The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld(released April/36)was MGMs most lavish musical picture for that time and many would argue its' most lavish ever.Based loosely on the life of Florence Ziegfeld Jr.,it traces his beginnings as a side show barker to his greatest triumphs on Broadway and to his decline and death in 1932.Of course this is Hollywood and very little is "truth" here,only similarities or suggestions of.Stars such as Fanny Brice,Will Rogers,Eddie Cantor,Bert Williams,Anna Held among so many more,were to pass through his productions,the Follies.Anna Held he married,and eventually another actress Billie Burke(played by Myrna Loy,a natural choice,by now VERY popular with audiences starring next to Powell in the Thin Man series),who many will recall as Glinda the good witch in the Wizard of Oz.The fact is Florence was quite the ladies man and he went into debt many times over during his illustrious career.He in fact left a giant debt for Billie which is the reason she had to return to work just to pay off Florence's substantial bills,when he died of pleurisy in 1932.The theatre he had built and named after himself was taken over by William Hearst who had originally loaned him the money to build it in the first place.
There is no denying Ziegfeld`s great influence in the show business world,even to this day,and fewer still can match a track record of 24 years of lavish stage productions;1907 to 1932.This film does manage to capture the ``spirit`` of Ziegfeld however and MGMs pick of William Powell as Ziegfeld was a great choice.Luise Rainer plays his French wife,star Anna Held,and she got an OSCAR for her outstanding performance.In fact the picture got two more OSCARS,one for best picture and one for dance director Felix Seymour.This is also the closest any studio ever got to matching the lavishness and technical brilliance of Busby Berkeley musical numbers;any one of them could have given Berkeley a good run for his money in their design and execution.The huge sets are still breathtakingly beautiful to watch.
Technically the movie is,at times,a bit scratchy and it could certainly use a good remastering.But over all it is a clear and crisp print.Extras include a featurette on the making of the film and a rare vintage newsreel from the film`s premiere.The newsreel is a real kick as for the most part it is a camera staring at an open mike and stars waltzing up to it and saying a few syllables about anticipating the films premiere.Watch for a very young Ed Sullivan waxing lyrical,looking more like a member of the mob than the entertainment columnist and radio man he was(he Walter Winchell's biggest competition at that point).This film(thankfully)is the road show version which means you are getting the top dollar $2.20-of-the-day price version as opposed to the 176 minute pared down standard version.It is a whopping 185 minutes;that`s three hours and five minutes for those in Hoboken.But those 185 minutes go by quite fast,which is a sign of a very good film.
The Great Ziegfeld is an engrossing 185 minute juggernaut which does NOT fail to entertain and impress thanks to the performances of Rainer,Powell,Loy and its`great supporting cast.It`s lavish production and dance numbers are a sight to behold and they give Busby a real run for his money.This was MGM`s highest budgeted pic for the depression and a gamble,but it paid off and was a hit.You won`t find a factual biography of Ziegfeld but Powell`s resemblance and his turn as Flo give the film the impetus it needs to chug right along in grand style to the end.Recommended.

a big extravaganza musical. the musicals are very grand and ostentious but very much in the tradition of musicals in the 30s when entertainment was escape from the dreary reality of the Depression. william powell, luise rainer and myrna loy are all wonderful, thought myrna loy's billie burke came very late in the movie. my favorite scene was when Flo (powell) was courting Billie (loy) at grant's tomb. simplicity and wonderful sweet. you ll have to see it just for that scene. luise rainer's telephone won her the oscar. the movie has a few touching scenes, but i did wish the movie was brisker and tighter.

"The Great Ziegfeld" is a biographic film based on the life of Broadway impressario, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Brimming with stellar performances by William Powell, Myrna Loy and Luise Rainer (who walked off with the Best Actress Oscar)a wonderful score and mind-boggling production values, this is one heck of a good time for a night's entertainment!
TRANSFER: Unfortunately, Warner Brothers gives us a somewhat tired looking print of this classic film. Though the gray scale is generally well balanced, some of the picture appears to be out of focus while other portions are filled with excessive film grain. Dirt, age related artifacts and an incredible amount of scratches in some scenes really detract from the over all visual presentation. The audio is MONO and, as with the picture, is not adequate. During some of the songs the background hiss is excessive.
EXTRAS: A flimsy featurette that all too briefly attempts to "sum up" the film and the real life of one of the 20th century's greatest showman.
BOTTOM LINE: Because you are not likely to see this film revisited in a Deluxe Edition I am recommending to add it to your library. But it in no way stands up to Warner's previous DVD mastering efforts on "Now Voyager" or "Mildred Pierce".