Bizarre and seemingly unfaithful to the stage version, but the blending of Lester's trademark frenetic pace and surprisingly authentic settings make this a fun comedy. Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, and Phil Silvers are at their best. Buster Keaton doesn't have a lot to do, but he steals all the scenes he's in with his deadpan. Stunning use of color. The chariot chase at the end is hilarious.
The stage show is one of the funniest ever created: the film drops some of the songs and makes a number of changes, but much of the spirit of the original still shines through. Zero Mostel hams it up as only he can, backed by a largely excellent cast (fuck Michael Crawford, though); Richard Lester directs in a madcap fashion reminiscent of his THE KNACK, but with better results here (it gets a touch tiresome, though). Cheerfully grotesque design adds to the visual feast; the songs are brilliant.
Extremly very entertaining and really reamarkably Funny! Some parts kinda weird but the story makes you laugh and Michael Crawford was good. The lead actor, I wonder did he win an oscar for a lead role? A very creative role