Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary (2016)

The spectacular West End revival of Miss Saigon celebrates the show's 25th Anniversary. The musical was filmed live at London's Prince Edward Theatre in 2014 just before closing.

The epic musical, which is based on a real photograph taken in Vietnam, tells the story of a young Vietnamese bar girl, Kim, who falls in love with Chris, an American GI. Their lives are torn apart by the fall of Saigon, when Chris has to leave and go back to the US.

A little known fact is that while the actual 25th Anniversary performance was shot live, most of the shots ultimately used in the film were taken right before the show closed in early 2016.

The filmed musical was released in both UK and US cinemas around the same time, with the Broadway revival already booking dates at The Broadway Theater. The release of the filmed production did not hurt ticket sales - and the show went on to tour the US right after the closure of the Broadway production.

The show is available in the UK on a region-free Blu-Ray as well as a Region 2 DVD that includes a bonus disc about the making of the West End revival.

In his review for Variety, David Benedict said: 'The look of the show is mostly naturalistic, a conscious turn away from Nicholas Hytner and John Napier’s original conception. But their rigorous, epic control of the space gave the drama the clarity and grandeur this production now only really achieves in the biggest set-pieces, notably the helicopter arrival/leaving of Saigon and, especially, 'The American Dream.'

Directing:

• Brett Sullivan
• Laurence Connor

Writing:

• Alain Boublil
• Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Giacomo Puccini

Stars:

• Eva Noblezada
• Alistair Brammer
• Jon Jon Briones

Release Date: 2016-09-22

9.0/10

• Runtime: 144