Porgy and Bess

Pros: Gershwins' Music and Lyrics. Contact, albeit brief, with whites. Sammy Davis Jr

Cons: Stars' singing voices dubbed, again!

The Bottom Line: Gershwin meant "PORGY and BESS" for the Metropolitan Opera. It has been staged live, seen in TV Broadcasts, and is available on DVD. Try any version, you'll like it!

Review: PORGY and BESS - 1959 Preminger's 8th film as Independent (This is a definitive Movie Version of the Gershwin Folk Opera adapted to the Silver Screen and then transferred to DVD) Released to the Screen: June 25, 1959 Producer: ...

Pros: An imposing and idiomatic performance of great power and beauty.

Cons: Not quite complete -- the Buzzard Song is missing.

The Bottom Line: Gershwin's brilliant masterpiece is given a great cast, a great conductor, spiffy staging, good sound, and good DVD presentation.

Review: “Porgy & Bess” is George Gershwin’s masterpiece and one of the 10 greatest operas ever written (see my list on Amazon). For a long time (and even now … Leonard Maltin’s review, e.g.) condescendingly called a “folk opera” (translation: “the Met won’t do ...