Customer Reviews

Singin' in the Rain (Full Screen Special Edition, 2 Discs)

5 star:		(124)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I don't know what it is about this film but classics always get to me. You cannot go wrong with this film. The quality of that movie is the best and I enjoy showing this movie to my children. Hoping a new generation will learn to love the classics.

... Unfortunately, this 2-disc "improvement" is a [disappointment]. The digitally remastered sound is harsh and grungy. Worst of all, there's a horrendous piece of censorship in Gene and Cyd's classic Broadway Melody dance number, a cut so obvious that it verges on sheer, criminal stupidity. I'm returning this 2-disc edition and searching for an uncut version to replace my ancient home-made VHS tape from the early 80's off a PBS station, where this dance scene is complete (and really gorgeous). What a shame.

If you like the classic musical movies, you'll love this one! This is among my favourite musical movies. It is a fun movie!

It's hard to believe that there may be some people out there who have not seen Singin' In The Rain but if you are one of them, this new digital remastered version is an absolute treat. It's 1927 and Hollywood is in a turmoil because the first sound film has been released. Suddenly, all the silent stars must learn to speak. For Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) this is no problem but for his squeaky-voiced co-star played by Jean Hagen it is a huge problem.
With the help of his long-time pal Donald O'Connor, Gene begins to revamp his latest film into a talkie. To complicate matters, he falls for rising star Debbie Reynolds and that just irritates Jean Hagen all the more.
The problems eventually get ironed out and in the process we get some great singing and dancing numbers including O'Connors exhausting "Make 'Em Laugh" and Kelly's "Broadway Melody" fantasia which includes an appearance by Cyd Charisse. There's never a dull moment and not one second-rate song in this great film.
No wonder it is considered one of the top Hollywood musical films of all time.

Where to start? Simply put, Singin' in the Rain is the premiere "integrated" musical in cinema history -- embodying the very best of Hollywood's post-war optimism, imagination and talent. Many other musicals come close, but none quite as comprehensively captures the essence of the genre as does SitR. When folks say "they don't make 'em like they used to," SitR is the type of film to which they're referring. Anyone having even a passing interest in this quintessentially American art form simply must have this film in their collection.

Technically, Warner has provided us with an outstanding Special Edition of Singin' in the Rain. As for the feature quality, the transfer is, in a word, magnificent ("Glorious Technicolor," for sure), and the remastered audio is a sonic delight. As for extras, the feature disc contains a commentary track hosted by Debbie Reynolds that is well worth visiting, as well as some clips from the earliest "talkies" playing off of the feature's plot. For me, the crown jewel of the extras provided with this SE is the documentary located on disc 2, which concerns itself with the films emnating from MGM's Arthur Freed Unit, and the people responsible for those efforts. If you haven't yet developed a taste for the integrated musical, this documentary is virtually guaranteed to stoke the fires of interest.

Since the release of the SitR SE, Warner has continued to lavish loving attention upon its Special Edition releases and, in my opinion, now sets the standard for studio catalog releases. Although I'm always excited to see new catalog releases from any studio, it is the Warner releases (SE or not) that set me to drooling. SitR is a top-notch SE and of tremendous historical importance. There is not a single reason to pass up this wonderful set.

The movie gets a five, but the package gets a zero in this cheap-o DVD edition. We know there are out-takes (an entire number by Reynolds) and we know there are other materials out there (you can find them on the anniversary VHS edition) but some chintsy exec at MGM gave us zip zero nada on this DVD version!

Yes, this IS the greatest movie musical of all time, bar none. It deserves top drawer treatment, and not the kind of packaging usually reserved for bargain B movies. Shame on MGM. Shame shame shame!

Do not settle for this bottom-of-the-line package. Hold out for a special edition of this American gem!

I agree with those who say that Singing in the Rain is the best movie musical. My "only 3 star" rating is due to the fact that this product will have only the same tired-out 1:1.33 screen aspect of the standard VHS version. Why bother?

"Singin' in the Rain" is one of my favorite films, and I am in good company with that opinion -- everyone from Roger Ebert to Francois Truffaut has rated the film in their top ten. So why such shoddy treatment in this "Special Edition"?? 95% of the "commentary" is audio cribbed from the documentaries on Disk 2 (did they think we wouldn't watch both?) and the other 5% is Baz Lurhmann promoting his own films. While brilliance is floating across the screen, the commentary treats us to such prescient details as the flower preference of the producer (orchids) and how one of the minor actors in the film felt about Clark Gable (loved him very much). Since neither orchids nor Clark Gable have anything to do with this extremely influential film classic, couldn't we have given those comments a miss? As a huge fan of this film, I bought the edition knowing a fair amount about the making of and history surrounding it -- if it is possible, I left this viewing of the film with "commentary" actually knowing less. Give this edition a miss and buy a cheaper one. (Added note: another person has complained about the aspect ratio being altered -- in fact, Singin' in the Rain was NOT shot in "Cinemascope" and has been transferred with the full picture intact. See? Now THAT'S the sort of stuff they should have mentioned in the commentary!)

Fantastic film history of MGM musicals on extra DVD - has to be the best musical ever made

Aficionados of Singing in the Rain have never quite gotten over the fact that their favourite film only received two (failed) Oscar nominations in 1952, whereas the previous year An American in Paris walked away with five Oscars, in the face of much more formidable competition (by 1952 the House of Un-American Activities had managed to blacklist many of Hollywood's most talented screenwriters). Ever since, this cabal has been fighting this perceived "injustice", mainly by trumpeting the shortcomings of An American in Paris. Since Singing in the Rain is one of those "insider" flicks (a Hollywood film about Hollywood), many of it's most fervent supporters are people with real Hollywood connections who can identify strongly with the storyline. And of course if you shout hard long enough, people will eventually listen, so that now all this hocus pocus about "The Greatest Musical of All Time" has become a bit of revealed wisdom and fact.
Don't get me wrong. Singing in the Rain is a great musical with an engaging plot and still provides wallops of entertainment. But as an artistic achievement, it never quite reaches the dizzy heights of an American in Paris. The songs composed by Nacio Brown and Arthur Freed are real swell, but not in the same league as the Gershwins. I suppose Debbie Reynolds is about as American as apple pie, but she is no Leslie Caron when it comes to dancing skill and all around sex appeal. The directing team of Kelly and Donen do an admirable job, but neither can match the artistic sensibility of Vincente Minnelli (by far the greatest director of musicals of all time).
Compared to Minnelli, the composition of Kelly/Donen's camera shots have a "boxy" quality to them.
Singing in the Rain is above all a testimonial to Arthur Freed, who also produced this film along with most of the finest film musicals of that era. As the years pass by, he has become almost a god-like figure in Hollywood lore, especially in light of all the trash masquerading as cinema that is churned out these days. That a musical such as Chicago can actually walk away with a Best Picture award is testimony to the depths we have sunk to since the Freed era.
The 2 box DVD set is an absolute delight and will give every fan of this great film reason to smile. After viewing, I deeply regretted not being born 25 years earlier.