Product Description: Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/30/2003
Amazon.com: The Gene Kelly Collection is an unbeatable selection of DVDs showcasing the marvelous Gene Kelly, the Pittsburgh kid whose ballet shoes burst with muscle and ambition. Singin' in the Rain (1952) is everybody's favorite musical, a sarcastic spoof of the early days of talking pictures directed by Kelly and longtime collaborator Stanley Donen. (Ah, the joys of DVD: to be able to zap into the blissful title number or Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" at the touch of a button. Plus, the 2002 special edition is exceptional.) An American in Paris (1951), a dream project for Kelly and director Vincente Minnelli, is at its best in its glorious Gershwin numbers. Kelly's lengthy fantasy ballet, drenched in all the Technicolor MGM could muster, may have you thinking that this, after all, is why movies were invented.
Kelly and Donen forced MGM to let them shoot on location in New York for the exteriors of On the Town (1949), the movie that took musicals into the open air (and remained Kelly's favorite of his films). The spirited dancing and the wisecracking Comden-Green script make this an ebullient tale of three sailors on a 24-hour leave. The choreography plays multiple variations on the triangular team of Kelly, Jules Munshin, and a still-gawky Frank Sinatra. Finally, Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002) is a terrific American Masters documentary, with oodles of superbly chosen (mint condition) film clips and interviews with many of Kelly's friends and colleagues. The emphasis is on how Kelly changed the image of the male dancer, complementing the aristocratic Fred Astaire with a more blue-collar, regular-Joe approach. It's an unblinking portrait, acknowledging the taskmaster behind the pearly grin. Those revelations make perfect sense when you see the astonishing dances: how could anyone this great not be a perfectionist? --Robert Horton
Gene Kelly movies I really enjoy Gene Kelly. These are among my favorite movies that he has been in. A joy to watch. His enthusiasm, his dancing, his singing. These movies raise your spirits. I highly recommend this collection.
Amazing Gene Kelly This item has all of the movies that prove Gene Kelly's ability to dance and sing. A quadro of fun with On the Town, An American in Paris, Snigin in the Rain, and an Anatomy of dancer will keep you entertained and smiling for weeks. Each DVD has a quality picture and sound.
GREAT!! If you like Gene Kelly you will like this collection. I bought it for my daughter who is a big fan of his and she loved it.
Lots of Class in a Box As a fan of music, dance and cinema from the 40s and 50s, I loved this collection. If you like musicals, this is a great collection of classics.
'S Wonderful Collection Singin' in the Rain is the excellent 2002 transfer. Bonus materials include a fine full-length documentary on MGM's Freed Unit; this is a must-see for all musical fans. For my money though the keepers here are the extensive clips of original film appearances of all these great songs. All pale in comparison to the SITR versions (though Andy Rooney and Judy Garland do an energetic version of Good Mornin') but offer a nice overview of film-musical history. Even by standards of early talkies the first film version of Singin in the Rain features astoundingly bad dancing!
Kelly biodoc Anatomy of a Dancer includes an extremely rare clip of his career-making B'way role as Pal Joey and an extensive clip from the technically astounding Alter Ego routine in Cover Girl. Thoughtful quotes from Kelly biographer Clive Hirschhorn and Kelly's first wife, Betsy Blair, round out the solid portrait that will satisfy any Kelly-phile.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
