An American In Paris: Two-Disc Special Edition – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

Available at Amazon.com

Perhaps I’m not the best person to be reviewing this film, because historically I’ve never been to keen on musicals. There has been a few here and there over the years that have surprised me and were very good, but generally, not so much. So how does this classic from the early ’50s and winner of six Academy Awards including Best Picture stand up?

I’ll probably anger a lot of people by saying this, but I found An American In Paris to be a dull lifeless, although very colorful, film. The two key elements to a musical that set it apart from every other genre are, of course, the singing and the dancing. The choreography by Gene Kelly is pretty great I suppose, but I didn’t feel like it added anything to the movie. If anything it was Gene Kelly saying, “Hey look how good a dancer I am!” And even though all the songs are George and Ira Gershwin songs, the way they are presented in the film they are completely forgettable.

Gene Kelly plays Jerry Mulligan, and ex-GI who is now living in Paris trying to make it as a painter and who is, for no other reason than he is Gene Kelly, is an amazing dancer. His best friend is Adam Cook (Oscar Levant) who introduces him to his friend, the famous French singer, Henri Baurel (Georges Guetary). Jerry draws the eye of the very wealthy Milo Roberts (Nina Foch) who wants to help him get his art seen; she’s also fallen for him. Which is too bad for her because Jerry’s eye is drawn towards Lisa Bouvier (Leslie Caron), which is too bad for Jerry because she is set to marry Henri.

This simple little love triangle is spread out over a grueling two hours, most of which is filled out by needless musical and dance numbers that add little or nothing to the plot including the ambitious 17 minute ballet piece near the end that is the most memorable part of the film for most people. Artistically and technically it’s a pretty impressive piece but if you’re not a ballet fan it’s a bit overwhelming.

The film follows most of the typical ’50s Hollywood film stereotypes, is very predictable, and very dry. I’m sure hardcore musical and Gene Kelly fans can appreciate his dance numbers and the artistry of them. But as far as film goes, this one offers nothing remotely interesting.

The film is presented in fullscreen 1.85:1 and Dolby Digital Mono. English, French, Japanese and Thai subtitles as well as a French language track. This is a fantastic looking transfer. The colors pop right off the screen there is not a blemish to be found.

Disc One:

Concerto of a Commentary: Hosted by Patricia Ward Kelly this is actually a very interesting commentary utilizing many rare and previously unheard interviews with the cast and crew of the film. More older films should do their commentaries this way because it is far more interesting that listening to some boring film historian rattle off fact after fact.

Paris On Parade: (8 min.) This is a vintage travel video for Paris that is kind of fun.

Symphony In Slang: (7 min.) This is a cute Tex Avery Cartoon. No real relation to the film in anyway but it’s entertaining.

Trailer

Disc Two:

‘S Wonderful: The Making of An American In Paris: (42 min.) This is a solid making of that talks about how the film pushed the limits of the musical artistically and technically. It didn’t make me like the film anymore but did make me appreciate it a little.

American Masters: Gene Kelly: Anatomy Of A Dancer: (84 min.) At almost an hour and a half the inclusion of this documentary in this collection means you’re pretty much getting a second film for free. Gene Kelly is without a doubt of the greatest American dancers there ever was. He was innovative and charming and this is great film about his life and career.

Love Walked In Outtake Song Sequence: (3 min.) This is a pleasant little ballad that was shot for the film but was cut. It is sung by Henri to Lisa. It’s a nice song but it’s easy to see why it was cut.

Outtake Songs Gallery: (14 min.) These are songs that ultimately were not used in the film.

Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron and Johnny Green Radio Promos: (14 min.) These are vintage radio promos that were made for the film. These are interesting to listen to.

Like I said, I’m not a musical guy. If you are you probably love or at least like this film. It’s a solid dvd release and this film is your kind of thing then it’s certainly worth checking out. If you’re iffy on musicals I’d steer clear.

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Warner Bros. presents An American In Pairs: To-Disc Special Edition. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Written by Alan Jay Lerner. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary and Nina Foch. Running time: 114 minutes. Not Rated. Released on DVD: September 16, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years