NEW REVIEW!

LIZA WITH A "Z" (1972, dir. Bob Fosse)

The television special that won 4 Emmys the same year Fosse and Minnelli won Oscars for Cabaret is not so much a good time as it is a national treasure. For me, I sat through the program completely dumbfounded. I wasn't necessarily inspired or entertained. I was mostly in shock. What IS this?!

What's remarkable about Liza with a "Z" in terms of today's pop culture is its the adoration and adulation of a performer who really was a PERFORMER. Looking at a 26-year-old Minnelli at the top of her game, decked out in Halston-designed costumes, executing bizarre Fosse moves, alternating between the sweet little girl lost and the desperate crowd-pleaser, I couldn't help but think that by today's standards she looks positively insane and... forgive me, old! Can you blame me? Today female performers are valued for point they are in their adolescent development (i.e. 14-18) and how much they can resemble a stripper while something that recalls Cirque du Soliel happens in the background.

I mean, wow. Remember when people were just really talented? Remember that? Remember when cabaret style performance was actually en vogue and an art? Jeez. It's pretty unbelievable. A time when less really equaled more and old Hollywood had just thrown in the towel. You get to experience almost first hand what its like to see a performer let loose in front of a live audience in the year she conquered and permeated almost every mass medium. The DVD is loaded with some neat-o special features including the A&E Biography of Liza. And can someone tell me how to get a copy of The Sterile Cuckoo because it sounds AMAZING!

Bottom line: Liza Minnelli is truly an original and even if this kind of medium (musical theater etc.) isn't really your bag you may still enjoy this special for the simple fact that it captures a star at the top of her game.