| Liza with a Z | |
|---|---|
 Poster for remastered version | |
| Genre | Concert film |
| Written by | Fred Ebb |
| Directed by | Bob Fosse |
| Starring | Liza Minnelli |
| Theme music composer | Kander and Ebb |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Fred Ebb Bob Fosse Michael Arick (re-master) Craig Zadan (re-master) Neil Meron (re-master) |
| Cinematography | Owen Roizman |
| Editor | Alan Heim |
| Running time | 51 min. |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 10, 1972 (1972-09-10)[1][2] |
Liza with a "Z" is a 1972concert film made for television, starringLiza Minnelli, produced byFred Ebb andBob Fosse. Fosse also directed and choreographed the concert, and Ebb wrote and arranged the music with his song-writing partnerJohn Kander. All four had recently completed the successfulfilm adaptation ofCabaret. According to Minnelli,Liza with a "Z" was "the first filmed concert on television".[3]Singer sponsored the production, even though producers did their best to prevent the sponsors from seeing rehearsals, fearing they would back out due to Minnelli's short skirts.[3]
Filmed on May 31 at theLyceum Theatre inNew York,[1][4] after eight weeks of rehearsals,[3] the concert was shot with eight16 mm film cameras[1] at the insistence of Fosse, in contrast to other television specials of the time which were all shot on videotape.
Throughout the concert Minnelli sings and dances to a variety of popular songs, highlights fromCabaret, and material specifically written for her byKander and Ebb—most notably the title song.[5] Minnelli is often accompanied on stage by dancers, backup singers, and musicians. Costumes were designed byHalston, who was also a friend of Minnelli's.Marvin Hamlisch was selected by Kander and Ebb to be music coordinator.[1]
First broadcast byNBC on September 10, 1972, it went on to win four Emmys and aPeabody Award. Kay Gardella of theNew York Daily News reviewed the film as being "sensational with anS."[4] After the initial broadcast, NBC re-ran the concert only twice more and did not screen it again after 1973.[1][2] The film was not seen for over thirty years and was thought lost until 1999, whenMichael Arick discovered that Minnelli owned the copyright and the two set about restoring the negatives.[3]
After the initial broadcasts in 1972 and 1973, the negatives were stored in the vaults of NBC, only occasionally being brought out for Minnelli's own personal use.[6] In the 1980s, the original negatives were lost and feared destroyed. Michael Arick and Minnelli eventually tracked down the original negatives in 1999 in Los Angeles and New York.[6] In 2005, Minnelli revealed toCraig Zadan andNeil Meron, producers and friends of hers, that she owned the rights to the film and that she had been restoring it with Arick. They introduced her toRobert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment forShowtime, who agreed to finance the restoration, broadcast the film, and release the DVD.[7]
The remastered film was accepted into both theToronto International Film Festival and theHamptons Film Festival and premiered September 9, 2005, at theElgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto. Showtime broadcast the restored film on April 1, 2006.[8]
As well as a restored picture, the DVD also offers the option of5.1surround sound audio. This was made possible due to a new mix being created from reels of sound recordings Minnelli had personally archived after the original production in 1972.[6] The DVD also includes a commentary track recorded by Minnelli, a performance of "Mein Herr" cut from the original film, an interview with Kander recorded by Minnelli, a recording of Minnelli and the restoration producers discussing the film at the Toronto Film Festival, and a separate performance by Minnelli at theGLAAD Awards in 2005.
AnLP of the soundtrack was released in 1972 and followed in the success of the film by becoming a best seller[2] and beingcertified gold.[6]
