A Little Night Music (1977)

11% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
29% of users liked it
(91 ratings)

Beginning its several incarnations as an Ingmar Bergman film named Smiles of a Summer Night, the story was adapted by composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim into a successful Broadway musical directed by Harold Prince. This film, also directed by Prince, is adapted from the stage musical. In the movie,… More Beginning its several incarnations as an Ingmar Bergman film named Smiles of a Summer Night, the story was adapted by composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim into a successful Broadway musical directed by Harold Prince. This film, also directed by Prince, is adapted from the stage musical. In the movie, in the early 1900s, a group of friends bound together by complicated romantic entanglements, have come together for an elegant dinner at a country estate. The men present are the current, previous, or prospective lovers of the beautiful actress, Desiree (Elizabeth Taylor), and the other women are all united by their jealousy of her. Sadly, Desiree herself wants to simplify things and settle down -- she envies the wives. The adapted score later won an Oscar. The musical's well-known songs include Every Day a Little Death, A Weekend in the Country, and You Must Meet My Wife. The most famous song from the musical, Send in the Clowns, is sung here by Elizabeth Taylor. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 2 hr. 4 min.
Directed By: Harold Prince, Mark Brokaw
Genres: Romance, Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 1, 1977 Wide
On DVD: Apr 29, 2008

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
The cast does little to help matters.
Variety Staff, Variety
Uneven and sometimes slow, pic has good looks.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
It's something more than a shock, then, that the film adaptation of the Broadway show not only fails to raise the spirits; it also tramples on them.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
n uninspired screen version of Steven Sondheim's stage play.
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy
An abomination of a stage-to-screen adaptation, with disjointed performances that avoids some of the musical's best tunes in an effort to make it more audience friendly.
Phil Hall, Film Snobbery
The film was not as bad as many detractors would like to imagine, although it earned its demerits at many levels.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
By all accounts, the movie version should have been a smash hit. It is instead a colossal mess.
, Time Out
Not offensive, just silly.
, Film4
Isn't it bad? Isn't it poor? Yes.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

With this much talent on the table this should have been so much better. Liz was a great star but not a singer just the wrong actress for the role she should never have been cast, she does not seem comfortable and is not looking her best. Diana Rigg, Hermoine Gingold and Len Cariou… More
With this much talent on the table this should have been so much better. Liz was a great star but not a singer just the wrong actress for the role she should never have been cast, she does not seem comfortable and is not looking her best. Diana Rigg, Hermoine Gingold and Len Cariou do what they can with their parts and the settings are lovely but the direction is flat, in this sort of whimsy that is deadly. It has moments of pleasure but overall a miss.