Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

JLRVancouver A somewhat sanitised remake of the 1936 movie (directed by James Whale), 1951's "Showboat" is typical of the big-budget MGM musicals of the era. The main set, the sternwheeler "Cotton Blossom" is magnificent, and the cast excellent (although Ava Gardner as a 'mixed-race' women is a bit of a stretch). There's some flashy dancing and a few great songs, "Make Believe", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and the immortal "Old Man River", but (IMO) there is a lot of filler as well. Howard Keel has a great baritone voice but I am not a fan of coloratura soprano, which to me is very artificial sounding, and so I was less enamoured with Kathryn Grayson. I have yet to see the 1936 version but I have watched the "Old Man River" scene and, while William Warfield has a great voice, but no one can sing that song like Paul Robeson. All in all, a fun movie but far from my favorite musical of the era.

TheLittleSongbird I fell in love with Show Boat when I saw it. Yes the ending is a little corny, but everything else is a joy. The Technicolour is truly lavish, colourful and just a feast for the eyes and the costumes are lovingly designed too. The opening sequence especially is a mini-masterpiece of music, style and colour I feel. The songs are classics and nothing less than that, I don't have a personal favourite but I have always been fond of Ol' Man River and Can't Help Loving Dat Man. The direction is satisfying, the pacing is more secure here, the plot with its themes of compulsive gambling and miscegenation and the dialogue sparkles. And the performances are real jewels in the crown, Kathryn Grayson is wonderful, as is Howard Keel, whose voice and looks I cannot get enough of. However, my favourite performances come from Ava Gardner, who looks stunning and has rarely given a more poignant performance and William Warfield, whose rendition of the difficult Ol' Man River is somewhat richer and warmer than Paul Robeson's timeless rendition. Overall, a wonderful musical. 9/10 Bethany Cox

tedg Wow, there is so much in this to get upset about.You know, that it has one memorable song, presented so profoundly well that by itself it could have been the first successful music video. But it stands apart from everything else in this lurid mistake.Even if it had been a good film, viewers would tinge from the handling of race. Its so alien now that its even puzzling as to what the story actually is — so far from that world we've come.Here's the setup: we have four worlds. One is the world of the performer. Its a rich, rewarding happy world, one that you can always retreat to. Its a work of "make-believe" which is truer than true. Because all of the performer's songs are tepid, this is anchored by the dancing Champions. They are terrific, sexy, full.A second is the world of gambling. All people are gamblers to some extent in this movie, but there is a specific, closed gambling space and populace. These people are performers of sorts.The third world is the world of the viewers. They are arrayed up and down Huck Finn's river, and are eager, passive and barely human. We are folded into this class: tepid, lifeless humans.The fourth world is truly unsettling. Its the world of the blacks. They span the other worlds: they are smiling, happy audience, pleased to be in the fields picking cotton and to be distracted by the fun of the boat. They are natural performers, just look at one for a moment and they amuse. In fact, there is a story element strangely shoehorned in that depends on the top, sexy, unstable actress being "secretly" black -- supposedly explaining her passions and talents. This actress falls into sexual slavery in the gambling world.The core of the story follows a young girl as she drifts among these worlds. Its famously bad, except for the "Old Man River" segment. Its truly fine in so many ways. But seeing it in such a context ruins it.I've seen this several times. I believe that the original Technicolor print revealed painfully bad colors in the production design: costumes, hair, environment, everything. Now there does not seem to be a good print in existence, so the colors are even worse. Its horrible.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Nicholas Rhodes I had only recently settled down to watching this one which has just been issued on DVD in France. In a frustrating sense, this film shows that perfection is unattainable ! It has perfect lighting, perfect costumes, perfect music, perfect acting but oh, the plot is just so dull and lacking in substance ! But because of the rest I give it a high-ish rating. It's true, though, the plot is really lacking in spice and substance but this is to a large extent compensated for by a mixture of fantastic sets and great musical performances. Indeed, I am very impressed by the particular attention given to lighting by the cameraman ! It seems they avoided filming at midday and always used early morning or early evening sunlight with long, sharp and distinct shadows with yellowish tones. This plus the splendid technicolor is a feast for the eyes. I would be curious to have known exactly where it was filmed. Was it really the Mississippi river ? I also enjoyed those scenes in the cotton plantations. Musically of course, the film is a masterpiece and though my favourite tune is "Make Believe", I was extremely impressed by the version of Ol Man River sung by the actor William Warfield who must have had one of the most brilliant voices I have ever heard ! I confess to never having heard of this gentleman prior to seeing the film and had imagined the singer to be Paul Robeson. So I checked out WW on the internet and it appears he was a very respected and educated gentleman. To cut a long story short, I was impressed by his mellow voice and by his towering physique. Ava Gardner was too very beautiful and I also enjoyed seeing dear old Agnes Moorhead whom I have always appreciated in films. So despite a weak plot which sometimes failed to keep my attention, this film is a genuine masterpiece on most other levels and deserves viewing at least once, if only for William Warfield's performance of Ol'Man River.