Singin' in the Rain (1952)

No one even bothers to argue about it any more--by any standard and international consensus, this is the best movie musical of them all. Its arcane, unlikely milieu is Hollywood during the transition in the late 1920s from silent to sound motion pictures. Its reason for being was producer Arthur Freed's desire to use the catalog of songs he had written with Nacio Herb Brown in the '20s and '30s for various shows and movies. But, ironically, it's now the soundtrack that seems cobbled together from disparate sources, while the movie itself remains seamless. That's thanks to a literate screenplay by Adolph Green and Betty Comden and ebulliant acting and dancing by the young Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. Jean Hagen is especially brilliant as the silent-screen star whose speaking voice is so screechy she has to be dubbed for talkies. Kelly codirected with Stanley Donen, and both can take credit for a masterpiece. Musical standouts are "You Were Meant for Me," "Good Morning" and "All I Do Is Dream of You." Visually, the indelible image will always be Kelly sloshing around in puddles while singin' in the rain. That said, this coupling of video with a definitive version of the soundtrack benefits from Rhino's meticulous reconstruction of the material and extensive annotations, which only enhance our grasp of this film and musical legend's gestation. ---Robert Windeler Amazon.com essential video

A timeless film, fun and entertaining for everyone

We first watched this movie as a family about 5 years ago, and Donald O'Connor cracked my son up while Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds entranced my daughter. Now, 5 years later, we purchased the movie for the holidays, and everyone loved it just as much again. We had to repeat "Make 'Em Laugh" a couple of times, and the music and dancing dazzled everyone throughout. The story is fun, too. A classic movie with a vibrancy and joy that transmits cleanly through time to all ages. What great fun! January 2, 2009

Singin in the Rain

Singin in the Rain is a real classic!
You find yourself humming tunes from
the movie for days after watching it.
The movie is enjoyable and has no
violence or profanity. December 16, 2008

Wonderful

I was hesitant to go for the two disk set, but it's really worth it if you love musicals, and love MGM movies. The second disk is a great addition, packed with loads of info about Arthur Freed, with commentary by Debbie Reynolds, and it even includes the original film clips of the songs in the movie. This is a great choice for a fan. November 19, 2008

My 5-year-old daughter LOVES this movie!

We received it from NetFlix, she watched it 3x in a row! Bought it for a Christmas present. Gene Kelly is fabulous, and Donald O'Connor's athleticism and stamina in "Make 'Em Laugh" is amazing. Great song and dance numbers for any age. November 16, 2008

What A Glorious Feeling

Singin' In The Rain is one of those rare films where everything works: casting, music, sets script and costumes. The two disc package by Turner Entertainment helps the viewer to see and understand the place of the musical in American film history.

The story of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Conner) and Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) is familiar to most viewers. The inside look at Hollywood in the time of the transition from silent film to talkies has been covered in other places but nowhere is it as effective as it was in this 1952 film.

The Special Edition Package contains a weath of material that has been restored completely. The film is in spectacular Technicolor and looks even better than it did when it played on the screen. There is a commentary with nine participants hosted by Debbie Reynolds that covers just about all aspects of the production process. A feature called Rell Sound provides clips from films that were critical to the sound to talkie transition. A branching feature on Inspirations for the film gives three segments of hidden footage relating to specific scenes. The first disc is rounded out with the original trailer and some cast and awards information.

The bulk of the special features are on disc two. The disc starts with the feature length Musical Glorious Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM. This feature highlights the life and work of the famed producer. A second feature What A Glorious Feeling is a 35 minute retrospective coving the making of the film and is hosted by Debbie Reynolds. There is an extended selection of excerpts of the Freed-Brown musical numbers taken from their original films. This is a wealth of material that puts the songs from the film in perspective. The final section of the disc gives us the original MGM Orchestra scoring sessions for just about all of the music in the film.

This is a well put together package that is a joy to watch. It is essential viewing for any fan of the MGM musical period. November 10, 2008

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