My Fair Lady (30th Anniversay Edition, Fully Restored, 2 VHS Set)

 

 

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WARNING: All the five stars refer to the movie itself, and does not address the issue of whether paying for the second disc is a rip-off. Five stars for the single disc version was richly deserved. I had half expected the 2 disc version to have DTS since they shifted virtually all the extra features from disc 1 to disc two. The only thing left on disc 1 was the movie, same commentary, same subtitles and audio track. For some inexplicable reason, the single disc version was among the Amazon top 100 discs in 2002 for some time, although it has been
out since the mid-1990s. Amazon's editor was correct when he said the main attraction of the 2nd disc was the 58 minute Documentary hosted by Jeremy Brett. That is about all, folks, and it was a pretty boring documentary. A concise version of this documentary would be "The Fairest Fair Lady" which is already in the single disc version.
You already have the AUDREY HEPBURN VOCALS in the single disc version. The rest of the stuff in disc 2 is usually given away FREE, like in Gladiator, Last Samurai, Master and Commander, where one viewing of the stills is more than enough.
Now, the sellers of disc 2 have actually REMOVED the CAST AND CREW section from the one disc version. This Cast and Crew with filmographies and biographies contain a huge chunk of valuable information including the fact that Audrey's given name was Edda, not Audrey. Do not throw away your one disc version. If you bought the 2 disc version, you might want to buy the single- disc version to find out where Audrey Hepburn was born, won the Oscar and got nominated. What were the other actors like Wilfred Hyde-White doing other than My Fair Lady.
I tell you what I like about the 2 Disc version:
1. the interviews with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison at the 1963 production Kickoff Dinner, with a couple of jokes from Mr Warner.
2. George Cukor directing Baroness Rothschild: a Henry Higgins coaching Eliza Doolitle parody. The audio track ran for only a few minutes, and I had a new found respect for Directors. Even a Baroness needs lessons in elocution. When I watch the movie again, I will imagine George Cukor speaking using the actors and actresses as his instrument. So that is how Cukor's actresses got their Oscars.
3. The Los Angeles Premiere in B&W is a few minutes of interesting distraction.

The rest of Disc 2 is really scraping the floor of the store-room. For those who already own the single disc edition, and do not have disposable income to burn, get the 2 disc edition of the TEN COMMANDMENTS instead. For the price of 5 commandments (about half the price of the 2 disc My Fair Lady), you will get more than double the info, making it look like "the TWENTY COMMANDMENTS". That is where a second disc is not a money making exercise: thou shalt not steal from gullible dvd buyers.

Rex Harrison Golden Globe Acceptance is a clip from the Andy William's show, where he apologised for not being at the real event, so he accepted it on AW's show. Shame.

Academy Awards Cermony Highlights: just one minute or less of Mr Warner accepting the oscar for best picture.

So two stars for the additional info on disc two. I would buy anything remotely related to my favourite musical, but if I were to search my heart for value added, I would say two extra stars is very very generous. Now, if ever they come out with a DTS version, we will have to throw the whole TWENTY COMMANDMENTS at this bunch of crooks.
Do you really need Martin Scorsese and Andrew Lloyd Weber's comments to supplement your own?

This DVD is a poor substitute for the magnificent Laser or even VHS restored versions. The DVD is NOT THX and it SHOWS. The carefully restored opening titles are fuzzy with Frequent color correction going on during the floral sequence. The Sound is even Worse, with people muffled and tinny. Keep your laser. Don't do what I did!- Assume the DVD would be an improvement! Warner's never returned my call!

By the time "My Fair Lady" made it to the big screen, going to see the movie wasn't so much a night's entertainment as it became a near religeous experience. Jack L. Warner wanted Cary Grant as Prof. Henry Higgins but Grant declined, giving the studio boss no choice but to cast Rex Harrison in the lead - an inspired choice since Rex had already made the part his own on Broadway. The unfortunate oversight is that Jack Warner couldn't see Julie Andrews true potential beneath her common frumpery of the cockney flower girl. So in stepped Audrey Hepburn - delightful, charming, outstanding...alas, she couldn't sing! Her vocals - dubbed by Marni Nixon, became the subject of controversy that cost Audrey her Best Actress Oscar nomination. That went to Julie Andrews for "Mary Poppins". So did the win!
The plot: Two stuffy academics decide to overhaul a flower girl into a grand duchess. With a little bit of luck and a lot of comical training the job gets done and the result is a truly charming story elevated by exceptional production values and a thoroughly engaging musical score!
TRANSFER: OUTSTANDING!!! Colors are rich, vibrant and solid. Black and contrast levels are perfect. There are NO age related artifacts and NO digital anomalies for a picture that is, quite simply - PERFECT. The audio has been remixed to 5.1 and is brilliant, robust and thoroughly engaging for a film of this vintage.
EXTRAS: By george, I think they've got it! The original 1994 documentary which illustrates the film's near destruction and its breathtaking restoration is included for the first time on DVD, as well as a host of other extras including an audio commentary, multiple featurettes, snippets from the Oscar cerimony, theatrical trailers, a stills gallery and some commentaries by noted film makers and historians. Outstanding!!!
BOTTOM LINE: It isn't often that I can make the argument that nothing more could be asked for or expected of a classic movie's treatment on DVD. "My Fair Lady" is one of those 2 disc miracles of 'loverlieness' that has been timelessly and completely realized for the home theater film buff!

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4.0 out of 5 stars My Fair Lady (blu ray)...video/audio merely adequate...no royal restoration here
VIDEO:

My Fair Lady arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 2.38:1 encode. This transfer is merely adequate, but definitely disappointing. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Dr. Joseph Lee

5.0 out of 5 stars My Fair Lady
This is a great musical that we are fortunate to have available because of high technology applied to a bad quality film 30 years after it was made. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Joseph Soul

5.0 out of 5 stars DVD My Fair Lady
Everything was just as stated, you have a happy customer here. Would I order from this person again? For sure.

Published 7 months ago by bob gillespie

5.0 out of 5 stars My Fair Lady is more that fair.
An absolute classic movie. I have been waiting for years to get a copy and now I have it. Its in the league of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leugues Under the Sea and the Von Trapp's The... Read more

Published on Feb 8 2010 by P. Purves

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes It's a musical but ...
..its one of the finest with a great timeless rags to riches story and songs that are not the knee-slappin" yee-ha variety but beautiful melodys or songs with elegant messages to... Read more

Published on July 25 2009 by Martin Cooper

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie
My Fair Lady is a great classic musical, one of the best of it's kind, in my opinion. When I went looking to buy it on DVD, there were several different versions available. Read more

Published on May 1 2009 by BrotherJack

4.0 out of 5 stars Special Edition is the way to go
I am really impressed with the 2-disc Special Edition DVD, hence the title. The quality was so good, at one point in the movie I though, "This movie looks like a new-release or... Read more

Published on July 25 2008 by G. Motychko

1.0 out of 5 stars a cautionary tale
I have always hated this movie. From the moment I saw it as a child I could never understand why a lively,independent,joyous creature would choose to enter a world of repressed... Read more

Published on Nov 17 2006 by pollyfd

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless
This has to be the all-time best movie musical ever made. Now, I don't generally like or watch this stuff, but the cast, the print, the recording, everything is superb. Read more

Published on Aug 23 2006 by The Allen Guy

5.0 out of 5 stars On the street where you live
Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) who specializes in the English language makes a bet with Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) that he can take someone who speaks... Read more

Published on July 30 2006 by bernie

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