My Fair Lady) on DVD

Best Picture Collection - Musicals
An American in Paris/Gigi/My Fair Lady
Actors: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Gene Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison
Directors: George Cukor, Vincente Minnelli
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Kids & Family, Musicals & Performing Arts

G 2003 6hr 43min

An American in Paris — A GI (Gene Kelly) stays in Paris after the war to become an artist and has to choose between the patronage of a rich American woman (Nina Foch) and a French gamine (Leslie Caron) engaged to an older m... more »an. The plot is mostly an excuse for director Vincente Minnelli to pool his own extraordinary talent with those of choreographer-dancer-actor Kelly and the artists behind the screenplay, art direction, cinematography, and score, creating a rapturous musical not quite like anything else in cinema. The final section of the film comprises a 17-minute dance sequence that took a month to film and is breathtaking. Songs include "'S Wonderful," "I Got Rhythm," and "Love Is Here to Stay." Gigi

Vincente Minnelli's 1958 adaptation of Colette's story about a girl (Leslie Caron) groomed as a courtesan--but desired as a wife by a Parisian playboy (Louis Jordan)--won a lot of Oscars®, but it also has the unusual distinction of being an MGM musical shot on location in the City of Lights. What a musical it is (by Lerner and Loewe): Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold crooning "Ah, Yes, I Remember It Well," plus the songs "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "Gigi," "I'm a Bore," and "She's Not Thinking of Me." Director Minnelli makes a sumptuous, dreamy, almost laid-back affair of it all, and the indispensable cast is forever etched into memory. Hollywood's long-running infatuation with Continental grace and manners, the memory of a much earlier time imported to American movies through such immigrant directors as Ernst Lubitsch, may have finally come to a gentle end with this film. My Fair Lady

Hollywood's legendary "woman's director," George Cukor, transformed Audrey Hepburn into street-urchin-turned-proper-lady Eliza Doolittle in this film version of the Lerner and Loewe musical. Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady stars Rex Harrison as linguist Henry Higgins (Harrison also played the role, opposite Julie Andrews, on stage), who draws Eliza into a social experiment that works almost too well. The letterbox edition of this film on video certainly pays tribute to the pageantry of Cukor's set, but it also underscores a certain visual stiffness that can slow viewer enthusiasm just a tad. But it's really star wattage that keeps this film exciting, that and such great songs as "On the Street Where You Live" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." Actor Jeremy Brett, who gained a huge following later in life portraying Sherlock Holmes, is quite electric as Eliza's determined suitor. --Tom Keogh

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Movie Details

Actors: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Gene Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison
Directors: George Cukor, Vincente Minnelli
Creators: Arthur Freed, Jack L. Warner, James C. Katz, Alan Jay Lerner, Colette, George Bernard Shaw
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Kids & Family, Musicals & Performing Arts
Sub-Genres: Romantic Comedies, Audrey Hepburn, Love & Romance, Drama, Classics, Family Films, Musicals
Studio: Warner Home Video
Format: DVD - Color
DVD Release Date: 03/04/2003
Original Release Date: 12/25/1964
Theatrical Release Date: 12/25/1964
Release Year: 2003
Run Time: 6hr 43min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 3
SwapaDVD Credits: 3
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 4
Edition: Box set
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Languages: English

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Member Movie Reviews

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 8/18/2022...

Gigi - A must for musical lovers!

An American in Paris - A classic with really great musical dancing!

Movie Reviews

Always get the original version

Movie Mania | Southern Calfornia | 05/29/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Once again MGM has packaged three great films but in their pan and scan versions. It will be better to get them seperately in the letterbox versions."

My box set has WIDESCREEN versions!

Paul J. Mular | San Carlos, CA USA | 05/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am confused by the negative reviews of this box set. I bought this set a couple of years ago and only AN AMERICAN IN PARIS is full frame (as it should be).

GIGI is a two sided disc, pan & scan on one side and 2:33-1 letterboxed on the other side.

MY FAIR LADY is in 2:33-1 wide screen only.

So either the other reviewers forgot to turn the GIGI disc over to watch the wide screen version, or Warner fixed the problem. I am not aware of any full frame DVDs on these titles that do not have the wide screen versions also."

Expected better

J. Ulises Ocampo | 01/09/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It would have been much better with wide screen presentation, Gigi also lacks quality in soung and the magnificent viewes of Paris are lost. Of the whole collection, An american in Paris comes as the best picture in this format. Not worth the money"