An American in Paris

Rating:
Summary: Great musical, an embarrassment for best picture
Review: "An American in Paris" is a great musical with great numbers and choreography. It had Gene Kelly at his best with good score. However, the story is too predictable, I was unable to remember the story like in most musicals except the special ones such as West Side Story or Fiddler on the Roof. While the movie is enjoyable, it was outrageous to give the best picture Oscar to this movie considering that there was almost no acting and quality directing especially given the competition that year. Let us be honest, who remembers Gene Kelly for his acting. That year had "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh, having screenplay by Tennessee Williams and directed by Elia Kazan. That movie is still considered one of the greatest movies ever in most aspects, though it is harsh. Given the various dialogues and acting pieces in that and the incomparable Brando at his peak, I was sad that they awarded this movie the best picture. Though these two pictures are of different genres, they are so far apart in class, one is cheesy, the other classy, one stands the test of time, the other is slowly forgotten, and so on. It is sad that the academy made such a mistake, I hope that they do not repeat such errors. You cannot watch a movie just for song and dance, it has to have a decent story, classy dialogue and good acting. Sadly, I cannot accept that from this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and Sexy!
Review: I watched An American in Paris last night and was delighted with the movie! Gene Kelly had sex appeal and a great smile. His dancing was incredible and energetic. Leslie Caron was sweet. The clothes she wore were very attractive so French! Finally, the score contained most of my favorite Gershwin tunes. They don't make them like this anymore.

Rating:
Summary: Joyous and outstanding musical movie !
Review: This joy of living movie has no parallel in the cinema in any age . Consider a painter searching for a new world plenty of new hopes in Paris the timeless Light City , after the WW2 -the bitter message behind stages-was written for Alan Jay Lerner. This film and that unforgettable French film The French Can Can of Jean Renoir with Maria Felix and Jean Gabin constitute the top notch works more sincere tribute about Paris and its radiant magnetism ever made .
The musical numbers and the main attraction - the supreme jewel of the crown , the marvelous and mesmerizing ballet sequence near the end , accompanied by Gershwin score : "An American in Paris" make of this film one of the ten finest American musicals ever made.
Beware of several homage : such as to Charlot in the parody of the first quarter of film when Kelly dances for the kids in the street of the corner and the own homage of Minelli to himself in Wizard of Oz with the soldier march in the final ballet sequence .
Leslie Caron is so lovely in her debut film and Levant is splendid as the failure concert pianist . Admirable musical number in which he appears in a multiple performance , playing the piano , conducting the orchestra and playing other instruments of the orchestra . The script is simply dazzling , the radiant exuberance and undeniable charisma of Kelly , the wonderful locations , the dialogues , artistic direction , the cherished New Year party and funny as well as touching situations along the picture make of this one an entertaining and above all a for ever must to see film .
And as it always happens with the masterpieces , it will never bore you . This special charm will involve you over and over again .
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Rating:
Summary: GENE KELLY AT HIS BEST - WONDERFUL MUSICAL
Review: This film has eveything going for it: great Gerswhin music, great visuals, the beauty of Paris (despite being filmed on a backlot), a fine script, the lovely Leslie Caron, the humorous Oscar Levant, the amazing talent of Gene Kelly, a still-breathtaking 17 minute ballet, choreographed by Kelly, at the film's climax, and ROMANCE! This is one of my favorite musicals of all-time!

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Musical
Review: Gene Kelly had been a Hollywood star for almost ten years when he starred in this film, but the most productive portion of his career was still ahead of him. "An American in Paris" was a huge success upon initial release in 1951, winning six oscars, and today stands as one of the most memorable, tuneful and charming musicals of all time. The chemistry between Kelly and Leslie Caron is still palpable and delightful in all of their marvelous dance numbers, particularly "Our Love is Here to Stay". The wit of Oscar Levent is still every bit as biting and hysterical. And the glory of George Gershwin's beautiful melodies still fills a true music lover's soul with joy, especially in the thrilling (though slightly overlong) 20 minute ballet at the film's conclusion. It is unfortunate that Vincent Minnelli was forbidden to shoot the movie in Paris for budgetary reasons, but the set designers compensated admirably: the MGM backlot is simply stunning for the eye to behold. To top it off, where else are you going to go to see Kelly covort and converse with cute French kids to the music of "I've Got Rythem"? Although this film doesn't quite measure up to Kelly's next massive triumph (1952 brought "Singin' in the Rain", maybe the greatest musical of all time) it's still an amazing achievement. Stop reading this: GO GET IT!

Rating:
Summary: S'Wonderful
Review: A glorious movie that showcases Gene Kelly's breathtaking talent. Forget the silly story and just watch him dance and dance and dance. He does more with a turn of a shoulder than most dancers can do with their whole body. This movie also introduced the lithe and lovely Leslie Caron as the object of Kelly's affection. The film builds to its dramatic hallucinatory conclusion as Kelly dances his way across a Paris dreamscape, that brings all the elements of modern dance together in a tour-de-force that was unprecedented in musicals of that time. You can't help getting swept away in the feel-good spirit of this movie. It was another time and place.