There are only about four or five good reasons why anyone should want to watch this film. If you are not a fan of bad movies, the number is immediately reduced to one (MAYBE two). The most important reason for watching this movie is to see the performance of Dame Diana Rigg. She is absolutely flawless, and she is certainly a breath of fresh air in a film that is often quite stagnant and misguided. Some of the wit from the original stage version shows through, thank God, but director Harold Prince simply did not know how to transfer his work to film. (It didn't help, of course, that A Little Night Music was his first film.) If you're interested in seeing Harold Prince's film work, a better choice would be Something For Everyone.
Elizabeth Taylor clearly had no idea what she was doing for most of the film, and everyone else was decent enough, but nothing to shout about. This wasn't even a so-bad-it's-good movie. It was painfully mediocre. If you want to see an example of why Sondheim's musicals have mostly not made it to the screen or you want to see Ms. Taylor in one of her less-than- stellar moments, then by all means, watch this film. However, if neither of those reasons interest you and you find yourself stuck in a situation in which you must watch this film, focus on Diana Rigg as Charlotte Mittelheim. She is fabulous!!
Elizabeth Taylor clearly had no idea what she was doing for most of the film, and everyone else was decent enough, but nothing to shout about. This wasn't even a so-bad-it's-good movie. It was painfully mediocre. If you want to see an example of why Sondheim's musicals have mostly not made it to the screen or you want to see Ms. Taylor in one of her less-than- stellar moments, then by all means, watch this film. However, if neither of those reasons interest you and you find yourself stuck in a situation in which you must watch this film, focus on Diana Rigg as Charlotte Mittelheim. She is fabulous!!