That's Entertainment
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Features
• AC-3
• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Dolby
• Dubbed
• Full Screen
• Original recording remastered
• Subtitled
• Widescreen
• NTSC
In Theaters : 21 June, 1974
DVD Release : 12 October, 2004 |
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That's Entertainment Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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MGM Nostalgia
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This was the compilation which launched a renewed interest in the great MGM musicals. Admittedly, the great days of the movie musical had long ended in 1974, when this tribute first appeared. However, some of us had never seen the original films and it was wonderful to see and hear tantalizing excerpts from MGM's vast library.
Jack Haley, Jr. produced and edited "That's Entertainment" and utilized a number of major stars who had worked at MGM. The studio was about to undergo a major change with the demolition of its backlot and the eventual sale of numerous costumes and props. MGM was sadly declining in 1974. This film at least reminded us of how much MGM had contributed to the American cinema.
The overture, which was played at the original showing and is included on the video, was actually arranged and conducted by Henry Mancini, who began his career scoring horror films at Universal before going to to write sophisticated, memorable scores at various studios.
Frank Sinatra begins the tribute with four versions of "Singing in the Rain," first the rather quaint and primitive 1929 version of Cliff Edwards in "Hollywood Review," followed by renditions by Jimmy Durante, Judy Garland, and finally Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. He is then seen walking out of MGM's Thalberg Building, the rather imposing executive offices where so many stars were introduced to studio boss Louis B. Mayer.
Mayer created the Freed Unit, which specialized in musicals and operettas, and he gave producer Arthur Freed remarkable freedom to make family-suitable movies, utilizing virtually every star on the lot except Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, and Lon Chaney. At the end of her career Garbo actually did dance in an MGM musical, while Chaney died prematurely after making his talkie debut in a remake of "The Unholy Three."
Most of the first musicals weren't very good, as is acknowledged in this compilation. The scenes from some of the early musicals demonstrate the limited technical capabilities and perhaps MGM's own uncertainty on how to best produce musicals. In time, as sound recording and cinemaphotography improved, MGM was able to utilize real singers and dancers, after brief attempts to use Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, and James Stewart in musicals. Yet, as Elizabeth Taylor recalls, even she was put in a musical and asked to sing, despite a rather limited singing voice. These examples are perhaps just curiosity pieces.
The real highlights are the many, many wonderful excerpts from the great musicals with the likes of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Eleanor Powell, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, etc. These examples led to a revival in the full films through showings on various television stations and eventually on Turner Classic Movies, as well as periodic showings in actual movie theaters.
Debbie Reynolds introduces a memorable excerpt from the black and white film of MGM's 25th anniversary luncheon, in which most of the contract players were assembled in a huge soundstage. This 1949 film gives a good idea of the famous statement that MGM had "more stars than there are in the heavens."
Little actual restoration of the films was done in 1974, so some of the examples have faded or uneven color and the sound quality varies considerably. Nevertheless, this film presents a wonderful overview of the best of MGM's great movies and it was so successful that it paved the way for two more "That's Entertainment" films, which are also available on DVD. |
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That's Entertainment dvd movie.