Ginger Rogers
Average customer rating:
- Love it!
- You will enjoy this!
- wonderful
- A childhood memory comes back to life
- Classic Almost Ruined By Poor Transfer...
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Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella [Region 99]
Starring: Ginger Rogers , Walter Pidgeon , Celeste Holm , Jo Van Fleet , and Stuart Damon
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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Similar Items:
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production)
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
- Cinderella (1965 Television Cast)
- The King and I (50th Anniversary Edition)
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
ASIN: B00005RYKY
Release Date: 2002-01-02 |
Amazon.com
A guilty, guilty pleasure, perhaps not one a left-wing feminist should be admitting to in public. Female boomers should recall yearly TV reruns of this Rodgers and Hammerstein production, featuring such delights as "Impossible" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" It may appear a bit stark to younger viewers, but part of the charm of this 1964 network TV special, a remake of the live 1957 telecast originally built around Julie Andrews, is its utter simplicity. An extremely young Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon (of <I>General Hospital</I> fame) are joined by Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, and Celeste Holm. Warren is all sweetness and innocence without a hint of saccharine artificiality, while Damon is a clear-eyed romantic. This very handsome love story is a bit of an oddity, but worth owning just for the memorable score. <I>--Rochelle O'Gorman</I>
Customer Reviews:
Love it!.......2007-05-30
I have been looking for this video for a long time. The music in it is addictive and I can't get the songs out of my head! I especially enjoyed the bonus feature, with the actors telling how the show was made, and why they were chosen.
You will enjoy this!.......2007-05-29
Fun musical from Rogers and Hammerstein. Maybe their last? Done in 1964. Music is very enjoyable. Leslie Anne Warren's first.
wonderful.......2007-05-26
Takes me back to when we where kids and it only came on once a year.
A childhood memory comes back to life.......2007-05-25
This was one of my favorite movies growing up and the Prince -- Stuart Damon -- ended up on my favorite soap opera -- General Hospital for 30 yrs.
Classic Almost Ruined By Poor Transfer..........2007-05-17
It's nice reading about people's memories of this production-like so many, my sister and myself grew up looking forward to watching "Cinderella" on CBS. In college, I knew that if conversation topics ran short on dates, just mentioning this production to the woman in question would bring a flood of memories. Everybody, but everybody remembered it with love. It's still treasurable. But I cannot recommend the DVD edition. The VHS edition was fine-the overture and closing credit music was flown in from the stereo album master (nice, although it accounts for the "glitch" at the closing that one reviewer mentioned-the album take was different so the music did not match exactly). The picture was fine-definitely better than the Mary Martin version of "Peter Pan." (The master tape of that production was destroyed by an incompetent video tech. and what survives is a composite of five backup copies.) The laser disc was even better. But the DVD has a horrible "enhanced" stereo soundtrack that is all echo. The picture is very soft. I've seen all the video editions of this title plus a presentation in NYC before the first video was released-trust me, it looks and sounds far better than this. Until they remaster this, enjoy the laser version, if you can!
Average customer rating:
- Dazzling and Beautiful
- A set of classics
- BEWARE!
- a thesaurus of musicals in a package for musicals lovers
- UNEXPECTED BONUS
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Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Top Hat / Follow the Fleet / Swing Time / Shall We Dance / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Starring: Fred Astaire , and Ginger Rogers
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Similar Items:
- The Busby Berkeley Collection (Footlight Parade / Gold Diggers of 1933 / Dames / Gold Diggers of 1935 / 42nd Street)
- Motion Picture Masterpieces Collection (David Copperfield 1935 / Marie Antoinette 1938 / Pride and Prejudice 1940 / A Tale of Two Cities 1935 / Treasure Island 1934)
- Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather)
- Clark Gable - The Signature Collection (Dancing Lady / China Seas / San Francisco / Wife vs. Secretary / Boom Town / Mogambo)
- Carole Lombard - The Glamour Collection (Hands Across the Table/ Love Before Breakfast/ Man of the World/ The Princess Comes Across/ True Confession/ We're Not Dressing)
ASIN: B000H6SXME
Release Date: 2006-10-24 |
Amazon.com
2006 marks the arrival of five Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films (<I>Flying Down to Rio</I>, <I>The Gay Divorcee</I>, <I>Roberta</I>, <I>Carefree</I>, and <I>The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle</I>) on DVD after the first five were released in 2005. The big package is this <I>Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition</I>, which contains all 10 films plus a CD, a bonus DVD with the documentary <I>Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm</I>, press-book replicas, and some other material. If you want the big package with the extra stuff but already bought the five films in 2005, you can get the <I>Astaire & Rogers Partial Ultimate Collector's Edition</I>, which includes everything except the actual discs of those first five films. Or, if you only want the five new films, pick up <I>Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2</I> as a bookend to <I>Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1</I>.
The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport '30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there's that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical.
<I>Flying Down to Rio</I> (1933) headlined Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond, but it was the fourth- and fifth-billed stars who would rewrite cinematic history. Astaire and Rogers had limited screen time, but were still able to establish many of the trademarks of their later films. The heart of the film is "The Carioca," a company dance extravaganza in which they take the floor together for the first time; their eyes meet and their foreheads touch. Their dance lasts only a few minutes, but it was the highlight of the film and audiences wanted more. <I>The Gay Divorcee</I> (1934) is their best early picture, a loose adaptation of Astaire's stage show, 'The Gay Divorce.' The only song retained for the movie is Cole Porter's smash hit "Night and Day," which is the setting for a sublime pas de deux between Fred and Ginger. The closer is the sprawling 17-minute ensemble number "The Continental." <I>Roberta</I> (1935) was a step backward, with too much time spent on 1930s Parisian fashion and the romance between top-billed Irene Dunne (who gets the best Jerome Kern ballads, "Yesterdays" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes") and Randolph Scott. But as the second-banana couple Astaire and Rogers still get a tap battle, a romantic duet, and plenty of comic banter.
With a score by Irving Berlin, <I>Top Hat</I> (1935) is most famous for two numbers, Astaire's definitive tuxedo setting "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and the feathery duet "Cheek to Cheek." But other joys include Astaire's "Fancy Free" declaration, "Isn't It a Lovely Day," and the grand finale "The Piccolino." <I>Follow the Fleet</I> (1936) changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including "Let Yourself Go," which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series' defining moments. Maybe their most enjoyable picture, <I>Swing Time</I> (1936) features the set-piece "Pick Yourself Up," in which Rogers "teaches" Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode "Never Gonna Dance," and the Oscar-winning "Just the Way You Look Tonight," from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.
<I>Shall We Dance</I> (1937) has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married before the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin's brilliant "They Can't Take That Away from Me" into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include "Slap That Bass," "They All Laughed," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," unforgettably performed on roller skates. The eighth and ninth entries in the series tried some different approaches, with the underrated <I>Carefree</I> (1938) more of a comedy vehicle for Ginger (yet still including some fine dances and Irving Berlin songs as well as their first onscreen kiss) and <I>The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle</I> (1939) portraying the pair as historical dancing stars and using a score of turn-of-the-century standards. <I>The Barkleys of Broadway</I> (1949) is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It's trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to "They Can't Take That Away from Me"). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. <I>--David Horiuchi</I>
Customer Reviews:
Dazzling and Beautiful.......2007-04-20
Ibelieve everything has been said already of Rogers and Astaire.The two together on the screen is magical and entertaining.Funny whitty beautiful.The music by some othe greatest composer such as Berlin costumes by the best of Hollywood is a treat for the eyes.You will not be dissapointed,when you are feeling low his will make you sore to the sky.Get it.
A set of classics.......2007-02-28
If you enjoy Fred & Ginger, you need their entire set of these classics. The dialogue can be a little corny at times, but so was yours when you were young. They practiced for hours, and it shows.
BEWARE!.......2007-02-19
Twice I ordered this set for my wife, and each time the package arrived with DVDs missing from the set! All the containers were there, but as many as five (5) DVDs were gone. What a joke. I gave up and purchased the set at Borders. Does Amazon care? Never heard from them.
a thesaurus of musicals in a package for musicals lovers.......2007-02-19
each movie starring Fred and Ginger can be considered as a jewel; so is this collector's edition with bonus of value ( many photographs "off screen", newspapers articles,...) certainly collected by a true lover who aimed to enjoy the buyer.
UNEXPECTED BONUS.......2007-02-10
A GIFT FOR MY WIFE-OUR CATS ARE NAMED FRED&GINGER-SHE WAS PLEASED TO FIND THE PRINTED ITEMS(MINI-POSTERS,ETC.)
Average customer rating:
- JAR
- GREAT MOVIES!
- the astaire collection volume 1
- A Real Classic
- Astaire & Rogers
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Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Starring: Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Edward Everett Horton , Erik Rhodes , and Eric Blore
Director: Mark Sandrich , and George Stevens
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
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Similar Items:
- The Complete Thin Man Collection (The Thin Man / After the Thin Man / Another Thin Man / Shadow of the Thin Man / The Thin Man Goes Home / Song of the Thin Man)
- The Busby Berkeley Collection (Footlight Parade / Gold Diggers of 1933 / Dames / Gold Diggers of 1935 / 42nd Street)
- Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle)
- Garbo - The Signature Collection (Anna Christie / Mata Hari / Grand Hotel / Queen Christina / Anna Karenina / Camille / Ninotchka / Garbo Silents)
- Gene Kelly Collection (Singin' in the Rain / An American in Paris / On the Town / Anatomy of a Dancer)
ASIN: B0009NSCR6
Release Date: 2005-08-16 |
Amazon.com
Fans of classic movie musicals will be in heaven with <I>Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1</I>, featuring the DVD debut of five films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the quintessential dancing duo. The two gems of the set are <I>Top Hat</I> (1935), generally considered their definitive movie, and <I>Swing Time</I> (1936), which many consider their most enjoyable. <I>Follow the Fleet</I> (1936), <I>Shall We Dance</I> (1937), and <I>The Barkleys of Broadway</I> (1949) fill out the set, each with its own charms. <table align=left cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr><td align="center"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/aplus/astairefleet.jpg" border=0 align=top>
<span class="tiny">Follow the Fleet </span> </td></tr> </table> The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport '30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there's that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical.
With a score by Irving Berlin, <I>Top Hat</I> is most famous for two numbers, Astaire's definitive tuxedo setting "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and the feathery duet "Cheek to Cheek." But other joys include Astaire's "Fancy Free" declaration, "Isn't It a Lovely Day," and the grand finale "The Piccolino." Favorite musical moments in <I>Swing Time</I> include the set-piece "Pick Yourself Up," in which Rogers "teaches" Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode "Never Gonna Dance," and the Oscar-winning "Just the Way You Look Tonight," from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. <table align=right cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr><td align="center"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/aplus/Astaire-Rogers-swing-time.jpg" border=0 align=top>
<span class="tiny">Swing Time </span> </td></tr> </table> <I>Follow the Fleet</I> changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including "Let Yourself Go," which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series' defining moments. <I>Shall We Dance</I> has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married <I>before</I> the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin's brilliant "They Can't Take That Away from Me" into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include "Slap That Bass," "They All Laughed," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," unforgettably performed on roller skates. <I>The Barkleys of Broadway</I> is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It's trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to "They Can't Take That Away from Me"). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. <I>--David Horiuchi</I>
Description
You'll Love The Way Fred and Ginger Look Tonight in the 5-film, 5-Disc Astaire and Rogers Collection Volume One, including the highly acclaimed Top Hat and Swing Time.
Customer Reviews:
JAR.......2007-05-15
I love Fred Astaire Movies, classic movies there's nothing like these type of movies. excellent....
GREAT MOVIES!.......2007-02-24
ARRIVED NEXT DAY I ORDERED THEM! VERY GOOD QUALITY OF MOVIES.
the astaire collection volume 1.......2007-02-20
Fred Astaire is unbeatable especially when paired with Ginger Rogers or Eleanor Powell. These are older films and of course not up to modern technical standards. However the charm and the eleghance and the excellence shine through- A must for a fan or collector.
A Real Classic.......2007-01-21
Very well done. A must have for anyone who loves the old films. Even my 10 year old son, enjoyed the dancing and singing. :-)
Astaire & Rogers.......2007-01-12
For those who are fans of this great dancing duo, here is pure heaven, five full movies of their music and dance. Granted, the stories are usually pretty thin, often silly, but well writtn and well acted. The supporting cast is uniformly great. I love "Top Hat' for the music, 'Follow the Fleet' for the wonderful dance routines, each film for something special in it. If you are not a fan, viewing these 5 will make you one.
Average customer rating:
- Stage Door
- what a classic
- A classic masterpiece
- GAIL PATRICK IS THE BEST ACTRESS EVER!!!
- Wonderful Women!
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Stage Door
Starring: Katharine Hepburn , Ginger Rogers , Adolphe Menjou , Gail Patrick , and Constance Collier
Director: Gregory La Cava
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
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Similar Items:
- Dinner at Eight
- Alice Adams
- Libeled Lady
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- Twentieth Century [Region 99]
ASIN: B0006Z2KYS
Release Date: 2005-03-01 |
Amazon.com essential video
This one's all about the ladies. In this absolutely terrific 1937 gem, a Manhattan boardinghouse for aspiring actresses houses an amazing roster of golden-era performers--some of whom, like their characters, were just breaking in. It's hard to say who's in best form here: Katharine Hepburn in blueblood mode, Ginger Rogers streetwise, Andrea Leeds suffering, Lucille Ball and Ann Miller impossibly young, and Eve Arden being, well, splendidly Eve Ardenish. The sassy comedy and sober life lessons are wonderfully mixed by the underrated director Gregory La Cava (<I>My Man Godfrey</I>), who captures the brashness of '30s female chatter in a much pleasanter way than the more famous <I>The Women</I>. Hepburn's sublime attempts to wrestle with the line about calla lilies being in bloom will make you smile long after the movie's over. <I>--Robert Horton</I>
Customer Reviews:
Stage Door.......2007-06-21
Based on a play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, this glorious ensemble film evokes the near-constant frustration and rejection that wars with hope and sheer love of craft as these young women try to make their own dreams of success a reality. Stars Hepburn and Rogers play off each other expertly, and sterling support comes from a young Lucille Ball, Eve Arden and Ann Miller. Adolphe Menjou is also well-cast as suave, predatory producer Tony Powell. This is one stage door worth knocking on.
what a classic.......2007-05-07
HEPBURN AND GINGER ROGERS WHAT AND LUCILLE BALL EACH OF THEM REALLY STOOD OUT INT HIS MOVIE HEPBURN WEALTHY ROGERS STRUGGLING TO BE AN ACTRESS LUCILLE BALL AS WELL ALL ARE DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES BUT PUT ALL OF THEM TOGETHER WHAT CHEMISTRY THE WRITER'S KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WHEN THIS MOVIE I AM GLAD I HAVE COME ACROSS THIS ONE!! COVER GIRL IS ANOTHER GREAT MOVIE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO LIKE CLASSIC MOVIES
THE DRAMA THE SADNESS AND WELL I DO NOT WANT TO GIVE IT ALL AWAY BUT WHAT A MOVIE
A classic masterpiece.......2007-04-28
A must see for classic film buffs. It's a great theatrical film. Stellar cast with perfect acting from everyone. Fast paced dialogues, very witty and integrated in the evolution of the story. Perfect direction and camera work. It has something of Elia Kazan (without the sexual innuendos) and George Cukor in it. This is theater adapted to the screen. I hardly noticed the time pass, and this is the best sign that it was a great film.
Then we have Katherine Hepburn in a role that must have been a challenge for her at that early stage of her career, and one can't help fixing all the attention on her; Ginger Rogers does a wonderful work, very natural, actually all the cast are great and each one adds a different ingredients to their roles. Everything works out perfect. It's an intelligent and emotional film, and great entertainment. I am glad I can add one more masterpiece to my collection of classic films.
GAIL PATRICK IS THE BEST ACTRESS EVER!!!.......2007-03-13
I've been watching classic American films for well over 10 years and all I have to say is the star that I'm most impressed with is Ms. Gail Patrick. I don't know but there is something about her acting, her style and persona that is so different from other Hollywood film stars. When she gets in front of that camera, she becomes the character completely and she convinces you in a way that makes you believe that she and only she can play that role. I don't know and I'm not good with words but you just have to watch all her films to see what a great actress she truly was and still is. Her movies remain timeless for me and it's the greatest joy to watch her perform. Ms. Gail Patrick, you are the very best.:-)
I apologize for shying away from the topic which should be reviewing STAGE DOOR. My favorite performances from that film comes from Gail Patrick, Ginger Rogers and Andrea Leeds. Andrea Leeds is amazing as Kay Hamilton. Her dramatic role in her was very touching. You won't be disappointed if you rent or purchase this great classic film.:-)
Wonderful Women!.......2007-03-02
Fast snappy dialogue and a window into another world oddly like our own. Imagine a movie with lots of high powered female characters, none of whom have had surgery to their faces to adhere to some imposed idea of beauty as conformity, who, as characters, are competing for success based on personal merit and individuality? Watch this film and show it to young people.
JJP
Average customer rating:
- melody time
- Disney at its best!
- Roy Would NOT be Happy
- Melody Time is good, in parts
- A great bedtime video
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Melody Time (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Starring: Roy Rogers , Trigger , Dennis Day , Laverne Andrews , and Maxene Andrews
Director: Clyde Geronimi , Jack Kinney , and Wilfred Jackson
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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| ( B )
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| ( D )
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| ( D )
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| ( L )
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| ( N )
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| ( P )
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| ( R )
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Trigger
| ( T )
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| ( G )
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| ( J )
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Similar Items:
- Make Mine Music (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
- Fun and Fancy Free (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
- The Three Caballeros (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
- Saludos Amigos (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
ASIN: B00004R99D
Release Date: 2000-06-06 |
Amazon.com
This is another collection of Disney shorts set to music, but this time the formula works. That's predicated on the inherent strength of the individual pieces and almost all of them come through. Surprisingly, two American folk heroes, Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill, are the stars of this show, with rousty little tunes, humor, and compelling linear story lines (a rarity in most of these shorts). Even the shorts that are weak in one area, thematically or musically, make up for it in another. There's very little of the Disney animators attempting to be 1940s modern, thank goodness, and there's a sterling quality in the depth of the art work. A definite plus to an animation (or Disney) collection. --Keith Simanton
Description
In the grand tradition of Disney's greatest musical classics such as FANTASIA, MELODY TIME features seven classic stories, each enhanced with high-spirited music and unforgettable characters! Donald Duck -- an all-time Disney favorite -- puts on a display of jazzy antics as the star of "Blame It On The Samba." Music becomes a real adventure for a busy bumble bee in "Bumble Boogie." From the mischievous young tugboat in "Little Toot," to the heroes of legend and myth in "Johnny Appleseed" and "Pecos Bill," this feast for the eyes and ears entertains with wit and charm. A timeless addition to your video collection, MELODY TIME is a delightful Disney classic with something for everyone in your family!
Customer Reviews:
melody time.......2007-01-11
This is one of the great classics of the past. It is Walt Disney's Pecos Bill with Roy Rogers doing the narrating. Johnny Appleseed and a few others. I have looked for this on DVD for a while and finally found it. It is definitely worth getting to add to your disney collection or for the kids. You just don't find movies like this anymore. If you want to bring back a piece of your childhood don't wait to purchase this DVD.
Disney at its best!.......2006-12-31
It was such a joy to pop this in the DVD player and watch all the old shorts and cartoons from Disney that never seem to make it on the Disney channel anymore. Ultimately I purchased two copies of this for myself and my brother once I discovered the DVD contained the well-loved Disney short "Lambert the Sheepish Lion". But it also contains many other forgotten favourites. If you love the Classic Disney, you won't want to pass this up!
Roy Would NOT be Happy.......2006-07-06
we got no further in this DVD than "Pecos Bill", after discovering that they cut out part of the song. yes, it's a DVD called "Melody Time" and they cut out part of a song! I'd like to know the genius at Disney who thought this would be a good idea. needless the say, this item is being returned to Amazon.
Melody Time is good, in parts.......2006-04-19
Melody Time was made by Walt Disney in a time when he needed to make a movie. He was bogged down in helping the USA with information and propaganda during WWII, so he needed something at the end of the war to help raise funds. So Walt Disney takes a series of shorts that have a musical theme in common (and nothing else)pieces them together and creates a feature length movie made up of short sketches. Very similar to Fantasia with the exception that this movie is not even in the same league as Fantasia.
Some of the shorts are really good, and others are rather forgetable. Blame it on the Samba, the bumble bee song, are boring, but their are a few shorts that capture the genius of Walt Disney short films.
1. Johnny Appleseed. This is one of Disney's tall tales that is done so well it could have easily been the signature part of the film, if it didn't have the other short film,
2. Pecos Bill, This short is GREAT! It is told by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers. You will also see Bobby Driscol a child star in Disney who ended in a tragic death in his twenties. The story is great, the music is perfect for the piece, this really is a masterpiece found in an other wise average film.
Little Toot, and once upon a wintertime are not as good as Appleseed and Pecos Bill, but they do have a good quality about them that anyone can enjoy.
In the DVD one of the Bonus features is the short, Lambert, the sheepish lion. THis is also a unique little cartoon that is as good as Appleseed, and almost as pecos bill.
I would normally say pass on this little Disney film, but I think that this is the only way you can get Pecos Bill on DVD, so if you like good quality cartoon films by Walt Disney go ahead and pick this one up, but skip over some of the shorts.
A great bedtime video.......2005-10-11
My son is a year and a half and this is his favorite video. It's beautifully done and has soft but catchy music. It's now become a part of bedtime - before my son jumps into bed, he points to the television for me to play this video. We love it so much, I'm on a search for more like it.
Average customer rating:
- Swing Time
- La crème de la crème.
- Swing Time correction
- Fred and Ginger at their best.
- Defective Copy
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Swing Time
Starring: Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Victor Moore , Helen Broderick , and Eric Blore
Director: George Stevens , and Friz Freleng
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
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Astaire, Fred
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| ( F )
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| ( M )
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| ( R )
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| ( S )
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Similar Items:
- Top Hat
- Shall We Dance
- The Gay Divorcee
- Follow the Fleet
- The Band Wagon (Two-Disc Special Edition) with Slipcover
ASIN: B0009NSCQM
Release Date: 2005-08-16 |
Amazon.com essential video
If you only had one Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film to watch, this classic musical from 1936 would be your best bet. It was the dance duo's sixth film together, and director George Stevens handled the material with as much flair behind the camera as Fred and Ginger displayed in front of it. This time out, Fred plays a gambling hoofer who's engaged to marry a young socialite (Betty Furness), but when he's late for the wedding his prospective father-in-law sends him away, demanding that he earn $25,000 before he can earn his daughter's hand in marriage. When Fred meets Ginger in a local dance studio (where he pretends to be a klutz so she can be his instructor), he's instantly smitten and the $25,000 deal becomes a moot point. Featuring six songs by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields (including a splendid rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight") and some of the most elegant dance sequences ever filmed, this lightweight fluff epitomizes the jazz-age style of 1930s musicals, virtually defining the genre with graceful joie de vivre. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I>
Description
It's Swing Time anytime Fred and Ginger slip on their dancing shoes. Here, Fred's a gambler with a fiancee back home...but one look at Ginger and all bets are off! He pursues, she resists, and it's all tied together by a series of breathtaking dances. "Bojangles of Harlem," a tribute to hoofer Bill Robinson, has Astaire tapping with three giant Astaire shadows. The sly "Pick Yourself Up" features Ginger teaching the supposedly flub-footed Fred how to dance. Other highlights from the splendid Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields score include "A Fine Romance," "Waltz in Swing Time," and the Academy Award(R) winning "The Way You Look Tonight." George Stevens directs. Year: 1936 Director: George Stevens Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick <P><b>DVD Features:</b>
<b>Audio Commentary:</b>Commentary by John Mueller, Author of Astaire Dancing
<b>Featurette:</b>The Swing of Things: Swing Time Step by Step
<b>Other:</b>Musical Short Hotel a la Swing and Classic Cartoon Bingo Crosbyana
</p>
Customer Reviews:
Swing Time.......2007-06-21
George Stevens's classic Astaire-Rogers entry too often takes a back seat to the prior year's "Top Hat", and shouldn't, as it's every bit as good. The dancing sequences are unmatched in the series, particularly the "Bojangles of Harlem" number, and the gossamer Kern-Fields score includes the immortal "The Way You Look Tonight", and the overlooked "Never Gonna Dance", among others. Victor Moore provides appealing comic relief, along with "Top Hat" veterans Eric Blore and Helen Broderick. One of the screen's tip-top musicals.
La crème de la crème. .......2007-02-19
You cannot go wrong with any of the Fred and Ginger movies, but this one is la crème de la crème.
Why? As Eric Blore says, for the sheer heaven of the "Pick Yourself Up" number, as you watch their feet fly across the dance floor, with Fred in trademark formal attire (in the morning my dears but it fits the lighthearted plot!)and Ginger in the pert black and white knee length dress that lets you see with your very own eyes what an incredibly nimble partner she was for the incomparable Astaire.
This is the ultimate in their "we are making it up as we go along" dances. Fred - who is supposed to be having his first dance lesson of his life - bowls over Ginger and dance school owner Eric Blore by his fancy footwork to demonstrate just how much Ginger has "taught him" and thereby gets her job back for her. Ginger proves to be quite the quick study, as she more than holds her own with Fred.
The number displays many of Fred's concepts about how such dances should be filmed--with one camera that can pan but does not move, with three different tempos to keep things lively, and with action that moves the plot forward. By the end of the dance, Ginger has changed her mind about Fred, and has fallen in love, even though she will change her mind several more times before the final scene.
This is what dancing is meant to be. Watch Ginger watch Fred (which in addition to her agility on the dance floor is the secret to their on screen chemistry).
Why do other dance teams not get that? You aren't on the dance floor to show off how great you are to others; you are there to connect with your partner. That is why Fred's later dance in another film with Eleanor Powell, "Begin the Beguine", while a tour de force, in the end, doesn't work romantically. Powell is the best female dancer, but not the best PARTNER, that Fred ever danced with. She is way too into her own dancing to make us believe that she cares a fig for Fred or anyone else for that matter.
(As an aside, Powell is more believable romantically in her playful scenes with Jimmy Stewart in "Born to Dance"' perhaps she was less intimidated by his reputatin than by Fred's?)
In contrast, every time Ginger looks at Fred, we know that the world has become just the two of them and the rest of us are chopped liver.
If the couples in modern ballroom dance competitions would allow themselves to look at each other in this way, it would ratchet up the things, considerably.
Watch also how Ginger allows an air of frivolity and nonchalance to flash toward the camera.
Later in the film... No one ever looked as good shampooing her hair as does Ginger "Just the Way You Look Tonight". It is whipped cream by the way, not Fells Naphtha.
They dazzle us again in the lovely "Waltz in Swing Time." This time, we get to see a dance that, according to the plot, they had prepared ahead of time. It is a great combination of intricate steps, incorporating some of what they "made up" in "Pick Yourself Up". They end the dance by exiting off stage in a whirl of light and shadow, assisted by Venetian blinds, another Fred and Ginger trademark.
And no set in any movie before this was ever as gorgeously black and white as the grandly reopened 'Silver Sandal', in which they dance their adieux in "Never Gonna Dance"--the number famous for so many takes that it was the wee hours and Ginger's pumps were blood soaked by the time they finished it. They go up and down the double set of stairs, as the black-floored set sparkles all around them.
Enjoy the banter over "cuffs or no cuffs" and the remarkable change that comes over Betty Furness' father and household when they learn that Fred has a knack for making money. This is, after all, still the Great Depression.
But who would ever guess it, as Fred (in the part of Lucky Garnett) wins enough at gambling to make the stars and their costars Helen Broderick and Victor Moore look like a million bucks, as they motor off to the New Amsterdam in an open Dusenberg in the snow. Yes, only in Hollywood!
As the snow continues to fall, Fred and Ginger sing about their "Fine Romance" which makes it seem like they are never going to manage to sort out their differences, but wait for it, there will be a happy ending, this time in the form of a laughing finale.
This is just about the best medicine you can buy without a prescription. Enjoy!
Swing Time correction.......2007-02-07
It's always enjoyable to read about the Astaire-Rogers movies, and I thank Mr. Moore for his contributions to the old musicals. He made a glaring mistake, however, in his Swing Time review. He says it contains "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off.'' He refers to it as "perhaps their greatest comic song.''
"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off'' is from "Shall We Dance.'' The comedy number in "Swing Time'' is "A Fine Romance.''
Mike Whiteford and Jane Mathews
Fred and Ginger at their best........2007-01-27
If I had to choose my very favourite Fred & Ginger film, I'm not sure I could do it. But Swingtime would certainly be in the running for 1st place. I just love those two dancer/singer/actors and watching them dance across my TV screen, in any film is pure joy and a good 90 or so minutes spent.
Defective Copy.......2007-01-12
Swingtime is the one Astaire and Rogers musical which did not transfer
to DVD. The picture "freezes" at several points early in the film.
I have not had this experience with the other Astaire/Rogers DVDs and I
own all of them. Have any of the other owners of this DVD had this prob-
lem?
Average customer rating:
- On a bit of a different note..
- THE PRICE IS EXCELLENT, THE PRODUCT IS NOT
- Wonderful!
- On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection rates : 5.7
- Films Included Have Changed
|
Hollywood Legends 50 Movie Pack
Starring: Cary Grant , Bette Davis , and Ginger Rogers
Manufacturer: Mill Creek Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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Similar Items:
- Family Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
- Action Classics 50 Movie Pack DVD Collection
- Musicals Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
- Mystery Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
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ASIN: B0001HAGX8
Release Date: 2004-09-28 |
Product Description
Hollywood Legends 50 Movie MegaPack - Dishonored Lady, Good News, Tom Brown's School Days, Second Chorus, A Walk in the Sun, The most Dangerous Game, The Stars Look Down, The Bigamist, Monsoon, Borderline, Indiscretion of an American Wife, The North Star, Diamond Thieves, Treasure of the Jamaica Reef, The Klansman, Lola, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Oh Alfie, Carnival Story, Four Deuces, Smash Up: The Story of a Woman, The Big Wheel, Killing Heat, The Fat Spy, Let's Live a Little, Lady of Burlesque, Love Affair, Letter of Introduction, The Town Went Wild, The Man with the Golden Arm, High Voltage, Hoosier Schoolboy, I Cover the Waterfront, Penny Serenade, Dark Mountain, The Big Show, The Joyless Street, Blood and Sand, Gold, Home Town Story, Meet John Doe, His Private Secretary, Heartbeat, He Found a Star, Affair in Monte Carlo, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Indiscreet, Chandu on the Magic Island, Hell's House, The Evil Mind
System Requirements:
Runnning Time 4424 Min
Format: DVD MOVIE
Customer Reviews:
On a bit of a different note.........2007-05-22
Not really going to talk about how "good or bad" these movies are (acting/scripts/etc). Personally, I like movies like "Meet John Doe".
Instead what I want to do is make a couple of comments about this package of movies that I think many of the other reviewers overlooked:
1 - The packaging of the discs - the package I got consisted of a box with 12 individual cardboard sleeves, each with a single DVD inside. Personally I like this as it seems to have kept the discs secure during shipment. I've bought other multi-disc sets and have never been that impressed with how they were shoe-horned into a single huge clam-shell case. Another thing that I like about the slim sleeves that these discs come in - it makes it really easy to drop one or two of these movies into the pocket of my laptop and/or my portable DVD player case. Also on the sleeves is a short description of each movie - in a very readable 12-pt font.
2 - The number of discs, there are twelve double-sided discs in this collection, with two movies on each side. Why do I think that is important? Mainly because I've bought other sets where a cheaper publisher crammed five movies onto each disc side so as to get 50 movies on five discs. To do that they had to greatly compress the videos which made them have a huge amount of artifacts and pixilation - making them almost unwatchable. The movies on this 12-disc set are of excellent quality, at least as good as possible considering the source material. While there appears to have been some defects in the prints used (scratches and whatnot) there doesn't seem to be any noticeable additional problems introduced from overly compressing the films to get them on the DVDs.
This is the third set of videos from Mill Creek Entertainment that I've purchased; I also bought their "Drive-In Classics" and "Cartoon Classics" collections. I must say that I've been very pleased with all three sets and look forward to buying more of their collections.
THE PRICE IS EXCELLENT, THE PRODUCT IS NOT.......2007-05-14
YES, MANY SAY THAT FOR ITS PRICE THIS PACK MAKES ANYONE MOUTH'S WATER, BUT WOULDN'T BE BETTER TO PAY A LITTLE MORE AND HAVE BETTER IMAGE, GOOD SOUND, AVOIDING CERTAIN MEDIOCRE FILMS? ANYWAY SEVERAL SURPRISES ARE THERE AND IF YOU MAY BE ANNOYED AT WHAT SAID HERE ABOVE, YOU CAN ALSO FORGET IT AND BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU DECIDED TO GET.
ERNESTO G. OPPICELLI
VIA CERTOSA 1A-3
16159 GENOVA CERTOSA - ITALY
Wonderful!.......2007-05-11
I've bought 8 of the movie paks and I really enjoy them. Some are a little crappy, but most are just fine. The silents and some of the earlier movies star people that lived during the civil war. These are not HD but, they are fascinating to watch and to check out whats going on in the background.They are a bargain and just great for any old movie buff.
On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection rates : 5.7.......2007-04-12
The HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS 50 MOVIE PACK offers a wide selection at a very fair price. The several genres here span six decades of cinematic history and this diversity alone makes for an interesting box set. The extensive roster of actors in these fifty movies is also quite unique. HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS is a collection that any fan of vintage motion pictures is certain to treasure.
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Based on viewer research at a film-related website, the average 1 to 10 rating of these movies is: 5.7.
The alphabetized program list below provides individual polling scores, original theatrical titles (where indicated), years of release, country of origin (if other than USA) and lead actors.
(5.3) Affair In Monte Carlo ("24 Hours In A Woman's Life") (UK-1952) - Merle Oberon/Richard Todd
(6.6) The Bigamist (1953) - Joan Fontaine/Ida Lupino/Edmund Gwenn/Edmond O'Brien
(5.8) The Big Show (1936) - Gene Autry/Smiley Burnette/Sons Of The Pioneers
(5.6) The Big Wheel (1949) - Mickey Rooney/Thomas Mitchell
(6.4) Blood And Sand (silent-1922) - Rudolph Valentino
(6.1) Borderline - Fred MacMurray/Claire Trevor/Raymond Burr
(5.5) The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (TV-1976) - John Travolta/Robert Reed/Buzz Aldrin (as himself)
(5.7) Carnival Story (USA/W Ger-1954) - Anne Baxter/Steve Cochran/George Nader
(5.4) Chandu On The Magic Island (1935) - Bela Lugosi/Maria Albert
(5.8) Dark Mountain (1944) - Robert Lowery/Ellen Drew/Regis Toomey/Elisha Cook Jr.
(5.2) Diamond Thieves (Italy/W Ger-1978) - Lee Van Cleef/Karen Black/Robert Alda
(6.3) Dishonored Lady (1947) - Hedy Lamarr/Natalie Schaefer/Margaret Hamilton
(6.7) The Evil Mind (UK-1937) - Claude Rains/Fay Wray
(2.9) The Fat Spy (1966) - Phyllis Diller/Jack E. Leonard/Brian Donlevy/Johnny Tillotson/Jane Mansfield
(4.8) Four Deuces (Israel/USA-1976) - Jack Palance/Carol Lynley
(5.5) Gold (UK-1974) - Roger Moore/Susannah York/Ray Milland/Bradford Dillman/John Gielgud
(7.3) Good News (1947) - June Allyson/Peter Lawford/Mel Tormé
(6.0) Heartbeat (1946) - Ginger Rogers/Adolphe Menjou/Basil Rathbone (in support)
(5.1) He Found A Star (UK-1941) - Vic Oliver/Sarah Churchill
(5.6) Hell's House (1932) - Bette Davis/Pat O'Brien
(5.3) High Voltage (1929) - William Boyd/Carole Lombard
(5.7) His Private Secretary (1933) - John Wayne/Evelyn Napp/Al St. John
(5.1) Home Town Story (1951) - Jeffrey Lynn/Donald Crisp/Alan Hale Jr./Marilyn Monroe
(5.7) Hoosier Schoolboy (1937) - Mickey Rooney/Anne Nagel
(6.1) I Cover The Waterfront (1933) - Ben Lyon/Claudette Colbert
(6.9) Indiscreet (1931) - Gloria Swanson/Ben Lyon/Arthur Lake
(6.3) Indiscretion Of An American Wife (Italy/USA-1953) - Jennifer Jones/Montgomery Clift/Patti Page (uncredited)
(7.2) The Joyless Street (silent-Germany-1925) - Greta Garbo (in an uncredited minor role)
(4.9) Killing Heat (Zambia/Sweden-1981) - Karen Black/John Thaw
(4.3) The Klansman (1974) - Lee Marvin/Richard Burton/Cameron Mitchell/O.J. Simpson/Lola Falana
(6.3) Lady Of Burlesque (1943) - Barbara Stanwyck/Pinky Lee (minor role)
(5.5) Let's Live A Little (1948) - Hedy Lamarr/Robert Cummings
(6.0) Letter Of Introduction (1938) - Adolphe Menjou/George Murphy/Edgar Bergan/Ann Sheridan
(5.0) Lola ("Twinky") (Italy/UK-1969) - Charles Bronson/Orson Bean/Honor Blackman/Paul Ford/Trevor Howard
(7.2) Love Affair (1939) - Irene Dunne/Charles Boyer
(7.4) The Man With The Golden Arm (1955) - Frank Sinatra/Eleanor Parker/Kim Novak/Arnold Stang
(7.6) Meet John Doe (1941) - Gary Cooper/Barbara Stanwyck/Walter Brennan/Spring Byington
(4.2) Monsoon (UK/USA-1952) - Ursula Theiss/George Nader
(7.5) The Most Dangerous Game (1932) - Joel/McCrea/Fay Wray
(6.1) The North Star (1943) - Anne Baxter/Dana Andrews/Walter Huston/Walter Brennan
(4.5) Oh, Alfie! ("Alfie Darling") (1975) - Alan Price/Jill Townsend/Joan Collins/Rula Lenska
(7.0) Penny Serenade (1941) - Irene Dunn/Cary Grant/Beulah Bondi/Edgar Buchanan
(5.8) Second Chorus (1940) - Fred Astaire/Paulette Goddard/Artie Shaw
(6.4) Smash-Up: The Story Of A Woman (1947) - Susan Hayward/Lee Bowman/Eddie Albert
(6.3) The Snows Of Kilimanjaro (1952) - Gregory Peck/Susan Hayward/Ava Gardner/Leo G. Carroll
(7.6) The Stars Look Down (UK-1940) - Michael Redgrave/Margaret Lockwood
(6.5) Tom Brown's School Days (1940) - Cedric Hardwicke/Freddie Bartholomew/Billy Halop
(5.5) The Town Went Wild (1944) - Freddie Bartholomew/Jimmy Lydon/Edward Everett Horton
(2.1) Treasure Of The Jamaica Reef ("Evil In The Deep") (1976) - Stephen Boyd/Roosevelt Grier/Cheryl Ladd
(7.7) A Walk In The Sun (1945) - Dana Andrews/Richard Conte/Lloyd Bridges/Stanley Holloway
Films Included Have Changed.......2007-02-01
Mainly want to update Bderoes excellent list to say that my recent set seems to have had three films exchanged for others, so I assume this is now standard for the set -
Gold,
Good News, and
Lets Live a Little
HAVE BEEN REMOVED, to be replaced by -
The Road To Bali w/ Hope & Crosby,
Scarlet Street w/ Edward G Robinson, and
Pied Piper Of Hamelin (1957 TV Movie) w/ Van Johnson.
Roger Moore is still listed on the front cover, but doesn't now appear.
I have to agree with other reviews that this is a poorer set than some others in the series, with a high number of films running at least 10min too short.
Average customer rating:
- See how it all started and ended for the duo at RKO
- Nice completion to the Astaire/Rogers films
- Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2
- tap dance dvds
- Delightful 1930's musical romances
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Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle)
Starring: Fred Astaire , and Ginger Rogers
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Similar Items:
- Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)
- Motion Picture Masterpieces Collection (David Copperfield 1935 / Marie Antoinette 1938 / Pride and Prejudice 1940 / A Tale of Two Cities 1935 / Treasure Island 1934)
- Gary Cooper - The Signature Collection (Sergeant York / The Fountainhead / Dallas / Springfield Rifle / The Wreck of the Mary Deare)
- Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille)
- The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Charge of the Light Brigade / Gentleman Jim / The Adventures of Don Juan / The Dawn Patrol / Dive Bomber)
ASIN: B000H6SXM4
Release Date: 2006-10-24 |
Amazon.com
2006 marks the arrival of five Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films (<I>Flying Down to Rio</I>, <I>The Gay Divorcee</I>, <I>Roberta</I>, <I>Carefree</I>, and <I>The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle</I>) on DVD after the first five were released in 2005. If you only want the five new films, pick up this <I>Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2</I> as a bookend to your <I>Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1</I>. Or you can get the big package, <I>Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition</I>, which contains all 10 films plus a CD, a bonus DVD with the documentary <I>Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm</I>, press-book replicas, and some other material. If you want the big package with the extra stuff but already bought the five films in 2005, you can get the <I>Astaire & Rogers Partial Ultimate Collector's Edition</I>, which includes everything listed above except the actual discs of those first five films.
<I>Flying Down to Rio</I> (1933) headlined Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond, but it was the fourth- and fifth-billed stars who would rewrite cinematic history. Astaire and Rogers had limited screen time, but were still able to establish many of the trademarks of their later films. The heart of the film is "The Carioca," a company dance extravaganza in which they take the floor together for the first time; their eyes meet and their foreheads touch. Their dance lasts only a few minutes, but it was the highlight of the film and audiences wanted more. <I>The Gay Divorcee</I> (1934) is their best early picture, a loose adaptation of Astaire's stage show, <I>The Gay Divorce</I>. The only song retained for the movie is Cole Porter's smash hit "Night and Day," which is the setting for a sublime pas de deux between Fred and Ginger. The closer is the sprawling 17-minute ensemble number "The Continental." <I>Roberta</I> (1935) was a step backward, with too much time spent on 1930s Parisian fashion and the romance between top-billed Irene Dunne (who gets the best Jerome Kern ballads, "Yesterdays" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes") and Randolph Scott. But as the second-banana couple Astaire and Rogers still get a tap battle, a romantic duet, and plenty of comic banter.
The eighth and ninth entries in the series tried some different approaches, with the underrated <I>Carefree</I> (1938) more of a comedy vehicle for Ginger (yet still including some fine dances and Irving Berlin songs as well as their first onscreen kiss) and <I>The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle</I> (1939) portraying the pair as historical dancing stars and using a score of turn-of-the-century standards. <I>--David Horiuchi</I>
Customer Reviews:
See how it all started and ended for the duo at RKO .......2007-05-31
The first volume of Astaire & Rogers has four of their best films at RKO plus one that didn't really fit in with the motif of the other Astaire & Rogers films - The Barkleys of Broadway - that was actually an MGM musical.
This set of five films shows you how it all started and ended for the duo at RKO. "Flying Down to Rio" is the duo's first film, and is enjoyable enough but would probably be long forgotten were it not for the fourth and fifth billed Astaire and Rogers dancing the "The Carioca" about half-way through the film plus the witty banter of the two that goes on throughout and really spices up the movie. Also, the pre-code raciness of some of the film may surprise you with lines like "What have those girls got below the equator that we haven't got?" as uttered by one of the chorines about a Brazilian girl.
"Roberta" moves the pair up to second and third billing, with Irene Dunne top billed. The two have a greatly expanded screen time trading jabs that is much like what they did in "Rio", but the main emphasis is on the romance between Randolph Scott and Irene Dunne. Dunne's singing even crowds out the singing and dancing of Astaire & Rogers. Thus these first two films really have the pair as a wise cracking entertainment duo rather than involving the romantic comedy of their other films. This is the last film in which Ginger Rogers is playing her tough-girl chorine persona that she had starting in "42nd Street".
With "Divorcee" and "Carefree" we finally get to see Astaire & Rogers more in classic form. Not only are they finally musically headlining, but these films feature them more as romantic leads in which comic misunderstandings work to keep them apart. These two films are the best of the five in my opinion.
Many people don't like "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle". This is probably because there is virtually no romantic conflict between the two in this film. Astaire & Rogers spend practically the entire film either allied or happily married. The conflict is first economic and professional as the pair struggled to get recognized as great dancers, and then there is World War I in which Vernon Castle, as an English native, feels compelled to enlist. The film is quite good, but it is very sentimental and atypical of Astaire & Rogers' other films. This was intended to be the pair's last film together, and was their last film together at RKO. It was just a series of accidental recasting decisions that led them to reunite in "The Barkleys of Broadway" at MGM ten years later.
There are shorts and cartoons included on these five films in the extra features department, but there are no mini-documentaries on Astaire and/or Rogers and no commentary track on any of the films.
There are an array of Astaire & Rogers collections, so I'll try to summarize my recommendations here. If you are unfamiliar with their movies, go with Volume 1 first. It contains their best work minus "Divorcee", which is in Volume 2. If you already are a fan and for some reason never bought volume 1, you could go with "The Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition" which contains all ten of their films, a bonus documentary DVD, and an audio CD. If you just want the films, you can go with volumes 1 and 2 individually. Plus, there is documentary material on the films in volume 1. If you buy volume one and decide you want the bonus material of the ultimate collector's edition, you can purchase "The Astaire & Rogers Partial Ultimate Collector's Edition" which has all of the bonus material of the Ultimate Collector's Edition minus the five films in Volume one.
Nice completion to the Astaire/Rogers films.......2007-03-09
The best five films were in the Vol. 1. I wanted to see the others that made the team so wonderful and this was nice to have. I'd use only get this after having the Volume 1 though.
Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2.......2007-01-20
I have already purchased Vol.1 of this collection, and I now own all of the Rogers & Astaire movies. This is a good way to preserve them and the
packaging is very good.
tap dance dvds.......2007-01-15
Product met all expectations. Astaire film plots are trite but the dancing is spectacular.
Delightful 1930's musical romances.......2007-01-15
A younger generation not familiar with the 1930's musical romances of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers should rent or buy Volume One. Volume Two is for devoted fans and film scholars. We have one genuine masterpiece, THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934), which is famous for the Oscar-winning 16 minute "The Continental" finale, the incomparable "Night and Day", and an unusually witty screenplay.
The other four titles in ASTAIRE-ROGERS: VOLUME TWO are *** must-sees, if you love the duo in anything. They are not masterpieces, but they all have sparkling 1930's art deco sets, witty scripts, and incomparable dance numbers, without being as great as TOP HAT, FOLLOW THE FLEET, SWING TIME, and SHALL WE DANCE (1935-1937) in Volume One.
FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933) introduced Astaire and Rogers as a dance team to the world. They take fourth and fifth billing behind Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond, and someone named Raul Roulien, but own the movie as they dance "The Carioca" in the middle of the movie. This is also the movie with chorus girls dancing on airplane wings in the climax. It is a lot of fun.
ROBERTA (1935) is a great Irene Dunne vehicle; she gets top billing and the chance to sing Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Lovely to Look At". It is a lesser Astaire-Rogers vehicle because Randolph Scott is unendurable, seeing how many times he can say "swell" in 106 minutes; and because Astaire and Rogers barely seem to dance. It is a plot-heavy movie about a dress shop in Paris. Still, Dunne has a lovely singing voice for some immortal songs.
CAREFREE (1938), only 83 minutes, is a neglected comedy delight spoofing psychiatry. Ginger gravitates between Astaire and Ralph Bellamy. You want her to end up with Astaire at the end, but it is close. Songs include "Change Partners and Dance". This is a marvelous little movie.
Finally, Astaire-Rogers ended the decade with what they thought would be their last film, the wonderful and nostalgic THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE (1939). The two actors are naturals to star as the real-life king and queen of ballroom dancing during the 1910's. In fact, Irene Castle was still alive in 1939 and served as both technical advisor and costume designer to Ginger. I adore this movie, which also has superb support from the always reliable Walter Brennan and Edna May Oliver.
Since this is a Warner Home Video boxed set, each movie has been supplemented with Technicolor shorts, cartoons, and theatrical trailers. My favorites are the achingly nostalgic color musical shorts with movie stars at the Lido and the Cocoanut Grove. If you don't know Astaire-Rogers, go with Volume One. If you love them, you will want to own this Volume Two boxed set to complete your collection.
Average customer rating:
- Top Hat
- The best of the Astaire & Rogers movies
- Nearly Perfect...
- Sublimely silly story: celestial dancing
- Fred dances in an out of hearts
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Top Hat
Starring: Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Edward Everett Horton , Erik Rhodes , and Eric Blore
Director: Mark Sandrich , and Lloyd French
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- The Band Wagon (Two-Disc Special Edition) with Slipcover
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ASIN: B0009NSCQW
Release Date: 2005-08-16 |
Amazon.com essential video
Even the best Fred and Ginger musicals are merely lavish excuses for some of the most elegant dancing ever put on screen, and Top Hat is no exception. The story is a silly but timeless tale of mistaken identity that compounds itself to extremes. Fred Astaire is the famous American hoofer Jerry Travers, in London preparing for a new show with his befuddled producer Horace Hardwick (the always entertaining Edward Everett Horton) when he falls for Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers), a lovely, wisecracking American girl as light on her feet as Jerry. Dale believes Jerry to be Horace, the husband of her best friend Madge (Helen Broderick) and rebuffs his advances by marrying her dressmaker Alberto (Erik Rhodes), but in the best tradition of musical comedy, true love finds its own way. Practically the entire cast of the 1934 hit The Gay Divorcee reunites for this frothy confection, along with director Mark Sandrich, designer Van Nest Polglase, and choreographer Hermes Pan. Irving Berlin provides a tuneful score, including "Cheek to Cheek," which provides a classic duet for Astaire and Rogers, and "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails," which remains one of Astaire's finest solo numbers. Polglase outdoes himself with sets both elegant and outrageous and Hermes Pan's choreography is as smooth as ever, but ultimately it's the grace and chemistry of the leads that makes Top Hat top entertainment. --Sean Axmaker
Description
Perhaps the best remembered of the 10 Astaire/Rogers musicals, Top Hat has it all: Art Deco elegance, a wonderfully addled storyline, loopy support from skilled farceurs and the incomparable chemistry of the two leads cheek-to-cheeking to Irving Berlin's finest film score. It's a wake-up call for romance when Fred's exuberant No Strings dance in his hotel suite disturbs the sleeping beauty (Ginger) in the room below. They meet cute, Fred decides he'd like a few strings (preferably a tied knot) after all and love beckons until Ginger mistakenly gets the idea that Fred is a married playboy. But mistakes can be wonderfully, wackily resolved. Among the highlights: Fred mows down the chorus line in his signature Top Hat, White Tie and Tails, the shimmeringly dreamy Isn't It a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)? and the rhapsodically tender Cheek to Cheek. Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Top Hat is top-drawer entertainment magic. <P><b>DVD Features:</b>
<b>Audio Commentary:</b>Commentary by Fred Astaire?s Daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie and Film Dance Historian Larry Billman
<b>Featurette:</b>On Top: Inside the Success of Top Hat
<b>Other:</b>Comedy Short Watch the Birdie with Bob Hope, Classic Cartoon Page Miss Glory
</p>
Customer Reviews:
Top Hat.......2007-06-21
Finally, the long-awaited Astaire-Rogers classics are being released on DVD, and "Top Hat" (arguably the best of the series, along with "Swing Time") has never looked or sounded better. The plot is soufflé-light, but runs on the divine hilarity of its ensemble players, in particular Eric Blore as persnickety butler Bates, and Erik Rhodes as Beddini, rival to Dale's affections. Beyond that ineffable Astaire-Rogers chemistry, the real stars are the buttery Berlin score (highlight: "Cheek to Cheek") and dancing sequences that define beauty and grace in motion. Heaven-I'm in heaven!
The best of the Astaire & Rogers movies.......2007-04-01
Of the ten films the duo made together, this is probably the best film in all categories of what made their movies great. First of all there is a wonderful supporting cast in the persons of four character actors, all of which had repeat performances in at least one other Astaire & Rogers movie. They all play essential roles in the film, and I can't imagine "Top Hat" with any one of them missing, yet none of them manages to get in the way. Also, the music of Irving Berlin adorns the film, and there is not one song that is less than five stars. Astaire & Rogers' movies tended to have fairly simple comedic plots, but this one is funnier than usual, with a series of misunderstandings that would have probably made this a good screwball comedy even without the musical numbers. The basic misunderstanding has to do with Ginger Rogers' character believing that Fred Astaire's character is actually the husband of one of her closest friends. Ginger is not only offended by the fact that she is being openly pursued by someone that she thinks is a married man, but she is confounded by her friend's seemingly casual attitude towards the entire situation. Last but not least, there is the enduring chemistry of Astaire and Rogers themselves and the beauty of their dance numbers. Ginger Rogers was a very good actress in her own right, and she knew that just because the music started the acting did not stop. She wasn't a great dancer, but she was good enough and got better as time went on. As for Astaire, he was probably the best individual dancer we'll ever see, plus he exuded pure class. Audiences flocked to these movies back in the 1930's for the music, for the chemistry of the lead duo, and for the pure escapism these films provided. I still recommend "Top Hat" for all of these same reasons today.
Nearly Perfect..........2007-02-19
Okay, stop arguing all you Astaire and Rogers purists out there! Many fans DO put this one at the top of their list and we will not quarrel, after all it has Fred's signature "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" number complete with the shooting gallery choreography... But then there is SWING TIME and SHALL WE DANCE...
So let's just say it is "among the best" and let it rest there.
It all begins with a top hat at the Thackeray Club, where Fred--who plays, what else, an American dancer--has been waiting over long for his friend and impresario, Edward Everett Horton. The members of the Club keep the place silent and stuffy, but irrepressible Fred gives them a sample of his tap dancing as they depart and that sets the tone for the rest of the film.
The two go to Horton's residential hotel, where Horton prevails upon Fred to stay as he is having a tiff with his manservant Bates, played with droll comic panache by Eric Blore. Horton advises Fred that he needs a wife but Fred relishes the fact that he has "No Strings, No Connections" and sings and dances to prove it. This is one of two outstanding solo numbers for Fred in this film, and in it he ranges from brilliant staccato tapping to...later...a sand dance to end all sand dances.
It is however much too late in the day, and his tap-dancing in the de luxe Deco apartment (someday I want a room like that!) awakens poor Ginger who is downstairs recumbent on a none too shabby satin swathed bed. She complains to the management, they call Horton, he leaves to speak with them and since the dancing has not yet subsided, Ginger takes matters into her own hands by going up to confront the culprit who turns out to be Fred.
Fred falls in love with her immediately and she thinks he is rather cute if a tad impish and their relationship moves into its next phase when he commandeers the hansom cab she is taking to the riding stables and ends up dancing with her in a gazebo to "Isn't It a Lovely Day to be Caught in the Rain?" (The set by the way was the inspiration for the "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" gazebo number from "The Sound of Music").
This is a good place to talk about Fred's concept of the marks of a successful film dance number. First, he believed that the camera should be stationary, viewing the dance from one position (it is okay to pan). Then, he also felt that there should be three different tempos in a dance routine. Third, if possible, the routine should move the action of the plot forward. All three of these are aptly demonstrated in this number. Here, as always, pay attention to the way Ginger looks at Fred while they are dancing. It is one of the secrets of their chemestry as a dance partnership. (And to my way of thinking one of the major flaws in the way that today's ballroom dancers dance, scarcely looking at each other. In contrast to Fred and Ginger's spark and liveliness, it makes them look like they are nothing more than very accomplished dance zombies). This is one of the few numbers in which Ginger's feet are not partially obscured by a long hemline--so the viewer gets to see just how deft she was on the dancefloor.
This is also one of those numbers for which the team became famous in which we were asked to believe that Fred was making it up on the spot and that Ginger was such a quick study that she followed his every move as if by mental telepathy. And yes, the premise workes splendidly. There is an "anything you can do I can do better" character to this number that makes it as fresh today as it was when it was in first run movie houses.
Fred has a strange power over horses (horsepower) and seems to be winning over Ginger, too, but that only lasts till she gets mixed up and thinks that Fred is Horton who is married to her dear friend Madge (Helen Broderick) who is off in Venice but has wired to Ginger to come and visit her, in a telegram worded as if penned by Gertrude Stein. Are you still with me?
By the way, Ginger is a professional model, hired by Eric Rhodes in another of his pseudo-Italian comedic roles (this time, as a dressmaker), whose professional arrangement is that as Ginger wears his creations among the "smart people", the commissions will come rolling in. Not everyone sees the arrangement as quite so innocent including the hotel lobby florist and his assistant, played by Lucille Ball - look quick or you will miss her. After all, Rhodes is paying for all of Ginger's niceties, and as the florist says, "Her niceties are very nice!"
Phew! Fred finally gets to the theater and does the Top Hat number. This is one of the best solo dances ever filmed and has style and wit throughout. We could say it is Fred's signature dance, just as "Singin' in the Rain" is Gene Kelly's. Here, Fred shows us both his classy and his clever side as he finds himself beset by wanna-be lookalikes who he bests by turning his taps into 'amunition'. Stage designers take note, a simple backdrop and a hidden set of stairs can do wonders. And unlike the Warner musicals, where it would have been impossible to fit the sets on a stage even if it was the size of the airship hanger at Lakehurst, we BELIEVE that this is really happening on a real stage in a real London theatre.
While dressing for this dance, Fred finds out via Horton that Ginger is off to Venice and so has Horton order up a plane for the weekend. And off to Venice they go.
Walt Disney must have spent way too much time looking at the Hollywood version of Venice set; he stole it for his ride "It's a Small World".
No, Venice was never this white and never this moderne and the canals were never so pristine that you could put on a pair of water wings and go splashing about in them. Even so, is is an eye-popper.
Enough said. We aren't looking at the scenery so much as Ginger when she and Fred dance their romantic number "Cheek to Cheek" and the feathers literally fly from her fabulous gown. But as with Lucy, you have to keep a sharp eye to see them. This is a good routine to watch what Fred does with his hands--every bit as poetic as what they are doing with their feet. He thought his hands overly large and you can see how he holds his fingers in order to try to minimize their apparent size, throughout this dance.
Plot-wise... Ginger still thinks that Fred is married to Helen Broderick and so more mix ups and madcap mayhem ensue, with Fred thinking Ginger is a scheming woman and telling her she is a certain (fictitious) Madeline whom he met in Paris and who he called "Mad for short" and then adds comedic insult to injury by saying, "You've put on a little weight!"
About this same time, Horton hears more than a who as he confesses a slight indiscretion involving the bird house and a little chickadee, and more witty bon mots are tossed about.
Yet, it all comes out right in the end.
Oh, wait... There is still the big dance number--this time called the "Piccolino". Oh dear, it is a snappy tune with cute lyrics but it is filmed at a multitude of wrong angles and with ill chosen cuts, to boot (which is why this film does not get my top pick of their series). This is a major gaffe and something which no other reviewer mentions, here. Yes, Astaire and Rogers look swell and do some fancy footwork and we get to see it up close, but the movements of the other dancers are waisted -- spliced together so piecemeal that we miss what a good job they are doing. It would have been nice to see the number in its entirety without this choppy cutting--and given his ideas about how numbers should be photographed, Fred must have cringed. My guess, and I have never read anything to prove this, is that the number went on much longer a la "The Continental" in THE GAY DIVORCEE, but the front office insisted on a shorter running time. The end result is that one longs for the smoothly sophisticated photo work of "The Continental" or, if you prefer creative camera angles and cutting, just about anything by Busby Berkeley.
No wonder, for years afterward, couples across the USA were still dancing the Carioca (Flying Down to Rio) and the Continental (The Gay Divorce) but, pray tell, who but Ginger and Fred ever danced the Piccolino?
Even so, the happy pair concludes by dancing over the stairway of a canal bridge instead of their usual furniture, with Fred once more in a top hat, so all ends well.
It is an RKO Radio Picture--so of course it goes without saying--marvelous!
Sublimely silly story: celestial dancing.......2007-02-01
The story is so astoundingly idiotic, while at the same time very funny and wildly unpredictable, that it actually provides a perfect vehicle for the magical miracle of the dancing of Rogers and Astaire. The viewer's mind gets attuned the idea that almost anything may happen, and the truth is that in the dancing, especially the Cheek-to-Cheek number, quite supernatural events are seen to occur. Watching the couple perform that number, with Rogers in that incredible gown, I felt that they were so incomparably matched that something beyond normal belief was happening. Floating on air doesn't begin to describe it. The dizzying zaniness of the plot, riddled with holes and insanity at every turn, and the quite impossible deco design of the sets, merely added to the general sense of visual intoxication. Astaire's features and physical skills were quite unlike those of any other human being, as though he were some sort of otherworld elf; and Rogers was a comedienne to die for. She was a wonderful, delightful actress, with an extraordinarily mobile and expressive face, as well as a marvellous dancing partner. The other very striking number was Top Hat, with its parody of the St Valentine's Day massacre, injecting a sinister undercurrent of violence below all the surface froth and the fluff. There was a strong feel of Busby in some of the numbers. Berlin easily beats the Gershwins, in my book. Some of the ludicrous scenes and dialogue are laugh out loud hilarious. A masterpiece, that positively reeks of class.
Fred dances in an out of hearts.......2006-12-18
A romantic relationship begins, ends, and resumes based on mistaken identity. During some late-night tap dancing in a London hotel room of a friend, Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) spoils the sleep of Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers), a fashion showpiece for Alberto (Erik Rhodes), in the room below. Her complaints lead to Jerry's immediate attempts to nurture mutual attraction. Resistant Dale eventually accedes, cleverly depicted by her tapping in step with Jerry, whose name she never bothers to obtain. She later learns that a married man named Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton) occupies the room above hers. Assuming Jerry is Horace, Dale wants nothing else to do with him. Bewildered Jerry chases Dale to Venice, Italy in an attempt to rekindle her affection before she succumbs to the advances of Alberto. The plot becomes even zanier after Dale confronts Horace's wife (who turns out to be Alberto's financial sponsor) about her husband's misconduct.
The plot is so far fetched that it only provides a vehicle for opportunities to watch the stars dance. Expect some clever improvisational tap dancing by the master during the grand opening of a stage performance by Fred Astaire. The story is a bit obtuse for my tastes but I longed to see a classic Fred-and-Ginger movie to experience the chemistry so often spoken of. This likely wasn't the best example to me though hailed by Astaire fans. If you enjoy slapstick comedy with tallented dance and lavish stage shows, go to town with TOP HAT.
Movie quote: Dale Tremont: "Madge, have you any objections if I scare your husband so that he'll never look at another woman?" Madge Hardwick: "Dale, no husband is ever too scared to look."
Average customer rating:
- How did this movie get missed?
- Tame romance
- I'LL be seeing you
- a love story undiminished by time
- I"ll be seeing you
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I'll Be Seeing You
Starring: Ginger Rogers , Joseph Cotten , Shirley Temple , Spring Byington , and Tom Tully
Director: George Cukor , and William Dieterle
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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Similar Items:
- Since You Went Away
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- Portrait of Jennie
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ASIN: B0002KPHXI
Release Date: 2004-10-19 |
Description
Oscar(r) winner* Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten top a stellar cast in this tender wartimelove story about two troubled strangers who meet by chance and try to crowd a lifetime of love and laughter into eight days. "Studded with brilliant performances" (Variety), I'll Be Seeing You "manages to ambush your emotions and hasten your heart beats" (Hollywood Citizen-News). After serving half of a prison sentence for accidental manslaughter, Mary Marshall (Rogers) is allowed a holiday furlough to visit her family. Keeping her history a secret, she falls in love with a kindhearted GI (Cotten) who's struggling to overcome shell shock. Both long for a normal life. But can they have it if he learns the truth about her? *1940: Actress, Kitty Foyle
Customer Reviews:
How did this movie get missed?.......2007-01-06
Sometimes great works simply fall through the cracks and people don't notice them - well, this is one of them.
In this war-time drama, Ginger Rogers plays a woman who is let out of jail to rejoin her uncles and cousin for Christmas. Only for Christmas. On the train, she meets a soldier with war traumas, Joseph Cotten. As he descends on the same stop, a series of events will lead to a gentle, often heartwarming closeness between the two, shadowed by the deceits both at first did not reveal. The movie finale should rank among the best Christmas movie endings ever. it's also an added bonus to watch the teen Shirley Temple as the cousin, if you're a movie buff.
Tame romance.......2006-07-08
As good as he is, I've yet to see Joseph Cotten in a truly animated role. (NIAGARA is perhaps his most dramatic.) Zachary Morgan (Cotten) is a socially inert, shell-shocked, purple hearted, sergeant wondering what to do during an 8-day furlough from an army psychiatric hospital. On a train to Pinehill, he meets Mary Marshall (Ginger Rogers), lonely, downhearted manslaughter convict on a Christmas furlough from prison. Despite awkward moments initiated by flashbacks, their attraction grows. Zach openly confides secrets to Mary, though she feels reciprocation will bring condemnation. As Zach builds the courage to propose marriage, Mary recoils. Her teenage cousin Barbara Marshall (Shirley Temple) innocently reveals Mary's circumstances to Zach. He then must decide how to cope with the revelation.
I'LL BE SEEING YOU is definitely not a Rogers musical comedy nor is it a typical Cotten noir. Action is isolated to a dog encounter during an evening stroll. The only dancing by Rogers and Temple is the waltz at a New Year's celebration. Expect singing? There's a family Christmas carol around the dinner table. The dialogue isn't particularly clever but genuine. I'LL BE SEEING YOU is a rather tame linear drama inspiring hope while delivering a message about acceptance, honesty, and chastity that may well appeal to romantic audiences or those scarred by war or other personal adversities. Image quality is very good though there are no DVD extras.
Movie quote: "You have to get used to accepting what you think is second best, and then you find out it's first best after all."
I'LL be seeing you.......2006-02-19
This movie is one of the movie, you wish they still made,but
they don't anymore. There isn't any cursing, sex or violences
in it. It is the kind of movie, you can take the family to see.It
relates the plight of two lonely people, who fall in love,regardless of their problems. He is a shell shock soldier
and she is on a Christmas vacation from prison and has to return
after the Holidays.
Joseph Cotten and Ginger Rogers and the supporting cast are all
excellent in this film. I highly recommend it.
a love story undiminished by time.......2006-01-13
An immortal wartime romance with Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten, I'LL BE SEEING YOU remains one of the most beloved films of the era. Rogers plays Mary Marshall, a female ex-con on parole, who meets by chance the handsome yet severely shell-shocked soldier Zachary Morgan (Cotten). Their romance plays out against the odds; two damaged people who find comfort and understanding in each other.
Based on the radio play "Double Furlough" by Charles Martin, the screenplay by Marion Parsonnet amiably showcases Rogers and Cotten in some of their most vivid and unguarded work. With Shirley Temple, Spring Byington (who had previously co-starred in 1940's "The Blue Bird"), Chill Wills and Tom Tully.
I"ll be seeing you.......2005-09-02
Great wartime story with so much heart. They don't make them like this anymore. Ginger Rogers plays a different kind of role then you're use to seeing and she pulls it off great.
Actress:
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Actress
Actress