|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
Musical fans everywhere,
rejoice! The "Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol.
1" has at long last arrived. It's hard to believe
today, but the phenomenon that was the greatest
dance team in the history of movies -- Fred
Astaire and Ginger Rogers -- lasted less than a
decade at RKO (save a single reunion picture at
MGM a decade later). But what a decade it was. And
what films they gave us; each an idyllic snapshot
of 30s art deco bliss peppered in their inimitable
on screen chemistry and terpsichorean talent. This
new 5-disc collection from Warner Home Video
emblemizes the duo's best work at RKO, and their
one inconsequential misfire at MGM.
The collection mounts in earnest with Mark
Sandwich's masterful bit of kitsch, Top Hat
(1935), the film long-since regarded as one of
Astaire and Roger's best. He's Jerry Travers, a
hoofer signed with big time agent, Horace Hardwick
(Edward Everett Horton). She's Dale Tremont, a
guest in Horace's hotel who is awakened in the
middle of the night by Astaire rehearsing a new
dance step. They're attracted to one another
immediately. But a case of mistaken identity, in
which Dale believes Jerry is Horace, who is
supposed to be happily married, leads to an
implausible scenario where she becomes engaged to
Alberto Beddini (Erik Rhodes). Word of warning to
those seeking reality from their movies: seek it
elsewhere. Top Hat is a highly stylized bit of
super kitsch sumptuously speckled in the timeless
allure of 30s suspended disbelief. It's a
lightweight confection of pure spun sugar. Dance
highlights include the pas deux "Cheek to Cheek"
and the marvelous and enthralling "Piccolino"
finale.
Transfer wise, "Top Hat" appears to be the
benefactor of considerable digital restoration.
Although the image is still heavy on grain,
contrast levels and fine detail have been greatly
improved over previous VHS and LD incarnations.
The grayscale exhibits a very robust tonality
throughout. Age-related artifacts are present but
will not distract from the riotous comedy or
marvelous set pieces of this 30s masterpiece. The
audio has also been cleaned up. It's Mono but
smooth and easy on the ears. Extras include an
audio commentary, featurette, interviews and
trailer gallery.
If "Top Hat" represents Astaire and Rogers at
their most proficient, then George Steven's "Swing
Time" (1936) emblemizes the duo at their most
pleasurable and carefree. Fred is the no account
gambler, John "Lucky" Garnett. He already has a
fiancée at home but takes an instant shine to
dance instructor Penelope Carroll (Ginger). True
to the formula of their pictures, Fred pursues and
Ginger resists. Then they take one another for a
test spin in the immaculate dance routine, "Pick
Yourself Up" and it's all down hill from there.
The film features some of the duo's best
remembered routines, including Satire's blackface
spectacular, "Bojangles of Harlem," the
contradictory "A Fine Romance" and the Oscar
winning "The Way You Look Tonight." This is cinema
magic of the highest order and it continues to
sparkle like vintage champagne.
As with the aforementioned "Top Hat", "Swing Time"
has been the benefactor of considerable digital
repair and clean-up. Yes, there's still a fair
amount of grain and the presence of age-related
artifacts. Neither will distract. The grayscale
has been impeccably rendered with solid blacks,
reasonably clean whites and a genuinely consistent
amount of fine details throughout. The audio has
been cleaned up and is nicely presented. Truly,
this is the best looking transfer of the lot and
so incredibly satisfying to have Astaire and
Rogers back where they belong -- in everyone's DVD
collection. Extras include a thorough and
engrossing audio commentary, several short
subjects and a brand new featurette about the film
and its stars.
1936 was the most prolific year for Astaire and
Rogers. Their second film for RKO that year is the
third film in this collection -- Mark Sandwich's
"Follow the Fleet." This time out Astaire is
painfully uncomfortable as Bake Baker, a seaman on
leave who just happens to stumble into the seedy
waterfront café where Sherry Martin (Rogers) is
warbling romantic sweet nothings in everyone's
ear. Yep, you guessed it -- they're hot for each
other once again. Only this time Sherry's spinster
sister, Connie (Harriet Hillard) threatens the
whole fine romance by falling for Bakes robust
seafaring buddy, Bilge Smith (Randolph Scott); a
sort of use "em up and toss "em out kind of guy,
thus forcing Sherry to reconsider her opinion of
all sailors in general.
Irving Berlin lends immeasurable class to the
proceedings with his classic, classy score,
including standards "Let Yourself Go", "I'm
Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" and "Let's Face
the Music and Dance;" the latter a divinely
inspired skit about suicide that turns into
another immediately recognizable and thoroughly
sublime pas deux for Fred and Ginger.
The transfer on "Follow the Fleet" is a tad weaker
than the aforementioned titles. The grayscale
remains nicely balanced but now it's a tad thick
looking with not nearly as much tonal variation as
the previous titles. Grain is still present. So
are age-related artifacts. Once you've settled
into to the slightly dense and sometimes more
softly focused image quality, the overall
impression is more than acceptable for a film of
this vintage. The audio is Mono but very nicely
balanced. Extras include a featurette, theatrical
trailer and short subject, but oddly -- no audio
commentary. Considering the importance of this
film in the overall canon of Astaire/Rogers this
is an uncharacteristic oversight from Warner Home
Video.
Mark Sandwich's Shall We Dance (1937) is a tad
heavy in the schmaltz department, particularly as
it casts Astaire as the most unlikely of ballet
stars, Pete Petrov Peters. Smitten with lovely
musical star, Linda Keene (Rogers), Pete makes
passage on the same luxury liner as his par amour.
Theirs is a quiet -- if glib -- little shipboard
nothing that results in a few choice dances but
precious little else; that is, until a hint of
gossip gets overblown for the tabloids so that by
the time the ship docks in Manhattan harbor
everyone believes Petrov and Linda are husband and
wife. This was the sort of reluctant romantic
dribble that the Astaire/Rogers franchise was
beginning to develop into by the end of their
tenure at RKO. It is one of the examples chiefly
responsible for both stars eventually choosing NOT
to renew their contracts and go their separate
ways; he to even greater acclaim with a string of
lush and lovely Technicolor musicals at MGM (The
Band Wagon, Silk Stockings, Three Little Words);
she on the road to a dramatic career (Kitty Foyle)
and choice turns as a dead pan comedian (Stage
Door, Roxy Hart).
This is the worst looking DVD in the box set;
having said that, it's still pretty good by most
standards. Age-related artifacts are at their most
prevalent here as is film grain. But the real
culprit which prevents one from thoroughly
enjoying the film is the lower than average
contrast levels that render the image darker than
it ought to be and with considerable loss of tonal
gray variations and fine detail throughout. The
audio is Mono but nicely presented. Extras include
an audio commentary, short subject, a featurette
on "the music" of the film and a theatrical
trailer.
The one curiosity on this box is the inclusion of
Astaire and Rogers final teaming, the ill
conceived and generally charm-free "The Barkleys
of Broadway" (1949) made at MGM nearly ten years
after their last bit of fluff and nonsense at RKO.
To the outside world, Broadway dance sensations,
Josh (Astaire) and Dinah (Rogers) Barkley are an
enviable pair of ideally matched sweethearts.
However, behind the scenes Josh is rather boorish
towards his wife, constantly dismantling her
confidence and perhaps needlessly criticizing her
abilities as a serious actress. By this point in
her career Ginger Rogers had made good on her
departure from Fred, winning an Oscar for her
dramatic prowess -- an in-house bit of trivia that
this film is supposed to be a subtle snub at.
Charles Walters directs what should have been a
joyous occasion, but ultimately became little more
than a reason to reflect on how far removed both
artists were from their old glory days at RKO.
There is a spark of the old Astaire/Rogers in the
magnificently performed "Bouncing the Blues" as
well as their reprise of "They Can't Take That
Away From Me", first featured in "Shall We Dance."
Otherwise, the score represents some of the worst
music to ever be included in any film; the
embarrassingly trivial "One True Thing," the
gimmicky "Shoes with Wings On," and the truly
awful "Manhattan Downbeat" that closes the show.
The transfer from Warner (the only color film in
the set) suffers the same affliction of many
Technicolor movies of this vintage;
mis-registration of the camera negative --
resulting in some very hazy, blurry and haloing
effects spread throughout the transfer. At its
best, the image appears relatively sharp and
nicely contrasted with rich and vibrant hues
glowing from the screen. At its worst there's a
definite cause for Warner to go back to the
drawing board and do an ultra-resolution master so
that we can finally get the film in a condition
that is satisfactory to the consumer. The audio is
Mono but it has a relatively good sonic spread
when compared to the RKO titles" rather flat audio
characteristic. Too bad the musical content on
this picture doesn't rival those earlier films.
Extras include a featurette, short subjects and
theatrical trailer.
And there you have it: five reasons to get up and
dance in the isles from the couple that made the
art of illusion in American musicals the very
height of chic good taste and resplendent
elegance. There is no denying that Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers are the reigning king and queen
of Hollywood's golden musical age. |
