Perversion! "The First Nudie Musical" Arrives On CD and Blu-Ray

Few disputed the title of 1976’s The First Nudie Musical. And if there’s been a second nudie musical, nobody’s told me about it. But even if a second one does exist, chances are it doesn’t have a fraction of the satirical charm of the film described by the New York Post’s Judith Crist as “the Star Wars of nudie musicals!” In fact, the Paramount Picture sat just beneath the science-fiction behemoth and the James Bond thriller The Spy Who Loved Me during its first week of wide release in 1977. Though The First Nudie Musical received a “26^th Anniversary Edition” DVD release in 2002 (with the first run of the DVDs also including a soundtrack CD), it’s taken another nine years for the film to receive the deluxe treatment. That red carpet is being rolled out by Kritzerland, the stage and screen specialist label founded by Bruce Kimmel, writer, co-director and star of the only movie musical to feature the showstopping “Dancing Dildos" and "Lesbian, Butch, Dyke." (Mark Haggard co-directed with Kimmel.) As Mike reported back on September 20, Kritzerland is bringing Nudie Musical into the 21^st century with its Blu-Ray debut. But there's more! An expanded edition of the Original Soundtrack Recording is also coming on CD.

The cult classic satire was declared by Joseph Gelmis of Newsday to be “one of the most memorable movies of the year,” while the New York Times’ Janet Maslin opined, “at the conclusion of The First Nudie Musical, Stephen Nathan and Cindy Williams, a clean-scrubbed couple with matching pug noses, decide to get married, he proposing shyly and she all aglow. This show of naiveté, however touching, comes as something of a surprise, since the pair have just shuffled their way through a musical number about oral sex.” The film, indeed, offers a mix of the sweet and the risqué. There's something for everybody in its zany story of a ragtag group’s efforts to make a movie musical entitled Come…Come Now! It starred Stephen Nathan of Godspell as the producer, Cindy Williams just prior to her Laverne and Shirley breakthrough as his sassy tap-dancing secretary, Alexandra Morgan as the leading lady, Diana Canova of Soap as fiery Cuban Juanita, and Bruce Kimmel as the director putting it all together. Canova appears on the film’s soundtrack, along with Annette O’Toole and the Tony Award-winning actress and singer Debbie Gravitte (formerly Shapiro). Even future superstar director Ron Howard has a cameo in the film! (And for those wondering, the answer is no! America's sweetheart Williams doesn't go nude in the movie.)

As Adam Jahnke of The Digital Bits put it, “This is probably the most innocent, inoffensive movie ever set against the backdrop of pornographic filmmaking.” That good-hearted spirit is in evidence throughout the film and its soundtrack. The 35^th Anniversary CD contains the original soundtrack recording as well as the newly arranged soundtrack to Nick Redman’s documentary, From Dollars To Donuts: An Undressing Of The First Nudie Musical, which has the Nudie songs arranged by Grant Geissman, the noted composer of Two-And-A-Half Men and Mike and Molly. The booklet contains liner notes by Nick Redman and Bruce Kimmel.

For full specs on both releases, plus track listing and pre-order links, just hit the jump!

The Blu-Ray has been grandly upgraded from its 2002 debut. That release was derived from three 35mm prints that had retained about 60 percent of their color. As Kimmel explains, “Between then and now, the low-budget film’s CRI (internegative) was found (the camera negative is lost). Fortunately, it was in excellent condition and only one generation away from the camera negative. It yielded a wonderful image and the color is now wholly accurate to the way the film was originally shot.” It’s also chock full of bonus material, including a retrospective documentary co-directed by Academy Award-nominated Nick Redman, and three commentary tracks: two for the film (one with Cindy Williams, Stephen Nathan, and Bruce Kimmel, and one with Nick Redman and Bruce Kimmel), and one for the documentary (Nick Redman, Michael Rosendale, and Bruce Kimmel). You’ll also find one deleted scene, two deleted musical numbers (one with sound and picture, one with audio only), two theatrical trailers, a radio spot, costume tests, and a stills gallery.

Both the Blu-Ray and CD are available now directly from Kritzerland for pre-order. Both are scheduled for November 5, but pre-orders taken through the site generally ship an average of four weeks early. The first 100 copies of the Blu-Ray will be signed by Cindy Williams and Bruce Kimmel, while Kimmel has signed the first 100 copies of the compact disc, as well. If you order both releases together, Kritzerland even has a special deal for you!

You’ll want to check out what After Dark magazine described as “a bawdy bonanza of laughs!” Pre-order links can be found below along with the complete track listing of the soundtrack!

Original Soundtrack Recording, The First Nudie Musical (Varese Sarabande LP VC 80128, 1978 - reissued and expanded by Kritzerland, 2011)