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DVD The Band Wagon (Two-Disc Special Edition) with Slipcover
The Band Wagon (1953) marked the culmination of a series of near-autobiographical pictures Fred Astaire made for MGM following his return from premature retirement in the late '40s. Astaire plays Tony Hunter, a fading film star (his big hit: Flying Down to Panama) who decides to return to his former glory, the Broadway stage. (In 1931, Astaire had starred on Broadway with sister Adele in The Band Wagon, a revue that lent some of its songs to this film.) His playwright-songwriter friends (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant) hook him up with Broadway's hottest director, Jeffrey Cordova (a nicely hammy Jack Buchanan), who proves that the "new" theater traditions can be an awkward fit with the old. Hunter also finds himself at odds with his prima ballerina leading lady (Cyd Charisse), one of his chief worries being that she seems a little tall. Along the way, producer Arthur Freed, director Vincente Minnelli, choreographer Michael Kidd, and songwriters Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz treat us to some quintessential MGM numbers: Astaire's solo ode "By Myself," the flashy arcade romp "A Shine on Your Shoes," Astaire and Charisse's romantic duet "Dancing in the Dark," the faux-German drinking song "I Love Louisa," the manic trio "Triplets" (with Astaire, Fabray, and Buchanan in matching baby outfits), the Mickey Spillane-esque "Girl Hunt Ballet," and the classic show-biz anthem "That's Entertainment." Even if its ending and obligatory romance fall a little flat, The Band Wagon is one of the classic backstage musicals, a grandiose MGM spectacle that also manages to poke some fun at how grandiose MGM pictures had become. --David Horiuchi
Review(s): DVD The Band Wagon (Two-Disc Special Edition) with Slipcover
The Band Wagon
This film has everything you would expect from an Astaire/ Minnelli collaboration - a first-rate score, color, inventive dance numbers, and overall lots of energy, style and class. Hunter's film career may be on the wane, but nothing in his dancing indicate why. The smoldering Charisse sets off more sparks than Ginger Rogers ever did, as the athletic, sensual Gabriella. And veteran English song-and-dance man Jack Buchanan is a hoot.
If for nothing else, for the sublime "Dancing In The Dark."
There are many shimmering moments in Bandwagon: Fred Astaire (playing a role close to his own life story; he was 53 at the time), the acidic wit of Oscar Levant ('that'll keep 'em laughing!!') tempered by the sunny Nanette Fabray and musical numbers including "Shine on Your Shoes," "I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan," and a clever novelty trio called "Triplets." But the musical sequence that stands out the most is the one which has no vocal, no dialog, and gently advances the movie's plot of whether or not oil-and-water dancers Astaire and Cyd Charisse can actually perform together- when he thinks she's too tall and she thinks he's too old. Against a Central Park twilight, the film shows its heroes enjoy a hushed walk through a park (only an instrumental refrain of 'High and Low' is heard), after which they step into an empty courtyard (he in a pastel linen suit and spectator shoes, she in a flared white dress and ballet flats; a necessity to keep her from being taller than him on film) and into the pas-de-deux of "Dancing In The Dark." It's an exquisite sequence, which at times resembles courtship, foreplay, and ultimately a romantic climax- all done in dance. It ends, just as smoothly as it began, with the two leads spinning up a flight of stairs and mounting a hansom cab, without a single hair out of place. Now THAT's entertainment.
For song & dance fans only
"The Band Wagon" is one of the NY Times' "1000 Best Films Ever Made," and I've seen about 300 of them. You may be a big fan of the traditional Hollywood musical, and if so, this is your kind of film. Personally the list of such films I've enjoyed is quite short, and it doesn't include "The Band Wagon." This makes me sad, having just enjoyed Fred & Ginger's 1936 classic "Swing Time" from the NY Times list. However, where that film and Gene Kelly's "Singin' In the Rain" excel by sparkling between the song & dance numbers, "The Band Wagon" lags. It's a shame, because there are a couple of brilliant moments here, the sparkling "Shoe Shine" dance on a set representing 42nd Street and a lovely number with Cyd Charisse to "Dancing In the Dark." Other than that, and other than Jack Buchanan's comical turn as a Master Thespian, the whole thing just leaves me flat, especially the blah romance and idiotically cornball ending. Give me "Fiddler On the Roof" or those named above any day over this!
Related DVD's The Band Wagon (Two-Disc Special Edition) with Slipcover
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