The Band Wagon

Rating:
Summary: Singularly gorgeous.
Review: I discovered THE BAND WAGON by way of THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT, as a small excerpt of it appeared in the Fred Astaire tribute. When I finally saw the whole movie years later, I was amused at the rather unremarkable plot of oil-and-water actors trying to put on a show. (Most of the numbers, including "Louisiana Hayride," "Triplets," "Girl Hunt," and "New Sun In the Sky" are merely part of the show itself.) The real genius of the film comes from director Vincente Minnelli's presentation of the backstage craziness that always accompanies musical theatre- such as Jack Buchanan trying to coax an "eight-eighths" performance out of Astaire, or the "You And The Night And the Music" rehearsal unraveling with explosions at all the wrong times. The film's most stunning moment comes in the simplest sequence: when the plot reaches its lowest ebb (as the actors are ready to quit the show and each other), Astaire (in a summer linen suit) and Charisse (in a flowing white dress) come together to get away from the rehearsals and stroll through a twilight Central Park and walk right into the pas-de-deux of "Dancing In The Dark"- exquisitely staged as a love scene without dialogue. I probably wouldn't be a fan of musicals today if it weren't for this one sequence. I have the remastered VHS video (as of this writing there dosen't seem to be a DVD), with rich vivid color. It's one of MGM's most sophisticated musicals, and gives great supporting turns to Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, and Jack Buchanan. A lot of fun!!

Rating:
Summary: A great musical!
Review: I highly recommend this musical. The dance numbers and
songs are wonderful. It is very entertaining, I'd
give it more stars if I could.

Rating:
Summary: Jack Buchanan- what a hoot!
Review: I love much of "The Band Wagon"--it's certainly the best of the "Potpourri" musicals, and truly one of the greatest of them all.

But I find it interesting that no one ever mentions the fabulous British music-hall veteran Jack Buchanan who, as far as I am concerned, practically walks away with every scene he's in, including his backwards tumble off the set just before "That's Entertainment".

The subtle but wicked virtuosity of his portrayal is a continual delight to watch. His opening "Oedipus MODERNE" scene (both ONstage and BACKstage) is priceless.....and oh, SO accurate!

But I think his most amazing scene is where he sits on his couch and cleverly sets up James Mitchell to manuever Cyd Charisse into the show---and notice the fact that this scene is done in almost ONE CONTINOUS TAKE----it is brilliantly written AND acted!

Then the series of shots as the cast keeps opening the doors into the room where he is selling the concept of the show to the backers.....now THAT'S FUNNY!

As much as I enjoy the rest of the film (and "Triplets" is an absolute classic), I hate to leave Jack Buchanan's opening scenes, as I find the familiar formula of aging star (Fred) romancing the much younger ingenue so wearisome. If it wasn't Astaire and Hepburn, it was Bogart and Hepburn....or was it Cary Grant and Hepburn...or Grant and Eva Marie Saint...or Wiliiam Holden and Hepburn...or....or....(not that a May/December romance can't be a cool thing....but c'mon!)

At least in the heartbreaking "Roman Holiday", Gregory Peck was the right age to romance Audrey.

But I digress......

Rating:
Summary: ... okay
Review: I'm a person who has viewed TONS of old movie musials - everything from Silk Stockings to Born To Dance, and I must say that although there was an INCREDIBLE amount of talent present in this film: Vincente Minelli, Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levante, Michael Kidd, etc. it was not one of the greatest musicals, as most say. In fact, I'm not a huge fan of it. You see, everything was excellent: the script, the songs, the dances - all were very well done, but the whole project lacked that special spark that makes a musical great! For one thing, I wanted more dances! The Girl Hunt ballet and Dancing In The Dark were wonderful! But in my opinion there should have been another Cyd and Fred number! That's Entertainment is, I grant you, a good song, but it can get on your nerves quite easily, and is probably the most over-played song in movie musical history. And why did they cut out all those numbers? Two Faced Woman, which I haven't seen, sounds like it would be a zesty, energetic Charisse number that the film completely lacked! Oh sure you had 'New Sun In The Sky', but it was more a singing number than a dancing number, which makes no sense when you consider that Cyd Charisse was one of the best dancers Hollywood ever possessed - not a singer! Why focus a number on a dubbed voice? It's beyond me to figure out why. The picture needed a Charisse number, like 'Red Blues' from Silk Stockings, and 'Two Faced Woman' sounds like it would be just the ticket! I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I wanted more dancing numbers. 'A Shine On Your Shoes' was a fun number, and I loved it the first couple times I saw it, but by the third time you begin to get tired of the two minutes Fred Astaire spends saying: "Got shine on my shoes" - and he's not even REALLY dancing while saying that. I know he wasn't as spry as he was in the Fred And Ginger movies, but The Girl Hunt ballet proves that he could still dance as only Fred Astaire could - so why didn't they have another great Astaire number in the film? Overall, however, the film lacked that special spark, that chemistry that makes a film great! In the book: MGMs Greatest Musicals, The Arthur Freed Unit, it describes how terrible the filming of this picture was. Buchanan was in pain from a dental operation, and was terrified of Fred Astaire; Cyd Charisse, sensitive to the mood on the set, stayed aloof; Levante, recovering from a heart attack, was even more difficult than ever; no one talked to Fabray, but then, no one talked to anyone; Folsey, the cameraman, was blamed for delay and was fired; and Minnelli, blessed with blinders, did nothing about the terrible atmosphere and situation. - With all these things going on, one could hardly expect 'the magic' to be present. It was, however, a fun, bright film filled with many good numbers and that wonderful speech Astaire makes when he becomes to fed up with the production, (I absolutely adore that scene). So, yes, I do recommend this film to musical fans and film buffs; it was, after all, a good movie. I suppose my expectations were too high. I read in so many reviews that this was the greatest musical ever made, (which I strongly disagree with and I wonder if these people have seen Singin In the Rain), and that it was the best role Astaire ever played. (I don't know, my favourite Astaire roles are in Silk Stockings and Barkleys on Broadway, and, of course, Swing Time.) I expected to be blown away by this movie ... and I wasn't. Yes, it was a good way to spend two hours, but it is a VERY poor cousin to Singin' In The Rain. However, I do recommend you buy it, if for nothing else than you can watch 'Dancing In The Dark' and 'The Girl Hunt' over and over again.

Rating:
Summary: For Many of Us, the Best Musical
Review: I'm not prepared to be objective about "The Band Wagon." To me it has the artistry of "An American in Paris" and the rollicking fun of "Singing in the Rain." Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse have never danced better before or since and this backstage musical with plenty of tunes by Dietz and Schwartz gives them plenty of opportunity to strut their stuff. To me the "Dancing in the Dark" sequence is the most sublime dance number ever recorded on film.

"The Band Wagon" is not just a musical, but a musical about musicals. Fred Astaire plays a slightly down-and-out version of himself, "Tony Hunter," who was "in all those singing and dancing pictures ten or twelve years ago, but the critics say he's washed up." Against his better judgment Tony gets teamed up with Cyd in an arty version of "Faust" that has disaster written all over it. But you know show people . . . and musicals . . .

This movie really gets a split response. Nobody hates it but for some it's "just okay" and then there are the ones like me who LOOVE it. It's my favorite musical and one of my favorite movies, period. I'm very glad Amazon is stocking it again. If you're a fan of Astaire, director Vincente Minnelli, or the MGM films of the early fifties, I doubt you'll be disappointed if you take a chance on "The Band Wagon."

Rating:
Summary: For Many of Us, the Best Musical
Review: I'm not prepared to be objective about "The Band Wagon." To me it has the artistry of "An American in Paris" and the rollicking fun of "Singing in the Rain." Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse have never danced better before or since and this backstage musical with plenty of tunes by Dietz and Schwartz gives them plenty of opportunity to strut their stuff. To me the "Dancing in the Dark" sequence is the most sublime dance number ever recorded on film.

"The Band Wagon" is not just a musical, but a musical about musicals. Fred Astaire plays a slightly down-and-out version of himself, "Tony Hunter," who was "in all those singing and dancing pictures ten or twelve years ago, but the critics say he's washed up." Against his better judgment Tony gets teamed up with Cyd in an arty version of "Faust" that has disaster written all over it. But you know show people . . . and musicals . . .

This movie really gets a split response. Nobody hates it but for some it's "just okay" and then there are the ones like me who LOOVE it. It's my favorite musical and one of my favorite movies, period. I'm very glad Amazon is stocking it again. If you're a fan of Astaire, director Vincente Minnelli, or the MGM films of the early fifties, I doubt you'll be disappointed if you take a chance on "The Band Wagon."

Rating:
Summary: A must see, but not everyone's favorite
Review: I've never been a huge Vincente Minnelli fan and "The Band Wagon" is a good example of why. His pacing is sometimes sluggish and this one takes a while to get off the ground. When it does (more than 20 minutes in - when Cyd Charisse's character enters the film) it's occasionally breathtakingly brilliant. Astaire and Charisse's pairings are cinematic gold. It's too bad they aren't teamed enough. And if they'd kept Cyd's "Two-faced Woman" (seen in "That's Entertainment III") in the final cut and dropped "Triplets" or "I Love Louisa" the film would have been even better. Watch it by all means but remember it's a matter of taste to some.

Rating:
Summary: Hop on "The Band Wagon"
Review: If you like movie musicals, then "The Band Wagon" is a must-have for your collection. Released in 1953, this Vincente Minnelli film was one of the finest musicals produced by the legendary Arthur Freed Unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It stars Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan in a musical skewering of the sometimes aloof Broadway "theatah" scene. This is the film which introduced "That's Entertainment", a song which has become as much a trademark for MGM as Leo the Lion. My favorite scene is "Dancing in the Dark", a simple-but-elegant dance number featuring Fred & Cyd and set in a Culver City rendition of New York's Central Park. But there are many other sensationsal numbers as well. Among them: "By Myself" and "Shine on Your Shoes" (Astaire), "Girl Hunt Ballet" (Astaire and Charisse) and "Triplets" (Astaire, Fabray, Buchanan). With a sharp and witty screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green ("Singin' in the Rain") and fabulous songs by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, "The Band Wagon" is a quality musical your are sure to love.

Rating:
Summary: Hop on "The Band Wagon"
Review: If you like movie musicals, then "The Band Wagon" is a must-have for your collection. Released in 1953, this Vincente Minnelli film was one of the finest musicals produced by the legendary Arthur Freed Unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It stars Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan in a musical skewering of the sometimes aloof Broadway "theatah" scene. This is the film which introduced "That's Entertainment", a song which has become as much a trademark for MGM as Leo the Lion. My favorite scene is "Dancing in the Dark", a simple-but-elegant dance number featuring Fred & Cyd and set in a Culver City rendition of New York's Central Park. But there are many other sensationsal numbers as well. Among them: "By Myself" and "Shine on Your Shoes" (Astaire), "Girl Hunt Ballet" (Astaire and Charisse) and "Triplets" (Astaire, Fabray, Buchanan). With a sharp and witty screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green ("Singin' in the Rain") and fabulous songs by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, "The Band Wagon" is a quality musical your are sure to love.

Rating:
Summary: Hop on the Bandwagon With This Smash Hit!
Review: In my opinion, I think that 'The Bandwagon' is one of the best and certainly the funniest musicals of all time. Cyd and Fred sparkle on screen. The plot is classic, but wonderful. As for the songs and dances, they are definately some of the best. 'A Shine on My Shoes', 'Dancing in the Dark', 'Triplets', and 'I Love Louisa' are wonderful and creative.
I have to admit, though my favorite person in the film is Fred, I have to say that my second favorite character is Jeff Cordova (Buchanan). He is the most hilarious and wonderfully stereotypical character I have ever seen!
This film is certianly one of the best, so see it today!