Hair (1979)

This takes place in the late 1960s. Claude Bukowski (John Savage) travels from Oklahoma to NYC to join the Army. While in NY he falls in with a group of hippies. They sing and dance about 1960s issues. Claude also falls for rich beautiful Sheila Franklin (Beverly D'Angelo). They all try to prevent Claude from going but he does...and finds basic training is a living hell.The plot is kind of vague as are the characters but this still works. The songs are great, the acting is on target, the costumes are VERY colorful and the dancing is energetic and directed by the legendary Twyla Tharp. Naturally it's dated but you get caught right up in it. Also, like the stage play this has female AND male nudity! This was a bomb when it came out in 1979 but has since developed a cult following. Highly recommended. Look for the late Nell Carter singing "White Boys".

Hair is the only musical I like and can stand watching. I don't just like this film, I LOVE this film. Acting - superb! Story - interesting and so so touching. Songs - deep, full of very human and smart messages.A very beautiful, touching, so well acted deep and smart film. I cry each and every time.Don't miss it!

This might be one of the more over rated films on IMDb. For some reason this film was made with no connections to the original play. The 3 writers who worked on this do not have any really great work and 2 of them did no writing credits except the musical book on this film. That work is straight from a play with great music. The play was 1967 and this film is 12 years later. The writers who did work on the original play made changes in the plays characters which make little sense.That gap is an issue. While the film does keep the Vietnam Anti-War theme intact, though it really mentions it very little, it tries to take the hippie movement and make it mainstream in 1979. It was not even mainstream in 1967. Hippies were created by the media to influence a generation of teenagers to try and expand their horizons by tuning in a dropping out. While the media image has an iconic value, a lot of what is presented here is just incorrect.This is not your present Democratic view, as a lot of the music in this one is now considered politically incorrect by modern Democrats. In the 1967 it is not even right. Democrats in 1967 and 1968 were protesting Vietnam, but they were not accepting diversity as this movie portrays. About half the party was supporting George Wallace and segregation then and would continue to do so until Wallace was shot in 1972. Even after that modern Democrats would use racism to divide Americans, rich from poor. Hippies that existed were people who were liberated, which early on in this film is shown, but then there is little in common with these characters and what was the real world. Central Park in the 1960's was full of crime and muggers. They would have eaten these hippies in the park alive. Hippies were more of a reality on the West Coast as California had much less poverty in the 1960's. Cute though is the sequence with the police horses legs, and the other horsing around.The skinny dipping sequence is strange in that several people strip and go in the water, but only the last 2 people in actually come out of the water with their clothes having been stolen.The music is the best thing about this film, as several songs are now golden oldies from the era. The PC people must cringe though at the songs referring to Sodomy, Masterbation, White People, and Black People. The plot towards the end of the film of the Military swaps and road trip of the stolen car to get there are kind of absurd. So is the character whose extremely pregnant at the beginning of the movie and looks less so at the end of the film.This film should have a warning that it tries to reflect the 1960's reality, but instead creates a fantasy 1960's that has almost nothing to do with what was real then. There is only a little of the war protests, and no real peace movement stuff here.Once again, the 12 year gap here has created a movie that you have to try to accept as reality, but needs a reality check. Enjoy the music here and wish that the original message of the stage play survived.That message is not here, and is so removed now it might never be found.

Claude Hooper Bukowski (John Savage) leaves his Oklahoma family farm to go to NYC. He's a draftee ready to go to the Vietnam War. He encounters a group of hippie led by George Berger (Treat Williams). Sheila Franklin (Beverly D'Angelo) is from the stiff upper class riding a horse in Central Park. Claude is enticed by the free-spirited hippies. They crash Sheila's coming out party. Sheila and Claude fall in love with a lot of help from George. Eventually Claude goes to training in Nevada followed by Berger, Sheila and the hippies.This has a few iconic songs. The movie takes too much time in Central Park at the beginning. Treat Williams is great but the movie meanders. The cinematic style from Milos Forman is pretty weak. It's probably a much better musical play than a movie. The hippies aren't necessarily portrayed in the most positive light. There are some pretty harsh digs. The movie also feels dated without being a period piece.