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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"The Great Ziegfeld" is a biographic musical based upon the life and times of Broadway impresario, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., the man who "glorified the American girl." Determined to squeeze every last ounce of opulence from its coffers, MGM spared no expense in retelling what is essentially a melodrama with musical numbers tossed in for good effect.
Flo (William Powell) is a carnival barker to whom success eludes until he crosses paths with lovely European star, Anna Held (Luise Rainer). The chemistry between the two is instant. Through Anna's talent as an artist of the stage, fame comes to them both. However, all bliss is fleeting and Anna and Flo's marriage ends when Flo takes up with chorus girl, Audrey Dane (Virginia Bruce). Anna believes that a separation from Flo will lead him back to her. Instead, he divorces Anna for sassy, Billie Burke (Myrna Loy) and then proceeds to create a series of lavish spectacles that only MGM could afford to do justice to. The most spectacular of these remains "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody"; a gargantuan revolving platform covered in dancers and art deco magnificence.
An aside: Flo's second wife, Billie was a contract player at MGM during this time and she is largely credited with the idea for creating a film out of the life of her late husband.
The DVD transfer of "The Great Ziegfeld" is surprisingly smooth and very well balanced. Black levels are deep and solid. Unfortunately, there is an excess of age related dirt and scratches throughout. During scenes in which rear projection has been used, there is a considerable amount of fine detail lost and a weakening in the black levels. Shadows and contrast levels are exemplary. The audio has been cleaned up, is well balanced. There are a couple of featurettes that round out the history of the film -- all too briefly. |
