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It is difficult for me to critique a DVD Set that I only paid $5.00 for, but I will try. Everyone knows that the films themselves are enjoyable; so I will only talk about the DVDs quality wise. When I first considered buying this I was concerned that I would be unhappy because of all the complaints I have heard about the film prints. But, this is a great set with decent quality most of the time. If you are not that picky qualitywise and want 4 great films for a cheap price, I say get it.
Disc 1 - Side A Royal Wedding. This print suffers from an overall darkness. The brighter scenes are decent, but when it comes to the night or darker scenes, the blacks and other dark colors seem to mix together. For the sound, it is actually pretty good(Probably the best of the set). Not crystal clear of course, but decent for a film 50 years old without any work done to it. Overall grade = B Disc 1 - Side B Perils of Paline This print also suffers from the overall too dark look like Royal Wedding. The sound is a little worse than Royal Wedding. I would describe it as sounding somewhat flat. Overall grade = C+ Disc 2 - Side A Till the Clouds Roll By This print seems to suffer from just the opposite of the last disc. There is an overall washout of color. The color quality isn't horrible, but it isn't great either. The color isn't as vibrant as it should be which results in it being a tad blurry. The sound on this is average. A little flat, but not as bad as Perils of Pauline. Overall grade = B-
Disc 2 - Side B Happy Go Lovely This film print is perhaps the best of the set. While it is by no means great, it is almost always dark when it should be dark and colorful when it should be colorful. The only complaint picturewise is on skin tones. Many of the scenes the peach skin looks pink or almost red. The sound on this is also comparable to Till the Clouds Roll By. Okay, but a little flat. Overall grade = B-
Final words: If you like these films, you will probably enjoy this set as long as you are not one of those people who find films unwatchable if the video/audio quality isn't top notch.
Listed titles incorrect
A previous review of this DVD list the 4 movies as Royal Wedding, Perils of Pauline, You Were Never Lovlier and The Pajama Game this is not correct, the 4 movies are Royal Wedding,Perils of Pauline Till the Clouds Roll By and Happy go :Lovely. Happy go Lovely is an excellent color print and of all the releases of Till the Clouds Roll By this is the best print that I have purchased although in no way the excellent quality of the MGM video released, hopefuly one day MGM may consider a DVD release
The 4 Films
The four films in this set are: Pajama Game (Doris Day) Royal Wedding (Fred Astire & Jane Powell) Perils of Pauline (Betty Hutton) You Were Never Lovlier (David Nevin & Vera Ellen)
Here are three Fred Astaire movies: Second Chorus, Royal Wedding, and The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again. The first movie, Second Chorus is a light, frivolous movie, with less of Astaire's dancing than is typical in his outings with Ginger Rogers. It's fun to see, but the print is fairly muddy, and sometimes it's hard to see detail. Royal Wedding is cute, and features some of Astaire's classic dance scenes--the hatrack dance and the dance on the ceiling number. The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again is a made-for-television movie featuring a number of familiar old faces from Westerns. It's an ok movie, and it's fun to see Astaire in the "fish out of water" kind of a movie. It's Fred Astaire's only Western, and although he plays a Texas Ranger, he's the most dandified Texas Ranger you'll ever... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire DVD Release Date: Released the 19 November 2002 Special Order
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One of the most famous tap numbers in film history distinguishes Broadway Melody of 1940, the fourth and final installment in MGM's Broadway Melody series. When Clare Bennett (Eleanor Powell, who had appeared in Broadway Melody of 1936 and 1938) needs a new partner for her hit Broadway show, small-time hoofers Johnny Brett (Fred Astaire in his MGM debut) and King Shaw (George Murphy) get their big chance. But due to a case of mistaken identity, King, rather than the more talented Johnny, gets the job, and the girl. Astaire and Powell can't match the chemistry he had with Ginger Rogers at RKO, but she was the best technical dancer he was ever teamed with, and the sense of fun they share is infectious. Their above-mentioned tap duet to Cole Porter's "Begin the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Eleanor Powell Director(s): Norman Taurog DVD Release Date: Released the 22 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling in this 1951 Alan Jay Lerner musical for MGM, directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain). The appealing story finds Astaire as part of a brother-and-sister act (along with Jane Powell) that travels to London at the time of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding. Astaire and Powell each find romances that threaten to break up the act, but that's mostly fun window dressing in a movie better known for some truly creative sequences made vivid by Donen, including Astaire's famous dance with a hat rack and his duet with Powell, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You (When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life)?" --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Jane Powell Director(s): Stanley Donen DVD Release Date: Released the 06 April 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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They don't make the most obvious screen couple--if you squint, you might think Stan Laurel had gotten together with Lauren Bacall--but their differences only serve to make this effervescent musical all the more entertaining. You'll Never Get Rich is the first of two that Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth made together (followed by You Were Never Lovelier). Astaire, who stars as choreographer-turned-soldier Robert Curtis, has rarely been looser, and Hayworth, as dancer Sheila Winthrop, has rarely been more graceful. As in Royal Wedding, Astaire also engages in some fancy solo footwork. Robert Benchley and Frieda Inescort provide priceless support as Robert's philandering boss and his clever wife, and Cole Porter composed the music, including "So Near and Yet So Far,"... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Rita Hayworth Director(s): Sidney Lanfield DVD Release Date: Released the 21 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Second Chorus has one little gem of a moment that has found its way into many Fred Astaire highlight reels. Astaire sings and taps "I Ain't Hep to That Step but I'll Dig It" then tries to coax Paulette Goddard onto the floor. She declines twice, then joins him in a joyous dance. The rest of the movie is not as enticing. Astaire and Burgess Meredith portray trumpet players vying for a spot in Artie Shaw's orchestra and for the affections of Goddard. The interplay among the three stars has its charms, and there's plenty of toe-tapping big-band music from Shaw, who plays himself in a substantial part and wrote the Oscar-nominated "Would You Like to Be the Love of My Life" with Johnny Mercer. Filmed in 1940, Second Chorus pales in comparison to the nine-film Astaire-Ginger... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fred Astaire - Paulette Goddard Director(s): H.C. Potter DVD Release Date: Released the 29 April 2003 Special Order
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