For the First Time

Musically speaking, Lanza's best movies are undoubtedly The Great Caruso, Serenade and For The First Time. The Great Caruso is the most accessible of the three, and also has the best production values. Serenade is a much darker movie, and contains Lanza's most impressive dramatic singing. It does, however, suffer from an uneven script (see my review if you're interested).Although a much lighter tale, For The First Time is similarly flawed. It contains the most perfectly balanced musical programme of any of the tenor's seven movies, but at the same time suffers from a poorly written script and some sloppy dubbing. As with The Seven Hills of Rome the preceding year, the original script was apparently a good one, but somewhere along the way a sugar coating was added to the story. The result was a highly sentimental tear-jerker with a good deal of banal dialogue.It's to Lanza's credit, then, that For The First Time transcends its limitations and remains a watchable - and often moving - swansong from a musical giant. It helps that Lanza, just a year before his death, was in superb voice throughout - with one exception that I'll get to in a minute. Here his voice retains the baritonal depth of the Serenade period, but if anything his tenor is even rounder that it had been three years earlier. This is a voice of extraordinary depth and power. The high notes are faultless and retain the brilliance of old, but equally importantly his singing is more controlled and sensitive than in some of his boisterous earlier appearances. It must have helped that the operatic selections were recorded (and filmed) at the Rome Opera House, thus providing the tenor with a more artistic atmosphere than Hollywood could ever have afforded.The Vesti La Giubba scene is extremely moving, both visually and vocally. Free of distracting histrionics,this is a very different rendition from his slightly hammy earlier performances of the aria. If you never thought Lanza could top his magnificent rendition from The Great Caruso, then be prepared for a big surprise. This is the perfect Canio voice - dark, rich and powerful - and the pathos in Lanza's voice as he sustains the climactic High A on the word "infranto" is all but overwhelming.The other operatic selections are equally impressive - with the exception of the strained La Donna E Mobile that begins the movie. The Otello Finale, Grand March from Aida, and trio (E Voi Ridete) from Cosi Fan Tutte present an amazingly varied programme, and I can think of no other tenor capable of pulling off both the drama of Verdi and the lightness of Mozart with such effortless panache.Among the lighter selections, Lanza also sings appealing versions of Come Prima (For The First Time), O Sole Mio, Schubert's Ave Maria, a Bavarian Drinking Song (Hofbrauhaus Song), and the pretty-though-brief O Mon Amour. There is also a tantalising snatch from Grieg's I Love Thee, with Lanza's gleaming tenor ringing out in all its glory.Physically, he often appears tired, and the unhealthy bags under his eyes betray his failing health. Nevertheless, he looks terrific in certain scenes, and unusually for the tenor his relatively slim appearance remains more or less consistent throughout the movie.Aside from the movie's vocal strengths, what really saves the film is the tender rapport between Lanza and his delightful co-star, Johanna Von Koczian. Their love for each other, quickly though it develops, seems convincing, and there are moments in which it is hard to believe that Lanza is only acting.Corny moments aside (and there are plenty of them), For The First Time is a poignant farewell to Lanza, and a vocal feast at that.

I am a big fan of Lanza- his singing was the first 'classical' singing I ever remember hearing as a child (Student Prince) and his film biopic of 'The Great Caruso' made me want to go into classical singing myself as a career, as both performer and Academic. So, I know what I am talking about. This film (Lanza's last) has a rather bland woman as his 'co-star' and the silliness of the sub-plot (a self-absorbed egotistic opera singer gives up an equally self-absorbed Zsa Zsa Gabor, for a deaf - a DEAF girl!? and then foolishly puts her in harm's way, when 'even a cold' could cause her to lose her regained hearing, etc. is just about more than even a B-grade flick - which is what this is) can carry without collapsing into cliches and predictable outcomes. Which it does.I'm sorry if I am 'raining on your parade' in saying what I do, but even the "Seven Hills of Rome" (the previous 'made-in-Italia' film of Lanza's) came off better than this one, and it was not as costly to produce. Lanza looks and sounds tired- as if all his philandering, binge gorging and boozing were finally catching up to him (they did- he died a ridiculous death at too early an age) and I hoped that it could bee overcome. There are moments when Lanza actually ACTS, and that is a joy to see- but it comes and goes, like the plot. The Score is nice, but the 'lead' song is nowhere near 'Be My Love' (one of Lanza's biggest hits). I mean, the cost is less than a first-run movie ticket, and if you are curious, then I suppose getting this film makes sense. But the positive reviews on this site, made me believe it was the "summum bonum" of all Lanza cinematography. It ain't. Your call- but, for me, I wish I had bought something else... like a real singing movie, with McDonald and Eddy. So much better, even with all the campiness.

A Kid From Philadelphia,: Mario Lanza: The Voice of the Poets This is an excellent movie, if you love Mario Lanza. The scenery, setting, the story, the filming, acting and directing are all good. Most of all, there is Mario Lanza at his best. It showed he was once again "on top" as a tenor, a movie star and a brilliant concert performer and recording artist. He had years of magnificent performances ahead of him when he died in Rome at the age of 38, 54 years ago this month. His last movie is a tribute to his art and the generations of singers who were inspired by him.He was enormously gifted with good looks, charisma and immense talent. Mario Lanza was the most versatile tenor who ever walked on a stage. He could sing opera like the greatest tenors of all time. He was a master at "crossing over" from lyric opera to popular singing. As a result, he was a top recording artist and concert performer. In the "Great Caruso" he also showed he could be a global movie sensation. The movie about the amazing Neapolitan tenor actually was about Mario Lanza. It turned the Great Caruso into the Great Lanza. He exhibited all of his splendid qualities.His movies inspired me to write my recent book about him: "A Kid from Philadelphia, Mario Lanza, the Voice of the Poets." It is not a biography. If you are searching for a biography of Mario Lanza, this is not the one, even if it goes into his life. There have been several excellent bios about him. This is a book from a fan. It exhibits his qualities, talents, passion and love for his art. I wanted it to be a "page turner" that would be impossible to put down while listening to the magnificent voice of Mario Lanza. I suggest you listen to Mario as you read it.Anyone who loves Lanza the movie star, the tenor, the popular singer and the human being, who did so much in such a short time, will love his final film, "For the First Time."

Sadly, Mario's last performance on film, with some memorable operatic and light weight songs. He is looking quite ill in this film, and a lot older than his late thirties. But I rate this much better than the previous Seven Hills of Rome. Nice touch towards the end of the film, with his father's name included as one of the characters in a line up.

Exellent dvd,great film the last one from the best tenor Mario Lanza.One thing is bad and a shame,there are no subtitels in different languages,not everybody understand the English language.

This was a good quality DVD so enjoyable to watch.

We bought this to fill the gap in our Mario lanza collection.Story is not that good but some of the singing is good.Some scenes were not so good, but enjoyed the film overall.

The item was very good and it came in the promised time. The plot is perhaps banal, but that you easy forget when you hear wonderful Mario Lanza