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Rating:  - the good and the not so good
Another fine product from Warners, this time including material considered excellent examples of MGM at its peak and some not so excellent. Although Words and Music may not be a true representation of Rodgers and Hart's life, the musical numbers are top notch and the movie is entertaining. The Pirate, with its stigma for being a failure upon initial release, is a pleasure to watch and to hear as well. The stars are excellent, although Judy Garland looks a bit nervous in several scenes. Royal Wedding is very entertaining and while not a great film is an example of movie-making that makes you feel good. The Belle of New York is difficult to watch. It has to be the worst of the Fred Astaire films, and the problems include the story, the musical numbers, and,unfortunately, his co-star. I had never seen That's Dancing and was surprised at how few clips from musical films were used and how dated the movie itself was. The That's Entertainment films hold up much better and seem to be more professionaly produced. All said, the packaging and the extras are nice, as with most of the wonderful products from Warners. Actually it's difficult to be negative about the level of craftsmanship from MGM and its stars back in the day, but some musicals are just better than others.
Rating:  - Pleasent Dreams
Setting aside That's Dancing this is once again a superb set from the golden age of MGM. All films are of the high standard we have come to expect of these remastered greats from a period in cinemaa history when entertainment was exactly that. You don't need to sit and think,just sit and enjoy. The extras as usual are quite good and the short subjects/cartoons as enjoyable as ever. Whilst That's Dancing is not strictly from the golden age it does contain many items that are and therefore can rightly be included.I was just a little suprised that Two Lanza films were included as surely this geat star deserves a set all of his own. I only hope that they will continue with this series format and give us even more even some of the old black and white movies with stars such as Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy or Jane Powell and how about rounding out the Broadway Melody series with a set containing B'Way Melody of 1936 & 1938. Warner/TCM might also like to consider a Biog set with The Helen Morgan Story/I'll Cry Tomorrow/Deep In My Heart/Rhapsody In Blue/Shine On Harvest Moon/Look For The Silver Lining/The Eddie Cantor Story/So This Is Love to name but a few. As long as they prodeuce them on DVD I will certainly keep on buying them. They are Hollywood History at it's entertaining best.
Rating: - Good stuff from MGM's heyday
Latest roundup of Technicolor features from MGM's heyday of musicals...most on DVD for the first time. PIRATE has Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in a fun romp set to Cole Porter tunes, directed by visual master Minnelli, who was Garland's husband at the time. WORDS AND MUSIC is a mostly-fictional biography of master tunesmiths Richard Rodgers (Tom Drake) and Lorenz "Larry" Hart (Mickey Rooney). Worth a look for the great songs (better served, though, in Columbia's version of Pal Joey from about 10 years later). KISS and ORLEANS feature singing stars Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson on one double-feature disc. Includes the 2005 BBC documentary Mario Lanza: Singing to the Gods - a reminder that the man who was the greatest American operatic tenor of the mid-20th century (his records outsold Sinatra's) really didn't have an opera career at all (and died at age 38). Another double feature is WEDDING and BELLE, both with Fred Astaire. The first features Fred's famous dancing-on-the-ceiling number (still impressive), which helps you forget that Jane Powell, 30 years his junior, is playing his sister; and BELLE is a pretty hokey effort (almost worth sitting through the first hour for Vera-Ellen's Extreme Makeover from Salvation-Army-type good girl to vamp in a black evening gown even Beyonce might find too much). DANCING is another clips-compilation followup to the THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! hits of the mid-70s, concentrating on dance numbers from the silent era through Michael Jackson videos. There's even a section on ballet hosted by Mikhail Baryshnikov. Don't look for MGM's most famous dance clips, though ("Singin' in the Rain," etc.) - they were already used in That's Entertainment. Still, very enjoyable.
Rating: - Royal Wedding is finally rescued from the public domain
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
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