Cheap Broadway Melody of 1940 (DVD) (Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell) (Norman Taurog) Price
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| ACTORS: | Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell |
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Norman Taurog |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 09 February, 1940 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Warner Home Video |
| MPAA RATING: | NR (Not Rated) |
| FEATURES: | Black & White, Closed-captioned |
| TYPE: | Musical |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 012569570825 |
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Customer Reviews of Broadway Melody of 1940
INCONSISTANT IMAGE QUALITY - A REAL LET DOWN! "Broadway Melody of 1940" was MGM's final film in a series that began with the original Oscar-winning movie from 1929/30. After nearly a decade of big time hits with Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire made the trek from RKO to MGM to star opposite the best tap dancing lady of them all - Eleanor Powell. The two hoofers are ably assisted in the comedy portion of this fun-loving movie by costar George Murphy and the inimitable Frank Morgan (the wizard from "The Wizard of Oz"), here, playing a bumbling Broadway producer. The plot, generic by any standards, has Astaire mistaken for Murphy and falling in love with Powell. What sets the production apart is a series of mind-boggling dance routines capped off by a mesmorizing set piece to the tune of Cole Porter's evergreen hit, "Begin The Beguine".
Warner's DVD suffers from an inconsistently rendered picture. The opening credits are clear as a bell. So is the opening musical number "Please Don't Monkey With Broadway". But then we get into scene upon scene of low contrast, bad shadow and shutter flickering that creates a distraction impossible to overlook and made all the more evident by more than a hint of edge enhancement and shimmering of fine details. Contrast levels are particularly bad during Astaire's solo "I've Got My Eye On You" as well as Murphy and Powell's art decco dance number "I Concentrate On You". The one saving grace on this disc is that none of the above mentioned problems intrudes on the film's climactic show stopper "Begin The Beguine". It remains an untainted spell-binding display of tap dancing from two professionals at the top of their game. The audio on this disc is mono, as originally recorded, but extremely well represented with low background hiss and little distortion.
Extras: A toss-away featurette hosted by Ann Miller and a theatrical trailer are the only things worth mentioning.
Bottom Line: Disappointing - considering Warners usual sterling efforts for classic movies on DVD. Let's hope that this disc, along with "High Society" and "Kiss Me Kate" are flukes and not what is going to become the norm for a studio with such a rich film heritage, worthy of great pains in preservation.
You will never see anything like this again!
Over the years this movie has usually been panned. Today, with availability on VHS, then on laser disc, and now on DVD this film is getting the acclaim it deserves. This is one of my favorite Astaire films, the first time I watched it I knew I would be watching it again and again. The true test of a classic film
The movie was panned, not for the dancing, but for the story. The story involves mistaken identity: Eleanor Powell is a musical star looking for a dancing partner. Fred Astaire and George Murphy are dancing partners trying to make it to Broadway when Eleanor Poewll's agent - manager - Frank Morgan sees their act. He wants Fred Astaire for Eleanor's new partner but through a mixup George gets the part. Of course, everything works out by the end of the film and we have a happy ending. I didn't think the story was so bad or sentimental or whatever but let's face it, who cares? Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell in top form with Cole Porter music, who could ask for anything more?
The final big number is Begin The Beguine and it will knock your socks off. It is quite long, about twenty minutes as I remember. The last part was seen in That's Entertainment and when Frank Sinatra introduced it he said: "You'll never see its like again."
The only teaming of the King and Queen of Tap!
One of the last, big B&W musical extravaganzas, BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 is a joy from start to finish. The incomparable Fred Astaire and the unforgettable Eleanor Powell only made this one film together, but it's one for the ages!
Terrific tunes by Cole Porter make up a nifty score, which comes to a thrilling conclusion featuring Fred & Eleanor's amazing BEGIN THE BEGUINE.
A must-have for film musical fans!