Kagemusha: The (The Criterion Collection) (1980)

Wow, what a movie experience! "Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior)" is my favorite film from direct Akira Kurosawa, which is saying one heck of a lot when one considers "Rashomon", "Seven Samurai", and "Ran". I sat riveted to the television screen during the entire presentation. It is a story of a petty thief who, because he looks very much like the great Warlord Shingen, is given the chance to redeem himself and play the great Warlord's double. The heart of the film is the inner change and new found strength that progresses through the thief as he learns to become the Warlord. Awesome in its imagery, "Kagemusha" will mesmerize you and move you. Between 1 and 10, this powerful Kurosawa classic gets a 10. With his passing, along with Stanley Kubrick, the world has lost two great treasures.

KAGEMUSHA is the great 1980 drama involving a clan of 16th-Century Japanese warlords who want to deceive their enemies by having a common thief impersonate their murdered leader. This is a thought-provoking film about reality and illusion, as well as a visually inviting work filled with many striking scenes and compositions that Kurosawa films are known for. A memorable 6-minute opening shot of three identical-looking men, an elaborate dream sequence, and a harrowing montage of the aftermath of the final battle are among some of Kurosawa's finest moments in his long film career. Lead actor Tatsuya Nakadai was only in his 40s when he made KAGEMUSHA, playing a much older man and effectively conveying the guile and conflicted feelings of the imposter. Nakadai would also play the lead role in Kurosawa's next film, RAN, 5 years later, again unrecognizably playing a much older man.

Criterion has released the definitive video edition for KAGEMUSHA: a Region-1, 2-disc DVD of the uncut, 180-minute version of film. The anamorphic widescreen video quality is generally very good, except for some occasional graininess. The original Japanese audio is in Dolby Digital 4.0 surround (3 front, and 1 mono rear channels), although surround effects are infrequently used.

The best supplement on the disc is Stephen Prince's full-length audio commentary, which, due to the film's length, is able to elaborate on many topics in great details. Much of Prince's narration (I would say half of it) is more on the historical background of the film's period than the filmmaking and art of the film. He compares certain plot details against historical facts to show how Kurosawa uses his artistic license to convey his own ideas. Regarding the film itself, he emphasizes that this is an atypical Kurosawa film in that its hero tries to conform to the prevailing social order, unlike the nonconformist rebels and outcasts in past films such as SEVEN SAMURAI or YOJIMBO. On the film's artistry, he observantly points out that in a film about illusions, many of the key events in the plot are aptly NOT shown on screen. He also provides a great analysis on Kurosawa's most elaborate dream sequence.

Prince also does a good job of pointing out the differences between the shortened, 162-min international version and this 180-min uncut version. The longer version does not have "20 minutes of footage involving Kenshin Uesugi", as misreported at IMDB. The added scenes are, in fact, merely short, trimmed scenes and shots that are sprinkled all over the film. They add to the overall continuity, without altering anything in the main plot line. A majority of the added scenes are just too trivial to mention or to even notice. The few noteworthy ones include a much longer montage of the aftermath of the final battle, and a wholly added scene where the fake Shingen is being examined by the Jesuit priest physician -this scene also has the great Takashi Shimura's only appearance in the film, seen for the first time on this DVD by viewers outside of Japan.

For Kurosawa fans, the second best feature on the disc is perhaps the collection of impressionistic paintings by Kurosawa that were later used by him as storyboards for the film. In a 41-minute segment called "Image: Kurosawa's Continuity", hundreds of such paintings are shown, accompanied by sound clips from the films. In a still gallery section called "A Vision Realized", there are about 20 of the paintings placed side by side with still photos from the film. Many of these same paintings are also reprinted on the 45-page booklet that comes with this DVD.

The booklet also include 3 wonderful essays. As is usually the case, Criterion took the effort of including different writings that don't duplicate one another. One essay deals with the film itself, its art and its history. Another one is a Sight-and-Sound interview with Kurosawa. The third one covers Kurosawa himself biographically.

The disc also comes with a well-made 41-minute making-of documentary that is comprised of mostly interviews, stills, and clips from KAGEMUSHA. It's part of a 2003 series called "Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create" (other episodes of this series are available on Criterion DVDs of IKIRU, THE LOWER DEPTHS, and STRAY DOG). In Japanese with optional English subtitles, it has interview segments of the cast and crew, including Kurosawa, Nakadai, Kota Yui (the child actor, who is now grown up), and others. They recount the challenges they faced, the artistic and technical choices they made, and a few amusing anecdotes.

Also included are trailers, a few whiskey commercials Kurosawa made on the set of KAGEMUSHA (other than the monetary reasons for which they were made, there is nothing special about these commercials), and a 20-minute interview segment with George Lucas and Francis Coppola, who praise Kurosawa's genius and lament that the film business often doesn't accommodate non-commercial films, even those by great directors.

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William Goldman, and American screenwriter, admonished aspiring screenwriters to begin scenes as close to end as possible. This is the sort of pacing that audiences--American audiences, at least--are accustomed to. Akira Kurosawa's "Kagemusha" is quite a different sort of movie than would ever be produced by the American or even the European mainstream movie industry.. Its scenes are long and talky, with periods of silence, and still cameras. The scenery, make-up, and mannerisms of the actors are exaggerated and often melodramatic, like you would find in formal Japanese cinema. Anyone seeing this movie expecting a medieval action flick along the lines of, say, "Exalibur," is very likely to be disappointed.

Which would be a shame. This is a magnificent movie. The photography and set design alone are breathtaking. This is more a historical piece than a character study--the characters remain, for the most part, two-dimensional. The focus remains tightly on the strategies and deceptions involved in keeping together the Shingen Takeda clan when their leader has died.

Scenes are often long and patiently filmed. In one quietly dramatic scene, we see two lines of cavalry come galloping over an incline from a great distance. The thunder of the racing horses builds, and the lines converge before us. In this single shot, not much else happens, but the composition and sound create a powerful effect. This movie is filled with subtle, magnificent moments like this.

The battle scenes--well, no one can beat Kurosawa here. The final scene depicts devestation and defeat with surprisingly little gore, yet is no less powerful (and, arguably, more) than, say, the graphically violent scenes in "Saving Private Ryan."

This is a must-see for any movie buff.

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It is about time to get this film's definitive version.

I am Amazon user in Japan and already own the original LD release and huge, expensive DVD boxes(cost me about $1,0000.....), and I can assure you that this Criterion version will be "THE BEST" one.

While Japanese version was created from same new Hi-Definition transfer, all features, three-hour movie and 45minits documentary, are bundled in dual-layered disc, which is too much to take in one, and the sound bit rate is 338kbps instead of 448kbps.

I expect, likewise "Red Beard","Hidden fortress" and "Ikiru", one disc will be devoted to the feature presentation and the extra to the other disc on Criterion version so that the quality can be maximized, and can be better than original Japanese release.

Still, among the Japanese original box set, I can say that the quality of "Sansiro Sugata" and two-disc set of "Seven Samurai" are great. I can't wait to see what the folks at Criterion will do to the rest of Kurosawa film releases.

P.S

For the first time, in documantary, Mr.Nakadai talks about taking over the title role from great Shintaro Katsu(Zatoich)who was originaly cast for Shingen and Kagemusha. Simply amazing.

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Now this is CINEMA!

The Criterion Collection DVD is filled with extras, from original Japanese documentaries and interviews of the departed Kurosawa (with English subtitles, if needed) and a booklet containing scene sketches

by the Master himself, which help you to understand why his movies are so poetic and his photography so masterful.

The movie is presented uncut and in its full splendor. The sound is just a conventional Stereo, which is probably the original soundtrack.

Pity, because if there had been a Surround division of the channels, some very spectacular battle scenes would have been more involving.

But perhaps, Akira Kurosawa wanted precisely that, to avoid the viewer to be distracted by the fluff, and rather concentrate on the story he is trying to tell.

Also known in the Western hemisphere as "The Shadow Warrior", this is truly an Epic picture with a very beautiful and touching storyline.

This picture is the true and natural tie to other Kurosawa movies like "Seven Samurai", "Yojimbo", "Sanjuro" and "The Hidden Fortress".

Unlike "Throne of Blood" (adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth) and "Ran" (adaptation of King Lear), both also masterpieces, "Kagemusha" is an original Japanese story and gives a thorough insight of Japan in the 17th Century.

I always tought that Criterion was just out to steal our hard-earned money just for its name, but after having now bought Akira Kurosawa's "Ran", the present "Kagemusha", as well as Luchino Visconti's "The Leopard", I will stick to Criterion like CA Glue.

Although pricey, it is through and through, money totally well-spent, for the quality in DVD rendition (very clean and sharp transfers), very acceptable sound, although some more work on this would be nicer, especially with more recent movies.

Criterion has really proven that quality has its own price and believe me, I have never seen "Kagemusha" and "Ran" the way I have watched them on my flatscreen LCD HD TV.

Going to the movies nowadays, with a technology like High Definition TVs, has totally become obsolete.

DVDs, when properly treated and produced can knock out any movie theater in the world.

Thank you Criterion for the work of love you put in remastering and transferring such classics on DVD, not to mention the tons of extras you include with them.

Highly recommended and well worth its price.

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Play it to the Bone (2009)

`Play It To The Bone' is really two movies. One is a movie about boxing and the other is a comedic character study of the boxers. As a boxing film, it succeeds nicely. As a comedy it has its moments. As a character study, it hits the canvas hard.

The storyline was sort of `Rocky' times two. Two washed up middleweight boxers Vince and Cesar (Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas), who are also best friends, get a last minute chance to fight in Las Vegas on the undercard of a Mike Tyson heavyweight bout when the two scheduled fighters are unable to fight. They are promised that the winner will get a chance to fight for the championship, but they have to be in Las Vegas tonight. The trouble is, they have to fight each other.

So they climb into a car with Cesar's girlfriend (and Vince's ex-girlfriend) Grace (Lolita Davidovich) and drive from L.A. to Las Vegas. Most of the rest of the movie is about the drive followed by the fight.

Director Ron Shelton has had quite a few sports oriented success stories to his credit (Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump and Tin Cup). The best part of the film was the boxing. The boxing was well choreographed and both actors were athletic and fought like real boxers. Shelton was also excellent at creating the feel of a boxing match. Anyone who has ever watched an HBO bout will recognize ring announcers Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and George Foreman. Mike Tyson made a cameo as well as numerous celebrity boxing fans (Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Wesley Snipes and a host of others). The makeup for the cuts and puffiness was also very realistic.

Unfortunately, the rest of the film was not as good as the fight. Shelton spends a good deal of time developing the characters, but it is all for naught because they have no substance. They are two hapless jocks, obvious mental lightweights, who spend most of the trip to Las Vegas fighting over Grace, cutting up and strutting around like peacocks. Shelton takes great pains to try to make us love these characters equally by making them equally pathetic. But that doesn't work because it leaves the audience without anyone to pull for in the fight. The ending is utterly predictable and the film whimpers off into the sunset with no more than a stagger.

Banderas and Harrelson both gave journeyman performances. They had good chemistry and some decent comedy between them, but there was nothing special here. The best performance by far was by Davidovich who transcended her normal sex kitten role and took command of the entire film with a character that was a manipulative vixen. She was smart, tough and sexy, and dominated every scene. Once again, she shows that she is talented as well as attractive, which makes me wonder why she has never gotten roles that are more substantial.

This is a tough one to rate because it does some things very well and other things poorly. I gave it a 6/10. It had some good comedic moments, but not enough of them. It had some excellent boxing scenes, but a disappointing outcome. In addition, the character study simply failed due to vacant characters. If you like boxing, Harrelson, Banderas or especially Davidovich, you will enjoy this film. Otherwise, enter at your own risk.

This film has been knocked down more times than Dominguez and Boudreau in the climatic final fight scene. Sure the story was a bit uneven, but I still liked this quirky buddy/road trip movie for its unexpected and offbeat take that includes a seamier side of professional boxing. Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson are likeable stars and I thought they played off each other very well. While Harrelson is known to shift effortlessly from dramatic to comedic roles and back again, this was the first time I saw a lighter, more humorous side of Banderas and I thought he acquitted himself very well. Talented and sexy Lolita Davidovich as their street smart and savvy love interest was as much a welcomed casting choice as Lucy Liu's was a total waste of time other than being the object of Harrelson's vivid backseat description of her femininity prior to a hilarious if impromptu and primitive tryst. A host of cameo appearances fill out the rest of the card. Don't bring high expectations to the match and you won't be unduly disappointed, and you just may be mildly entertained for 2 hours.

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At the beginning of this movie I was wide-awake but about 45 mins into the movie I could feel myself falling asleep. This movie doesn't really do anything for me until the last 50 mins. But before that all it is is a boring road trip that last forever and isn't funny. I loved the boxing scenes b/c they were brutal and it reminded me of Rocky and Raging Bull. I kinda predicted the outcome of the match halfway into the fight but it was still fun watching them beat each other up. If you love Banderas and Harrelson then you might like this movie more than I do, but if u don't, don't see it. Last words, I wouldn't buy it.

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The fight scenes in this moive were very good but the lack of action and the boring drive to the fight made this film not as good as it could have been. Boxing fans will recognize lots of big named extras at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where the big fight scene takes palce. I enjoyed the soundtrack very much too.

This movie was a good rental but nothing you would want to watch a second time or own.

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Cesar (Antonio Banderas) and Vince (Woody Harrelson) are great friends and not-so-great boxers who get a chance to salvage their careers in a highly publicized Las Vegas extravaganza. But there's a catch: The two guys have to fight each other. Brimming with vividly drawn characters and delightfully idiosyncratic dialogue, this latest effort by writer-director Ron Shelton ("Bull Durham," "Tin Cup") is a profanely funny shaggy-dog story with a surprisingly affecting emotional undercurrent. The under-rated Lolita Davidovich shines as Grace, the smart and sexy woman loved by both boxers.

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Top Hat

The fourth Fred & Ginger (F&G) movie, Top Hat is considered by many to be the quintessential one and is my personal favorite. In the Top Hat musical number, Fred cleverly uses his gentleman's cane as a "machine gun." And the ever-so-tender cheek to cheek number where he is singing and dancing with Ginger makes me feel like I am dancing in heaven as well. A deleted scene in some prints in which Bates (Eric Blore) insults a policeman, is present in this DVD.

A running commentary with Ava Astaire McKenzie (daughter) includes background information about the supporting actors and trivia, such as the significance of the ring Fred wears in the film. And even though Ginger rides the horse in this movie, we learn that Fred is the real horse lover. Ava admits she does not know everything about her dad and his career, which adds to the authenticity of what she does know and contributes.

A behind-the-scenes look, the featurette, "On Top: Inside the Success of Top Hat" explains many intricacies and attention to detail in the making of the movie. Nothing is left to chance. You will appreciate all the names in the opening credits. It includes interviews with Ava Astaire McKenzie, archivists, and biographers with a mix of F&G photographs and film clips. (Run time 18:20)

"Watch the Birdie" is a comedy short with a young Bob Hope playing a prankster on a cruise ship who himself gets "pranked." It's sort of a let down after Top Hat, so I am not sure why it's included on the same DVD. (B&W, Run time 18:16)

"Page Miss Glory" (1936) is an old Merrie Melodies cartoon about the exploits around a bell boy in an upscale hotel. It has a touch of Busby Berkeley near the end. (Run time 7:43)

Theatrical Trailer (Run time 1:02)

This is a musical for those people who hate musicals...

I think you would have to be the biggest curmudgeon in the world not to find this movie fun and joyful. If this movie does not improve your mood, there is probably something seriously wrong with you.

I'm not kidding.

Not only am I not a fan of musicals, but I also am not a fan of dancing. I mean, watching dancing is okay, but I don't go out of my way to watch it.

But the dancing that Fred and Ginger do, here, is nothing short of brilliant. Not only that, it is so joyous. You can just tell that they (Fred, especially) just LOVES dancing! You feel it, and it makes YOU love dancing, too; you just can't help but love what they do, it is infectious.

Also, the story is very funny, full of improbably twists and turns, and very good comedic timing and jokes.

And of course, Ginger... Oh, to have been Fred, with those gorgeous eyes, that gorgeous face looking at me like that... She was way before my time, and is not "Playboy" beautiful. She's just so damned cute. How could anyone not find her irresistable?

I don't usually gush like this, you can check my other reviews. I guess this movie brings out the sap in me. What can I say?

I love this movie.

By the way, there seem to be 2 major camps: those who think this is the best of the Ginger and Fred movies, and those who think that honor goes to "Swing Time". My wife and I both found "Swing Time" to be far less satisfying than "Top Hat". Basically, the dancing and singing are about equally great; but the story of "Top Hat" is much better and the jokes much funnier in "Top Hat".

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Many times when the subject of old-time, classic movies comes up, my father inevitably brings up the story of how as a child he was given a quater on his ninth birthday and sent off to a local Baltimore, movie theatre with his friends to see the now classic movie musical, "Top Hat". Just recently I purchased the DVD box set, "Astaire & Rogers Collection, Volume 1". Naturally, the first disc I viewed was "Top Hat". Well after seeing this disc, I now know, why my Dad over seventy years later, is still talking about this wonderful piece of cinematic, movie magic. To paraphrase an old Humphrey Bogart line, "this is the stuff that dreams are made of". Where do you start with what makes this movie great? You have to start with the pure magic of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers working together. This film is pretty much this duo's creative peak. You have Fred Astaire acting, cracking jokes, singing and best of all DANCING! If you wish to ever to see pure creative genuis at work, before your very eyes, then just watch this man's feet and body language. Astaire shows such elegance and grace, that he has now become the very definition of those words. As for Miss Rogers, her skills have been quite underrated in the past. You know the old cliche saying, "she could do anything he could do...but she could do it backwords (and in heels)". It's true! This pair's artistry and creative gifts perfectly match each other. My personal favorite moment in the movie is the extended dance sequence between the two during the song, "Cheek to Cheek". In the begining of the scene, when Astaire sings "I'm in heaven..." and then repeats the phrase, you really do believe him! The two dancers glide along the dance floor as though they are in a dream. When the music majestically swells and he dips her, there is truely a sense of romance and sensuality, that is completly overwelming. It really is a classic scene from movie history. Astaire & Rogers are joined by a classic cast of comic, character actors, who forever will go down in cinematic memory. There is Edward Everett Horton, who plays Astaire's stuffy show producer. He is the 'King of the comic, double-take'. His man-servant is played by the humorous actor, Eric Blore, who reminds me of a school boy, who knows he's played some sort of naughty prank. Horton's wife is played by actress, Helen Broderick, who seems to have made an art form out of delivering her lines with irony & sarcasm. Finally there is comic actor, Eric Rhodes with his hilariously way over the top, Italian accent (he puts Chico Marx to shame!) and his foppish ways. The songs in this film have now become popular standards, that have become engrained in our culture's musical consciousness. All are written by Composer, Irving Berlin and include classics such "Isn't This a Lovely Day", "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails", Cheek to Cheek" and "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)". While countless performers have covered these songs, it is the Astaire & Rodgers renditions from this film, that is in our collective memory. Finally mention should be of the movies' beautiful costumes and especially the almost fantasy-like, art decco, stylized sets which seem to effortlessly transport the viewer to another world. Remember, this film was released during the height of the 'Great Depression'. It was tough times for many movie patrons back then. Well, for one hour fourty minutes through the singing, dancing, comedy and the fantastic visuals it must have made folks forget their troubles. These days I suspect this film can still work it's wonderful movie magic! The DVD picture itself is crystal clear and highlights the beautiful B&W photography. The sound is O.K. for a film from 1935. Extras include a short featurette on the making of the film, commentary from Astaire's daughter, a theatrical trailer, a Warner Bros. cartoon and a Bob Hope comedy short. For a night of great escapist entertaiment, I highly recommend the classic film "Top Hat"! Dad certainly liked it!

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What a fantastic movie this is! It features wonderful music by Irving Berlin, wonderful elegance all around, and especially, wonderful Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the best team in the history of movies. The movie glides along, and you glide with it, and are swept up in the sheer joy of it all. The plot is absurd: Ginger thinks Fred is her best friends' husband. Fred, of course has no idea of this and pursues Ginger relentlessly. All of this is just an excuse for singing and dancing, and there is plenty of it, to some timeless Irving Berlin songs. It is some of the best you'll ever see. From the first moment when Fred starts puttering around to the tune of "No Strings," you wind up with a big grin on your face and amazement at how good he is. Ginger Rogers was always his best partner, because she was a perfect foil and a great dancer as well. But there was more to it than that. She was also a good actress and had great comic timing and always seemed ready to go along with the silliness of the plot. Here her best moment (and the best dance in the movie) is "Isn't This A Lovely Day." It is set in a sort of gazebo in a rainstorm and it is marvelousthe two wind up moving into a little tap competitionthen thunder is heard, Ginger leaps into Fred's arms, they break apart, the music begins getting faster and faster, and suddenly they are whirling around the gazebo in giddy joy. The whole movie is marvelous, in fact. There is not a moment where I was dissapointed. 100 minutes of sheer pleasure.

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I expected fabulous dancing, but this movie is hilarious as well. I laughed until I cried. The plot centers around mistaken identity, which is a sure-fire comedic convention if done well, and it is done very well here indeed. Astaire and Rodgers are very funny, but the supporting players are masters of comedy. Highly enjoyable.

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Singin' In The Rain: 60th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2012)

First off, I need to point out that Amazon does have this odd policy of grouping ALL reviews of ALL versions and editions of a film in one place. So when a film is restored or reissued the reviews are grouped with the others. There are over400 reviews for "Singing in the Rain" here and they stretch back as far as 1998 and as recent as July 2012. Reviews are automatically sorted by the "Most Helpful" first and while I hope you will find my review helpful I do encourage you to look at the date of any review you read and compare it with the "release date" of the edition you are looking to purchase. With that said, I'll move on to my review.

I'll go along nearly everyone who treasures "Singin in the Rain" in saying it is probably one of the most important films ever made and the top musical. It's also the most entertaining 103 minutes you'll se on the screen. Sure there is smart dialogue, but the film boasts a compendium of wonderful "hit songs" that were all succeses even before the were incorporated in the story by Comden & Green. Go ahead and read the other reviews, if you are not familier with the plot or background of the film. That hasn't changed in the 20+ years of reviews.

I last reviewed this film on DVD 10 years ago when Warner Home Video released the 50th anniversary package in 2002. That was before Blu-ray. Because the multi-disc versions of the new 60th Anniversary Edition contain all the "special features" of the 50th Anniversary one, I chose the single-disc Bluray to see the new HD transfer and the new 53-minute documentary. The single-disc BD contains only the HD transfer, the doc, a "juke-box" function and the Theatrical Trailer (along with the commentary track from the 50th).

The PRINT is glorious even on my non HD TV. And the film was not in Wide Screen so the dimensions of your screen don't matter. The documentary really didn't add much, but was fun to watch. Its purpose was to reach the younger generation who are fans of "Glee" and "High School Musical". Both choreographers and actors from those shows are interviewed and tell about the first time they saw the film. A few "oldsters" like Rob Marshall and Baz Luhrman add comments and there are some from film historian Rudy Behlmer (who appeared on the Warner musical reissues before the start of the press-on-demand Warner Archive series). Of course there are lots of clips from the film (some repeated again and again) as well as clips from other Kelly films as well as Fred Astaire films comparing the two. A brief mention of importance of Arthur Freed is made but no discussion of the new digital transfer. It's an OK doc but, not sure it breaks any new ground.

Still, if you love this film (and I can watch it over and over) and have an HD TV, you'll probably want to pick this up. If you have the prior edition and an HD TV you'll want the single disc BD. If you don't own the prior one, you'll want the 2-disc version for all the extra bonus that were added 10 years ago.

But this is a DVD (in one form or another) that EVERYONE should own.

I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.

Steve Ramm

"Anything Phonographic"

Most people who are reading this review know how awesome "Singin' in the Rain" is, so I won't review the film, but rather I'll limit the review to the 60th Anniversary Blue-ray disc. I watched this on a 70" Sharp Aquos HDTV. What an experience! In a darkened room, with a giant bucket of coronary-inducing self-popped (not microwave) buttered popcorn (with real butter, thank you) and an enhanced sound system, I was transferred to a time that I hadn't experienced since I was a little kid. The blue-ray transfer is breathtaking with the brillant color, clarity, and sound. It was like watching a brand new film. This is how audiences originally saw the film 60 years ago. The commentary track was very informative, though it was recorded a few years ago, since some of the contributers are now deceased. The added features are excellent. I like the 'jukebox' feature, which allows you to watch just the musical numbers of your choice. If you only have a little time, but you need a quick uplifting shot of "Good Mornin'" or "Moses Suposes" you can do that. Also the added feature of interviews with some of today's dancers, choreographers, and musical film directors is fun. It's good to see the respect and admiration that they have for Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, et al. I suggest whatever home theater equipment you have, set yourself up as close to a theater setting as possible and get swept away. Experience how magical a movie experience can be.

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If they would ever give out awards for Blu-ray.....This would be the one to take it.

I have a couple hundred Blu-ray discs and I, personally, think this is the best disc that was ever pressed. I've seen Singing In The Rain in the theater, on VHS, on Bata Max, CED videodisc, Laser Disc and DVD. But, WOW, I have never seen this movie look and sound so good. You've got to see it! WOW!

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This is a revisit to a movie I haven't seen in years. Have I changed my view? Nope. In fact, watching the film on the new Blu ray disc more than confirms that the film still holds up after 60 years. The video transfer maintains the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio. While the images aren't quite as natural as you might like, there are very few distractions. The colors are spectacular and the dancing is the greatest ever put on film.

Gene Kelly seen here in his prime and in a tuxedo, could have been a great James Bond. Cool, good looking with beautiful women all around. Dancing never had a better stud. Donald O'Connor is a second banana here, but check him out in his solo routine, "Make `Em Laugh". He teams up with Kelly in a couple complicated numbers and you will never see better choreography.

The story centers around the time when silent films made the transition to "talkies" (1927) and Kelly's leading lady couldn't make the jump due to her high pitched Brooklyneze voice. Her voice and singing are later dubbed in by a newcomer named Kathy (Debbie Reynolds). She's also Don's (Kelly) new fling. This is all fun, inside stuff but the real action is on the dance floor.

The film of course, features Kelly's take on the title song, which I've seen dozens of times. It is still spectacular. I had forgotten about the 13 minute dance sequence in the last act featuring Kelly and long-legged Cyd Charisse. She dances throughout this number with a 30 foot long scarf flowing behind her. It wraps gracefully around Kelly several times. It is beautiful to watch, as is the whole movie.

While the film in this Blu ray version is visually an upgrade from DVD, the audio is the real star. The newest option is a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. It's a big deal. The songs in particular have been given a wonderful mix. The LFE channel is restrained keeping focus suggested by the original mono score. Special features include a new documentary, commentary by several of the stars and others and a "jump-to-song" feature. This is a pretty bare bones package (one disc) for what is a milestone film.

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I may be the first one to review the Blu-ray release of Singin' in the Rain, and I will be brief: SPECTACULAR!!!. The restoration of the picture (4K) and the DTS multi-channel English track will knock your socks off!

This 60 year old classic looks like it was just filmed, except in glorious TECHNICOLOR. For those of us who were lucky to see revivals of this film in theatres with prints from the IB Technicolor masters, it is such a joy to see this quality in our own home theaters looking so beautiful. For the newer film fans who have only seen this movie on a TV screen, you don't know what you are missing. This is a classic you MUST see on the largest screen you can possibly view it on. There aren't many extras , and the trailer is standard definition, but the most important thing for me is the absolutely stunning quality of the main feature. I recommend this release on Blu-ray. It is the closest to classic movie heaven you will get!!.

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To Be or Not to Be (Criterion Collection) (1942)

Jack Benny is the greatest and most groundbreaking comedian certain readers have most likely never heard of. on radio in the '30s and '40s, Benny more than anyone else effectively invented the sitcom, and his series has been rewarded with a title of Greatest Old-Time Radio Comedy that still stands to this day.

radio (and, to a lesser extent, television) was Jack's true forte. his work in movies was nowhere hear as fullfulling. of the nearly 30 films he starred in, he would personally recommend only three, and was completely satisfied with only one of those. (guess which?)

as you might imagine from the title, Benny plays an actor. this neatly dovetails with one of his radio running-gags: a paragon of pomposity, Benny's radio counterpart considered himself a better actor than he in fact was, and he'd always get sulky when Acadamy Awards time rolled around.

the mastperiece of director Ernst Lubitch, this 1942 release tells the story of a Polish theatrical troupe who fight back when the Nazis invade in 1939. not that they defeat the Nazis, mind you. even if it could be rendered believeable that mere actors had manage to topple Der Furer himself, he'd of just turned up in the newspaper again the next morning. (this would've been particularly surreal given that the film was set three years in the past.) so they content themselves with foiling a plot to destroy the Polish Resistance, then getting the hell out of Nazi territory.

Jack's leading lady is the impeccable Carole Lombard. she's been called the first great comedic actress of the "talkies," and you'll get no argument from anyone who sees this film. she effortlessly exudes charm and pathos as well as her trademark humor in the roll of Jack's mostly devoted actress wife. "mostly" because she's not above letting herself be fawned over by a young admirer (a barely recognizable Robert Stack, looking more Dobie Gillis than Elliott Ness). Ms. Lombard is also, for all intents and purposes, the driving force of the film. it is her and her young friend, who turns out to be a pilot with the Polish army, who begin to suspect that a trusted ally may be a Nazi agent.

the humor here is not simply about Jack's pomosity. there's roughly equal parts political satire and intrigue. there's a certain poignancy to what Warsaw is reduced to over the course the film. an early scene depicts rehearsing actors reciting Shakespeare: "if you prick us, do we not bleed?" his repeat of the same line later, when Warsaw is officially "occupied," serves as as forceful an answer as the question will ever get.

simply put, everything about TO BE OR NOT TO BE works. it effortlessly walks the fine line between humorous comedy and suspenseful tension. it's should've been a spectacular hit, a shot in the arm to a nation (if not world) which was finally officially preparing for war. not only that, but it should've been a significant turning point in the career of Jack Benny, proof positive once and for all that, wonderful as Jack Benny's radio program was, it was hardly all he could do.

but alas, the film was tainted by tragedy less than a week before it's release, when Carole Lombard died in a plane crash. the irony, of course, is that the time would come when the death of a star, particularly with a new release on the way, is practically a Christmas present to the marketing department, because they can use it to drum up residual enthusiasm for past triumphs as well as curiosity about said new release. sometimes it even kicks off a mini-industry: teen angst posterboy James Dean, sex kitten Marilyn Monroe, martial arts innovator Bruce Lee, and Beatles founder John Lennon are only a few of the luminaries to come of whom it will be said, only half jokingly, that dying was the smartest career move they ever made. even Jack Benny got to reap a bit of that harvest, because his 1974 death coincided with a thriving new interest in the radio dramas of old.

but alas, in a world that doesn't see it quite like that just yet, Ms. Lombard's death can only stigmatize the film. many who might otherwise of seen TO BE OR NOT TO BE now found it's very existance a bit disconcerting if not downright eerie. those who did chance to see the film at the time tended to describe it as bittersweet at best.

but fortunately the stigma has long since faded. like CITIZEN KANE or The Marx Brothers' DUCK SOUP. the one film Jack Benny was actually proud of would receive a second chance when rediscovered by the televisions generation 20 years or so down the line. it's stature has held firm ever since, and you'll see why.

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! the film was remade in the early '80s, and like most remakes, all it really manages to do is fall flat on it's ass. what's especially dreary about this one, however, is that it is the work of another of my comedy heroes, Mel Brooks. if anyone should've know better, it's the genius behind BLAZING SADDLES and SPACEBALLS.

so, as with roughly 98% of all film remakes, this is a case of Stick With The Original.]

P.S.: I almost forgot, the other two films Jack felt were "okay" or "pretty good" are BUCK BENNY RIDES AGAIN and GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE.

I hope this Blu Ray lives up to its potential, but I have ordered it regardless.

Here is the greatest psychological moment in cinema history (sez me).

spoiler alert. (You wouldn't have noticed it anyway, probably.)

It is 1939, just before Hitler's invasion of Poland. The scene is Warsaw. The movie was made in 1941, after the conquest of Poland and France, before America entered the War in December. Can you imagine a comedy about America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while W was still our prezydent??

The opening titles play in front of the Heroic Polonaise of Chopin. Anyone who does not feel like bursting into tears doesn't know history.

Jack and Carole are a husband and wife stage acting team in Warsaw, like Hugh Cronin and Jessica Tandy, or Brad Pitt and whatser name. Jack's wife Carole Lombard is flirting with a stage door admirer, a naive young pilot in the Polish Air Force, played by Robert Stack. She invites him to leave the audience and come backstage when her husband playing Hamlet goes, To Be or Not To Be -what could be more wounding to her vain, infantile hubby, who cannot but see the lad's walk-out? Stack rises to the Oedipal bait, and after a few visits just as he is putting serious moves on Lombard, her dressing room door bursts open, and a maid announces Hitler has invaded Poland, Sept 1, 1939. Stack the pilot has to leave to go to war to defend Poland, and grow up in a hurry.

The amazing piece of psychology is that it is a RELIEF!!! Thank god, WWII happened just in time to prevent this illicit, quasi-incestuous hook-up from happening. Using my psychiatric license to dispense opinions, I offer the idea that it makes sense that War resolves certain emotional conflicts. Why else would we send our sons and daughters to die in war, and why else would they agree to go?

Buy To Be or Not to Be (Criterion Collection) (1942) Now

This original Fritz Lubitsch satire on Hitlerism no doubt inspired many followers including Mel Brooks, but Brooks' treatment of this same material lacks the Lubitsch touch, indeed. Probably Jack Benny's best film work--in which he doesn't play himself--is perfectly complementary to the incomparable Carole Lombard (in what I believe was her last film). One of Lubitsch's " touch" moves is his use of ensemble players and his ability to integrate a Benny or Lombard into the troupe (exception may be the wooden Robert Stack who in his early movies always seems to be auditioning to be Eliot Ness, but he serves as a perfect foil here). Anyone who has seen Brooks' ham-handed take will benefit greatly from this deft version.

Brooks does much better in his original satiric attack on Hitlerism in "The Producers" (film and stage versions) than he does in his remake of this film, which depends on someone else's comic vision.

Read Best Reviews of To Be or Not to Be (Criterion Collection) (1942) Here

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Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

I must disagree with Leonard Maltin; Steamboat Bill Jr. is one of Keaton's best, and as a very fluid and well-plotted example of late-silent filmmaking, it makes an excellent intro to his work for neophytes-better perhaps than some of the more deliriously surreal comedies such as Sherlock Jr. Keaton's performance as the college boy son of a riverboat captain is generally regarded as his best acting, and the 20-30-minute hurricane sequence is one of his most remarkable feats of solo pantomime (it includes the famous clip of a building front falling on him, the window landing exactly where he stands). This tape is also worth noting for the presence on it of a recently discovered complete version of the short Convict 13, one of the last missing bits of silent Keaton.

I have most of the Buster Keaton DVDs and this is one of the most fun. "Steamboat Bill Jr" is the typical Buster Keaton plot, with twice the stuntwork. The hurricane scene is one of his most famous and shows the talent, genius and dexterity of this man. Incredibly fun and entertaining for the whole family.

The first short, "Convict 13" is not a very high quality print, and some parts of it get very hard to decipher, but you must remember that 1 complete reel of this film was considered lost forever until recently. At least we get to see the short in it's entirety. "Convict 13" was one of Keaton's first starring movies for Metro studios and shows him in a very slapstick-ish role; His trademark dean-pan expressionism and personality have not quite evolved at the time of this film. It's still very fun, but not as sophisticated as his later work.

The final short on this DVD "Daydreams", is another 'nearly lost' classic. The DVD states that some of the footage is unavailable and they took the liberty to piece a few extra stills and title cards to make the movie flow with a comprehensible storyline. Once again, the transfer quality is not high, but better than "Convict 13". "Daydreams" is classic Keaton, complete with the chase scene of 20-30 police officers, ala "Cops" (See 'The General' DVD). There is an implied attempted suicide in "Daydreams", but it's all completely off screen.

Once again, I have yet to be disappointed by a Buster Keaton DVD from Kino International. I recommend it highly.

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As one of his last great silent films, Steamboat Bill Jr.(1928) is one of Buster Keaton's finest. Nearly a third of it's 69 minute running time is comprised of some of the most spectacular and funniest stunt work Keaton ever did. The General, Our Hospitality and the 45 minute Sherlock Jr. are better films but none are any more entertaining than Steamboat Bill Jr .

Bill (Ernest Torrence) is the tough Captain and owner of the old and somewhat run-down Stonewall Jackson river boat. He is about to be run out of business by the richest man in town, King (Tom McGuire). King has built a huge, fancy river-boat and gets the Stonewall condemned.

Bill then gets word that his son is going to visit him. He has not seen his son for many years-Bill Junior aka Willie, has been in college back east-and Bill Sr. imagines his son must be bigger than he is. He's pretty disappointed that not only does his son look like a 90 pound weakling, but he's got a city slicker hat on that has got to be replaced pronto. Father decides its time to make a man out of his son, while son Willie, has his eyes on a beautiful young lady (Marion Byron) who happens to be chief rival King's daughter.

Father Bill ends up in jail, and Buster Willie tries to break him out. He succeeds, but is almost accosted himself so Father turns himself back in and Willie is sent to the hospital with a minor injury. Just when it looks like the old Steamboat is doomed for extinction, and Willie won't get the girl the weather changes.

The final extended sequence of the film begins at the front porch of the King Hotel. King is warned that a wind storm is coming and the pier is not going to be strong enough to hold his fancy boat against the wind.

The wind blows and the death defying stunts, and inventive sight gags begin. A man tries to start his car, the wind blows the hood of the car up which makes the car into a land sail boat-with the man being dragged down the street holding onto his cars bumper. The car comes to a halt in front of the King Hotel. The Pier collapses and the King Steamboat breaks away and some of its crew leap for their lives. The entire front of the King Hotel collapses into splinters and is blown away. People on the street struggle as they run for cover and shelter.

Buster Willie who is in the hospital, remains in his bed as the patients and nurses flee out the hospital which is then entirely blown away. Buster tries to leave the area with remarkable calm but must leap onto his bed as it is propelled through the ruins of the town's streets and through a horse stable. In the middle of the street, Buster goes under the bed for cover. A man leaps from the second story of his house onto the bed. The Bed collapses on Buster. The wind blows the escaping man and the bed away.

Then the somewhat confused Willie rises to his feet, in front of the house that will be ripped apart by the winds and give us one of the most infamous and death defying stunts in all of movie history. As he stands groggy and confused, the entire two ton facade of the house falls and crashes over him. A small window opening just happens to have passed over the very spot he is standing. Buster had positioned himself with only inches to spare so that the facade would crash over him but avoid crushing him to death. If he had missed his mark by a few inches, or if something had gone wrong, Buster Keaton would have been crushed to death.

Realizing how close he has come to death, Willie tries to run, but the wind is too strong and soon he is sliding and tumbling and being blown as if he is a tumbleweed down the street. Eventually he winds up amongst stage props at what remains of the theater. More inventive gags follow leading to an exciting finale in which he must rescue his father from drowning in the Jail,the woman he loves, and more.

Keaton did all of his own stunts. He designed many of them to be shot in longshots, choreographing movements so he tumbled or was dragged from end of the frame to the other. His acrobatic ability continues to amaze. It should come as no surprise that one of Keaton's biggest fans is Jackie Chan, who carries on old stone-face `s tradition quite well.

The credits list Charles F. Reisner as the director of Steamboat Bill Jr., but it is unlikely Reisner even co-directed the feature with Keaton (Keaton did collaborate with Eddie Cline on several shorts). Keaton actually directed all of his feature films, sharing or giving away credit to a string of studio assigned directors who did very little work on Keaton's films.

Also featured on the wonderful KINO DVD (and video) are two wonderful Keaton shorts. Convict 13 and Daydreams. Convict 13 (1920) contains some clever physical slapstick choreography while Daydreams (1922) shows the early genesis of ideas that would be fully realized in the classic Sherlock Jr., and ends with an exciting chase scene in New York City.

Steamboat Bill Junior was the last film Buster made for producer Joseph M. Schenck. He would then begin his ill-fated contract with MGM. After The Camera Man and during Spite Marriage, the sound era began and MGM would team Keaton with Jimmy Durante (bad idea) and then in several mediocre comedies completely mis-using Keaton's talent and forcing severe restrictions on him. Keaton already in a bad marriage and an alcoholic, allowed his career to be destroyed.

Buster Keaton is one of the top directors, and comics who ever lived. He experimented with film in ways that none of his contemporaries even dreamed of and in doing so surpasses even Chaplin and Lloyd in terms of genius. Some of the innovations he explored continue to be used by modern film-makers today.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder A steamy cyber thriller available January 2001. Please order it today. Thank You

Read Best Reviews of Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) Here

When we think about Buster Keaton, we think of one of the kings of slapstick comedy during the silent era. The master of physical comedy, a talent known for his deadpan expression and his films, well-revered today as one of the best actors and directors of all time and beloved by many.

But in 1928, Buster Keaton was going through one of the most problematic times of his life. A marriage to Natalie Talmadge (of the popular Talmadge family and sister to actresses Norma and Constance) which was going south and to make things worse but two years prior, Keaton had learned that Joseph M. Schenk (the man in which Keaton was contracted to) would be taking the job as President of the new United Artists (created by D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks).

And with Keaton now losing independence as a director/actor and becoming part of the new studio mentality, in the three year period, he would create three films which would be his final films he would have complete control over and that was "The General" (1926), "College" (1927) and his final film with United Artists, "Steamboat Bill, Jr" (1928).

Like "The General", "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is considered one of the best films that Keaton had created but in 1928, people didn't feel the same way. People were now getting read for the talkies (which was in its infancy) and slapstick comedy was phasing out and people were wanting something new and different.

Eventually like many silent era stars, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is considered as Keaton's last great silent film and is now considered today as not just one of the top Keaton comedy films ever created but one of the top comedy silents of all time.

VIDEO:

"Steamboat Bill, Jr." is quite literally the best looking version of the film available and for an 82-year-old film, Kino International has once again done a spectacular job on a silent film release on Blu-ray.

Before I discuss the picture quality of "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", it's important to note that because this is a silent film, it's important to emphasize that each silent film has been handled and stored differently. With that being said, I also want to add that there are only so many very good silent films still around, many destroyed from fires started by the Nitrate film or mishandling (or improper storage). Fortunately, a good number of Keaton films have strong film elements that have led to Kino International wanting to release more Keaton films on Blu-ray and to also make sure the film has not been digitally tampered.

Similar to "The General", Kino International has done a a great job with bringing this film to Blu-ray. Presented in 1080p High Definition, black and white, yes, the film is not pristine (no silent film in HD will be) looking as it does have scratches, dust, hair and other damage that the film has gone through within the last 80-years. But this is to be expected, if anything, many silent films on nitrate were not well taken care of, so each time I see a film in which the films are much better than I expect, I'm quite pleased and for "Steamboat Bill, Jr." in HD, it's definitely a major improvement over its original DVD counterpart.

I have watched many silent films that have had considerable nitrate damage but this film still looks fantastic for its age and you will not see the nitrate damage or acid buildup in the film's sides. Yes, it's not pristine but it's the best looking version of the film that I have seen so far. There is a good amount of detail where you can actually see detail on the ground, on the wood of the Steamboat bill ship, the curvatures and bark on a tree. It's important to note that some elements of the film do show its change in black levels but by no means was this distracting for me. I know of one review that said that contrast was blinding and I think that comment was a bit excessive. There are changing levels but by no means was it blinding or over-contrast. I found the black levels and contrast more distracting on the DVD but I believe that KINO did a wonderful job in fixing it on the Blu-ray release (and I am assuming it was fixed also on the ultimate collection 2-disc DVD that was released simultaneously on the same day as the Blu-ray).

The differences between the Buster Keaton Estate version and the Killiam Shows Archives version is quite interesting as the films show different takes. Because the film were handled by different properties, the picture quality is slightly softer in the Killiam version but personally, both looks good and I'm very grateful that both films are included in this release.

Many have wondered if the film does have any DNR and Bret Wood posted on Nitrateville.com:

When we transferred THE GENERAL, we had the grain-reducer turned down to zero, assuming that would kill it. But when we QC'ed the Blu-Ray, we saw traces of digital artifacts. As a result, we re-transferred THE GENERAL for Blu-Ray, with the grain-reducer not just turned to zero, but completely by-passed (and we followed the same technique for STEAMBOAT BILL JR.).

By this time, the DVD of THE GENERAL had already been released, so it has a slight amount of digital noise reduction, but it's virtually undetectable on a SD monitor.

But despite its having its share of dust and particles and other things that do show up in the video, comparing both this Blu-ray version to the DVD version in my Kino "Art of Buster Keaton" set, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." looks fantastic on Blu-ray!

On the DVD, there is constant flickering and there were times that blacks look quite deep and were hard to see faces at times. Also, seeing how much cleaner the print looks on Blu-ray vs. the original KINO DVD is quite amazing.

Iknow some Blu-ray purists that have never seen a silent film can be alarmed that silent films are not clear and pristine but the fact is many of them aren't but if we can get something as close to perfect, for an 82-year-old film, I'm quite impressed with the results!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

With any release of silent films on Blu-ray, one thing that I have always wanted to see is more musical scores that people can select for their own viewing and personal preference.

For "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", you get the The Biography Players music presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, an organ score by Lee Erwin and a piano score by William Perry. Unfortunately, the music by Gaylord Carter presented on the original DVD is not included.

It's important to note that the Buster Keaton Estate version comes with The Biography Players DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 score and a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo version and the Lee Erwin mono organ score. The Killiam Shows Archive version only features the William Perry Dolby Digital 2.0 piano score.

The Biography Players lossless score was well-done! I enjoyed Gaylord Carter's score from the original, so to hear another score, I was quite impressed of how the orchestra carried on various instruments during a scene's most emotional or hair-raising moments. It is important to note that the score is presented on all five audio channels. But just in case, you don't like that, you can always select a Dolby Digital 2.0 version of the score.

I also enjoyed the organ score by Lee Irwin (presented in Dolby Digital mono) and you get the Dolby Digital 2.0 piano score by William Perry.

There are no subtitles in this Blu-ray release.

SPECIAL FEATURES

"Steamboat Bill, Jr." comes with the following special features:

* Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Killiam)(1:10:29) The second version of the film which is similar to the Buster Keaton Estate version but the Killiam Shows Archive version does feature different cuts of scenes (such as the trying on a hat scene). The Killiam Shows Archive version only features the William Perry Dolby Digital 2.0 piano score.

* Visual Essay (12:20) A short documentary explaining Keaton's mindset during the filming of "Steamboat Bill, Jr." and the challenges that Keaton faced at this time in his life.

* Steamboat Bill: The Song Early recordings of a folk song that created the persona from which the film was derived. Performed by Edward Meeker (1911, 2:10) and Irving Kaufman (1919, 2:48).

* "Why The Call Him Buster" (1:11) A musical montage of pratfalls and stunts created to promote the upcoming release of KINO's "Lost Keaton".

* Stills Using your remote, you can cycle through various stills from the film.

EXTRAS:

"Steamboat Bill, Jr." comes with a slipcase.

JUDGMENT CALL:

As a big fan of Buster Keaton films, from his silents to his talkies, I do feel that Kino International has done a fantastic job with this Blu-ray release of "Steamboat Bill, Jr.".

While I really enjoyed "The General", "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is a film that I enjoyed even more. I felt the physical comedy by Buster Keaton was fantastic! The scenes when the hurricane hits the town literally makes your jaw drop and makes you wonder how they created those scenes in 1928. Hurricane-like winds, watching Keaton risk his life and putting his life into this crew's hands as homes and buildings collapse all around him, houses falling on him and literally escaping harms way to seeing him on a tree and being carried away by the hurricane (of course, a crane whisking him away from land to ocean). The fact is for this film, Keaton put his life in jeopardy and just the slightest miscalculation could have either killed him or maimed him. Fortunately, Buster and his crew prepared quite well for those scenes.

Keaton including his third wife have said in past interviews that he didn't care about doing those scenes because at the time, he was fighting off depression. His marriage had failed (which would actually hurt him severely a few years later), his financial problems were mounting and the lifestyle that his wife had wanted was taking its toll (it's important to note that in their bitter divorce, Natalie Talmadge literally took all his money and his children away from him and leaving him a broken man driven to alcoholism).

As much as I love the film, I can't help but feel saddened that this incredible film was a box office failure and literally stripping away Buster Keaton's control over his films. But the fact is that Keaton was one of the casualties of the crossover from silent films to the talkies. Without Joseph Schenk, without the support of his wife, without control over his films. But he took the advice to close down his own studio from Schenk and to move to Columbia Pictures. This slapstick comedy king had his whole role reduced when he went to MGM (which Buster would say was the worst decision he made all his life) but the truth was, whether he kept his studio or not, the movies would never be the same for these silent film stars. And while Keaton would go on to make commercially successful films, the days of Keaton showcasing his physical comedy (which the studio would not allow and he had to work with a stunt double) was over.

So, in many ways, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." can be seen by many of us today, as his final silent film in which we got to see the actor at his most daring. Exciting, captivating, and doing things that not even Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd would ever dare do. But the attitudes towards cinema during those final silent years were not kind to these silent stars and for many people watching this film, its difficult to imagine how this film did terribly because it's a fantastic film that you can't help but respect Keaton for what he accomplished.

As for this Blu-ray release, once again, Kino has done silent film fans a big service. Another wonderful Keaton film in HD and their continuing dedication of bringing silent films to the masses, especially to those who are now discovering silent films for the very first time. The fact that you get both the Buster Keaton Estate version and the Killiam Shows Archive version is a major plus (same film but both have different takes and alternate scenes). Also, I was quite pleased with the features presented in this release.

I will say that if you are planning to buy this release, you're going to read different reviews about "Steamboat Bill, Jr." on Blu-ray and you are going to see reviews that are positive and negative due to the way the video is presented. I am on the side that feels the presentation of "Steamboat Bill, Jr." was well-done and I know there will be those who will debate the black-levels and the contrast and so forth. In my case, the contrast was not blinding but again, we all have different equipment.

But for the film alone, what was included on this Blu-ray release and its' over all presentation, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is a winner and is highly recommended!

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STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928): Never having seen each other before, preppy college student Buster arrives to meet his father at his father's riverboat town along the Mississippi River. Buster's burly father expects a tall blue-collar guy he can pass his riverboat business on to inherit but is disappointed to find a prancing Buster in pantaloons, ukulele, and a ridiculous French beret which comes to irritate his father. It's bad enough that Buster is an incompetent wreck on the boat, the worst thing he had done is get involved with the daughter of his father's enemy. Later, Buster's father gets sent to jail for trying to slug his enemy and this becomes an opportunity where Buster gets to prove himself. The last third of the movie contains some of the most classic scenes Keaton ever filmed, which involve the destruction of the town in a cyclone. Scene after scene shows Keaton bouncing around town trying to survive the desecration swirling around him. I've never seen him more athletic. This movie contains the famous scene of Keaton going through the glassless-window of the side of a 2-story house, which slams to the ground around him. You can see that the wall missed his left shoulder by about an inch. The film did not do well financially when it was released in 1928, but I think it was due to a distribution problem. As an independent filmmaker, Keaton did not release all his films from one single company, such as a good one like MGM which turned his films into hits. I think Steamboat Bill, Jr. was released by United Artists, which was a troubled company. However, Steamboat Bill, Jr. is a definite classic and deserved to be a hit.

One of the offhand things I found amusing in this film is that there's an actual typo on one of the title cards! After seeing numerous silent films, I noticed that the punctuation and grammar in them is always perfect, so I was surprised to see a typo here! The title card that says "That must of happened when the dough fell in the tool chest" should read "That must've happened when the dough fell in the tool chest".

CONVICT 13 (1920): Another one of Keaton's early shorts, this one has the rambunctious quality similar to the shorts he did with Arbuckle a few years earlier. Buster gets kicked out of his golfing clothes by an escaped convict and winds up in that guy's stripes. He ends up in prison where we are shown quickly-paced gag after gag involving prisoners and guards. The print on this DVD is OK, but there are a few shots that appear mushy and unfocused. Still, Convict 13 is well worth a watch numerous times.

DAYDREAMS (1922): Daydreams shows Buster trying to win his gal by claiming through letters that he's a successful career-guy-on-the-go, when actually he's the opposite and most of the film shows him getting into trouble in the jobs he's too embarrassed to admit he has. There's a warning at the beginning that a few scenes from the original print have been lost, but it doesn't really matter, unless you've seen those scenes and know what you're missing. I noticed that a classic scene of Buster on the paddlewheel of a boat was cut a little but it didn't bother me much. Daydreams shows a lot of filmed-on-location scenes, which I prefer over his studio soundstage filmmaking.

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Gypsy (1962)

When Warner Bros purchased the rights to the 1959 musical hit GYPSY it was intended to make a purely dramatic film, with songs from the Jule Styne & Stephen Sondheim Broadway score confined to the theatrical sequences. Rosalind Russell was chosen for the starring (but non-musical) role of Mama Rose along side Natalie Wood as Gypsy Rose Lee. However just as this version of GYPSY began filming, THE MUSIC MAN opened in theatres and scored a huge hit. It was then decided that GYPSY should be filmed as a musical follow-up to THE MUSIC MAN. The production closed down and was revamped as a musical. Rosalind Russell could sing but not in the style her role demanded (all of Mama Rose's songs in the Broadway production were written in the original Mama Rose, Ethel Merman's vocal style). It was decided to bring in singer Lisa Kirk to assist Russell with the vocals rather than re-cast the role. The end result fully justifies this decision because Rosalind Russell's Mama Rose is simply magnificent and the combination of Russell and Kirk in the songs is so perfect you never know (or care) who is doing the singing. No other actress, before or since (which includes such illustrious performers as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Bette Midler and Tyne Daly), even comes close to conveying the monster in mother's clothing that was Mama Rose the way Russell does while still allowing the humanity of the character to emerge now and then only to become subservient once again to her driving ambition.

Natalie Wood is also excellent as Gypsy Rose Lee, who succeeded beyond her mother's Dreams. Her mother and daughter showdown scene with Russell is riveting. A young, vibrant Ann Jillian gives equally great support as Dainty June, the focus of Mama Rose's machinations for most of the film, who also went on to become June Havoc, one of the most celebrated stage actresses of her time.

Besides great acting, the songs are performed with a bravura and brilliance that far outclasses all other versions of this musical. In fact the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra plays this music so magnificently it makes the more recent Bette Midler TV version sound anemic by comparison. The Dolby Digital 5:1 Discrete Surround envelopes you into the proceedings and the sharp, richly saturated Technicolor wide screen image (2:35-1) is fully equal to the superb audio.

But it is Rosalind Russell in one of the greatest screen performances ever committed to film that drives this version of GYPSY to the top of the heap and makes this DVD a "must own."

You want a good Sunday afternoon musical? That was when I discovered "Gypsy". I had never before known of Gypsy Rose Lee, and was interested when I was promised by John Burke of AMC that I would "love the movie". And love it I did! I am a big Rosalind Russell fan, and this makes for one heckuva showcase for her! She plays the role of Gypsy's Mama Rose with a vim and vigor unlike she shows in any other of her movies. She is A PRESCENCE. She plays the role with explosive power, but with the understanding and heart that (hopefully) the real Rose possessed. And Natalie Wood adds a glistening sparkle to this cast with class as the vibrant Gypsy Rose Lee, dazzling and beautiful. She plays against her child star image by lustily singing and grinding to a stripper beat and playfully tossing her clothes off. Karl Malden is excellent as Rose's fiancee Herbie. And the Sondheim/Styne songs are all incredible, each a production and thrill: the showpiece "Let Me Entertain You", the bouncy "Have An Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone", the charming "Small World", and the exciting final number, "Rose's Turn". WHAT A MOVIE! See this one and "you'll have a real good time, yes, sir!"

Buy Gypsy (1962) Now

Based on the hit Broadway play, Mervyn LeRoy directed this under-appreciated musical gem. Rosalind Russell is Mama Rose, the mother of all stage mothers, grooming her two young daughters for stardom on the vaudeville stage. She pays special attention to her youngest child, blond Baby June, while Louise is relegated to the background. As time goes on, the vaudeville craze fades with the coming of talkie films, and now her bubbly blond darling, Danity June (Ann Jilliann), is desperate to break free, deserting the family act. Rose is forced to start from scratch, with wallflower Louise (Natalie Wood, who was always in her sister's shadow), as the headliner in a new act, which basically goes nowhere. One day, Rose and her troop, now called Rose Louise and her Hollywood Blondes, wind up in a burlesque theater, and young Louise finds herself drawn into the the role of a stripper. She sheds her shy persona and becomes the world's most famous stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee.

Ethel Merman originated Rose on the stage, but Roz Russell does more than an adequate job, despite the fact that her singing voice was dubbed in some musical numbers. She is strong, overbearing, a little eccentric, but at the same time, she commands the audience's sympathy when she realizes that her ambition has just driven her daughters away, and she finds herself alone, with no one to live through anymore. Natalie Wood gives a touchingly vulnerable performance, her thin but endearing singing voice expressing Louise's pain and confusion in extraordinary volumes. Since she was groomed by an obsessive stage mother herself, Wood really had the the material to draw from; her lessons from the real Gypsy Rose Lee undoubtedly helped in her character's transformation from a shy girl to sophisticated stripper (the striptease numbers are fabulous). Who doesn't shed her a tear when she sings, "Little Lamb", or feels enthralled as she performs "Let Entertain You"? As she studies herself before a mirror prior to her first night on the burlesque stage, she sees her beauty for the first time "I'm pretty I'm a pretty girl, Mama!" When she makes her mark, she engages in an argument with her controlling mother, bringing both to a heartache, and later, an understanding. "You really could have been something, Mother," Louise informs Rose after catching a bit of her "performance" on the empty stage.

Having seen the 1993 version starring Bette Midler, I still prefer this one; no matter what anyone says, Roz is not miscast, and this film does not, in my opinion, have any "clumsy" moments; it is a vintage Hollywood musical. Karl Malden gives a comedic and committed performance as Rose's suitor Herbie, who wants her to marry him and who wants to provide a home for her kids. A young Morgan Brittney plays little Baby June; seeing her makes you think of her as the "Jon Benet" of the 1920s. It's finally on DVD, as it deserves to be; the letterbox enhances the film in a way that pan-and-scan videos never could.

Everything's coming up roses . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Read Best Reviews of Gypsy (1962) Here

Some spend the winter hibernating. I spend it hibernating AND watching musicals. This past winter in the Northeast wasn't quite as severe as some we've seen, but it was LOOOONG. The winter that wouldn't die. So I needed a goodly supply of classic musicals on hand.

What a treat it was to re-watch GYPSY after lo these umpteen years. Rosalind Russell's Rose is a study in great force-of-nature type acting. As it happens, hers is the only Rose I've ever seen, so I cannot really get into the who-was-better argument with any real authority. But it's hard to imagine that Merman could have played this archetypical stage monster, uh, mother with more authority on the big screen. My guess is that those who maintain that Russell brings subtlety to the character that Merman could not have are right. Merman may have been great on stage, where bigger is better (voice, manner, gesture and all out pizzazz), but what works wonderfully on stage may be deadly on screen (and vice versa).

Roz was the quintessential tough broad on screen. She projected warmth, as well as street smarts though--and that was the order of the day with the screen version of GYPSY. She's supported by a wonderful cast: Karl Malden, just great as always, as her big lug/softie of a suitor. And Natalie Wood, fetching as always, as the young, sweet vulnerable Louise.

GYPSY is as good a musical as you're going to find. Smart, touching, sassy. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Well, of course, they don't really make musicals much anymore, but you know what I mean.

I hope I won't leave Roz Russell fans crushed when I mention one thing, however. For years, I used to tout Russell's talk-singing as proof that a talented actor with even moderate vocal ability could always learn to put over a song. Now I learn from imdb.com that the vocals (some? all?) may have been supplied by actress Lisa Kirk. I am shocked--not appalled, but shocked. If those vocals aren't Roz's own, well, it's just about a perfect match. The songs are sung in as gritty a voice as Roz uses in delivering the lines. I have no doubt that Russell could have pulled it off herself, and it may have been the case that some suit at the studio chickened out and brought in Lisa.

Well, it could have been worse. At least they didn't go against type and drag in Marni Nixon.

PS--Ah yes, it only occurred to me to check a little further to see if there was a soundtrack album on CD to see what the real scoop on the Lisa/Roz business was. It's true that Lisa was brought in after Roz had already recorded her versions. Since Roz's outtakes are included on the CD, it's doubtless enlightening. The reviews (all customer reviews, in this case) are penned by fans in the know, and although no one can agree, they're well worth taking a look at if you're at all curious. Purchasing the CD may well be worth it if you're very curious.

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I loved this version of "Gypsy." I was a part of a school production of the musical, so I decided to see what the movie version was like. There are several differences, but this movie has the same flare that the stage production does. The DVD has the two songs that are missing from the movie (they are located in the bonus features area) which I enjoyed very much. I only wish that they had been in the movie in the first place!

Rosalind Russell is WONDERFUL as Rose, a mother who wants to make her children, mainly her youngest, June, a star. She travels, along with her other daughter Louise (played by the wonderful Natalie Wood) and Herbie (Carl Malden). All three characters gave great performances. I always get a lump in the back of my throat when Herbie leaves Rose after she refuses to set a date for their marriage and tries to make Louise the star.

After Louise discovers that she is very successful in her new profession--stripping, she changes her name to Gypsy Rose Lee and leaves her mother behind. Rose then goes on to sing the greatest song of the movie, 'Rose's Turn.' Rosalind Russell does a great job with the song, even if her voice is a little scratchy. Her acting was superb. I have always loved the ending (which I will not give away for those who have yet to see the movie). If you're a musical fan, rent this movie. You will not be disappointed!

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