Hair (1979)

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Gerome Ragni (musical book) and
James Rado (musical book) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 July 1979 (West Germany)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Let the sun shine in! [USA theatrical]

Plot:

Claude leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly indoctrinated into the youth subculture and subsequently drafted.

Plot Keywords:

New York City | Vietnam War | Friendship | Jail | Military Cemetery

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Savage	...	Claude Hooper Bukowski
Treat Williams	...	George Berger
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Sheila Franklin
Annie Golden	...	Jeannie Ryan
Dorsey Wright	...	Lafayette aka Hud
Don Dacus	...	Woof
Cheryl Barnes	...	Hud's Fiancee
Richard Bright	...	Fenton
Nicholas Ray	...	The General
Charlotte Rae	...	Lady in Pink
Miles Chapin	...	Steve Franklin
Fern Tailer	...	Sheila's Mother
Charles Denny	...	Sheila's Father
Herman Meckler	...	Sheila's Uncle
Agness Breen	...	Sheila's Aunt
Antonia Rey	...	Mrs. Berger, George's Mother
George J. Manos	...	Mr. Berger, George's Father (as George Manos)
Linda Surh	...	Vietnamese Girl
Jane Booke	...	Debutante #1
Suzanna Love	...	Debutante #2 (as Suki Love)
Joe Acord	...	Claude's Father
Michael Jeter	...	Sheldon
Janet York	...	Prison Psychiatrist
Rahsaan Curry	...	Lafayette Jr.
Harry Gittleson	...	The Judge
Donald Alsdurf	...	MP
Steve Massicotte	...	Barracks Officer
Mario Nelson	...	Barracks Officer
Ren Woods	...	'Aquarius' soloist
Toney Watkins	...	Colored Spade / Ain't Got No
Carl Hall	...	Colored Spade
Howard Porter	...	Colored Spade
Nell Carter	...	Ain't Got No / White Boys
Kurt Yaghjian	...	Ain't Got No (as Kurt Yahjian)
Laurie Beechman	...	Black Boys
Debi Dye	...	Black Boys
Ellen Foley	...	Black Boys
Johnny Maestro	...	Black Boys (as John Maestro)
Fred Ferrara	...	Black Boys
Jim Rosica	...	Black Boys
Vincent Carella	...	Black Boys
Charlayne Woodard	...	White Boys (as Charlaine Woodward)
Trudy Perkins	...	White Boys
Chuck Patterson	...	White Boys
H. Douglas Berring	...	White Boys
Russell Costen	...	White Boys
Kenny Brawner	...	White Boys
Lee Wells	...	White Boys
Leata Galloway	...	Electric Blues
Cyrena Lomba	...	Electric Blues
Ron Young	...	Old Fashioned Melody
John DeRobertas	...	Flesh Failures
Grand L. Bush	...	Flesh Failures (as Grand Bush)
Melba Moore	...	'3-5-0-0' Soloist
Ronnie Dyson	...	'3-5-0-0' Soloist
Rose Marie Wright	...	Dancer
Tom Rawe	...	Dancer
Jennifer Way	...	Dancer
Shelley Washington	...	Dancer
Christine Uchida	...	Dancer
Raymond Kurshals	...	Dancer
Richard Colton	...	Dancer
Anthony Ferro	...	Dancer
Sara Rudner	...	Dancer
Pat Benoye	...	Dancer
Cameron Burke	...	Dancer
Richard Caceres	...	Dancer
Tony Constantine	...	Dancer
Ron Dunham	...	Dancer
Leonard Feiner	...	Dancer
Ken Gildin	...	Dancer
Kate Glasner	...	Dancer
Christian Holder	...	Dancer
Chris Komar	...	Dancer
Nancy Lefkowith	...	Dancer
Joseph Lennon	...	Dancer
Robert Levithan	...	Dancer
France Mayotte	...	Dancer
Héctor Mercado	...	Dancer
Sharon Miripolsky	...	Dancer
Marta Renzi	...	Dancer
Donna Ritchie	...	Dancer
Ellen Saltonstall	...	Dancer
Radha Sukhu	...	Dancer
Byron Utley	...	Dancer
Earlise Vails	...	Dancer
Ronald Weeks	...	Dancer
Kimmary Williams	...	Dancer
Deborah Zalkind	...	Dancer
Johanna Baer	...	Dancer
Carolyn Brown	...	Dancer
Colleen O'Callaghan	...	Dancer
Susan Clark	...	Dancer
Jennifer Douglas	...	Dancer
Karen Mays	...	Dancer
Megan Murphy	...	Dancer
Vicki Lynn Powell	...	Dancer
Anna Spelman	...	Dancer
Lauralee Stapfer	...	Dancer
Deborah Wagman	...	Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amy Hartman	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Adrienne King	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Sunny Leigh	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Sharmagne Leland-St. John	...	Party Guest / Lady in White (uncredited)
Patrick Reynolds	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Laird Stuart	...	Field Officer (uncredited)
Frank Kahlil Wheaton	...	ABC Cameraman (uncredited)

Directed by
Milos Forman

Writing credits
Gerome Ragni		(musical book) and
James Rado		(musical book)
Michael Weller		(writer)

Produced by
Michael Butler	....	producer
Robert Greenhut	....	associate producer
Lester Persky	....	producer

Cinematography by
Richard C. Kratina		(co-director of photography) (as Richard Kratina)
Miroslav Ondrícek		(director of photography)
Jean Talvin		(co-director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alan Heim
Stanley Warnow

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer

Production Design by
Stuart Wurtzel

Set Decoration by
George DeTitta Sr.		(as George DeTitta)

Costume Design by
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Max Henriquez	....	makeup artist
Bob Mills	....	makeup artist: California unit (as Robert Mills)
Joe Tubens	....	hair stylist
Vivienne Walker	....	hair stylist: California

Production Management
Robert Greenhut	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Hausman	....	first assistant director
Joseph Ray	....	second assistant director (as Joe Ray)
Joel Tuber	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	propmaster (as Joseph Caracciolo)
Jon Linder	....	scenic artist (as John Linder)
Harold Michelson	....	art director: California
Pat O'Connor	....	propmaster: California
John J. Rutchland Jr.	....	construction coordinator: California (as John Rutchland)
Edward Swanson	....	chief carpenter
Jerry Wunderlich	....	set decorator: California (as Gerald Wunderlich)

Sound Department
Milton C. Burrow	....	supervising sound editor
Gordon Davidson	....	sound editor
Don Digirolamo	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bob Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Newman	....	production sound mixer (as Chris Newman)
Edward L. Sandlin	....	sound editor
William A. Sawyer	....	sound editor (as William Sawyer)
Bill Varney	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Al Griswold	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Gerald Cotts	....	director cameraman: second unit
Vinnie Gerardo	....	assistant camera (as Vincent Gerardo)
George Holmes	....	gaffer: California
Jan Kiesser	....	camera operator: California
Gerald A. King	....	grip: California (as Jerry King)
Edward Knott	....	key grip
Sal Martorano	....	electrician
Richard Pearce	....	additional photographer
Tom Priestley Jr.	....	camera operator (as Thomas Priestley)
Richard Quinlan	....	gaffer
Ricki-Ellen Brooke	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera (uncredited)
George A. Clark	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Silvio Scarano	....	wardrobe: California (as Sylvio Scarano)
Elisabeth Seley	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Neil Burrow	....	assistant editor
Clayton Collins	....	apprentice editor
John Davis	....	assistant editor
Lois Freeman	....	assistant film editor
Michael Jablow	....	associate editor
Neil L. Kaufman	....	assistant editor (as Neil Kaufman)
Lynzee Klingman	....	supervising editor
Ann Stein	....	assistant editor (as Anne Stein)
Karen Wanderman	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Norman Hollyn	....	assistant music editor
Chuck Irwin	....	music recording engineer
Galt MacDermot	....	conductor
Galt MacDermot	....	music arranger
Tom Pierson	....	conductor: vocals (as Thomas Pierson)
Tom Pierson	....	music arranger: vocals (as Thomas Pierson)
John Strauss	....	music editor

Transportation Department
James Fanning	....	transportation captain
James E. Foote	....	transportation captain: California (as James Foote)

Other crew
Michael Butler	....	producer: original stage production
Carol Clemente	....	production assistant
Ronald Colby	....	location manager: California
Martin Danzig	....	location manager
David Dreyfuss	....	production assistant
Tom Fritz	....	production assistant
Anne Gyory	....	assistant to director
Lois Kramer Hartwick	....	production office coordinator (as Lois Kramer)
Shawn Hausman	....	production assistant
Nancy Hopton	....	script supervisor (as Nancy Tonery)
Gary Jones	....	assistant: Miss Roth
Larry Kaplan	....	unit publicist
Lillian O. MacNeill	....	script supervisor: California (as Lillian MacNeil)
Kathleen McGill	....	production accountant
Steve Montgomery	....	production assistant
Jennifer Ogden	....	production assistant
Albert Ostermaier	....	equestrian trainer: dance sequence
Barbara Pettick	....	production assistant
Michael Peyser	....	production assistant
Larry Reehling	....	puppet creator
Ken Rinker	....	assistant choreographer (as Kenneth Rinker)
Barry Strugatz	....	production assistant
Twyla Tharp	....	choreographer
Jim Gerwig	....	caterer (uncredited)
Sharmagne Leland-St. John	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Thanks
George Berklacy	....	acknowledgment
Gordon J. Davis	....	acknowledgment
Jack Fish	....	acknowledgment
Paul Glanzman	....	acknowledgment (as Lt. Paul Glanzman)
Edward I. Koch	....	acknowledgment (as Mayor Ed Koch)

Production Companies

• CIP Filmproduktion GmbH

Distributors

• United Artists (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Cinema Mondo (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1979) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox
• Fox-United Artists-Stockholm Film (1979) (Sweden) (video) (16 mm)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• City of New York  acknowledgement
• Flying by Foy  flying effects
• Lloyd Zeiderman & Assoc.  production accounting
• National Park Service, The  acknowledgement
• New Jersey Film Commission  acknowledgement
• New York Shakespeare Festival  original produced by
• R/Greenberg Associates  titles
• State of California  acknowledgement

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Bandshell, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

CIP Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

The words in the closing number, entitled 'The Flesh Failures', contain lines from 'William Shakespeare''s Romeo and Juliet. The words come from Romeo's death scene before drinking the poison. Phrases such as 'Eyes, Look your Last, Arms take your last embrace' and 'The lips, oh you the doors, of breath, sealed with a righteous kiss' are all from Romeo's final monologue.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the "Flesh Failures" scene near the end of the film, when the soldiers are marching into the back of the transport plane, the soldiers change places in mid-march.

Quotes:

'Aquarius' soloist: [In song] When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planet and love will steer the stars. This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Soundtrack:

Donna

A classic musical!

Now more than ever we need Peace & Love in this world!

This film really showcases the wonderful music of the Broadway show, and the fabulous Choreography of the legendary Twila Tharp! I saw it again after many years, and it still holds up well.

Thank you, MGM/UA for putting this on DVD! I love the option of seeing in Widescreen. MGM rocks for doing this on many of their DVD releases.

Ya gotta love Treat Williams as Berger and John Savage as Claude. They couldn't have picked better actors & actresses for this film! Beverly D'Angelo is such a 'hot mama' in this film--I had forgotten just how hot! WOW!

The supporting cast is absolutely great,

with the late great Nell Carter making a singing cameo in a couple of scenes, as well as the kooky Charlotte Ray (Mrs. Garrett on 'Facts Of Life')

The story gets a little weak toward the end, but the anti-war sentiment of the late 60's still holds up, and is relevant today.

It's beautifully filmed (quite a bit on location) and is so colorful and lovely and really brings the spirit of 1968 back on the big screen.

I saw this movie when it was released in 1979 when I was 15, and was moved by it then, and it still moves me now at 40. Some other reviews on here say they think it should have been made sooner--I don't think Hollywood was ready to make such a movie back in the late 60's-early 70's.

The Vietnam War ended in 1975, and the whole thing hit a little too close to home, I think for this story to be filmed before it was (like in 1969, 70, 71)

Bravo to Director Milos Foreman! I love this film!!!!!!!

It's nice to see it again, this time on DVD. It never looked better!