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By PAUL BRENNER
Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's "Singin' in the Rain" is one of the brightest, joyous, iridescent
movie musicals of all time. And what a glorious feeling it is to have the film in a restored, eye-popping Technicolor
edition from Warner Home Video, celebrating the film's 50th anniversary -- the sticker affixed to the DVD shrink wrap
claims it is the film's 60th anniversary, but no matter, is still as fresh as next spring's flowers. Can one ever tire
of Kelly's rain dance, the rabid slapstick of Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" (so what if producer Arthur Freed coped
the song from Cole Porter), the gleeful spoof "Beautiful Girl" ("Dame Fashion says diet!"), and the orgasmic "Broadway
Melody" finale. Aside from the energetic performances by Kelly, O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds, there is the crackling
satire of the Betty Comden and Adolph Green script, the Roger Edens embellishments (doo-do-doo-de-do-do,
doo-do-doo-de-do-do as the intro to the "Singin' in the Rain" number), the great, brassy Conrad Salinger orchestrations
-- the list goes on and on.
Aside from the glorious feeling of the film, Warner Home video carries over the glorious feeling onto its massive
collection of special features. First, Miss Burbank of 1948, Debbie Reynolds, announces, "our fabulous commentary on
'Singin' in the Rain'" with Reynolds, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, film director Baz Luhrmann, film historian Rudy
Behlmer, and supporting cast members Donald O'Connor, Cyd Charisse, Kathleen Freeman, and (as if that weren't enough)
co-director Stanley Donen. The special features pour over Disc 1 and consume Disc 2: Reel Sound (four clips of films
documenting the transition from silent to sound films), the horrendous Theatrical Trailer (a not-so-glorious feeling), a
feature length documentary on the Arthur Freed unit at MGM, another half-hour documentary on the making of "Singin' in
the Rain," twelve clips from features where the Freed-Brown songs originally appeared, a rare outtake of a discarded
number from the film (Debbie Reynolds singing "You Are My Lucky Star"), 26 audio takes from the scoring stage sessions
(which, upon listening, makes one really appreciate everything that Edens and Salinger did to make the film even more
energetic), a gallery of stills, fashion sketches, and publicity shots, a cast and crew listing, and a list of awards.
Also included are "easter eggs" (clips include "Show Girl in Hollywood" and "Free and Easy"). The DVD is presented with
a remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is available in English and French, with subtitles in English, French,
and Spanish.
This is one glorious DVD. Put on your galoshes and run out and get it. Only don't let Lena know about it! |
