Kiss Me Kate

Rating:
Summary: DULL LOOKING TRANSFER NEEDS SOME TAMING
Review: "Kiss Me Kate" is Cole Porter's charming update of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". It stars Kathryn Grayson as Lily Vanessi, a hyper-sensative diva of the stage who stars opposite her ex-husband (Howard Keel) and his new lover (Ann Miller). On their way to a hit show, the three repeatedly bump heads and egos, ultimately finding true love. Porter's score for this musical is perhaps his finest, with such standards as "From This Moment On", "Wunderbar" and the title track. "A" list performances throughout make "Kiss Me Kate" a real show stopper.
Unfortunately the same can't be said for Warner Home Video's dull looking transfer. Colors are muted, at time appearing bleached or, at the very least, weak. The same is true of the picture's contrast and black levels. There is a haze that plagues the picture quality throughout and adds to its overly soft characteristic.
Now, about that - the visual characteristic is generally soft looking throughout (most likely the result of over use of noise reduction equipment used to master the DVD). On a 32 inch television screen the picture will merely appear generally soft. On a 65 inch monitor it looks down right blurry and at times incredibly out of focus.
I am really at a loss to explain why this movie looks this bad. Owning the laserdisc and, doing a side by side comparison, I can report that the laserdisc actually surpasses this DVD in all of the above mentioned catagories. Of course, no laserdisc can hold a candle to DVD, in its superior resolution capabilities, and this DVD is no exception. There is no edge enhancement, aliasing or fine detail shimmering to speak of. This movie has been remixed to 5.1 surround. It's generally good, only suggesting a strident characteristic during brief interludes of dialogue or effects. The musical score is well represented.
Extras: Another all too short featurette on Cole Porter and the making of this movie - this one hosted by Ann Miller, but also featuring snippets from Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Tommy Rall and James Whitmore. A theatrical trailer and isolated music track are also worthy of mention.
Bottom Line: In light of Warner's usually pristine efforts on DVD this transfer is a big disappointment and NOT recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Wunderbar!
Review: "Wunderbar!" is both the title of one of the hit numbers from this Cole Porter musical, as well as a fitting adjective to describe the overall production.

"Kiss Me, Kate" is a play within a play, as a group of actors have to sort out their own romantic problems as they mount an opening-night production of "The Taming of the Shrew". Howard Keel is both the director/star of the theatre group and the Petrucchio character, and does both with an unusual amount of animal magnetism. Kathryn Grayson is not quite as good as both the actor's estranged wife and Kate, but she's okay, notwithstanding that. The stronger woman in the cast is Ann Miller as the actor's new girlfriend/Bianca. She has some really great numbers, like "Too Darn Hot" and "Tom, Dick, or Harry"--which by the way also features the young Bob Fosse as one of the no-name dancers in the sequence, and his trademark style is evident even this early on. Speaking of the song, "Too Darn Hot", this gets moved to the beginning of the movie to a scene where Ann comes in her showgirl outfit to dance for the producers, and fling her jewelry around striptease style. This is important, because this movie was filmed in 3-D, and that's how I saw it last at NYC's Film Forum. There I was in the dark, starting every time a bangle got tossed out at me!

The Cole Porter score sparkles, and the cast does justice to the storylines of both plots. If you're looking for another MGM musical after going through all the Judy and Gene pieces, you'll be well satisfied with "Kiss Me, Kate".

Rating:
Summary: DULL LOOKING TRANSFER NEEDS SOME TAMING
Review: "Kiss Me Kate" is Cole Porter's charming update of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". It stars Kathryn Grayson as Lily Vanessi, a hyper-sensative diva of the stage who stars opposite her ex-husband (Howard Keel) and his new lover (Ann Miller). On their way to a hit show, the three repeatedly bump heads and egos, ultimately finding true love. Porter's score for this musical is perhaps his finest, with such standards as "From This Moment On", "Wunderbar" and the title track. "A" list performances throughout make "Kiss Me Kate" a real show stopper.
Unfortunately the same can't be said for Warner Home Video's dull looking transfer. Colors are muted, at time appearing bleached or, at the very least, weak. The same is true of the picture's contrast and black levels. There is a haze that plagues the picture quality throughout and adds to its overly soft characteristic.
Now, about that - the visual characteristic is generally soft looking throughout (most likely the result of over use of noise reduction equipment used to master the DVD). On a 32 inch television screen the picture will merely appear generally soft. On a 65 inch monitor it looks down right blurry and at times incredibly out of focus.
I am really at a loss to explain why this movie looks this bad. Owning the laserdisc and, doing a side by side comparison, I can report that the laserdisc actually surpasses this DVD in all of the above mentioned catagories. Of course, no laserdisc can hold a candle to DVD, in its superior resolution capabilities, and this DVD is no exception. There is no edge enhancement, aliasing or fine detail shimmering to speak of. This movie has been remixed to 5.1 surround. It's generally good, only suggesting a strident characteristic during brief interludes of dialogue or effects. The musical score is well represented.
Extras: Another all too short featurette on Cole Porter and the making of this movie - this one hosted by Ann Miller, but also featuring snippets from Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Tommy Rall and James Whitmore. A theatrical trailer and isolated music track are also worthy of mention.
Bottom Line: In light of Warner's usually pristine efforts on DVD this transfer is a big disappointment and NOT recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie ever... my favorite!
Review: "Kiss Me Kate" is the best movie I have ever seen. I first saw it around age 5, and have loved it ever since. I have watched it over 40 or 50 times, and love it each time. It's romantic, musical, intense, and fun. You will love this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Men in tights.
Review: A heavily-edited and re-written version of Cole Porter's classic musical, MGM's 3-D extravaganza of 'Kiss Me Kate' manages to hold up, despite its heavy doses of Elizabethan English. The score remains superb, even after being given the mid-50's MGM treatment of over-arrangments and sanitized lyrics, and Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson chew their scenes with appropriate zest and give their musical numbers top-notch treatment, while Ann Miller is perky and limber as ever, dancing up a storm with a young Tommy Rall. Overall an unfaithful adaptation of Porter's masterpiece, but an entertaining piece of fluff in its own right. The DVD transfer is vivid and grain-free, presented in full-frame (standard).

Rating:
Summary: Brush up your Shakespeare
Review: A real gem, this movie never tires me. It's got everything: good music, an entertaining plot, wonderful performers (how comes that today's actors and singers are not as good as the former generations? Can it be a sort of decadence of the human race due to pollution and junk food?) romance and comic interludes. A good cheer-up for the whole family.

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Item from the MGM Vaults
Review: A recent review I read of the re-release of KISS ME KATE refers to this film as one of MGM's lesser musicals. Of course for MGM, even their "lesser" musicals are still something to see. Howard Keel plays the swashbuckling, good hearted, but somewhat of a heel character of Fred Graham rather well. When Kathryn Grayson's Lilli Vanessi sings "I Hate Men," we believe her. Ann Miller is wonderful as the brassy, lovable Lois which begins with her "Too Darn Hot" number at the beginning and her "Always True to You In My Fashion" is both humorous and sincere. The dance numbers are well done, particularly "From This Moment On" which includes the talents of Ann Miller, Bob Fosse, and Bobby Vann is one of the films gems.

The chief weakness of the film version of KISS ME KATE is due not to the acting, but more to the fact that this "play within a play" works better on stage than on screen. As far as the quality of the film is concerned, as other reviewers have noted, there is something missing in this transfer to DVD which takes away some of the magic. Still, movie buffs will want this DVD in their collection, especially fans of the great musicals.

Rating:
Summary: Best of MGM's Best !
Review: After seeing this movie for the first time since its 3D release in 1953, it makes one wonder why MGM insists on holding up "Singin' in the Rain" (a great treat in itself) as its best musical. KISS ME KATE is simply amazing -- tight, funny, fast, colorful, full of the dry wit and wisdom of Cole Porter, and gloriously "musical". To the crew's credit, many lines are straight from Shakespeare's original and the cast's readings are as adroit as any from Old Vic, anywhere, any time. Hermes Pan's and Bob Fosse's dance numbers are so sizzling good you can't take your eyes off the performance. It's a must-have for dance fans. For comedy fans, the offstage antics that mirror the onstage situations are a fiendishly clever conceit. Only one regret: the original 3D photography was terrific, with perhaps the most brilliant color work of 50's vintage. It's a bit subdued in modern prints. But don't let that deter you from enjoying this lively, literate, nearly perfect gem. Others have mentioned some of the more famous musical bits, but pay attention to Howard Keel's brilliant comedic reading of "The Life That Once I Led" (which drew gleeful applause when I saw it in a New York cinema recently), and Miss Grayson's rendition of "I Hate Men", copied by every lady who's tried it since 1953. Ann Miller's dance numbers are easily her very best work, by far -- and her "Too Darn Hot" was, at the time, almost too darn hot. Add veteran George Sindey's directorial expertise (The Harvey Girls, Scaramouche, etc.) and Shakespeare's own genius, and this becomes *THE* show for people who say they don't like musicals!

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Poor DVD
Review: After watching this movie on TCM earlier this year, I thought it would be a good idea to get this newly released DVD. I was extremely disappointed.
First, the transfer was soft and sometimes grainy. The picture wasn't much better than the TiVo recording that I had made off of cable TV.
Secondly, it's a cropped full screen presentation (not pan and scan.) Really, not a big loss since the TCM broadcast was closer to 16:10 than 16:9, and you lose the dancers feet occasionally rather than losing entire characters. But if you have a widescreen TV, it's very annoying.
Third, the DVD extras are lame. A new documentary hosted by Ann Miller provides little information and only one interesting anecdote. Personally, I found the 50's short on New York more interesting, being a New Yorker, but other might find it dull.
Finally, the subtitles lack lyrics for the songs. Once a musical number starts, there are no subtitles!
I would recommend you tape it off of cable, as the DVD provides no significant extras in content nor quality.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding musical!!
Review: As a singer and actress I am thrilled when I watch movies with this much talent. The score is excellent, the acting is superb and the singing is absolutley amazing!! Wonderfrul, aboslutly wonderful!!!