Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Volume 2 (The Pirate / Words and Music / That's Dancing / The Belle of New York & Royal Wedding / That Midnight Kiss & The Toast of New Orleans)

The Pirate turns out to be the best of the bunch. I can't understand why it failed at the box office. Garland and kelly are both delightfully entertaining; not only that their song and dance numbers are great fun to watch their acting skills are first rate too! Gene Kelly's swashbuckling character is superbly agile; if he's not a better dancer than Fred Astaire, more athletic aside, he definitely is more colorful. Judy Garland's song number under spell reminds me of her in the Fiegfeld Follies where she is also under a different kind of spell, someone drunk by (or in) her own legendary status, which she was so good in it, if I'm not wrong, she was even nominated for an oscar, am I right? No? And last but not least the sight and sound are fantastic, especially, the picture clean and clear, brilliant!I was anxiously expecting to see and hear Kathryn Grayson's opera arias outing but rather disappointed, expecially, in 'That Midnight Kiss'; because, every time she sings she is hampered by some emotional conflict restricted by the plot. Fortunately, I get to hear at least three arias unimpeded by the meddlesome story line in 'The Toast of new Orleans', talking about story line, there isn't much in both films. The three arias from 'Linda di Chamounix', 'Mignon', and 'La Traviata' if somewhat truncated are beautifully sung, but I'm surprised that she didn't end the first two arias in high C's, maybe higher than C's, anyway, thay always call a high note a high C. I always thought Kathryn Grayson is a very high coloratura, this is rather odd that she didn't hit the hell out of it, I mean the high C's. Mario Lanza? What can I say, everyone says he is a legend, one of the great. I have to admit that besides opera, he sings other kinds of music very well too, that is quite unusual. The only other opera singer that is also very good in pop tunes is soprano Eileen Farrell who is widely recognized as a great American soprano, but I have not yet heard her in popular music. Well, between 'That Midnight Kiss' and 'The Toast of New Orleans', I like the latter better. Not only there are more opera arias, the story is more colorful and interesting too. However, one complaint have to be made, the duet from 'Madama Butterfly' is again dictated by the plot that the fisherman finally realizes that he has been overdoing the high society etiquette that causes reverse effect, so that he decides to make amend in this duet by throwing the cigartte defiedly and grabs the arms of Butterfly and tries to kiss her and Butterfly is alarmed and tries to resist him. This is totally opposed to the plot of the opera, whereas Butterfly would melt into the arms of Pinkerton. Otherwise, it would have been a wonderful performance from both of them and again it is only the last half of the duet that is performed, well, what do you expect from musicals. I can tell that the MGM had been trying very hard to make popular the high art of opera. It's not an easy task I suppose.'Words and Music', I can only say, mediocre. 'That's Dancing' is Okay, as for 'Royal Wedding' and 'The Belle of New York' both are disappointing.Now I'm waiting for my interest income to be deposited in my bank account the end of this month to buy the the first volume of Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory. See you.

Another fine product from Warners, this time including material considered excellent examples of MGM at its peak and some not so excellent. Although Words and Music may not be a true representation of Rodgers and Hart's life, the musical numbers are top notch and the movie is entertaining. The Pirate, with its stigma for being a failure upon initial release, is a pleasure to watch and to hear as well. The stars are excellent, although Judy Garland looks a bit nervous in several scenes. Royal Wedding is very entertaining and while not a great film is an example of movie-making that makes you feel good. The Belle of New York is difficult to watch. It has to be the worst of the Fred Astaire films, and the problems include the story, the musical numbers, and,unfortunately, his co-star. I had never seen That's Dancing and was surprised at how few clips from musical films were used and how dated the movie itself was. The That's Entertainment films hold up much better and seem to be more professionaly produced. All said, the packaging and the extras are nice, as with most of the wonderful products from Warners. Actually it's difficult to be negative about the level of craftsmanship from MGM and its stars back in the day, but some musicals are just better than others.

Watching these films again, in the best restorations ever available, it is fun to reassign their status in the MGM musical pantheon. That Midnight Kiss, the first and now I think the most entertaining of the Mario Lanza musicals, gets new status for me. The Toast of New Orleans is slow to start and features an already plumper Lanza en route to Brandoland! The Belle of New York is a trifle but a trifle is a dessert and it is full of charming moments. Vera Ellen was never presented to better advantage while Fred Astaire, having some fun out of tails, looks more like Buster Keaton than Cary Grant's closest rival for best tailored movie actor. The Pirate is just short of wonderful which is very disappointing. Except for the score and a couple of novelty dances Royal Wedding is a dud. Stanley Donen's lack of experience as a director combined with the bad casting of a competent but not starry Sarah Churchill make you wonder why they didn't cast Margaret Truman in the Jane Powell role and have a truly puzzling historical document. That's Dancing is primarily tedious to a video generation that can see anything it so chooses. Words and Music has Hart (and Rodgers) but lacks truth and heart.

If all of the discs had played well, I would have given this box five stars. I am a big fan of the MGM musicals, even the ones that are not exactly top tier. That said, four of the films would not play to the end. Only the two Astaire films and "The Toast of New Orleans" played all the way. The others would freeze up, and that was that. I got a little over an hour of "The Pirate" and "That Midnight Kiss." "Words and Music" would not play at all. "That's Dancing" played for a little over twenty minutes. I would consider buying some of the films individually, but when I checked out their Amazon listings, I noticed they had problems too. I tried playing the discs on both a computer and in a dvd player.

If for no other reason, THE PIRATE is reason enough to buy this classic set of musicals. Nothing else in the collection measures up to the brilliance of this Cole Porter gem. The direction by Vincent Minnelli is witty. Both Judy Garland and Gene Kelly are at their most sophisticated and charming. Judy was never better on sceen than when she co-starred with Gene, and this magical film is proof of that. When it was released it wasn't the hit it should have been, but now contemporary audiences can enjoy the film in all its brilliance.The other movies in the collection aren't up to THE PIRATE, but they all have moments of great MGM magic. Anyone who loves musicals from the Golden Age should get this collection. THAT'S DANCING is a nice bonus to highlight the importance of dance in MGM musicals.

This product arrived with the slipcase for the five DVDs sliced across the spine by a box-knife. Two of the five individual DVD jewel-cases were also damaged--the tabs on the hub which holds the discs in place in the case were broken off, and the discs were sliding around inside the packaging and were scratched and unplayable. Other DVDs in this set were smudged with thumbprints or scratched. It is obvious that these are not new DVDs, but have been repackaged from video-rental shops by a dishonest reseller looking to make a fast buck. Two of the first three I tried to play locked up and stalled part-way through.Finally, one of the 'movies' in this set is not an original movie musical at all; instead it is a made-for-TV compilation of footage from various sources, roughly equivalent to a 'special-features' documentary.In sum, this product is pure trash.IMPORTANT: Amazon provided a full refund with no argument. Thanks to 'Santos' and 'Reg' from Amazon customer service for their patience with a VERY grumpy old man....

This is a good way to acquire these films, which are not all of best quality. Neither Kelly nor Garland is in best form for the Pirate. Despite the usual failure to face up to the details of the subject's life Words and Music is very watchable and includes some songs not to be found elsewhere. But why have Perry Como whose style is quite out of keeping with the material.Both Astaire films are good. The others in the set I have not yet watched.

Here for the first time on DVD is a selection of Hollywood Musicals previously unavailable, that includes 7 films from the heyday of the Hollywood Musical. With music & lyrics from the pens of composers such as, Cole Porter, Harry Warren, Johnny Mercer, Rogers & Hart etc. A Galaxy of MGM's Stars of yester year giving some of their best performances.Once again the wizards at Warners have performed their usual magic, both sound and picture quality of these DVD's is excellent. Complete with a whole load of extras from the archive. including outtakes etc.Both the picture and soundtrack of the films have been lovingly restored from the best available source material. The result is a pleasure to both the ear and eye.

THESE GREAT OLDIES ARE REMASTERED IN GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOUR - I COULDN'T BELIEVE THE CLARITY AND SHARPNESS OF PICTURE AND SOUND! THE KATHRYN GRAYSON/MARIO LANZA FILMS ALONE ARE WORTH THE PRICE OF THE SET. THE AMAZING VERA-ELLEN/GENE KELLY DANCE "SLAUGHTER ON 10th AVENUE in WORDS AND MUSIC IS FABULOUS. DON'T DELAY - BUY IT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!