Broadway on the Big Screen 6-Film Collection Blu-ray review
Feb 21, 2026- Permalink
Warner Archive keeps releasing these great sets of movie collections focusing on a performer or genre. Today, we’re looking at six examples of Broadway musicals that made the leap to the big screen with the Broadway on the Big Screen 6-Film Collection Blu-ray. The set includes 1954’s Brigadoon, 1955’s Guys and Dolls, 1957’s The Pajama Game, 1958’s Damn Yankees, 1962’s Gypsy, and 1971’s The Boy Friend. Thanks to Warner Archive and Allied Vaughn, I had a chance to take a look. Let’s raise the curtain and take a look.
1954’s Brigadoon, directed by Vincente Minnelli from a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner (who also wrote the 1947 musical), is a musical fantasy about a Scottish village that appears out of the mist for a day every one hundred years. When two Americans happen upon the village on this magical day, there is romance, but also events that may make the village disappear forever. It stars Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse, along with Elaine Stewart, Barry Jones, and Albert Sharpe.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.55:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio. The video presentation is from a 2K scan and detail is super sharp, from faces and tartans to the soundstage locations. The colour palette is bright and the primaries leap off the screen like dancers. The grain pattern subtle and natural. One thing that does stick out is the slight colour shifts during optical dissolves, but otherwise this is great to look at.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Brigadoon originally had a stereo soundtrack but for this release the original elements have been remixed into a surround soundscape. Dialogue is clear and the musical numbers are bright and dynamic.
This disc does not come with a digital code. Extras include four musical numbers cut from the theatrical release and the film’s trailer.
Guys and Dolls, a 1955 musical written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is based on the 1950 Broadway Tony Award-winning musical by composer and lyricist Frank Loesser. Set in Times Square, Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) needs $1,000 to host his ongoing craps game. To get the funds, he bets high-roller Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) that Sky can’t get a temperance mission worker, Sister Sarah (Jean Simmons), to go on a date to Havana. Add to the mix Nathan’s fiancée, Adelaide (Vivian Blaine), who wants him to go straight, a mobster, and the cops, and you have a recipe for musical hijinks.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.55:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio. Detail is quite good with the facial features and textiles (those suits!) but it’s the colour palette that steals the show with the various suits and dresses popping off the screen. Black levels are generally good, but we do sometimes get a lack of detail in darker scenes or backgrounds.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, and Spanish. The original soundtrack has been remixed for 5.1. Dialogue is front and centre, though some musical and effects elements have made their way into the surrounds.
The disc does not come with a digital code. Extras include “From Stage to Screen”, which looks at adapting the musical to the screen, “More Guys and Dolls Stories” which is a compilation of behind-the-scenes info, direct links to some musical numbers, and a theatrical trailer.
1957’s The Pajama Game, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen and choreographed by Bob Fosse, is a romantic comedy musical that mixes love into a wage battle between union and management in a pajama factory. Doris Day stars as the union rep, while John Raitt plays the newly hired manager. Most of the cast, including Raitt, were in the 1954 Broadway musical.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The transfer comes from a 4K scan and it’s a stunner. Details are sharp and the colours leap of the screen with bright reds and blues. The film grain is natural and there are no source or digital blemishes to speak of.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Dialogue is clear and the music os good, but given that several earlier musicals had stereo soundtracks to give the number some more sonic space, it’s a shame that The Pajama Game’s source material is mono.
There’s no digital code for this movie. We’re a bit light on the bonus features as well, getting only the deleted song “The Man Who Invented Love”, which was written for the movie version and but used, as well as a theatrical trailer.
1958’s Damn Yankees, is based on the 1955 musical and was directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen. The Broadway cast reprise their roles, except for the role of Joe Hardy, which is played by Tab Hunter. The cast includes Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, Russ Brown, Shannon Bolin, Robert Shafer, Rae Allen, Nathaniel Frey, James Komack, Albert Linville, and Jean Stapleton. A middle-aged fan of the terrible Washington Senators baseball team says he’d sell his soul to the Devil if his team could beat the Yankees. The devil obliges, turning him into a young, talented player (Hunter) but will he give up all that he had in order to get all that he wants?
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Sourced from a 4K transfer, we get a detailed video presentation with a fine grain. It’s the colours that stand out. Bright red lipsticks, pale blues, dark woods, rich blues, and the sun-bleached green of the grass on the baseball diamond. You know I have to say it: the video presentation is a home run.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. This is another musical that didn’t get an original stereo soundtrack, but despite that the music is still bright and dynamic and the dialogue clear.
Sadly, the only extras are the US and UK trailers. The Brits found the title offensive back then so there it was called “What Lola Wants.”
Mervyn LeRoy’s Gypsy is a 1962 musical based on the 1959 show. With lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Jule Styne, it tells the tale of a domineering stage mothe, Rose (Rosalind Russell), who is trying to get her two daughters – June (Morgan Brittany), the younger, talented one and Rose (Diane Pace) – work as vaudeville headliners. When vaudeville dies off and years pass, June (Ann Jillian) leaves and Rose (Natalie Wood), still pushed by her mother, ends up as a burlesque performer. Karl Malden plays Herbie, an agent who loves Rose despite her flaws.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.41:1 aspect ratio. The HD restoration looks very good, with fine detail in the costumes and sets. Its the colour palette that catches your attention, with primaries popping off the stage. There’s no sign of digital noise or compression artifacts and the image retains a fine grain.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. We get a stereo mix here, but despite the dialogue being clear, the musical numbers come off a little flat.
There is no digital code. In terms of bonus features, we get two deleted songs “Together Wherever We Go” and “You’ll Never Get Away from Me” as well as the trailer.
The final movie in the collection is Ken Russell’s 1971 musical The Boy Friend, based on the 1953 stage version. Rather than just adapt the stage musical, writer/director Russell sets it as a play within a play…or a play within a movie. A small theatre is about to do a matinée performance of The Boy Friend when they learn the star has broken her ankle. The director (Max Adrian) convinces the assistant stage manager, Polly (Twiggy), to take her place. Meanwhile the cast learns a Hollywood director is in attendance and the cast goes gaga. The show must go on, but so must the hijinks. The cast also includes Christopher Gable and Tommy Tune.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The 2K scan brings the cinematography of David Watkin (Out of Africa, Chariots of Fire) to life. The detail is crystal sharp from facial features to the costumes and sets. The colour palette brings out the dark blues rich reds and other bright colours of the theatres production and cast. There’s detail in the shadows and a nice film grain too.
On the audio side of things, we have an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The team at Warner Archive went back to the four-track stereo mix and revamped it into a 5.1 soundscape. Dialogue is clear, but the real star is the music which has some extra room to breathe in the extra tracks.
There is no digital code for this movie. We do get a promotional behind-the-scenes piece with Ken Russell and Twiggy and a theatrical trailer.
There was a time when musicals were all over the cinemas and the Broadway on the Big Screen 6-Film Collection Blu-ray gives us six great examples from a 17-year period. With great audio and video presentations, this set is recommended.