Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 (The Pirate Words and Music That's Dancing ...

Buy This Item Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 (The Pirate Words and Music That's Dancing ...  List Price: $59.98  Available from Amazon  $43.99  on 11-27-2008     Features Actors: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Kathryn Grayson Directors: Vincente Minnelli Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Widescreen, NTSC Language: English Subtitles: English, French Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 7 Rating: Studio: Warner Home Video DVD Release Date: July 24, 2007 Run Time: 695 minutes Average Customer Review:   8 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0) See all 8 customer reviews...   (8 customer reviews) Reader Reviews This is the second volume of MGM Dream Factory musicals. Only "That's Dancing" and "Royal Wedding" are on DVD already, and those are generally poor public domain copies. The other five features have only been on VHS up to now. I'd put all of these movies except "Belle of New York" at between four and five stars if you are a fan of the MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's. "Belle of New York" I'd put at between three and four stars mainly because the campiness of the entire production gets in the way most of the time. Considering you expect some gimmicks in MGM musicals of this era, that is saying a lot. The extra features, which I got from a press release from Warner Home Video, do look good. This package probably rates 4.5 stars taken as a whole, and I round it up to five. The following are brief descriptions of the films and the special features for each one. The Pirate (1948) Starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. Features music by Cole Porter. A swashbuckling tale is largely just a framework for the music and dancing, which is excellent. Judy Garland plays a girl obsessed with a legendary pirate. Gene Kelly pretends to be that pirate in order to get the girl. This film actually lost money for MGM in its initial release. Today it is interesting because it showcases the talents of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland so well. Commentary by historian John Fricke New featurette The Pirate: A Musical Treasure Chest Oscar-nominated Pete Smith Specialty 1948 MGM comedy short You Can't Win 1947 MGM classic cartoon Cat Fishing Mack the Black stereo remix version Audio-outtakes: Love of My Life and Mack the Black Roger Edens' guide tracks of Be a Clown, Manuela, Nina, and You Can Do No Wrong Promotional radio interviews with Gene Kelly for On the Town and Judy Garland for The Pirate Theatrical trailer That's Dancing! (1985) is a documentary along the same lines as "That's Entertainment" narrated by Gene Kelly along with co-hosts Ray Bolger, Sammy Davis Jr., Mikhail Baryshnikov and Liza Minnelli. The clips of dancing in motion pictures from the 30's to the 80's are very good, but the presentation was lacking somewhat. The narration seems deadpan, and when the narration cuts into the actual dancing numbers it is distracting more than informative. Introduction by Gene Kelly and Jack Haley, Jr. Invitation to Dance The Search The Cameras Roll The Gathering Theatrical trailer Words and Music (1948) features lots of stars as themselves performing to the music of Rodgers and Hart. This is a totally fictional account of the lives and careers of Rodgers and Hart. In 1948 the true story would have never made it past the censors, but then the commentary is supposed to clear all of that up. Commentary by historian Richard Barrios focusing on Rodgers and Hart New featurette A Life in Words and Music Oscar-nominated Theatre of Life 1948 MGM short Going to Blazes! 1948 MGM classic cartoon The Cat That Hated People Lover and You're Nearer Outtakes featuring Perry Como Audio-only bonuses: Outtakes of Falling in Love with Love, I Feel at Home with You, Manhattan (alternate version), My Funny Valentine, My Heart Stood Still, On Your Toes (alternate version) and Way Out West on West End Avenue Theatrical trailer That Midnight Kiss (1949) Starring Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza. This is another MGM musical with a great supporting cast that largely exists for the sake of the music, not the plot. There are some great operatic performances by Lanza who is starring in what turns out to be a pseudo-autobiography. Pete Smith Specialty 1949 MGM comedy short Sports Oddities 1949 MGM classic cartoon Droopy One Love of Mine outtake sequence with Lanza and Grayson Theatrical trailer Toast Of New Orleans (1950) Starring Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza. This time Lanza is a fisherman when his talent as a singer is discovered, and he and Grayson are in New Orleans, thus the title. This is a light breezy film with touches of comedy, delivered somewhat surprisingly by Lanza. 2006 BBC documentary on Mario Lanza Vintage Fitzpatrick Traveltalk 1940 MGM shorts Modern New Orleans and Old New Orleans Theatrical trailer Royal Wedding (1951) Starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell. My favorite film of the group. A brother and sister act perform in England at the time of then Princess Elizabeth's wedding. They both fall in love, thus breaking up the act. This has Astaire's famous performance in which he dances on the walls and ceiling of his London hotel room. Private Screenings with Stanley Donen [2006 TCM special] Royal Wedding: June, Judy and Jane-A New Featurette Car of Tomorrow 1951 MGM cartoon Droopy's Double Trouble 1951 MGM cartoon Every Night at Seven outtake with Peter Lawford and Jane Powell Fred Astaire and Jane Powell MGM Promotional Radio Interview for Royal Wedding [audio only] Theatrical trailer The Belle of New York (1952) Starring Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen. This is actually a disappointing film considering Astaire is in it. Although Astaire dances more in this film than in most of the others he made, it is just hard to get past the campiness of it all - literally dancing on air, dancing on a horse's back, etc. There is some great music from Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, though. Musiquiz 1952 MGM Pete Smithshort Magical Maestro 1952 MGM Tex Avery cartoon I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man-Unused alternate take Theatrical trailer  Comments (2) | Permalink |  function showYesNoCommunityResponse(uId,result,value) { var msgLayer = getElement("thanks" + uId); if ( result == "SUCCESS" ) { msgLayer.innerHTML = "Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided to other Amazon.com readers and reviewers. Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours."; } else { showVoteErrorResponse(msgLayer,result,value); } } (Report this)

Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 (The Pirate Words and Music That's Dancing ... List Price: $59.98 Available from Amazon Price: $43.99 Updated on 11-27-2008.

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