Pygmalion - Criterion Collection

Rating:
Summary: George Bernard Shaw, ingeniously...
Review: George Bernard Shaw was simply ingenious when he wrote Pygmalion, and when the story was brought to the silver screen it did Shaw justice. Pygmalion is a socioeconomic drama where the distinguished Dr. Higgins (Leslie Howard) takes the a flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller) under his wing in order to set a bet with Colonel George Pickering (Scott Sunderland). The bet consists of transforming the poor flower girl into a lady of class, but this also means changing Eliza's manner of speaking. Asquith and Howard illustrate several different topics such as tolerance and understanding using a familiar approach that the audience can recognize as Eliza undergoes the change. In the end, Pygmalion offers an exceptional cinematic experience.