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List Price: $26.95 | | Label: NEW VIDEO GROUP
Salesrank: 29475
Released: November 18, 2008 |
| Our Price: $10.69 |
| Used Price: $18.12 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A renowned collaboration between experimental theater director Lee Breuer and composer Bob Telson, THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS retells Sophocles' classical tragedy Oedipus at Colonus through the medium of modern gospel.
This filmed version of the much-lauded 1985 Philadelphia performance traces the epic storyline of the original text, while also interweaving aspects of Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and the Christian salvific narrative. Taking up the dramatic tension and emotional turmoil of classical tragedy and infusing it with passionate, inventive performances and an electrifying gospel and soul inflected musical montage, the production also features an unforgettable cast, including Javetta Steele, Isabell Monk, Robert Earl Jones, Carl Lumbly, Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama (who collectively play Oedipus), and, as the Messenger (and here Pentecostal preacher), Morgan Freeman. Freeman's commanding oratory to a rapt live audience recasts classical rhetoric in an African-American gospel mode, impressively fusing Hellenistic myth and Christian parable.
Finally available on DVD, THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS showcases the pinnacle of postmodern theater and captures live drama at its most vibrant, daring, and innovative.
Description of Gospel At Colonus:
A fascinating experiment in updating classic Greek tragedy with a contemporary, cultural sensibility, The Gospel at Colonus was shot in 1985 from Philadephia as part of PBS' Great Performances series. Avant garde theatre director Lee Breuer and composer Bob Telson originated the show in New York, where they took Sophocles' "Oedipus at Colonus" and--working with a Pentecostal preacher and his choir--adapted it into a gospel musical. The result was the story of Oedipus' agonies and redemption as a modern parable--not a Christian one in a substantive sense, but one with the forms and textures of a Pentescostal experience. Breuer and Telson took an even more unusual step of casting all five Blind Boys of Alabama to play Oedipus, which lends itself to some extraordinary drama. Morgan Freeman plays the role of the Messenger, who narrates the story. A wholly unexpected experience, The Gospel at Colonus is a remarkable, cultural fusion that blends the ancient with the ecstatic. A total of 13 songs seem to both underscore and reinvent the very possibilities of the gospel music form. --Tom Keogh
Gospel At Colonus Reviews:
Gotta Have My Gospel! 
2009-08-31 -
The perfect mix of Greek Mythology and that which is most dramatic derived from the African American experience! I enjoyed witnessing the manifestation of that which makes both regional and "urban" theater a success. I was introduced to the soundtrack long before I ever saw the production and am so glad I made this purchase. I was singing and swaying in front of my television and was reminded of Peter Brooks' Empty Space as I watched this show. It doesn't take much to make great theater. Sometimes everything just aligns...and you create something special. I am so glad there is a DVD of Gospel at Colonus. A MUST SEE.
Very Pleased Customer
2009-08-30 - I had seen the stage play years ago in New York. It was very memorable and I never forgot it, I can see it in my as if I was still seated there that day. But, the stage play being in my memory was not enough - I wanted a video or some hard copy of the stage play that I could put into the DvD Player and witness again and again.
I searched for this "hard copy" on-line and at first I thought that my search was fruitless. I was reading on-line about others who had also seen the play and wanted some way that they could obtain it. Finally, I saw that Amazon had the play on DvD and since I always order "something" from Amazon (Movies, MP3's, Adapters, an HP printer, etc.) I ordered Gospel At Colonus right away. I trust Amazon and the others who sell on Amazon (I have yet to file a complaint). I did file a complaint once and I had to send the seller an Email stating that I was mistaken and that I apologize. Anyway I have Gospel At Colonus to enjoy whenever I want pop it into the DvD Player.
I would like to make one last comment, I ordered a power adapter from Amazon and I believed it to be defected, I contacted Amazon about it and I received the best Customer Service that a consumer can ever receive from a company. Although Amazon's policy was not to replace the adapter, they shipped me a replacement adapter free, shipping was also free. What more do you ask of a company?
Earl
Gospel at Colonus
2009-06-08 - I was knocked out when I saw this piece many years ago on PBS, and have been looking for it ever since. When, after more than a decade, it finally showed up for purchase, I bought six so I could share it with friends. It is first and foremost a musical, and as a professional musician myself, I can assure you that the music is first-rate. The choir is first-rate, the three main women soloists are stupendous (and beautiful), the Hammond B-3 player is outstanding, the soloist of the Five Blind Boys steals the show, and I weep tears of joyful emotion when "Brother Willie" with the purple gloves and the Sam Cooke voice sings his wonderful material. Even Morgan Freeman does some intoning of the "gospel" as the preacher. But it's the idea of this play that really disarms you. The story of Oedipus and his sister-daughters is stunning enough, but told in this manner and style, makes your head spin. A couple of episodes are a little long, but stick with it: the piece as a whole is like nothing else you're likely to see.
satisfied 
2009-06-04 - i was very satisfied with the product i ordered and received as i was told....
Kudos to Amazon!!
2009-05-23 - I have never been dissatisfied with my Amazon purchases! This is one of my all-time favorite plays and now I have it on DVD!
