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Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)

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It was the touch of finger tips, a hand on the waist, a longing look and a smile, and a graceful spin; it was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, making love while they danced into our hearts and stayed there. It was elegance and charm, a romantic screen teaming like no other. Fred and Ginger gave the country a boost and a bit of hope in dire times, and made a collection of funny and romantically elegant dance musicals that have never been surpassed as film entertainment. There was magic when they danced, and charm when the talked to each other.

Here, in this wonderful boxed set, are some of their finest films. It is a bit of heaven you can slide into your vcr any time you need a lift, and never be let down. The best of the three films the couple were in together before they became the main attraction, "Follow the Fleet," is included in this set. It is an early glimpse of their magic, and while the film itself is not on a par with the others, its inclusion here is nice. Also found in this set is "The Barkley's of Broadway."

Fred and Ginger fans will be glad their final film together is here to enjoy also. It was made as a "reunion" picture, ten years after the couple had said goodbye. It is an enjoyable film on its own, a bit of nostalgia for their fans, but a notch below "Swing Time," "Shall We Dance," and "Top Hat.". Nevertheless, every fan of Fred and Ginger needs to own that one also.

Here is an overview of this lovely collection of fun and romantic films we all took to our hearts long ago------


TOP HAT

"Isn't This a Lovely Day to Get Caught In the Rain?"

A merry Dwight Taylor story, this time adapted as a screenplay by Taylor himself and Allan Scott, gave Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire another chance to shine in this elegantly crafted Pandro S. Berman production, directed by Mark Sandrich. Lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and some truly lovely gowns created for Ginger by Bernard Newman, make this Fred and Ginger outing as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears. Their's was a style and grace that passed only once this way, and we shall never see anything like it again as long as our planet keeps spinning.

The three wonderful character actors from "The Gay Divorcee," Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes, are joined this time around by Helen Broderick, giving a deft touch to this fun and zany story which was as good an excuse as any for Fred and Ginger to sing and dance the Irving Berlin tunes. It is Eric Blore this time who steals every scene he's in as Horton's quite odd little manservant, Bates. Just as in Deanna Durbin's "Lady on a Train," Edward Everett Horton will somehow manage to get a black eye!

Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is meeting Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton) at the stuffy Thackery Club to talk about starring in his new show. Horace's wife, Madge (Helen Broderick), has plans to set up the single Jerry with her girlfriend Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers). The meeting will be in Italy, but by chance, his dancing wakes up the prety girl below Hardwick's suite, who just happens to be Dale. From the moment she comes to complain about his dance affliction, Jerry is smitten, pouring sand on the floor to dance her lightly to sleep.

Jerry pursues her, not knowing at first who she is. His posing as a horsedrawn cab driver with an accent is one of the amusing scenes in his pursuit of his dream girl. Both he and Dale get caught in a storm and find shelter under a gazebo, where the couple share one of their finest and most romantic moments ever, to Irving Berlin's "Isn't This a Lovely Day to Get Caught In the Rain?" Later in the story, they will get to dance "Cheek to Cheek."

Another only in the movies mix-up causes Dale to think Jerry is Madge's husband, Horace, bringing about a confused, and twice slapped, Jerry. Horace, of course, has never seen Dale before, and sends his crazy little manservant Bates to follow her around Italy once they arrive, thinking she is out to trap his pal Jerry. Dale tells her friend Madge about the incident, of course, and more fun follows as Dale tries hard not to fall for Jerry, who she thinks is her best friend's husband.

Not to be forgotten in this merry mess is Erik Rhodes, as fashion desiner Alberto Beddini, using Dale as a model for his creations. Dejected at the situation, Dale will marry Beddini, causing no end of frustration and hilarity as Jerry has figured out by this time what is going on. Madge hasn't, and gives Horace a black eye! Can Jerry get Dale to unload her new husband Beddini once everything is cleared up and she is free to love him? Will he even need to? Don't forget, the wildly eccentric Bates, who refers to himself as "we" has been shadowing Dale all over Italy!

The glossy RKO sets match the elegance and beauty of Irving Berlin's songs, giving the public another big dose of what it needed as the country recovered from the great depression, which wasn't so great at all. You don't have to wear white tie and tails while watching this marvelous film, but you'll almost wish you were, so you could be up there with Fred and Ginger and enjoy a style of romance that shone brightly, but passed ever too briefly in American film.


SWING TIME

"Never Gonna Dance"

The easy elegance and fluid grace of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers blend perfectly with the romantic music of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields in this most charming of stories, produced by Pandro S. Berman and directed by George Stevens. Erwin Gelsey wrote the story and Howard Lindsay and Allan Scott contributed the screenplay to the film Ginger always pegged as her favorite of the 10 she and Fred made together. "Swing Time" is charming perfection, and a reminder of just how wonderful the movies can be.

George Stevens gave "Swing Time" a romantic glow with the use of snow and the never to be forgotten "Never Gonna Dance." The bittersweet six minute sequence of "Never Gonna Dance" is one of the most romantic ever filmed. Fred and Ginger shot 48 takes before they were completely happy with it. Ginger is lovely beyond words in gowns by Bernard Newman, especially in this scene. "Never Gonna Dance" was actually the working title of the film.

John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire) is a dancer and gambler on his way to marry Margaret Watson (Betty Furness). His pal Everett "Pop" Cardetti (Victor Moore) knows it's the end for the troupe if this happens, so he and the boys pull a gag about cuffs that leaves Lucky without pants! Lucky misses the wedding, of course, but the very pretty and sincere Margaret is willing to forgive him. Her dad gives him a chance to redeem himself if he can go to New York and earn 25,000 dollars and prove his worth.

He and Pop run into redheaded dance teacher Penny Carrol (Ginger Rogers) on the street and the smitten Lucky spends the rest of the film trying not to earn the money so he won't have to go back and marry Margaret. There is a lot of charm as Lucky saves Penny's job at the Gordon Dance Academy by showing the owner (Eric Blore) how much she has taught him in only a few minutes! Pop hits it off with her pal Mabel (Helen Broderick) and offer support as Lucky tries not to fall for the sweet Penny.

Lucky must battle band leader Ricardo Romero (Georges Metaxa) for Penny's hand when he discovers to his glee that Margaret doesn't want to marry him either. Scenes such as an unseen kiss by Fred and Ginger behind a door, the rendering of "A Fine Romance" in the snow, and a last second, delightful surprise for Fred and Ginger fans, which takes place in front of a beautiful bay window as the snow falls, all make this film an exquisite delight.

The lovely "The Way You Look Tonight " won the Oscar as Best Song, and Hermes Pan was nominated for his work as Dance Director for Astaire's astounding "Bojangles of Harlem" number. Fans often go back and forth as regards "Swing Time" and "Top Hat" as to which one was the couple's best film. The truth is, they were all wonderful, and there was something to love about them all. My personal favorite is "Carefree." "Swing Time" happens to be my daughter's favorite. Which only goes to show how timeless these true classics are.


SHALL WE DANCE

"They Can't Take That Away From Me"

The beloved "Shall We Dance" was the only Fred and Ginger film with songs from George and Ira Gershwin, and they were splendid. Songs like "They Can't Take That Away From Me" made for great entertainment when coupled with the opulent RKO sets in this Pandro S. Berman production. The lively tale of mix-ups and misunderstandings was from a screenplay by Allan Scott and Ernest Pagno, based on an adaptation by P.J. Wolfson of a story by Lee Loeb and Harold Buchman. Ginger's gowns by Irene were fabulous as always and Mark Sandrich once again took the helm.

On his stay in Paris, Pete (Fred Astaire), a famous ballet dancer also known as Petrov, wants to meet musical comedy star Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers), and in fact, would like to marry her! Pete and his pal Jeffrey (Edward Everett Horton) discover she's sailing on the S.S. Queen Anne and follow her. Pete uses a fake accent for a short time but is eventually found out, and finds out that dogs are the way to a girl's heart.

A wild story Jeffery told Lady Tarrington (Ketti Gallian) in Paris comes back to haunt Pete, as suddenly everyone on the cruise thinks he and Linda have been secretly married, and are going to have a baby! It's a bit much for Linda, who has sworn off reporters, and they decide to really get married, so they can get divorced. But it's too late for Linda, as she has fallen in love with the pursuing Pete, and there is a sadness as Pete sings "They Can't Take That Away From Me" on a ferry to Manhattan after it's all done. The tune was nominated as Best Song but lost the Oscar to "Sweet Leilani" from "Waikiki Wedding."

Hilarious moments in the film include Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore in a "hushing" duel with ballet patrons, Horton and Jerome Cowan getting tight, with Horton getting ill afterward, and Fred convincing Horton that he's seasick, even though the water is perfectly calm. Blore ends up in jail for the second time in one of the couple's pictures and is once again a riot.

Ginger sings "They All Laughed" and she and Fred share a lovely dance that culminates with a smile, as the couple sit on a piano. A fun and famous scene has them on skates in the park, dancing to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." Fred's character Pete wants to dance with Linda all his life, but what's he to do when she won't consider it? Dance with images of her, that's what. A charming conclusion has Linda joining the other girls, but Pete can't figure out which is the real Linda. Will Linda say yes to Pete? If you are a fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers you know the answer to that one!

Devoted fans of one of the most fondly remembered couples in screen history might be shocked to learn that during production, there were plans for this to be their final film. "Swing Time," their previous entry, now widely regarded by film historians, along with "Top Hat," as the zenith of their films together, had done huge box office business in large cities upon its initial release. But that business had quickly subsided and there were those at RKO who felt they had gone to the well once too often.

Fortunately for us, that theory was squashed, and we got to see the hilarious "Carefree" and the tender "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" before the couple said farewell. Again, fortunately, we don't have to say farewell, only "see you later," because we now have the ability to watch these wonderful films at home whenever we want. "Shall We Dance" is a charming reminder of a magic that passed this way only once, and something you'll want to capture forever by picking up a copy today.


THE STARS MUST BE BRIGHTER

Watching the sheer elegance and timeless grace of Fred and Ginger when they danced, and sharing in the laughter of their humorous pursuit of love, is a gift we could never measure, or put a price tag on. The delightful and charming escapism they brought into our lives helped carry us through the roughest of times. They still take our breath away and gives us a boost when we need it, as each new generation discovers the magic of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. And sometimes, in the evening, if we listen carefully, we can hear the faint echoes of an orchestra, playing a tune by Berlin, or Kern, or Gershwin, and we know for certain, the couple we hold dear in our hearts, who gave us so much love and laughter, dance the night away, among the stars......

I won't waste time reviewing the individual films since it's already been established, many times over, that they are all cinematic treasures. Further, if you didn't already know this, it's doubtful you'd be here looking to buy this DVD set. So, I'll confine my review strictly to the quality of the set. First of all, I was very impressed with the restoration. These films are all around 70 years old, the original prints never had proper storage, and even the best of VHS prints showed the flaws one would expect. It's amazing what they were able to do in the restoration process. I did not experience visual or audio problems with any of the DVDs in this set. The audio was clear, the visual was crisp. I was singularly impressed, and kept feeling like I was watching a film that had just been made, such was the quality improvements over the VHS prints I previously owned. Additionally, "Top Hat", which was often edited in it's VHS and television formats, is shown here in its entirety, and it was thrilling to discover even small bits of new footage.

Secondly, there was a solid effort at providing special features that I highly appreciated, since most classic films that are released to DVD fail to include any. It would have been preferable to have audio commentary on all 5 of the films, but 3 is better than none. "Swing Time" by far has the most interesting and astute audio commentary. "Top Hat" has the worst. The inclusion of Astaire's daughter as a commentator makes sense, but probably wasn't the wisest choice. She admits early on in the commentary that she doesn't know all that much about her father's films and, indeed, her comments offer nothing new or insightful. Meanwhile, Larry Billman, the other commentator, simpers at her and repeatedly thanks her - even for the most mundane comments - every time she speaks, which gets very annoying, very fast.

The classic cartoons and shorts they've included are okay. They are supposed to have some slight connections, such as including actors from one of the Astaire-Rogers films. However, at times, it is baffling to try to figure out what possible connection there could be.

All of the "Making Of" type featurettes are wonderful - and there is one included for every film. It is particularly thrilling to see the rehearsal footage - in color, yet! - included on the "Shall We Dance" DVD.

Overall, this DVD set is an excellent purchase. It includes brilliant restorations, audio commentaries, and featurettes. It is well worth the purchase price, and an excellent gift idea for any Astaire-Rogers fan, or a fan of dance, in general. It's only half of the Astaire-Rogers films, but they're done so well, they leave you eagerly awaiting the final installment.

FINALLY! Five of Fred & Ginger's best films are heading to DVD, getting the treatment that only a class-act like Warner Bros. can give them.

A pal who works at a famous film restoration lab in L.A. told me that WB has been working on these wonderful movies for nearly two years, in many cases, using the original negative (when available) as their source material.

This means they're gonna look great..and it was worth the wait.

Each great film has been given a new documentary, some have commentaries, and most (all?) have shorts or cartoons.

No one lavishes as much love & intelligence on their classic releases as Warner does. I'm sure these will not disappoint!

"Look...no cuffs!"

This is simply one of the best DVD box sets yet released. Four Astaire and Rogers films at the duo's very best (1935-1937) and a later lesser work that is nonetheless fun. These are the finest musicals ever made featuring, as they do, the greatest cinematic duo ever to grace the celluloid.
A spirited and no doubt fruitless argument could be made about which of the first four in this set is their best work. Many would go with "Swing Time" (some film historians do) although it features a preposterous story line there is Astaire's masterful tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and such exquisite dances as "Never Gonna Dance." Others would go with "Top Hat" in many ways the quintessential Fred and Ginger movie and chronologically the first of the set. Some would favor "Swing Time" with its marvelous selection of Gershwin tunes like "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." Not many votes would go to "Follow the Fleet" though I find it great fun and believe the closing dance number "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is Fred and Ginger's greatest.
"Barclay's" is a bit of an after thought, made 12 years after the others and in color (the others are in lustrous black and white). But its a treat anyway and includes Fred dancing with animated shoes in an amazing number.
The films themselves are quite enough but they come with a wonderful selection of special features including featurettes about each with the usual talking heads providing some intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and insight. The one for "Swing Time" is especially good with dancers demonstrating some of the intricacies of Fred and Ginger's routines. It, not surprisingly, further heightens the viewer's appreciation of their performances.
There are also shorts and cartoons contemporary to the movies ranging from amusing to wonderful.
While the movies' plots are trite the direction, sets, costumes and supporting casts are excellent (Eric Blore and Edward Everett Horton are regularly featured). But most of all Fred and Ginger shine. Astaire would be the first to admit that Robinson was the better tap dance, but no one was better with a dance partner and Ginger was his best. What's striking is how natural Fred is and how effortlessly Ginger, never mind her character's disposition, glides into a dance. Also, Fred is a terrific singer, and though not so often called upon, Ginger more then holds her own.
All the films are delivered in pristine condition.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers comprised what is without compare the greatest dance team in the history of cinema. Even today the pair represents the height of romantic elegance, and their dancing together still generates an onscreen excitement that has been seen since. Tragically, the Astaire-Rogers films have not previously been available on DVD, but this first of two sets will make all of their films available to the public.

The success of Fred and Ginger was both unlikely and unanticipated. In the early 1930s, as advances in recording technology made the production of musicals more possible, studios that had not previously been in the business of producing musicals tried their hand at it. RKO was rather late in attempting to make musicals, and worked hard in 1932-1933 to acquire musical talent. Two of their first acquisitions were Astaire and Rogers. Fred Astaire was a famous stage performer, but unfortunately as the "straight" man of a brilliant comic dance team consisting of Adele and Fred Astaire. The center of the act was Adele, and many wonder how second fiddle Fred would fare following Adele's retirement to marry into British royalty. Happily, Fred found success on Broadway in the Cole Porter musical THE GAY DIVORCE (when it became a film the title was changed to THE GAY DIVORCEE when the Hays Office declared that divorcees could be gay, but divorces were always tragic), and it led to his signing by RKO (his famous screen test results--"Can't sing, can't act, balding, can dance a little"--are unfortunately mythical). RKO lent him out briefly to MGM for THE DANCING LADY (with a leaden footed Joan Crawford as his partner) while they were assembling the crew to make FLYING DOWN TO RIO, into which they threw him along with their other new musical talent. RKO was also lacking in women who could dance, so they bought the contract from Warner Brothers of a second lead actress with a background in the Charleston named Ginger Rogers. Though only 22, she had already appeared in some twenty-odd films, including several musicals. She had achieved some fame opening the hit film THE GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 singing its most famous song, "The Gold Diggers Song (We're in the Money)." Almost as an afterthought, Fred and Ginger were partnered in FLYING DOWN TO RIO as secondary leads after the stars of the film, Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond. Once the film came out, however, the leads were ignored, and the wise-cracking Fred and Ginger were the hits, especially their dance number "The Carioca." Although Fred was leery about teaming with a new partner after years of being identified with his sister, the greatest dance team in the movies was born.

This set collects five of Fred and Ginger's films, and will be the stronger of the two sets that will collect all of them. The two collections have not been created chronologically like the two Marx Brothers DVD sets have been, but have been split into two that somewhat balance the most popular films with one another. Volume One is headlined by TOP HAT and SWING TIME, while the centerpiece of Volume Two will be THE GAY DIVORCEE.

TOP HAT was the fourth film that the two made together, and I will confess that it is probably my favorite movie. It was an enormous box office success in 1935, and was largely responsible for the two of them being the biggest box office stars for the year. It features a spectacular comic cast, with such stellar supporting characters as Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. It also featured the Oklahoman Erik Rhodes in one of the two great roles he would play as an Italian Lothario, both in Astaire-Rogers's vehicles (the other one being THE GAY DIVORCEE). The plot was improbable, the sets gorgeous but surreal (with Venice looking more like a hospital ward than an ancient city), and the jokes numerous but extremely and delightfully corny. Most of all, it was riddled with great songs and superb dancing. The songs were also magnificently integrated with the plot. For instance, the first number is Fred's marvelous "No Strings (Fancy Free)," in which he declares that he is completely free of any romantic entanglements, ironically waking up in his enthusiastic dancing Ginger Rogers, with whom he would fall in love at first sight. Later, Fred gets a telegram asking him to come to Venice, and he carries it onto a theater stage, tapping it with his cane as he sings, "I just got an invitation in the mail." The musical highlight of the film, however, is the almost inconceivably gorgeous "Cheek to Cheek," with a beautiful song giving way to a dramatically romantic dance (the filming of which was made difficult by the propensity of Ginger's beautiful feathered-dress to shed).

FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936) was a tad of a comedown from TOP HAT. The plot is weaker, the supporting cast not as strong, and the Randolph Scott/Harriet Hilliard (later Harriet Nelson of OZZIE AND HARRIET) distracting. But the dance numbers are glorious, especially "Let's Face the Music and Dance," one of the greatest numbers Fred and Ginger ever did together. Ginger's beaded glass dress had a tendency to cut up Fred's ankles, so completely the number was a challenge.

Luckily, their next film, SWING TIME, found them back in top form, with a great story, a fine supporting cast, and an extraordinary collection of songs. The score was primarily by Jerome Kerns and Dorothy Fields, and included such masterpieces as "The Way You Look Tonight," "Pick Yourself Up (Dust Yourself Off, and Start All Over Again)," and "A Fine Romance." Dance highlights also include Fred's blackface tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, "Bojangles of Harlem," and the spectacular "Never Gonna Dance." The latter involved Fred and Ginger dancing separately up facing staircases, arriving at the top at precisely the same moment. This proved difficult, and Ginger's shoes cut her feet badly as the takes were repeated. The results, however, are amazing.
SHALL WE DANCE? is a good, but not great film, not as good as what came before, but a shade better than what would come later. Sadly, we can tell in retrospect that the possibilities in the pairing were beginning to wan. Nonetheless, there are many very good things in this film, though for the first time the songs were better than the dances. The score includes two of the Gershwin's greatest songs: "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me," to which they tragically did not dance.

Fred and Ginger made only two more films together at RKO after SHALL WE DANCE? and sadly went their own ways, Fred to many additional classic musicals and Ginger to a very great career as a comic and dramatic actress. Fred retired in 1946, only to come out of it in 1948 after Gene Kelly broke his leg before starting EASTER PARADE, a huge hit for Fred with Judy Garland. MGM wanted to follow up immediately in 1949 with another Fred-Judy film, THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY. Health problems, however, led to Judy Garland having to drop out of the project, and it was decided to ask Fred and Ginger to team one last time. It is not a terribly successful film, and most of the magic that the two generated in the RKO films was missing. Still, it was good to see the two together for a swan song.

For Valentine's Day, forget the fancy dinner or play with your favorite sweetie. Instead get take-out Chinese and spend $50 on the elegant DVD boxed set ASTAIRE & ROGERS COLLECTION: VOLUME 1 from Warner Home Video. It includes no less than five musical romance treasures, four from the height of the Great Depression: TOP HAT (1935), FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936), SWING TIME and SHALL WE DANCE (both 1937), and their only color movie, THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY (1950).

TOP HAT and FOLLOW THE FLEET have Irving Berlin songs. Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields collaborated on SWING TIME. George and Ira Gershwin did the SHALL WE DANCE numbers. And Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin did the songs from THE BARKLEYS.

All five movie gems have generous bonuses, often from the same year as the feature for a nostalgic Night Out at the Movies. These include musical or comedy short subjects, cartoons, original trailers, and Fred Astaire's daughter Ava chatting with songwriters and authors about the movies and the Astaire-Rogers collaboration.

Each one of these volumes is actually a full three hour movie evening, so five evenings of Astaire and Rogers for $50 is more than reasonable. I look forward to a Volume 2 from Warner Home Video with the other five A & R musicals. Volume 1 gets my highest recommendation.

Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work for her. Actually, she made things very fine for the both of us and she deserves most of the credit for our success". --Fred Astaire

"I adore the man. I always have adored him. It was the most fortunate thing that ever happened to me, being teamed with Fred: he was everything a little starry-eyed girl from a small town ever dreamed of."-Ginger Rogers



Those fans of the television show Dancing with the Stars owe a large debt to the dancing talents of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Now, the idea of ballroom dancing has been out there long before Astaire and Rogers danced as a duo. However seeing them on film is seeing dance at its best. When you talk the idea of dance , this is what great dancers strive for. I give these films straight TENS across the board.

This five DVD collection is the best of their cinematic pairings. Included in this set is the films Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Swing Time, Shall We Dance and The Barkleys of Broadway (their last film together). To me, this is cream of their motion picture crop. One would wish their first film Flying down to Rio, which show their electric chemestry, would be in this collection...however it is not!

Most younger viewers may get turned off by the films in glorious Black & white...It isn't just this film, its most films and TV in black & White. To me this just highlights the music and the dancing. Fred & Ginger were, and in my mind,still are icons of modern dance, These films proved that point

Lets talk for a second about the music. Top Hat and Follow the Fleet had scores by the great Irving Berlin. Jerome Kern (who later wrote Showboat) musicly teamed by Dorothy Fields for the film Swing Time. Shall We Dance had a film score from the Gershwin Brothers. The music was a classic era of jazz and lush music you could sing over and over.

This 1930's and 1940's films had a light storyline, always leading into the music. These pieces of musical cinematic fluff were great because the music also had chemestry. The music seem like a third partner in their dance. This is why these films worked so well and still have a certain magic today

Most of their films have historial audio commentary tracks. One would have wished either Astaire or Rogers were alive to share their cinematic memories, but alas this never happened. It is just a treat to see these two dancing and captured on dvd

Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD

It was a foregone conclusion that I was going to give this set a five-star rating even before I opened it, because my two all-time favourite films are Top Hat and Swing Time (why try to choose between those two?) In order to maintain my anticipation, I began by watching what I consider to be one of the weaker films in the package - Follow The Fleet - and it was a reminder that 'weaker' is a relative term. In fact, just watching that film was enough to help me answer that age old question 'What was so special about Fred and Ginger?'
Fred's other partners included dancers who were better as virtuosos than Ginger (e.g. Eleanor Powell in 'Broadway Melody of 1940' - which I strongly recommend) and of course hardly any film survives of his other famous partnership, that with his sister Adele. Anybody who's read a little film history will, at this point, be ready to repeat that famous line: 'He gave her class, she gave him sex.' Sounds good, but it isn't true. Ginger did not lack class. As for sex appeal, Cyd Charise, for one, was more overtly sexy than Ginger and, yes, her dances with Fred in The Band Wagon are classics, but they don't have that special Fred and Ginger magic.
But, if you haven't already, watch 'Follow The Fleet'. If you've, never seen it before, you'll probably be thinking that it's a fairly good film for its time, with some nifty dancing, until you reach the grand finale, 'Let's Face the Music and Dance', which takes the film into a different zone. In a show within a show, a couple meet on the balcony of a casino, both on the verge of suicide, only to find hope in each others' arms. It sounds corny, but it works, because they make you believe in it. Watch Ginger's face when Fred sings: they're not dancing at that stage, and you'd think she has nothing to do but to listen - but you see the emotions on her face, setting the tone for the dance that follows. Dancers express themselves with their whole body, of course, but not many dancers could express themselves with their face in quite the way Ginger does - that, I would say, is the secret ingredient that makes this dance into a moment of magic.
You may not agree: there's so much else to pick on - the music, the sets, the choreography, the rhythm - all of them contribute to that magic, but wherever it came from, the magic is there.
So here's the point of this review. Even one of the 'lesser' films in this collection contains a moment of genius that defies definition. Now think what the best films in the collection must be like.

Neither Fred nor Ginger are with us any longer, this reworking of some of their best films is welcome but long overdue, Fred died in 1987 and Ginger in 1995, so it is at least 10 years after the fact. Having said that thank goodness it is here and maybe the time taken reflects the love, care and joy with which the films and the film "package" on each disc has been put together.
The viewing experience is much like visiting the Cinema would have been at the time. Some people think the news reel is missing but actually (in my country at least, but I think the USA was the same) new reels were shown seperately and people went just to see them as they were short features.
The dancing, dialogue and comedy in these films is sublime and have much modern resonance as they speak of the classic man/woman struggle. In the 30's women's voices were getting a pivotal role for the first time. Patently some sexism seeps through but this is in part, the nostalgic charm of such films.
The Art Deco sets and the escapism are evident, enjoyable and captivating, but it is the dancing for which the couple became famous and these films demonstrate why they still lead the feild in how the communicate the equivilant of hours of dialogue in just one number. Make a note of who you watch the most in the dances, Fred is often billed as the better dancer but Ginger matches him move for move and as she said herself, she did everything he did only,"backwards and in high heels".
The squabbles and tantrums have become unquestioned legend and detract from their work, Ginger is pretty, sassy, and perky while Fred is balletic and Gentlemanly.
They obviously delight in their work and in each others company, the fact neither had dance partners of greater longevity is testamnet to that. One film which does not appear in this set, "Roberta", features a one take dance number of syncopated, fast tap. The two smile and beam at each other throughout and Ginger even giggles spontaniously at one point, the director kept the peice because it worked so well and I think it now stands as a true measure of their relationship.
Great films, worth every penny wether you are an old hand with F+G or brand new to them.

What an absolutely wonderful time one can have watching these movies. Highly recommended for anyone yearning for the days of the golden age of Hollywood and the source of many classic songs in the great American songbook.