Broadway Melody of 1940

Rating:
Summary: INCONSISTANT IMAGE QUALITY - A REAL LET DOWN!
Review: "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.

Rating:
Summary: INCONSISTANT IMAGE QUALITY - A REAL LET DOWN!
Review: "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.

Rating:
Summary: INCONSISTANT IMAGE QUALITY - A REAL LET DOWN!
Review: "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.

Rating:
Summary: Thank god for film!
Review: Because it can capture brilliance like this and hold it there forever. If I had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island with a DVD player and only one Fred Astaire musical number, I would want it to be "Begin the Beguine". To me, this is the most outstanding Hollywood production number ever made! Now, you can see it in all its glory in crystal clarity on this excellent DVD.

From the minute you hear the familiar tune being sung by an exotic siren, you are lulled to a breathtaking black & white world of mirrored-floors, starlit ceilings, giant foil palm trees, very deco Egyptian-esque female dancers and Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire. The number is "told" in two parts: the first being a more Spanish style of dance, with a Latin tempo, and the two dancers dressed in beautiful costumes, especially Eleanor's flowing pleated gown. The second half of "Begin the Beguine" is a total 1940 Big Band swing number introduced by an Andrews Sisters-like quartet. Fred and Eleanor come tapping out in modern day clothes and perform a swing tap number that is truly astounding. Pure fluid movement. What is so appealing is they look like they are loving every minute of it! Their precision and synchronization will leave you breathless.

But wait, there's more! The film also has these musical numbers, too: "Don't Monkey with Broadway", "All Ashore", "Between You and Me", "I've Got My Eyes on You", "Jukebox Dance" and "I Concentrate on You". The story may not be that good, but who cares? There are some special features, notably a short documentary narrated by Ann Miller about the making of the film.

RUN, don't walk to your nearest DVD store and get "Broadway Melody of 1940"!

Rating:
Summary: Thank god for film!
Review: Because it can capture brilliance like this and hold it there forever. If I had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island with a DVD player and only one Fred Astaire musical number, I would want it to be "Begin the Beguine". To me, this is the most outstanding Hollywood production number ever made! Now, you can see it in all its glory in crystal clarity on this excellent DVD.

From the minute you hear the familiar tune being sung by an exotic siren, you are lulled to a breathtaking black & white world of mirrored-floors, starlit ceilings, giant foil palm trees, very deco Egyptian-esque female dancers and Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire. The number is "told" in two parts: the first being a more Spanish style of dance, with a Latin tempo, and the two dancers dressed in beautiful costumes, especially Eleanor's flowing pleated gown. The second half of "Begin the Beguine" is a total 1940 Big Band swing number introduced by an Andrews Sisters-like quartet. Fred and Eleanor come tapping out in modern day clothes and perform a swing tap number that is truly astounding. Pure fluid movement. What is so appealing is they look like they are loving every minute of it! Their precision and synchronization will leave you breathless.

But wait, there's more! The film also has these musical numbers, too: "Don't Monkey with Broadway", "All Ashore", "Between You and Me", "I've Got My Eyes on You", "Jukebox Dance" and "I Concentrate on You". The story may not be that good, but who cares? There are some special features, notably a short documentary narrated by Ann Miller about the making of the film.

RUN, don't walk to your nearest DVD store and get "Broadway Melody of 1940"!

Rating:
Summary: Nice story, great dancing, good movie.
Review: I admit to being no fan of overblown musicals, but I love this film.

A wonderful little movie, with some big production numbers, Broadway Melody of 1940 revisits the old 'mistaken identity' premise. Our hero Johnny Brett (Fred Astaire) briefly assumes his partner, King Shaw's identity (George Murphy) and misses the opportunity of a lifetime to dance with the wonderful Claire Bennett (Eleanor Powell).

When King is chosen to star in the big new Broadway show instead of Johnny, he gets only support from his slighted partner.

Will Ms. Powell and Mr. Astaire get together in the end? I leave that for you to find out. Look for Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz) as Bennett's skatter-brained talent agent, and great dance numbers from all the principals.

A feel good-er, and it's timeless.

Rating:
Summary: Crazy and funny musical
Review: I happened to catch this on TV some several months ago and I really liked it. I'm starting to get into some kind of Fred Astaire niche and it's great, especially since I'm a fan of classic cinema.

Rating:
Summary: Correction of a review
Review: I just wished to correct one review, which uses the name "Jane Powell", as the equal of Fred Astaire; it wasn't Jane, it was Eleanor Powell who was terrific, in this particular movie; she could really hoof it!

Rating:
Summary: Astaire and Powell together!
Review: I've always loved this movie. True it's one of the MGM Broadway Melody series of films but, in my humble opinion, it is the best one and that's because of one ingredient that was missing from the others - Mr. Astaire.

He and Powell work magic as they dance together. Needless to say, the Begin the Beguine number is the absolute ultimate, with its mirror and lights and perfect syncopation. If you're a tap dancer, you have to see it. If you're not, you'll love it anyway!

But another gem that's overlooked far too often is the Jukebox Dance - Fred and Ellie at the sidewalk cafe. Now that had to have been a hard number to do - take it from a tap dancer. And yet it came off beautifully and looked like they had a lot of fun doing it.

Beyond the dancing, the film has the wonderful Frank Morgan ("...the great and powerful Wizard of Oz..." and the engaging George Murphy in it. With a supporting cast like this, it doesn't miss. It's a silly and fun MGM movie musical - pure entertainment, which is what we go to the movies for, isn't it?

Check this one out! You'll enjoy yourself - maybe even as much as I did!

Rating:
Summary: Ellie and Fred finally together on DVD!!
Review: If you love the movie "Chicago", you will love "The Broadway Melody of 1940". It's got the best tap dance sequences in movie history and a Cole Porter music score. The best dances in my opinion are "Begin the Beguine" and "The Jukebox Dance". This infamous movie musical stars Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell; two of the best dancers of the 20th century or any century. The story is cute, and typical: boy meets girl, they put on a show and fall in love.

The chemistry between Powell and Astaire is notably tense, but as the movie goes along it gets better. For history buffs: Ms. Powell and Mr. Astaire were perfectionists; outstanding in their craft. Eleanor Powell was the only female dancer at MGM to choreograph all her routines, and Fred Astaire at times did his own or with Hermes Pan. They were in awe of each other; but during rehersals for this movie, they stopped all the formal talk
and got down to hoofing like two hoofers should.

Enjoy this movie...you will NEVER see dancing like this again!