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!
Rating:
Summary: The only teaming of the King and Queen of Tap!
Review: One of the last, big B&W musical extravaganzas, BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 is a joy from start to finish. The incomparable Fred Astaire and the unforgettable Eleanor Powell only made this one film together, but it's one for the ages! Terrific tunes by Cole Porter make up a nifty score, which comes to a thrilling conclusion featuring Fred & Eleanor's amazing BEGIN THE BEGUINE. A must-have for film musical fans!
Rating:
Summary: The only teaming of the King and Queen of Tap!
Review: One of the last, big B&W musical extravaganzas, BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 is a joy from start to finish. The incomparable Fred Astaire and the unforgettable Eleanor Powell only made this one film together, but it's one for the ages! Terrific tunes by Cole Porter make up a nifty score, which comes to a thrilling conclusion featuring Fred & Eleanor's amazing BEGIN THE BEGUINE. A must-have for film musical fans!
Rating:
Summary: You will never see anything like this again!
Review: Over the years this movie has usually been panned. Today, with availability on VHS, then on laser disc, and now on DVD this film is getting the acclaim it deserves. This is one of my favorite Astaire films, the first time I watched it I knew I would be watching it again and again. The true test of a classic film The movie was panned, not for the dancing, but for the story. The story involves mistaken identity: Eleanor Powell is a musical star looking for a dancing partner. Fred Astaire and George Murphy are dancing partners trying to make it to Broadway when Eleanor Poewll's agent - manager - Frank Morgan sees their act. He wants Fred Astaire for Eleanor's new partner but through a mixup George gets the part. Of course, everything works out by the end of the film and we have a happy ending. I didn't think the story was so bad or sentimental or whatever but let's face it, who cares? Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell in top form with Cole Porter music, who could ask for anything more? The final big number is Begin The Beguine and it will knock your socks off. It is quite long, about twenty minutes as I remember. The last part was seen in That's Entertainment and when Frank Sinatra introduced it he said: "You'll never see its like again."
Rating:
Summary: if you have a tapper at home; don't miss this movie
Review: Right after watching this, my wife and I called our (now) 14 yo dancer in to see it. She in turn had her dance buddies watch it the next time they were over. The look of amazement on ALL of our faces as we watched some of the best there ever was worth the price of admission. Like the commercial says; DVD player; $200, DVD; $15, Watching your daughter work ten times harder on her tapping-priceless.
Rating:
Summary: if you have a tapper at home; don't miss this movie
Review: Right after watching this, my wife and I called our (now) 14 yo dancer in to see it. She in turn had her dance buddies watch it the next time they were over. The look of amazement on ALL of our faces as we watched some of the best there ever was worth the price of admission. Like the commercial says; DVD player; $200, DVD; $15, Watching your daughter work ten times harder on her tapping-priceless.
Rating: 
Summary: Great dance numbers, one after another
Review: Sure, the story is light, but it provides some chuckles and bridges the musical numbers together with minimal fuss. All of the dance and production pieces, by the way, range from great to jaw-dropping amazing. Though there are a few complaints about the picture quality among these reviews, I found the visual quality to be nearly perfect, and absolutely devoid of the scratches and bad splices that often mar old films on DVD. After all, what's a little minor flickering in one or two scenes in a 60-plus year old film, if everything else is basically shiny and new looking? The DVD is rounded out by some nice extras, though the inclusion of the "Our Gang" episode is a head scratcher. It really has nothing to do with "Broadway Melody of 1940" other than the fact that it's about the Little Rascals putting on their own generic "big premiere" and the movie itself takes place in a world where producers daily plan for their next big premiere on Broadway. Still, one really can't complain, as you get a nice package of stuff on this DVD for a modest cost.
Rating:
Summary: Great dance numbers, one after another
Review: Sure, the story is light, but it provides some chuckles and bridges the musical numbers together with minimal fuss. All of the dance and production pieces, by the way, range from great to jaw-dropping amazing. Though there are a few complaints about the picture quality among these reviews, I found the visual quality to be nearly perfect, and absolutely devoid of the scratches and bad splices that often mar old films on DVD. After all, what's a little minor flickering in one or two scenes in a 60-plus year old film, if everything else is basically shiny and new looking? The DVD is rounded out by some nice extras, though the inclusion of the "Our Gang" episode is a head scratcher. It really has nothing to do with "Broadway Melody of 1940" other than the fact that it's about the Little Rascals putting on their own generic "big premiere" and the movie itself takes place in a world where producers daily plan for their next big premiere on Broadway. Still, one really can't complain, as you get a nice package of stuff on this DVD for a modest cost.
Rating:
Summary: Underappreciated
Review: The art direction in this movie is incredible. It is one of the ultimate "New York as nightlife fantasyland" films (like the 1936 Melody, and Astaire's own "Swing Time"). The DVD replicates the silky B&W images just fine, especially the finale, which looks incredible on a big screen TV. Though Astaire tended to blow this off as "one of those big Metro things", it is a fun movie with a cool Big Band feel and a dream soundtrack, and Eleanor Powell is a revelation--it's too bad she isn't as well known today. Though the silly harlequin ballet doesn't really belong, I'll still take this over the pretentious MGM musicals of the 50s.
Rating:
Summary: The only teaming of the King and Queen of Tap!
Review: The art direction in this movie is incredible. It is one of the ultimate "New York as nightlife fantasyland" films (like the 1936 Melody, and Astaire's own "Swing Time"). The DVD replicates the silky B&W images just fine, especially the finale, which looks incredible on a big screen TV. Though Astaire tended to blow this off as "one of those big Metro things", it is a fun movie with a cool Big Band feel and a dream soundtrack, and Eleanor Powell is a revelation--it's too bad she isn't as well known today. Though the silly harlequin ballet doesn't really belong, I'll still take this over the pretentious MGM musicals of the 50s.
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