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New Factory-Sealed LD's A Funny Thing Happened On Way to the Forum NEW LaserDisc Roman Comedy

A Funny Thing Happened On Way to the Forum NEW LaserDisc Roman Comedy

60s Verve and Old Broadway meet Wild Vaudeville Slapstick

A Funny Thing Happened On Way to the Forum NEW LaserDisc Roman Comedy

60s Verve and Old Broadway meet Wild Vaudeville Slapstick

Rare Factory-Sealed, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint Condition Buster Keaton,...

$14.97

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A Funny Thing Happened On Way to the Forum NEW LaserDisc Roman Comedy

60s Verve and Old Broadway meet Wild Vaudeville Slapstick

Rare Factory-Sealed, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint Condition Buster Keaton,...

$14.97

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$14.97

Rare Factory-Sealed, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition

Buster Keaton, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers and Zero Mostel in...

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

( Catalog Number ML102258 )
(1.85:1) (2 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Original Theatrical Trailer

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1966 - 97 min. - Color
Genre: Comedy
Rated R
Country: USA

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
Based on the Broadway musical comedy, this farce set in Ancient Rome follows slave and scam-artist Pseudolus (Zero Mostel in a signature role) as he attempts to win his freedom by brokering the sale of a virgin. Stephen Sondheim's score adds to the appeal.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Director Richard Lester uses the Burt Shevelove/Larry Gelbart/Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical hit as a launching pad for some of his wildest slapstick gaggery. Zero Mostel repeats his stage role as Pseudolus, the cunning Roman slave who'll do anything to win his freedom. The plot hinges on three Roman houses next door to each another. One is the home of Pseudolus' masters: the philandering Senex (Michael Hordern), his domineering wife Domina (Patricia Jessel), and their handsome but empty-headed son Hero (Michael Crawford. The second house is a brothel belonging to unctuous procurer Lycus (Phil Silvers). The third house has long been empty, in that its owner, the senile Erronious (Buster Keaton), has gone on a long journey to find his children, who were kidnapped in infancy by pirates. Other principals include Pseudolus' fellow slave, the aptly named Hysterium (Jack Gilford); vain warrior Miles Gloriosus (Leon Greene), who marches triumphantly into Rome declaring "I am a parade!"; and the virginal Philia (Annette Andre), a resident of Lycus' "domicile" who is loved by Hero but who has been promised in marriage to Miles Glorious. There are also acrobats, transvestites, a phony funeral, and an outsized climactic chase. Purists --- Zero Mostel included --- weren't altogether happy with the clutter and confusion of Lester's cinematic vision, but audiences responded positively. --- Hal Erickson

Merging director Richard Lester's 1960s verve with old-fashioned Broadway and vaudeville entertainment, the movie version of the stage hit A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is an engagingly frenetic slapstick musical. Though the number of winning Stephen Sondheim songs is scaled back, stars Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, and Buster Keaton pile on the schtick as Mostel's labyrinthine scams lead to nonstop mugging (except from Keaton), sexual shenanigans, hilarious one-liners, an elaborate chariot chase, and (naturally) hairy men in drag. Lester packs the screen with visual jokes and historically accurate Roman trappings; any residual staginess is mitigated by cinematographer Nicolas Roeg's and editor John Victor-Smith's New Wave flair for jump cuts and variable camera speeds. Broadway veteran Mostel is in peak form, especially when he goes toe to conniving toe with courtesan merchant Silvers and gauzily woos Gilford with a rendition of "Lovely," while Keaton remains a scene-stealer in one of his last films. A crowd-pleaser if not a Sondheim purist-pleaser, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum maintained the age-old attraction of "Comedy Tonight." --- Lucia Bozzola

Thanks for Visiting DaDon's !

Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Zero Mostel - Pseudolus
Phil Silvers - Lycus
Buster Keaton - Erronius
Jack Gilford - Hysterius
Michael Crawford - Hero
Annette Andre - Philia
Patricia Jessell - Domina
Michael Hordern - Senex
Leon Greene - Miles Gloriosus
Inga Neilsen - Gymnasia
Myrna White - Vibrata
Lucienne Bridou - Panacea
Helen Funai - Tintinabula
Jennifer Baker - Geminae
Susan Baker - Geminae
Jack May
Alfie Bass - Gatekeeper
Beatrix Lehmann - Domina's Mother
Frank Thornton - Roman soldier
Jon Pertwee
Ingrid Pitt
Peter Butterworth
Andrew Faulds
Pamela Brown - Priestess
Frank Elliott
Roy Kinnear - Instructor
Bill Kerr
Ron Brody
John Bennett
John Bluthal

Crew for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Richard Lester - Director
Melvin Frank - Producer / Screenwriter
Larry Gelbart - Book Author / Screenwriter
Michael Pertwee - Screenwriter
Burt Shevelove - Book Author
Stephen Sondheim - Screenwriter / Composer (Music Score) / Songwriter
Nicolas Roeg - Cinematographer
Ken Thorne - Composer (Music Score)
John Victor Smith - Editor
Tony Walton - Production Designer / Costume Designer
Syd Cain - Art Director
Ethel Martin - Choreography
George Martin - Choreography
Trevor Crole-Rees - Makeup
Jose Maria Sanchez - Makeup
Cliff John Richardson - Special Effects
Jose Lopez Rodero - First Assistant Director
Leslie Hammond - Sound/Sound Designer
Gerry Humphreys - Sound/Sound Designer

Awards for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Best Score (win) Ken Thorne 1966 Academy
Best Picture - Musical or Comedy (nom) 1966 Golden Globe

Feature Details

Title: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Feature Release Date: 1966
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R
Color: Color
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Picture: Letterboxed
Ratio: 1.85:1
Playback Format: CLV

IMDB Info...

Technical Details

Catalog Number: ML102258
UPC: 027616225863
ISBN: 0-7928-1570-X
Manufacturer: Pioneer USA
Publisher: MGM/UA Home Video

Sides: 2
Cover: Jacket
Spoken Language: English
Country: USA
Video Format: NTSC

Model: ML102258-N
Shipping Weight: 1 lbs
0 in Stock

Rare Factory-Sealed, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition

Buster Keaton, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers and Zero Mostel in...

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

( Catalog Number ML102258 )
(1.85:1) (2 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Original Theatrical Trailer

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1966 - 97 min. - Color
Genre: Comedy
Rated R
Country: USA

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
Based on the Broadway musical comedy, this farce set in Ancient Rome follows slave and scam-artist Pseudolus (Zero Mostel in a signature role) as he attempts to win his freedom by brokering the sale of a virgin. Stephen Sondheim's score adds to the appeal.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Director Richard Lester uses the Burt Shevelove/Larry Gelbart/Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical hit as a launching pad for some of his wildest slapstick gaggery. Zero Mostel repeats his stage role as Pseudolus, the cunning Roman slave who'll do anything to win his freedom. The plot hinges on three Roman houses next door to each another. One is the home of Pseudolus' masters: the philandering Senex (Michael Hordern), his domineering wife Domina (Patricia Jessel), and their handsome but empty-headed son Hero (Michael Crawford. The second house is a brothel belonging to unctuous procurer Lycus (Phil Silvers). The third house has long been empty, in that its owner, the senile Erronious (Buster Keaton), has gone on a long journey to find his children, who were kidnapped in infancy by pirates. Other principals include Pseudolus' fellow slave, the aptly named Hysterium (Jack Gilford); vain warrior Miles Gloriosus (Leon Greene), who marches triumphantly into Rome declaring "I am a parade!"; and the virginal Philia (Annette Andre), a resident of Lycus' "domicile" who is loved by Hero but who has been promised in marriage to Miles Glorious. There are also acrobats, transvestites, a phony funeral, and an outsized climactic chase. Purists --- Zero Mostel included --- weren't altogether happy with the clutter and confusion of Lester's cinematic vision, but audiences responded positively. --- Hal Erickson

Merging director Richard Lester's 1960s verve with old-fashioned Broadway and vaudeville entertainment, the movie version of the stage hit A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is an engagingly frenetic slapstick musical. Though the number of winning Stephen Sondheim songs is scaled back, stars Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, and Buster Keaton pile on the schtick as Mostel's labyrinthine scams lead to nonstop mugging (except from Keaton), sexual shenanigans, hilarious one-liners, an elaborate chariot chase, and (naturally) hairy men in drag. Lester packs the screen with visual jokes and historically accurate Roman trappings; any residual staginess is mitigated by cinematographer Nicolas Roeg's and editor John Victor-Smith's New Wave flair for jump cuts and variable camera speeds. Broadway veteran Mostel is in peak form, especially when he goes toe to conniving toe with courtesan merchant Silvers and gauzily woos Gilford with a rendition of "Lovely," while Keaton remains a scene-stealer in one of his last films. A crowd-pleaser if not a Sondheim purist-pleaser, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum maintained the age-old attraction of "Comedy Tonight." --- Lucia Bozzola

Thanks for Visiting DaDon's !

Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Zero Mostel - Pseudolus
Phil Silvers - Lycus
Buster Keaton - Erronius
Jack Gilford - Hysterius
Michael Crawford - Hero
Annette Andre - Philia
Patricia Jessell - Domina
Michael Hordern - Senex
Leon Greene - Miles Gloriosus
Inga Neilsen - Gymnasia
Myrna White - Vibrata
Lucienne Bridou - Panacea
Helen Funai - Tintinabula
Jennifer Baker - Geminae
Susan Baker - Geminae
Jack May
Alfie Bass - Gatekeeper
Beatrix Lehmann - Domina's Mother
Frank Thornton - Roman soldier
Jon Pertwee
Ingrid Pitt
Peter Butterworth
Andrew Faulds
Pamela Brown - Priestess
Frank Elliott
Roy Kinnear - Instructor
Bill Kerr
Ron Brody
John Bennett
John Bluthal

Crew for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Richard Lester - Director
Melvin Frank - Producer / Screenwriter
Larry Gelbart - Book Author / Screenwriter
Michael Pertwee - Screenwriter
Burt Shevelove - Book Author
Stephen Sondheim - Screenwriter / Composer (Music Score) / Songwriter
Nicolas Roeg - Cinematographer
Ken Thorne - Composer (Music Score)
John Victor Smith - Editor
Tony Walton - Production Designer / Costume Designer
Syd Cain - Art Director
Ethel Martin - Choreography
George Martin - Choreography
Trevor Crole-Rees - Makeup
Jose Maria Sanchez - Makeup
Cliff John Richardson - Special Effects
Jose Lopez Rodero - First Assistant Director
Leslie Hammond - Sound/Sound Designer
Gerry Humphreys - Sound/Sound Designer

Awards for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Best Score (win) Ken Thorne 1966 Academy
Best Picture - Musical or Comedy (nom) 1966 Golden Globe

Feature Details

Technical Details

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the LaserDisc, Rare LaserDiscs Widescreen Editions Laser Disc

A Funny Thing Happened On Way to the Forum NEW LaserDisc Roman Comedy

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LaserDisc Special Features

Rare Factory-Sealed, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

LaserDisc Special Features

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