A Rodgers & Hammerstein Quintet

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II helped change the face of American musical comedy with five blockbuster musicals several decades ago. When these shows began bounding off the stage to the movies in the ‘50s and ‘60s, they all enjoyed full-scale, wide-screen treatment with lush color and full stereophonic sound.

Now Fox Video/Image Entertainment has just released “Carousel” ($70, two discs, extended play, 21 chapter stops, 129 minutes) and “The King and I” ($70, two discs, extended play, 17 chapter stops, 133 minutes) in wide-screen laser editions to go with the label’s previously released “Sound of Music, “ “Oklahoma!” and “South Pacific.” The result is a bonanza for fans of musical theater. Since the composer-lyricist kept watch over the films, they are true to their origins, if not perfect.

The plot of the 1956 film “Carousel,” an adaptation of “Liliom,” may seem a bit antiquated today, but the music is first-rate Rodgers & Hammerstein, with some of their most memorable songs: “If I Loved You,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over.” It stars a dashing, full-voiced Gordon MacRae and fresh-faced, sweet-voiced Shirley Jones high off their success in “Oklahoma!” the previous year. The musical loses none of its power here, shot on location, set against a magnificent shoreline, fully captured with the wide-screen, letterbox format.

The 1956 film version of “The King and I” preserves Yul Brynner’s definitive performance as the King of Siam, the role he originated on Broadway. Deborah Kerr is the English teacher Anna, with Marni Nixon beautifully dubbing her singing. Once again, the songs are classic numbers of our musical history: “Shall We Dance,” “Getting to Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune.” This crisp transfer is a fine way to get to know this film.

“Oklahoma!,” released in 1955 and teaming MacRae and Jones for the first time, does full justice to the landmark 1943 musical, one of the first to carefully integrate plot and song. The letterbox laser edition serves it well.

Though directed by Joshua Logan, the 1958 film version of “South Pacific” did not find much favor among critics. It was roundly chastised for the color gels superimposed over key scenes. The cast (Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor) didn’t equal the theater cast (Ezio Pinza, Mary Martin), but the score is classic: “There Is Nothing Like a Dame,” “Some Enchanted Evening.”

Robert Wise’s 1965 opening up of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Sound of Music” for the big screen is a wonderful vehicle for letterboxing, and it’s very well served in this transfer. Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and the glorious hills stay alive with all the sound and picture encompassing the home viewer. While it’s been easy enough for some to write off this saga of the Von Trapp family’s fleeing the Nazis, the warm melodies (“Do Re Mi,” “Edelweiss,” “My Favorite Things,” “Something Good” written for the movie) continue to play off many heartstrings.

Fox is to be commended for releasing these seminal musicals in wide-screen. But, to one degree or another, each is plagued with what appears to be small quality-control problems. These include video dropouts and inconsistencies of color and scenes in which the picture and sound seem out of sync by a few frames. Nonetheless, the color and sound are both rich and full and bring these films to vivid life, and they are welcome additions to the laser musical-comedy shelf.