Movie · 1958 · Music, Romance, War · 2h 37m · English
Curator score: 2.8/10 (18K ratings)
There is nothing you can name that is anything like...
Overview
Can a girl from Little Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one enchanted evening away from the military hospital where she is a nurse? Or should she just wash that man out of her hair? Bloody Mary is the philosopher of the island and it's hard to believe she could be the mother of Liat who has captured the heart of Lt. Joseph Cable USMC. While waiting for action in the war in the South Pacific, sailors and nurses put on a musical comedy show. The war gets closer and the saga of Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque becomes serious drama.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.8/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.06/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
TMDB: 6.2/10
Director
Joshua Logan
Production
Magna Theatre Corporation, South Pacific Enterprises, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, 20th Century Fox
Cast
Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Juanita Hall, France Nuyen, Russ Brown, Jack Mullaney, Ken Clark, Floyd Simmons, Candace Lee, Warren Hsieh, Tom Laughlin, Giorgio Tozzi, Archie Savage, Francis Kahele, Robert Jacobs, John Gabriel, Richard Harrison, Ron Ely
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, BroadwayHD, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A lavish, old-school Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with memorable songs, big Technicolor spectacle, and a surprisingly serious anti-racist thread for its era. It’s worth seeing for the score, staging, and historical significance, but its romantic drama is uneven and its treatment of race and gender can be hard to take today.
Best for
classic musical fans
viewers interested in mid-century Hollywood spectacle
fans of lush orchestration and big ensemble numbers
people curious about progressive-for-its-time studio-era dramas
Skip if
you’re sensitive to dated racial stereotypes and colonial attitudes
you want a tight, modern narrative
you dislike stagebound musical storytelling
you’re hoping for a subtle or realistic war drama
Overview
South Pacific is one of those studio musicals that feels both grand and awkwardly sincere. The songs are the main event: expansive, tuneful, and staged with the kind of confidence that makes even the corniest moments land as spectacle. The film’s visual style is also part of its identity, with bold color and romantic framing that turn the island setting into a heightened dream space.
Worth noting
What makes it more interesting than a simple nostalgia piece is the way it tries to confront prejudice head-on. That ambition gives the story some bite, even if the script still carries the limitations of its era and occasionally undercuts itself with the very attitudes it wants to criticize. The romance is uneven, and some dramatic turns feel blunt or melodramatic rather than emotionally earned.
Bottom line
Still, the combination of famous numbers, Technicolor excess, and earnest moral seriousness gives it a distinct place in the musical canon. If you come for the music and accept the baggage, there’s a lot to admire here. If you’re looking for a smoother, more contemporary-feeling musical, this will probably feel creaky.
Top Letterboxd reviews
holly (2★) · 251 likes
the guys singing ‘there ain’t nothing like a dame’ were hilarious cause not one of them looked straight
Taylor Sharp (3.5★) · 199 likes
Don't let yourself be fooled by the war imagery, the jungle, the wartime Frenchmen, run-of-the-mill cultural generalizations, alcoholic protagonist, remorseless and dancing soldiers, the loss and gain of seemingly random plot points, slaughter of a water buffalo, descent into hysteria, hallucinogenic hues, lush and sweeping musical numbers, and reaffirmation, romantic or not and despite differences, of human relationships: this is NOT Apocalypse Now.
Eliza (3★) · 185 likes
Racism? In MY 50s Musical? Its more likely than you'd think.
lucía (3★) · 176 likes
nellie really said i can excuse murder but i draw the line at you marrying a polynesian woman 😡🤬😤
Robin (2★) · 131 likes
wilding out with the Color Filter adjustment layer I see
1961 · Music, Romance, Comedy · 2h 13m · NR · Curator 6.8/10 (4.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, BroadwayHD, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A useful companion for its musical charm and its own complicated handling of race and representation.