Customer Reviews

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History –

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was lucky enough to see the premiere of this film at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The best way I can describe it is pure joy. All of my favorite musicals were here and a few I've never heard of (of which I promptly rented and loved - The Harvey Girls is the die for). I adored the interviews and the behind the scenes footage (Sound of Music and Funny Girl anyone???). What I like most about this DVD is that it has the Q&A session with Shirley Jones and director Mark McLaughlin at the premiere I went to. I kept thinking, "I wish I could have a copy of it." Well now I can. Here's the content of the bonus DVD I grabbed from their website:

Shirley Jones and Hollywood Singing and Dancing director, Mark McLaughlin, answer questions after the Hollywood premiere screening of the film at the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard on March 19th, 2008. (30 min.)

Unedited interviews with many of the stars of Hollywood Singing and Dancing telling lengthy and interesting stories and behind-the-scenes tidbits. Includes Liza Minnelli talking about learning dance steps from Gene Kelly when she was a youngster, Pat Boone on kissing Shirley Jones in April Love, Debbie Reynolds on her rocky relationship with Bob Fosse, Dom DeLuise tells hilarious stories about Mae West and much, much more. (30 min.)

And She Learned About Dames (1934) - a complete and rare promotional short film for the feature, Dames. In the short, a young lady wins a contest, which includes a trip to Hollywood and a tour of the Warner Brothers lot with Lyle Talbot. When she gets to the studio, all she wants to do is meet Dick Powell, the star of the new Warner Brothers film, Dames. During her search for Powell, she meets Busby Berkeley and the cast of the movie. (8 min.)

Rare 1963 interview with Ruby Keeler - Ruby talks about her days making movies with Dick Powell and Busby Berkeley, how she got started dancing, how she got signed for "42nd Street," working on "Gold Diggers of 1933" during a major earthquake, stories about her family and more. From a very rare 1963 television program called "Social Security in Action." (10 min.)

Betty Grable leads a cast of dancing damsels in "I'll Be Marching to a Love Song," a patriotic number from the short film, The All-Star Bond Rally (1945). (2 min.)

Newsreel reporting the New York charity premiere of The King and I in 1956. (2 min.)

Khrushchev in Hollywood - Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev visits the Hollywood soundstage of Can-Can in 1959. He poses with Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine and Louis Jourdan and watches a performance of the Can-Can by the cast of the movie.

The World of Oliver - A behind-the-scenes documentary about turning the Charles Dickens classic into a musical spectacle. Fantastic footage of director Carol Reed working with the stars Oliver Reed, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Mark Lester, Jack Wild and the crew as they create the spectacular musical numbers for the film. (7 min.)

How Thoroughly Modern Millie Got That Way - Revealing behind-the-scenes documentary on the set of the 1967 Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore film, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Great shots on the Universal backlot as the film is made are featured along with the art department, costume designers, choreographers and more. (7 min.)

Newsreel of the New York World Premiere of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 1967. Stars Beatrice Lillie, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing and James Fox attend along with many other celebrities. (2 min.)

Interview with Richard Harris at the New York premiere of Camelot in 1967. Harris talks about his determination to get the role of King Arthur, his singing capabilities and his portrayal of the character. (5 min.)

Barbra in Movieland - A behind-the-scenes documentary about shooting Funny Girl on location at the Jersey Central railroad station in Hoboken and at The Battery in NYC for the "Don't Rain on My Parade" scene. Lots of great footage as Streisand, director William Wyler, and choreographer Herb Ross work out and shoot musical scenes. (10 min.)

Hope this helps. :)

I saw this film when it played at the Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival (where it was a Best of the Fest selection). It is really fun and very entertaining. I'm not really even that into musicals but I love movies and Hollywood history so I checked it out. After I saw it I wanted to rent a ton of these movies by people like Busby Berkeley, Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly. Plus it reminded me about great stuff in the 70s like "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Saturday Night Fever." It even has clips from last year's "Dreamgirls."

This documentary has long clips from all kinds of musicals, photos of the production of the movies, interviews with all kinds of stars and directors, I really liked it.

Hosted by Academy Award winning stage, screen, and TV star Shirley Jones, Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History is a celebration of Hollywood musicals throughout history up to the present day. From the exciting choreography that brought cheer to the darkest times of the Great Depression, to wartime showtunes that fired up America's fighting spirit, to modern smash hits such as "Chicago" and "Dreamgirls", Hollywood Singing and Dancing is an amazing tour. Worthy to be the centerpiece of any Hollywood history DVD shelf, Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History comes highly recommend. 108 minutes, with 120 minutes of bonus footage.

Sorry, but this is not a five star product. It has many fine moments, but it races through the 1930's, and there is about thirty seconds or less of Fred Astaire dancing with Ginger Rogers. There are no scenes of Astaire in the 1940's, and only the number from Royal Wedding where he dances on the ceiling is shown from the 1950's. It is inexcusable to virtually ignore Astaire in the 30's and all of the 40's--his RKO musicals in the 1930's with Rogers saved the studio and were break throughs in the genre. There are plenty of good scenes and interviews, but almost ignoring Astaire brings my rating down, and deservedly so.

This was an amazing movie especially for musical theatre and movie musical fans. The clips are great as are the interviews. Enjoyed the special features too and Shirley Jones tells fabulous stories. I could have sat for two more hours and watched more. Looking forward to a sequel sometime in the future! Loved it!

A wonderful overall history of music and dance in the movies. My only complaint would be it's too broad a subject to be covered in just 2 discs.
I especially enjoyed the interviews.