Home :: DVD :: Musicals & Performing Arts :: General  

Ballet & Dance
Biography
Broadway
Classical
Documentary
General

Instructional
Jazz
Musicals
Opera
World Music
Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 24 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FANTABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This movie has it all! You will find yourself singing along,and tapping your feet through out the entire film.Not to mention a smile will be on your face from start to finish.This is one Hollywood Masterpiece where ALL the actors are perfect for the roles they play. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor are absolutely flawless,not only in their dancing and acting, but in their comic
deliverence as well.As for Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen,how could we even imagine any other actresses playing their roles?
The plot of the story is simple,yet keeps your attention from start to finish. Too bad musicals like this are a thing of the past.The quality of this film(sound,color,clearness etc.) is superb. You will definitely find yourself pushing"PLAY" again once this film is over.Don't be alarmed if after seeing this musical,you find yourself humming "What A Glorious Feeling" for days on end.Everyone needs this movie in their collection!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Most Entertaining Movies Ever Made
Review: The best of its kind, simply pure joy. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor are absolutely spectacular in their dance numbers. The Make 'Em Laugh number alone makes the DVD a worthy purchase. When Donald O'Connor walks up the wall and does a flip, you'll be scratching your head wondering what you just saw. The choreography is masterful, not the best acting you'll ever see, but who cares? Debbie Reynolds looks like she's about 12, but she gives a fine effort. Still the greatest musical/comedy/dance movie ever made. A treasure.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gotta Cheer!
Review: For reasons too numerous to mention, this is my favorite musical comedy. Miraculously, it seems fresher and more entertaining each time I see it. Over time, it has developed what I guess could be called a cult following and then as it began to appear on television, in HVS and then in DVD formats, it was widely recognized as a great film. Indeed, it is ranked #10 among 100 on the list of the American Film Institute's "America's Greatest Movies." Only rarely has "Hollywood" felt secure enough to make fun of itself; especially to spoof its own difficult transition from silent to "talking" films. That is precisely what this film does with exceptional style, grace, wit, and energy.

Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are matinee idols who appear in silent films produced by a studio headed by R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell). I think Hagen's hilarious portrayal of her is the equal of Judy Holliday's best work. Here in Texas, we would say that Lina is dumber than 100 chickens. Lockwood endures her in public while doing all he can to avoid her in private. Unexpectedly, he meets and falls in love with an aspiring young singer and dancer, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). Kathy eventually provides the voice Lina needs when appearing in sound movies. Don's best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), is involved in all this delightful silliness, at one point providing a brilliant solo performance of "Make 'Em Laugh." This film is much too good-natured to be considered satire. There isn't a mean bone in the body of the film. Each member of the supporting cast is superb, notably Mitchell and Douglas Fowley as Roscoe Dexter, director of the Lockwood-Lamont films. Stanley Donen and Kelly are identified as co-directors. Betty Compden and Adolph Green co-wrote the sparkling script and also contributed songs to the musical score as did Fred Brown, Roger Edens, Nacio Herb Brown, and Hoffman. I cannot think of another film which combines both music and comedy as effectively. An American in Paris and Chicago are also among my favorites but neither is as cohesive (I am tempted to say seamless) as is this glorious entertainment. You can thus understand why I am so pleased that the "Special Edition" has such a wealth of supplementary materials such as a Commentary in which Reynolds, O'Connor, Cyd Charisse, Kathleen Freeman, Donen, Comden and Green, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, and author/film historian Rudy Behlmer participate; "What a Glorious Feeling": a new 30-minute documentary about the making and impact of Singin' in the Rain: and "Musicals Great Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM," a 96-minute documentary about the career of producer-songwriter Arthur Freed. Treasures all!

For whatever reasons, Singin' in the Rain was nominated for only two Academy Awards and received neither. That's ridiculous. I wish it had been possible for this cast and crew to do another musical comedy together, this time focusing on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In that event, who would have been cryin' in the rain?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best movie ever made!!
Review: I am obsessed with old movies, finding that the quality of acting in them far surpasses the quality of acting today. No words can really describe the power and magnitude of this film on both myself and the world. This is not only the greatest musical ever made but also is the greatest film ever made. It has an incredible story, fabulous music, out of this world dancing (eat your heart out Fred Astaire), and most importantly a cast that can never be topped. Gene Kelly was magnificint but Donald O'Connor, I feel steals the movie. His quick wit,comedic timing and incredible dancing skills make him my all time favorite (and most underated) actor of all time. Debbie Reynolds also gives a charming performance even though she is only 18 going on 19 years old. The music numbers are fabulous, especially Donald's Make em' Laugh and Gene and Don's Moses Supposes. They leave me speechless everytime I watch them. I recommend that no lover of film or musicals lets this one slip through their fingers. I'm only 17 and I have seen this movie at least 1000 times (and I wish I we're kidding). It's timeless and amazing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mesmerizing!!!
Review: This musical is one of my favorites! Gene Kelly always gets to me. He's so charming and handsome and has that "million dollar smile" Debbie Reynolds is so adorable too. I'm always amazed everytime I watch this film. The dancing an singing are just wonderful! It also has a great story line; it's just a classic!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I was singing
Review: Singin' in the Rain (1952) 103 minutes

Studio: Warner Studios Director: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen

Debbie Reynold - Donald O'Connor - Gene Kelly - Millard Mithchell - Joan Hagan - Cyd Charisse

The setting is 1927 in Hollywood. The story is about a man trying to keep his movies going without any sound. Don Lockwood is the movie star that acts with a leading lady of Hollywood and they have to become what the people want, so they act as a couple. The problem is that he can't stand her. He finds a woman in the movie that he is smitten by. Her name is Cathy, and she is a show girl.

I loved this movie. It have more talent in this one movie than all of the movies I have seen in my time. To bad I am to young to really appreciate the times that it came from.

The movie was in color and to bad they changed it because it would have been good in black and white also.

Don falls in love with Cathy and Lina is upset that it is not her that he has fell. When they make their first movie with sound it is a flop, so they decide to remake parts of the movie to make sure they keep their audience. They decide to make it a musical and to have Cathy be the voice over for Lina. Lina has an awful high pitched voice. Lina at the showing of the movie shows her true colors and blows her own cover about her voice. The movie was The Dancing Cavalier. In the end everyone is happy and the talkies took over the business of Hollywood.

A great musical for the whole family. I am giving many stars, because so many movies don't have the talent they used to have to bring people in to watch the best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "I make more money than...
Review: Calvin Coolidge! Put together!" An odd line, by any movie standard, but downright hilarious when said by nasally Lina Lamont, as played by Jean Hagen. 'Singin' In the Rain' enjoys a rare distinction in that it has a wonderful plot in between the incredible music numbers. So many musicals skimped on the plot. But such was not the case with Arthur Freed, Gene Kelly, and Stanley Donen at the helm.

If you're reading this, you probably know the plot by now, but I must comment on the performances. Gene Kelly is at his best (which is pretty darn good if you ask me) in this movie. His performance of the title number embodies the spirit of the movie musical. Jean Hagen (an underrated actress) nearly steals the picture with her performance. Debbie Reynolds as Gene Kelly's love interest must have been intimidated (being only 19 or 20 at the time she made the film), but she holds her own against Gene and Donald O'Connor. Please don't get me started on Donald O'Connor. I think he's been given far too little credit in every way imaginable as far as movie history goes. His dancing is superb, his comic style unmatched, and his charm level is through the roof.

That being said, I must address a few things in other reviews. The "Broadway Ballet" sequence DOES NOT detract from the movie. It is an essential part of it. Besides, it's a wonderful excuse to see the incomparable Cyd Charisse. She should have been in more Gene Kelly movies. Name a woman today with talent (and legs) like that. See? I knew you couldn't do it.

On to the DVD. The extras will not disappoint. There is some rehashing in the running commentary of things already said in the documentary hosted by Debbie Reynolds, but that's a minor quibble. For true movie musical buffs the documentary about MGM's legendary Arthur Freed unit is worth the price of the DVD alone. The picture quality is wonderful (the film was not shot in Cinemascope, so you're not missing anything) and the sound is very good, too. But, even without all the extras, I'd still recommend this movie. It is timeless.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dancing and Fun
Review: This is one of my favorite movies of all time, to be used when I just want to just sit back and be entertained.

If you are a fan of tap-dancing, this movie is the absolute classic. The combination of Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly is simply unbeatable. It's just one excellent routine after another. I love the athletic style of these dancers.

Add to that the songs and a comical story, and you have a winner.

The plot is strictly MGM musical formula. Boy meets girl, boy and girl have to save the day by putting together a great musical show, boy gets girl, the show is a success, the day is saved. However, the twists in the plot for this movie were done very well. The comedy is done very imaginatively, and still is funny.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Thoroughly entertaining and enchanting !
Review: How could this movie be put into words? Mezmorizing? Charming? Phenomenal? All these and more. Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds are fabulous. This new version has incredible color, sound and picture quality. This is a classic muscial that will be enjoyed by many many more generations. I do love the new sci-fi movies with all the hi-tech effects and sound but even those can't surpass a movie classic like this one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Grungy Audio, cuts in major dance scene
Review: ... 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.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 24 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates