Customer Reviews

Gigi: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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GIGI is for me the ultimate movie musical from M-G-M. So many wonderful characters, and so many classic moments. The soundtrack album (newly-expanded and restored from the fine people at TCM), is a great new way to remember this fine film.

Based on the novella by Colette, the story centers around a headstrong young tomboy called Gigi (Leslie Caron), whose childhood friendship with eligible bachelor Gaston (Louis Jourdan) takes an unexpected twist. Tired of the constant stream of gold-diggers and debutantes who want to marry him, Gaston decides to ask Gigi. Her grandmother and aunt (Hermione Gingold and Isabel Jeans), two of the most noteworthy of courtesans in their youth, insist that Gigi shouldn't be tied down by marriage. Gigi is faced with the task of becoming a glamorous courtesan, but Gaston wants a wife...

The gilded, sweeping score of GIGI was provided by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, still riding high on the success of "My Fair Lady" on Broadway. With such wonderful, character-driven numbers like "She is Not Thinking of Me" (a devilish waltz for Gaston and his latest feather-brained partner); "The Parisians" (Gigi's plea for understanding the ways of love); and "I Remember It Well" (a comical duet for Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold).

This soundtrack album features the entire score, newly-restored in true stereo for the very first time, plus extensive incidental music and background scoring. Leslie Caron was never a good singer, and her vocals were dubbed here by Betty Wand. Included are three bonus tracks of Caron in rehearsals, performing her own renditions of "The Parisians", "The Night They Invented Champagne", and "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight". While the songs of Gigi aren't especially demanding, listening to Caron on these tracks gives you a clear understanding of why she was later dubbed (despite the fact that she gives Gigi the youthful innocence so befitting of the character).

GIGI was the final hurrah for the M-G-M movie musicals. It won the 'Best Picture' Oscar plus nods for the composers, and 'Best Song' for "Gigi" sung by Louis Jourdan. It remains to this day one of the most enjoyable - and joyous - movies of all time. The soundtrack album is a must for all fans, and the overall quality and standard here is superb.

[TCM/Rhino 7243 8 38115 2 6]

Although one could quibble that GIGI lumbered across its CinemaScope expanse like a leaden elephant, the beauty of its sets and costumes, the charm of its performances, and the joy of possibly the most elegant original score ever written for a film musical make this an aural experience that is hard to beat. Loewe's sumptuous music and Lerner's lyrics ("like finely cut crystal") are as bubbly as champagne itself. The LP was quite short - just over 30 minutes - with the 11 set numbers. The CD goes back to the original track and fills in with background scoring that adds much to the lilt and grace of the aural experience. Caron was the only singer who was dubbed (Betty Wand). This is a masterpiece of song writing and scoring. Don't miss it!

I am so glad that Turner/Rhino's soundtrack releases contain all of the underscoring from the films represented thus far. For those who tire of it, you can always program your CD to play only the tracks you want to hear. The rest of us are eternally grateful for these releases. Especially when you compare them to the truncated, inferior LPs originally produced. GIGI offers us a substancial bonus by including Leslie Caron's original tracks. In an interview with Robert Osborne on Turner Classic Movies I found it amusing to see Leslie's reacion to the fact that these tracks have been released. Try to see this interview if possible to enjoy her for yourself. It's also fascinating to hear the original structure of "The Parisians." The song was shortened considerably in the version which ended up in the film. The booklet included with the disc is extremely interesting in it's examination of the post-production challenges that the underscoring and orchestrations went through. How interesting it would be to hear some of the discarded material. What really shocked me was that fact that in the latter part of the film when Gigi is taken to Maxim's the background players subject her to the same gossip treatment that had been accorded to Liane earlier in the film. During post production the vocals were removed. If you watch you can see their lips all moving in unison, but the words have been substituted with random mumblings rather than the original "greek chorus." I never noticed this prior to acquiring this CD. Just one more reason these Turner/Rhino discs are indispesible.

This release containing all the music to "Gigi" will be treasured by anyone who loves what Broadway was all about in the 1950's. Lerner and Loewe produced a captivating score tailored to the requirements of the Hollywood Musical Movie, and brought to it a bit of the bite and tang of Broadway that is missing from most other movie musicals. The acidic clarinet parts, the whooping french horns, the rich harmonic shifts unders songs like "It's a bore" and "The Parisians" are fully evident in this remastering. The sound is a remarkable improvement on my VHS tape of the film. Anyone who loves the film will be ecstatic with the quality of this cd. Don't hesitate!

I haven't seen this movie, so I bought it. Oh! How lovely this music is! Almost like hearing the operetta likes Offenbach. I love it. If you haven't seen this movie like me, don't mind it. This soundtrack is perfect. I can imagine how the movie is. This music is really wonderful!

I fell in love with the album after I put it on several times. The melodies are so beautiful that I couldn't stop humming them. In my opinion the score is even better than that of My Fair Lady, which is Lerner and Loewe's another more famous effort. The music fits the film so well, and it completely reflects the versatility of the authors. Witty, vivacious and heartwarming. I really highly recommend it! What a gem! It also includes some rare recordings of Lesile Caron. The music is what chiefly makes the movie so wonderful.

I am by no means an expert on the technicalities of sound recording, and it usually doesn't bother me, but while the brilliant orchestrations on the underscoring of the soundtrack of this classic film are heard generally well, the singers sound a bit strange (Particularly Louis Jourdan) and it's a bit disconcerting. It definitly seems like a sound problem. The problem might be that, unlike the usual case in movie musicals, the singers and orchestra were recorded at seperate times and in seperate locations to save time. Maybe the singers were recorded too hastily and the many takes combined too quickly to worry too much about sound problems and the folks at Turner/Rhino (Who generally do an excellent job remastering the MGM soundtracks) couldn't really fix them. The sound on Jourdan's vocals (especially in "Gigi," as on the recording) isn't that great on the video copy I taped off a television airing, either, so I guess it's a permenant problem. What's really sad is that the performers sound like they're in a recording studio and it's hard to imagine them as they are in the film, which again is probably the sound's fault, but what can you do?

Oh, well, enough about the technical stuff. In spite of the sound problems, you are sure to enjoy the performances of Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermoine Gingold, Betty Wand dubbing for Leslie Caron, and even Caron herself in the first verse of "The Night They Invented Champagne" and in three piano/vocal recordings of her songs (before it was decided to dub her) included as bonus tracks. They could shine through even the muddiest sound, as could Lerner and Loewe's wonderful score, which may not be politically correct at times but is so irresistably charming you can't help but love it anyway. And as I said, the orchestra sounds superb and Loewe's lovely and witty underscoring is really given its due. Music you can't really pay attention to in the film, like the waltz underscoring the "Ice Skating Sequence," and the urgency, seeming hopelessness and hilarity the underscoring of the "Lessons" scenes conveys, are really compositions that can be enjoyed in their own right, apart from being buried under the decor and dialogue of the film. Unless you are even more tolerant about sound problems that I usually am, you may have some quibbles about this soundtrack, but overall, it's still as great as the film itself.

Though there were elements of GIGI that bothered me greatly, even as a little girl, before I knew what a courtesan was, the soundtrack is undoubtedly beautiful and the partnership of singer/songwriter duo Lerner and Loewe really succeeds in capturing the mood of this novella. Young Gigi (Leslie Caron) comes to live with her aunt (Hermione Gingold), a courtesan (definition: high-class prostitute or mistress, especially one associated with rich, powerful, or upper-class men who provided luxuries and status in exchange for her services. In Renaissance Europe, courtesans played an important role in upper-class society, sometimes taking the place of wives at social functions.). The hope is that Gigi will be trained in the fine art and tradition of this craft. But, fate may have other plans, when the man she is groomed for (Louis Jordan) finds himself falling for her.

Some of the most beautiful (and sweet) songs are featured here. They include "Gigi," "Say A Prayer For Me Tonight," and "She Is Not Thinking of Me." I couldn't end this review without mentioning the wonderful and incomparable Maurice Chevalier, who plays an old flame of Gigi's aunt, who sings "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" with such gusto and enthusiasm, that it's hard not to smile, even if you have only heard this soundtrack on vinyl, like I did, before ever seeing the movie from whence it was inspired.

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the movie - winner of more Academy Awards than any other musical - a new generation deserves an opportunity to hear Hollywood at its best. This cd set includes not only the many well-known hits from the show - The Night They Invented Champagne, Thank Heaven for Little Girls, I Remember it Well, and of course the title song - but also the incidental music so integral to the movie, and a couple of surprises (demo recordings by Leslie Caron.) Fritz Lowe is possibly the best unremembered composer of the 20th century, and Alan J. Lerner's gift with words here is surpassed only by his work on My Fair Lady.

"Gigi" has magnificent soumd. Words in the songs are easily understood. The music was as if it was being performed right in front of you.