Singin' in the Rain (Special Edition) DVD

Average Rating:

Kelly romps through this delightful and toe-tapping musical which laughs at the difficulties Hollywood experienced in its attempts to transform itself from the days of silent movies to the "talkies". Kelly truly makes you believe that dancing isn't for sissies. I am enthralled by his grace, athleticism and sheer love of dancing everytime I see this film.

The song and dance routines are superb. There's not a bad one in the bunch. I don't know how they did it. It is hard to choose a favorite with such numbers as "Make Em Laugh", "Good Morning", "Gotta Dance", "Moses Supposes", etc., but I must admit that the title song makes me want to go out just "singin' and dancin' in the rain".

In many respects SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is a throwback to the early musicals of the era it satirizes, for many of its musical numbers ('Make 'em Laugh' is a notable example) have absolutely nothing to do with the story it tells--but unlike such early musicals the storyline is exceptionally strong, and since the film is about the creation of an early "all talking, all dancing, all singing" movie in which such musical numbers were typical, they have here a certain validity that could not otherwise be achieved. The cast is absolutely flawless, and without exception Kelly, Reynolds, O'Connor, and Hagen (particularly memorable as the literally unspeakable silent star) give the finest performances of their respective careers. The musical numbers range from the vibrant and complex 'Good Morning' to the lyrical 'You Are My Lucky Star' to the brilliantly conceived and executed title song, each without exception the definition of perfection. The art designs are meticulous, beautiful, and recreate the late-silent and early-sound era of Hollywood with considerable wit and charm. As a whole, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN possesses an engergy and vitality that simply makes you bounce in your seat from excitement.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is a musical that even people who hate musicals love. Whether or not you consider it "the" finest musical ever created by Hollywood is, ultimately, a matter of personal preference; there are several contenders for that title, most notably MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, GIGI, and THE WIZARD OF OZ. But no matter where you personally rank it, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is certainly ONE of the best, a film that simply gains in critical and popular stature with every passing year, a national and a world treasure of cinematic art.

Anyone still on the fence about getting a copy of this vividly restored gem can get their feet tapping on down to the software shop: This is one of the year's best DVD packages, quite possibly the best.

Warner's two-disc special edition features significant improvements over the images on its 2000 DVD. The older disc had its charms in a Good Guys kind of way - especially the cartoon-like Technicolor images on the fantasy dance sequences -- but suffered from major speckling and flatness. The new version, from restored elements, removes virtually all signs of wear and delivers the ever-changing color schemes with authority.

Viewers don't have to wait long to see the upgrades. Check out the shot of the aging fan at 2:14 and of star Gene Kelly at 9:35: Flesh tones look perfect and contrasts are rock solid; just amazing for a film made in 1951. Or the men's tuxedos and white shirts not long after that. Further proof: take a look at the Vixen's stockings in chapter 30 -- there's plenty of detail over the vast geography of Cyd Charisse's legs.

As with the older DVD, the film comes full screen (1.33:1). The remastered 5.1 Dolby Digital sounds fine, conservative in its surround mix -- it's basically all up front. Viewers may want to see if they prefer the original mono track.

Two contrasting documentaries anchor the extras.

"Musicals, Great Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM," from 1998, tells the story of the legendary musicals maker and his "untouchable" stable of song and dance talent. Producer Freed, a longtime songwriter, wanted "integrated musicals," in which the tunes no longer popped up out of nowhere, but served the plot. Freed, says Charisse, "changed the look of musicals -- suddenly we're not old-fashioned looking any more." Stanley Donen, the co-director with Kelly of "Singin' in the Rain," says of Freed: "He wanted to do something quite remarkable. He didn't approach it as if he were going to blow up the system." "Singin' in the Rain" came somewhat near the end of Freed's remarkable career and is one of the best expressions of his uplifting, upbeat aesthetic.

The new "What a Glorious Feeling" making-of featurette has a nice breezy tone, but is far less ambitious than the Freed docu. It trots out some fun trivia: Kelly's iconic "Singin' in the Rain" solo wasn't in the original script; Judy Holliday suddenly became too famous for the squeaky actress part then memorably played by Jean Hagen; Oscar Levant had the Donald O'Connell role but couldn't handle the dance parts. There is a great clip of Kelly's stunt double leaping from a bus into a jalopy on the Sunset Boulvevard scene. "Rain" love interest Debbie Reynolds hosts the piece and seems right if quite fluffy.

Less successfully, Reynolds introduces the often-awkward audio commentary pieced together from interviews with key surviving talent and commentators. The speakers' comments come in at appropriate times, but they are not reacting to the film as it unspools, as has become customary. The DVD set has a lot of duplication, so some of the audio clips will sound familiar if you've been through the other features.