A Little Night Music (film)

A Little Night Music is a 1977 American–West German–Austrian film adaptation of the 1973 musical "A Little Night Music", which in turn is based on Ingmar Bergman's 1955 film, "Smiles of a Summer Night". The film stars Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Rigg, and Lesley-Anne Down. It also features Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold, and Laurence Guittard who reprised their Broadway roles. The film was directed by Harold Prince, his second and final feature film as director.
Plot.
Fredrik Egerman is very happy in his marriage to Anne, an 18-year-old virgin. However, Anne nervously has protected her virginity for the whole 11 months of marriage, and being a bit restless, Fredrik goes to see an old flame: the famous actress Desirée Armfeldt.
Desirée, who is getting tired of her life, is thinking of settling down, and sets her sights on Fredrik, despite his marriage, and her own married lover Count Carl-Magnus Mittelheim. She gets her mother to invite the Egermans to her country estate for the weekend. But when Carl-Magnus and his wife, Charlotte, appear, too, things begin to get farcical, and the night must smile for the third time before all the lovers are united.
Production.
Music.
Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for the film. He wrote the lyrics for the "Night Waltz" theme ("Love Takes Time") and wrote an entirely new version of "The Glamorous Life", which has been incorporated into several subsequent productions of the stage musical.
Location.
The setting for the film was moved from Sweden to Austria and was filmed on location.
Release and reception.
The film received mostly negative reviews, with much being made of Taylor's wildly fluctuating weight from scene to scene. Some critics talked more positively of the film, with "Variety" calling it "an elegant looking, period romantic charade". The film has received critical praise for Diana Rigg's performance. The film currently holds an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Home media.
A soundtrack was released on LP. In 2013, Masterworks Broadway released an expanded edition on compact disc featuring one previously unreleased stereo track prepared for the LP and three mono tracks taken directly from the film's soundtrack.
The film was, for a time, available on VHS and Laserdisc. A DVD release was issued in June 2007. A newer version of "The Glamorous Life" was included on the new remastered version of the Original Broadway Cast Recording.