The Italian Brazzi does a decent job as the "cultured Frenchman", but it is the beautiful and talented Gaynor who steals the show as the "little hick" from Little Rock. Her singing, dancing, and acting are all first rate. The supporting cast does not fare so well, with the exception being Ray Walston. He does a great job as the conniving "businessman" Luther Billis. Lieutenant Cable is played by John Kerr. Why the producers chose this guy to play one of the heroes of the story is beyond comprehension. Kerr tries to make his character seem like a no-nonsense admirable tough guy, but he comes across as just a snarky joyless jerk. The producers certainly didn't hire Kerr for his singing prowess. His voice is as tinny and squeaky as Mr. Peepers. So, when he goes from spoken dialog to a singing voice (which is dubbed by the quite capable baritone Bill Lee), it's as jarring as if Bloody Mary had gone into a dance and demonstrated leaps, pirouettes, and pointe technique to rival Anna Pavlova. Director Joshua Logan decided for, some reason, to shoot several scenes with colored filters. Apparently the final resulting look was harsher that what he had hoped for, but he never had time to correct it before the film's release. The resulting scenes do have a kind of dreamy quality, assuming your dream is that you're viewing the world from the inside of a giant lemon Jell-O mold. Besides Gaynor, the main attractions of the film are the superb songs. They don't write 'em like that anymore, right Lin-Manuel? I will grant though that the lyrics are quite dated. "There is nothin' like a dame". Indeed. Remember however that this was written in 1949. Because of its few flaws, there have been a number of people who have suggested that it might be a good idea to do a remake. Well, I disagree. No one, I mean no one ever, can better Mitzi Gaynor as Nurse Forbush. Besides, there was a remake; a TV movie from 2001 which I had the displeasure of seeing. Holy Bloody Mary! I'd rather swab the entire deck of an aircraft carrier with a toothbrush than to subject myself to another viewing of that flotsam.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Liam D

This is a epic musical in all the best way

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/22

Full Review

Audience Member

I my opinion it is better than West Side Story, the setting and beautiful background of the island through the film is stunning and there is somewhat of a story. The biggest issue for me is the lack of good songs. "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair", "happy talk", "there is nothing like a dame" are the songs I am familiar with and are good - all the other s in my opinion are poor. 2 stars because of this.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Joshua Logan

Director

Mitzi Gaynor

Ens. Nellie Forbush

Rossano Brazzi

Emile de Becque

John Kerr

Lt. Joseph Cable

Ray Walston

Luther Billis

Juanita Hall

Bloody Mary

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South Pacific 60th Anniversary (1958): Fathom Events Trailer

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David Vaughan

Sight & Sound

South Pacific follows what has by now become the pattern for the screen versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals: the original is treated as though it were in some way sacred.

Mar 30, 2020

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The stage version of South Pacific won the Pulitzer Prize, but no comparable honors were forthcoming for this so-so screen adaptation of one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most enduring works.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 2, 2024

Full Review

Moira Walsh

The Catholic World

South Pacific is too sophisticated to have the broad general suitability of The King and I. For its more limited audience, however, it is a practically perfect screen version of a contemporary musical comedy classic.

Nov 28, 2023

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Bob Halliday

Salt Lake Tribune

With the large, curved screen and speakers all around the house, the audience is wrapped up and transported to a Pacific isle with a woman-hungry pack of Seabees for a ringside seat at two of the most intriguing love tales in contemporary literature.

Sep 2, 2020

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Joshua Logan's stiff screen version leaves much to be desired, and Mitzi Gaynor is miscast and charmless, but the score is undenibaly glorious

Rated: C+

Jul 23, 2012

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Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

Might not be musical enough for some, and it's certainly not going to be substantial enough for some. But it's entertaining and more emotionally true than you might expect.

Rated: 77/100

May 13, 2009

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Synopsis

Nurse Nellie Forbush (Mitzi Gaynor) of the U.S. Navy falls for middle-aged French plantation owner Emile De Becque (Rossano Brazzi), but recoils upon discovering that he's fathered two mixed-race children. When Nellie leaves him, the heartbroken Emile agrees to take on a dangerous espionage mission. In his absence, Nellie struggles to reconcile her prejudices with her love for him -- and after she spends time with his children and comes to care for them, fears that Emile may not return alive.

Director: Joshua Logan
Screenwriter: Oscar Hammerstein II, Joshua Logan, James Michener, Paul Osborn
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, Samuel Goldwyn Company, CBS/Fox, Magna Corporation, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Production Co: South Pacific Enterprises, 20th Century Fox, Rodgers & Hammerstein Productions, Magna Corporation
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 19, 1958, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2015
Runtime: 2h 31m
Sound Mix: Magnetic Stereo 6 Track

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