Nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Music, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s unforgettable musical comedy Flower Drum Song tells the story of a young Hong Kong girl (Miyoshi Umeki, Sayonara) who travels to San Francisco as part of an arranged marriage and discovers a new and modern world. Filled with memorable songs by the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein (South Pacific) and brilliant dances choreographed by Hermes Pan (Top Hat), this lavish Ross Hunter (All That Heaven Allows) production is beautifully realized by director Henry Koster (No Highway in the Sky) and cinematographer Russell Metty (Spartacus). Co-starring Nancy Kwan (The World of Suzie Wong) and James Shigeta (The Crimson Kimono), Flower Drum Song became a cinematic landmark as the first major Hollywood feature film to have a mostly Asian-American cast in a contemporary Asian-American story.

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Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Flower Drum Song with a stunning new 1080p master transfer in 2.35:1 sourced from a 2K master supplied by Universal Pictures. As you might expect from a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, the visuals on display are a sumptuous treat for the eyes. The film features some vibrant colors within the costumes and the lavish production design that pop off the screen with a grand intensity. The film is practically pristine with no noticeable instances of damage or dirt detected here. The level of minute detail and clarity is stunning with a lovely amount of natural film grain intact. The only distinct downturn in quality comes during the song where Linda is singing in front of the mirror to three different versions of herself which was achieved through optical effects. The black levels are incredibly deep with a pleasing stability throughout. Compression artifacts, banding and other such issues do not pop up as an issue in this transfer. This presentation is another instance of Kino Classics bringing a classic film back to the mainstream in impeccable quality.

Audio Quality

Kino Classics has provided both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio presentation that pulls out all of the stops. Music is obviously of the utmost importance in this feature, and this track handles it beautifully with nothing ever sounding crunchy or unstable. These tunes have never sounded better than on this disc. Dialogue comes through perfectly clear from beginning to end without ever being overshadowed by competing elements. Every element seems to present with a nice fidelity, as all sounds are clearly defined and in balance. The surround sound track fills the room impeccably without ever seeming unnatural for the time period. This is a track that mercifully does not exhibit any signs of age-related wear-and-tear. Kino Classics has allowed this film to sound the best it ever has on home entertainment. The disc comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Star Nancy Kwan with Film Historian Nick Redman provided a very informative and entertaining commentary track in which they discuss how Kwan came to star in this screen adaptation, what this film meant for the Asian community, the blending of East and West in the production design and costumes, memories of the ensemble performers, the attention to detail put into shaping this film, the release and reception of this film and more.

A Classic Evolves – From Print To Stage To Screen: A 19-minute piece which begins with an audio clip from Oscar Hammerstein II discussing the process of adapting the C.Y. Lee novel before transitioning to an interview with Lee in which he talks how he came to writing this story. From there we get an excellent assortment of important figures discussing the themes of the story, the importance of the material, the journey it took to the stage and eventually the silver screen, the choreography of the piece, the different interpretations of the material and more.

Faces Of The East – Casting Flower Drum Song: A nine-minute piece in which many of the same participants discuss the state of Asian Americans on film at the time of this film, the difficulty in finding Asian performers, the compromises that were made in casting, how they discovered the performers that ended up in the film and more.

The Songs Of Flower Drum Song: An 11-minute look at the music in the film, how they tie in closely to the plot, the delicate shooting of musical numbers, the unique philosophy of Rodgers & Hammerstein and more.

An All-Access Pass To The Sets And Costumes Of Flower Drum Song: A six-minute look at the elaborate and gorgeous production qualities implemented within the film, the locations that they attempted to replicate and heighten, the clothes that needed to be fetching and practical, and more.

The Legacy Of Rodgers & Hammerstein: A nearly five-minute piece which briefly covers the careers of Rodgers and Hammerstein, how they adapted their work for the screen and more.

Trailers: There is a three-minute trailer for Flower Drum Song. There is also a trailer provided for Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Final Thoughts

Flower Drum Song is an important film from a historical perspective due to its mostly Asian American ensemble, but more than that it is a tremendously entertaining musical with stunning spectacle and songs that will not soon leave your head. The performances are very strong across the board, everyone bringing a little bit more humanity to their characters than might be in the script. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray featuring a tremendous A/V presentation and a wonderful array of special features. If you are a fan of musicals and you somehow have not seen this one, do yourself a favor a pick this one up as soon as humanly possible. Highly Recommended

Flower Drum Song is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.