My Fair Lady

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite, enchanting
Review: I would like to make a correction to one of the well-written "My Fair Lady" reviews appearing here. Audrey Hepburn was NOT nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Eliza Doolittle. The nominees for Best Actress of 1964 were Julie Andrews, Anne Bancroft, Sophia Loren, Debbie Reynolds, and Kim Stanley. Hepburn's name was conspicuously and inexplicably absent from the nominees' list. And even though Hepburn's singing voice was dubbed, her performance was certainly Oscar worthy.

As the inelegant Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, who is transformed into a poised and graceful lady by the cantankerous Professor Henry Higgins (portrayed by Rex Harrison), Hepburn was sublime. Hepburn captured all of Eliza's fierce determination, intelligence, heartache, and romanticism in a perfectly modulated performance. I believe that it is one of the best performances by any actress in the movies.

But there was an undeserved backlash against Hepburn. Certain members of the Motion Picture Academy were adamant that Julie Andrews (the original Eliza Doolittle on Broadway) should have reprised her role in the movie version of "My Fair Lady". But Hepburn was a film veteran with proven box office appeal. That was the reason Jack Warner chose her to play Eliza over Andrews in his expensive production of "My Fair Lady". Andrews rebounded with an Oscar win for her role as Mary Poppins, so there was justice for Andrews in the end. And who could blame Hepburn for wanting to play one of the greatest roles ever written for an actress in Eliza Doolittle? Shaw's heroine was certainly well-served by Hepburn's gifts as an actress.

This cinematic version of "My Fair Lady" is skillfully directed by the respected veteran, George Cukor. The photography, costumes, and sets are stunningly beautiful. Alan Jay Lerner's witty libretto based on Shaw's "Pygmalion" remains intact as does the rapturous, lilting score by Frederick Loewe.

It doesn't get much better than "My Fair Lady", an exquisite, enchanting entertainment for all ages and all time.

Rating:
Summary: My Fair Lady DVD A Work Of Art!!
Review: Why the film studios allowed a musical work of art such as this to waste away in the vaults I'm not sure, and hope they learned a lesson. The restoration team did a wonderful job to ensure the quality of the original film flourished. The colors and music shine like a diamond, and the voices of Harrison, Hepburn/Nixon, are clear and crisp in the Dolby 5.1 and match up to the video beautifully. The enchanting story is back, and this time it will stay. The part of Higgins played by the great Rex Harrison is brought to life by intricate acting. Harrison played the part on broadway, and since he didn't "sing" well, he talked the lyrics of the songs to pitches. He brought this same style to the big screen. Hepburn wasnt the first choice of the producers (it was Julie Andrews, who could sing her own part, but was already in Mary Poppins), but Hepburn became Eliza Doolitle, and it was one of her most renouned performances. She was nominated for oscar in this performance, but wasnt given the honor since her singing was dubbed (a travesty, and mistake by the academy). The musical soundtrack is wonderfully accurate and the noise is substatially low. Everything in this film (and DVD) is seamless. Enjoy this film over and over, especially the gorgious cinematography and colors that starts from the overture and doesn't end until the finale.

Rating:
Summary: Loverly!
Review: This musical is brilliant in the telling of the original George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion.
This is Sir Rex Harrisons movie and although this is usually referred to as an "Audrey Hepburn picture" i don't believe her performance was of the standard of Rex's, in fact quite inferier to Rex's i thought, although i do love her and think she is the third most gorgous woman in the world (first being Vivien Leigh, and second being Julie Andrews) her performance in this movie was rather plain and although she looked ravashing in her ball gowns, this really was Julie Andrews's role and it was a little naughty of her to pinch it. The dubbing is disgraceful as Audreys mouth doesn't match Marni Nixons voice hardly and when they are meant to be celebrating Eliza's new upper class accent we only got a few seconds of Audreys voice change before Marni jumps in with a rather pathetic and limp version of "The Rain In Spain."With this DVD you hear Audreys voice for the first time on its own singing Wouldn't it be loverly and Show me. She sounds like a frghtened horse!
I suggest you by this DVD to see Rex take over your screen as
the big headed, selfish, arrogant and cool Henry Higgins. The relationship with his mother is funny.Also if you like the songs DO NOT and i repeat DO NOT buy the film soundtrack unless you want to hear Marni Nixon wailing through these classic numbers and Rex Harrisons modified Henry Higgins numbers, buy the original broadway production, or to you and me the Julie Andrews one as not only do the songs sound show stopping performed by Ms. Andrews and also i find that her numbers sound strong and powerful compared to the movies versions but Rex Harrisons voice is alot more louder and clearer and mutch better as he seems to get Henry down to a "cup, then say of, then say cup cup cup cup cup cup of of of of TEA!"

Rating:
Summary: Just You Wait, Henry Higgins....!
Review: Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison SHINE in this film adaptation of the favorite Broadway hit, and although the music can stand on its own as an entertainment piece, to see the story unfold before one's eyes is truly remarkable.

The transformation of Eliza Doolittle is phenomenal, and the starchy Rex Harrison as the only one in the world who can make a lady out of her, based on a bet of course, is an entertaining plot to watch. Surely other reviews may have really unwound this story for those who haven't yet seen it, but mind you, it's a tour-de-force of a story.

"Rain in Spain," "Just You Wait, Henry Higgins," "With a Little Bit of Luck," "Get Me to the Church on Time," and other songs from the film stick with you until the end, and we see Mr. Higgins actually fall in love in the end.

Marvelous entertainment!!!

Rating:
Summary: Never Liked it Much Until........
Review: MY FAIR LADY was a movie that I could rarely if ever sit through. On television, the camera work was hard to follow, the film was usually poorly edited - sliced, diced, chopped and slopped - and interspersed with far too many commercials.

This fine DVD has completely changed my opinion of this wonderful musical and I can now see why it has been a beloved classic for these many years. The story, the transformation of a lower-class flower girl into a woman of elegance and grace by Professor Henry Higgins, features the wonderful Lerner and Loewe score. However, the main reason for my change in opinion is the masterful restoration of the film and the widescreen presentation. The cinematography is breathtaking and the sound is perfect; with every frame presented as originally intended, it is truly a movie I had never seen before.

I would recommend this DVD highly.

Rating:
Summary: I Could Have Danced All Night With This Fair Lady
Review: By the time Lerner & Loewe's "My Fair Lady" made it to the big screen it was not so much a film as it became a theatrical event. Jack L. Warner saw to it that his fair lady had a grand gala premiere and all the bells and whistles befitting one of the last truly great Hollywood musicals to emerge from the studio system. In the role he made famous on Broadway, Rex Harrison defined the stoggy old professor, Henry Higgins. As the cockney flower girl transformed into a vision of loveliness, Audrey Hepburn is absolutely adorable. Stanley Holloway, Mona Washburn, Gladys Cooper and Wilfred Hyde-Pierce are outstanding.
Warner Home Video has done themselves proud with this DVD release. Restored and remaster to 5.1 stereo, "My Fair Lady" comes to life in a brilliant anamorphic widescreen transfer that leaves one applauding for more. I have to say that one viewing of this movie is not enough and that with each renewed visit my respect for director, George Cukor grows even more.

My one complaint, Warner Brothers didn't own the rights to "More Loverly Than Ever" a fascinating documentary on the making and restoration of My Fair Lady that was included on the deluxe laserdisc box set put out by CBS/Fox back in the early 90's. This is a companion piece that is essential to appreciating the film as a true work of art and if Warner knows what's good (and they most certainly have proven that they do indeed) they should make every effort to acquire the documentary and revisit this title at a later date in a 2-disc special edition. But the movie, as presented here, is a rare treat among DVD-philes, a wonderful blend of sight and song that is absolutely impossible to resist. Get this one.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, the restoration is good...it's the movie that's not
Review: Having never seen My Fair Lady before, I got to see it for the first time on DVD. Yep, the color looks great, and sound is good, all the trimmings that go with the DVD.

But the movie! I know this is supposed to be the classic movie comparable to Sound of Music and Oklahoma, but I did not find it to be a very enjoyable movie. Yes, the songs were good. At times I had no IDEA how the lyric writers could rhyme the words so cleverly. The story plot was certainly a good one. There were a few surprise curse-words that I didn't expect: more than a dozen D-words - most coming in a rapid-fire salvo - and one use of the not-so-nice synonym for horse rear.

So what was my beef with the movie? How about IT DIDN'T HAVE AN ENDING? So after Eliza is passed off as the duchess, she finds that that's all she is needed for. Professor Higgins doesn't actually love her, as she supposed. So she leaves. Higgins has a talk with her, and decides he can live without her. And yet her face was "like a second nature" to him, so he pines after her after she's left. Then she comes back into his house and re-delivers a line she'd said at their first movie. And he says "Eliza. Now where in the devil are my slippers?" And ta-da! The movie ends! Right there. Did she stay, even after she'd blown up at him because he treated her like luggage? What about Higgins' friend Pickering? He made some sort of mysterious phone call, and departed from the scene, and we NEVER FOUND OUT WHY. In my English, they taught me that a good story has all the elements. Exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, resolution, and ending. This movie don't got no endin'.

The movie also winds around a little with rabbit-trails (like Mr. Doolittle's Getting Married in the Morning dance routine, which is totally out of place). It's also awfully long, and I found it hard to keep paying attention.

Yes, the songs are great fun. The dancing is okay. But I don't think I'll ever find just cause to watch this movie ever again.

Rating:
Summary: It's completely loverly.
Review: A heartwarming movie. Rex harrison and Audrey Hepburn PLay awesomely together. The songs are great, but no words can do justice to this movie's grace. The covent garden scene is one of the best in the movie. If you like movies such as Oliver, Breakfast at Tiffany's or any of the Rodgers and Hammerstein's, then you will love this movie. Perfect for the days when it's cold, rainy, and you just want a cup of coffee and a snuggle.

Rating:
Summary: "My Fair Lady" is every bit of "loverly"!
Review: "My Fair Lady" is one of the American Film Institute's 100 Best Movies of All Time. It ranks at #91 (should have been higher). It is the classic story of Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), the Cockney-accented flower girl selling on the streets at Covent Garden, who'd rather be selling in the shops.
Professor Henry Higgins, played by Rex Harrison who won an Oscar for his performance in this picture, discovers her and her awful speaking skills and appearance, and boasts to her how he can make a duchess out of her. When she's taken in, it is a long drag trying to teach her how to speak correctly. When the time comes, the musical number in there is jubilant. The next day at the Ascot races, which features some of the most marvelous costumes ever, she makes her debut in the most famous outfit she wears in the film next to the ball gown. During the races when the horses pass, she hilariously shouts: "Come on, Dover! Move your bloomin' 'arse'!" It becomes a shocker to everyone. Preparing for the embassy ball, and during so, the setting is spectacular! Feeling uncredited after the ball, she runs off to Covent Garden where no one recognizes her at all, and her father (Stanley Holloway) is "getting married in the morning". Eliza goes to Henry's mother's place as Higgins desparately searches for her in a big mass confrontation between the two, as she thinks she can do without him as she goes away. Henry marches home angry in a quite odd musical number how he can do without her, but he's "grown accustomed to her face." As he plays her voice on the gramophone, Eliza comes in and talks in her Cockney voice saying "I washed my face and 'ands before I come, I did." Higgings looks up saying: "Eliza? Where the devil are my slippers?". The scene ends ther showing that she will stay with Higgins! Simply marvelous and "loverly" is "My Fair Lady"!

Rating:
Summary: Audrey Hepburn Was Probably The Best Choice.
Review: MY FAIR LADY is a musical adaptation of Bernard Shaw's play PYGMALION.

It enjoyed a long and successful run on Broadway with Julie Andrews starring as Eliza Doolittle. Julie was replaced by Audrey Hepburn for the movie. This was of course a major change which was met with much skepticism. Audrey turned in a superlative performance although her singing voice was provided by Marni Nixon. Rex Harrison in the role of Professor Higgins proved to be as good in the film as he was on the stage. Stanley Holloway was superb as Alfred P. Doolittle.

The movie walked off with most of the Academy Awards in 1964 winning Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Director (George Cukor), Color Cinematography, Color Art Direction, Sound, Adapted Musical Scoring and Color Costume Design. Nominations were also received for Best Supporting Actor (Stanley Holloway), Best Supporting Actress (Gladys Cooper), Adapted Screenplay and Editing. Ironically Julie Andrews won the Oscar for Best Actress in that same year for her appearance in MARY POPPINS.

Some of the more interesting DVD features are the commentary by Marni Nixon and the alternative versions of two songs using Audrey Hepburn's own voice.