MGM Classic Musicals (1955)

No Description Available.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: NR
Release Date: 9-OCT-2007
Media Type: DVD Product Description

Top Choice for Addicts

If you love American musicals this is for you, a wonderful selection with an all star cast.To see these perfomances again is a revelation. Some , like "Guys and Dolls" have dated a bit, slower than we are used to today, but still great performance from all the cast and the music is wonderful.
"Westside Story" is outstanding. The opening sequence alone is worth the price of the set. "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" has lost little of its charm, and what amazing long legs Dick Van Dyck has which are put to good use.
"Fiddler" is a superb show on all counts and Norman Jewison's translation to film was an amazing achievement, lifting it off the stage into a natural environment. Topal is the definitive Tevye.
Zero Mostel, the original Tevye, comes into his own in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" which is not the strongest of shows. However it is well worth watching for the wonderful use of colour in the sets and particularly the costumes. This group of DVDs is a real bargain offering hours of pleasure. May 31, 2008

Generally excellent transfer to DVD

This package of six musicals from MGM (released in 2007)is a bargain. I purchased it mainly to get DVD versions of "West Side Story" and "Fiddler on the Roof". All of these musicals are, for the most part, very entertaining family fare & great music. The transfer to DVD is excellent in all of the films except "How to Succeed in Business...". Its transfer is average--not poor, but somewhat disappointing because there is too much grain and the picture is letterbox, still widescreen, but not anamorphic. "West Side Story" looks and sounds fantastic with its vibrant colors, and sharp, anamorphic picture that fills most of my 46-inch Samsung high definition TV, played on a Toshiba HD DVDV player. "Fiddler" has the best picture and sound quality--superb! "Chitty" and "A Funny Thing..." also have great anamorphic widescreen picture quality. "Guys & Dolls" is letterbox, but at least the picture quality is sharp and has good colors. Even if you buy this set for three of the movies, it's still a bargain. Highly recommended! May 1, 2008

Nice Idea, but Buyer Beware

Since the take over of the MGM/UA releases by 20th Century Fox, I've been so pleased with recent special editions that were issued prior to this boxed set in updated Fox versions of a 2-disc Fiddler, a 2-disc West Side Story, and a Deluxe Version of Guys and Dolls. I also purchased the 2-disc New York New York with Liza Minnelli prior to the recent artwork makeover for the 30th Anniversary, but I think the same features and all remain. You only get the new Hirschfeld artwork cover.

This box does the smaller flat cases, but uses the previous DVD issue of Guys and Dolls that is anomorphic widescreen, but 5.1, though the Deluxe Edition had 5.1 and 16:9 capability besides anomorphic. West Side Story is Disc 1 of the 2-disc set, as is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (double-sided DVD with a widescreen and pan-scan version, but no bonus features), and Fiddler Disc 1. Since I have the better versions on the double-disc releases, this was a slight waste. Though the new flat boxes have updated artwork and indicate they are MGM-UA with 20th Century Fox reissue logos, what you get is the new artwork only. I was hoping that "Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" would be an updated DVD with widescreen and/or 16:9 and 5.1 or better surround. The old MGM-UA disc is in the box from the older issue. Same with "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying", one of my personal favorites from the 60s. It's the same version I bought years ago in the single MGM-UA DVD snap box, anomorphic widescreen and mono sound. I saw this at Radio City when it first came out, and thought it was in stereo. Again, no update to 16:9, any kind of surround, and the old MGM-UA issued disc in a new artworked box from Fox. This is frustrating, since Fox didn't produce these DVDs (except for the updates), but are now releasing them. I feel a little cheated about no updated versions of the films, plus not using the deluxe Guys and Dolls over the previously issued version.

April 23, 2008

Super Movies

Great movies in one box!!! Super idea. Classic movies everyone should watch at least once. My teenagers even enjoy them. January 7, 2008

At Last!

Here are six great musical films in one box--and they're all presented the way they were originally shown. A couple of years ago, three of these titles (WEST SIDE STORY, FIDDLER, and GUYS AND DOLLS) were packaged together in the notorious AMERICAN MUSICALS COLLECTION, and a lot of people boycotted it because WSS was in fullscreen, even though the package clearly stated otherwise. Since then, these titles have become the property of 20th Century Fox, and that company has repackaged the three films and added three more. All six are in anamorphic widescreen, and all but one (HOW TO SUCCEED) are in Dolby 5.1 Surround stereo. (HOW TO SUCCEED must have been one of the last musical movies ever made with monaural sound.) They're all good, and two (WEST SIDE and FIDDLER) are among the best musical films ever. Five are based on famous Broadway shows, and the sixth (CHITTY) later became a Broadway show. If you want extras like documentaries and commentary and original trailers, you must buy the titles individually. But if you're like me and just want good prints of the films themselves at a good price in shelf space-saving slimcases, this collection can't be beat. Let's all thank 20th Century Fox for doing it right. Highly recommended. December 10, 2007

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