Astaire golden oldies released in DVD set

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 25, 2005 by Chris Hicks Deseret Morning News

A friend asked what DVDs were on deck this week, so I mentioned that there were some golden-oldie musicals -- three with Fred Astaire. Her face brightened, and she asked, "The ones with Ginger Rogers?"

Sadly, no. None of the 10 Astaire-Rogers musicals have made it to DVD yet. (Soon, I hope.)

But Astaire fans can still rejoice. This five-film collection includes two of his classics, as well as his final musical, and a couple of good non-Astaire musicals -- all gorgeously transferred so the color is more brilliant than ever and remastered for fabulous stereo sound.

In addition to the individual prices listed below, the DVDs are available in a box set for $59.92.

"Easter Parade" (Warner, 1948, not rated, $26.99, two discs). A bevy of Irving Berlin songs pepper this exceptional musical. Astaire and Ann Miller are a successful dancing team, and he's in love with her. But Miller breaks up the act to go solo. So Astaire pulls Judy Garland out of a chorus line, "Pygmalion" fashion, and away we go.

But forget the plot. Just watch Astaire's "Stepping Out With My Baby," Miller's "Shaking the Blues Away," Astaire and Garland's duet "A Couple of Swells." They are lavish, warm and funny, with some stunning set pieces.

Extras: Full frame, audio commentary (by Astaire's daughter Eva Astaire McKenzie and Garland biographer John Fricke), new making-of featurette, "American Masters" documentary on Garland, outtake musical number, radio version, radio promo, trailers, subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

"The Band Wagon" (Warner, 1953, not rated, $26.99, two discs). This very funny backstage lampoon of Broadway shows has Astaire as a former movie star trying for a comeback. He gets roped into a terrible musical reworking of Faust by friends and playwrights Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant but eventually takes the reins to reshape the show.

Cyd Charisse is a ballet dancer doing her first Broadway show, and Jack Buchanan is the pompous Broadway star/director who is humbled by his failure. Great tunes include "That's Entertainment," "Dancing in the Dark" and "Triplets," and Astaire and Charisse are in rare form for the "Girl Hunt" ballet finale.

Extras: Full frame, audio commentary (by Liza Minnelli, Michael Feinstein), new and vintage making-of featurettes, Minnelli excerpt from "Men Who Made the Movies" documentary, outtake musical number, musical short, trailers, subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

"Finian's Rainbow" (Warner, 1968, G, $19.97). Although most critics are calling this film the weak link in this set, I have a real fondness for this sprightly musical, despite its being a bit dated in its approach to racial injustice and overdirected by a very young, pre-"Godfather" Francis Ford Coppola.

Astaire is delightful as an aging Irishman who unleashes a sprightly leprechaun (Tommy Steele) in the American South, with Petula Clark as Astaire's daughter. Delightful songs include "That Old Devil Moon," "Look to the Rainbow," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"

Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary/introduction (by Coppola), premiere featurette, trailer, language options (English, French), subtitle options (English, French Spanish), chapters.

"Brigadoon" (Warner, 1954, not rated, $19.97). Being stuck on a sound stage hurts this Scottish fantasy that screams for location shooting, but the cast makes up for the staginess in this sincere adaptation of Lerner & Loewe's Broadway fantasy about a village that appears only once every 100 years.

Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse are all at the top of their game, with such memorable songs as "The Heather on the Hill," Almost Like Being in Love," etc.

Extras: Full frame, three outtake musical numbers, audio outtake, trailer, language options (English, French), subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

"Bells Are Ringing" (Warner, 1960, not rated, $19.97). The wonderful Judy Holliday re-created her Tony-winning Broadway triumph for what was, sadly, her final film (she succumbed to cancer at age 43). Holliday made only a dozen movies, and while this is not her best, it's the only one that demonstrates her musical-comedy talent.

"Bells" is also a bit stagey, and Dean Martin seems miscast as a playwright Holliday falls for over the phone (she's an operator at his answering service), but it's still fun, and Holliday is terrific.

Extras: Widescreen, new making-of featurette, two outtake musical numbers, alternate version of musical number, trailer, language options (English, French), subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

E-mail: hicks@desnews.com