Before Don Vito Corleone ever lopped off a horsie's noggin, before Harry Caul ever played a note on his beloved sax and before Colonel Kurtz ever went AWOL in a big way deep in the Cambodian jungle, director Francis Ford Coppola was tackling something that some of his fans might think sticks out like, well, like 1984's One From The Heart - the 1968 musical Finian's Rainbow.

But if you consider that Coppola, no matter the subject, has always been very much a Hollywood classicist at heart, the job of shepherding Fred Astaire through one of his twilight roles makes a whole lot sense. This big, splashy Technicolor musical is an excuse for Coppola to play around with not only one of his youthful cinematic idols but also the concept of the big studio musical, which by the late Sixties, was on its last legs. Having said that, Finian's Rainbow is a surprising film, in that it's largely faithful to the conventions of studio musicals and that The Rain People is where Coppola really began tweaking his style to the more offbeat.

As previously mentioned, Finian's Rainbow stars the legendary Fred Astaire in one of his latter-day roles as the titular Finian McLonergan, in this adaptation of E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy's 1947 Broadway hit. Finian mischievously plants a stolen crock of leprechaun gold near Fort Knox, hoping to gain a fortune but not before he and his beautiful daughter Sharon (Petula Clark) cross paths with Og, the lovestruck leprechaun (Tommy Steele) and the bigoted Senator Billboard Rawkins (Keenan Wynn) and predictably, hijinks ensue. A true family film that includes the chestnuts "Look to the Rainbow," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" and "If This Isn't Love," Finian's Rainbow is throwback entertainment - nostalgic but fun in a way that Hollywood wouldn't dare attempt these days.

The Video:

Finian's Rainbow is presented in a stunning, re-mastered 2.35:1 anamorphic print that dazzles from the opening frames. There's not a defect to be found and the film certainly doesn't look as though it's pushing 40. There are a few scattered instances of grain and print damage, but on the whole, the film looks good as gold.

Much like the visuals, Finian's Rainbow pops out of the speakers and sounds much fresher than its origins would suggest. Dialogue suffers a bit as do some of the sound effects but re-mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, the soundtrack featuring Burton Lane's music and E.Y. Harburg's lyrics will swirl around your ears like so many four-leaf clovers.

The main attraction here is a five-minute introduction from Coppola, along with a full-length commentary track. The track, like all other Coppola yack-tracks, is an entertaining affair - delving into the nuts and bolts of filming, as well as some anecdotes about how he landed the job and what it was like working a legend like Astaire. You'll definitely have a deeper appreciation for the film after viewing it with the track. Also on board is a 20-minute featurette "The World Premiere of Finian's Rainbow" and the theatrical trailer.

Sure, it's a film starring an old Tinseltown hoofer arguably past his prime and a bunch of Sixties Brit-pop idols - but it's still more entertaining than most movie musicals of the last 15 years. Full-blooded song and dance that'll make you ache for old-time Hollywood, Finian's Rainbow is highly recommended.