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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
watta documentary, March 4, 2000
This review is from: Musicals Great Musicals: Freed Unit at Mgm [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Usually when you hear "documentary" you think BORING. Not this one. It's so fun to watch, that's why I ask for it at christmas.Everyone knows I'm an MGM freak. Anyone else who is interested in musicals will adore this. There are sort of mini-interviews with a big bunch of the people who where involved in the production of your favorite Arthur Freed musicals. People like Gene Kelly, Betty Comden, Saul Chaplin, Stanley Donen, Adolf Green, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron, André Prévin, Micheal Kidd, Mickey Rooney, Vincent Minelli and others I can't recall write now. And some people who where not available (decesed or otherwise) where talked about as well, like Judy Garland, Kay Thompson, Fred Astaire, Irene Sharaff, Roger Edens, Conrad Salinger, Robert Alton, Lela Simone and, of course, Arthur Freed. It's filled with wonderful musical numbers from your favorite films and including some LOST FOOTAGE of Judy Garland as Annie Oakley singing "Doin' what comes naturely". There are also many beautiful candid photos taken on the studio lot or recording stage. In short, this is a wonderfully intertaining piece of film and... don't look now but... it's educational too. Perfect for a 15 year old girl, such as me, who craves for some behind-the-scenes talk. I defenetly recommend this to anyone who loves, or just wants to know more about the most popular for of entertainment from the 30' through the 50's. So GET IT, sit back, and relish the feeling of getting an inside look at The Freed Unit of MGM.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Arthur Freed's Contribution to Society, December 15, 2006
This review is from: Musicals Great Musicals: Freed Unit at Mgm [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Arthur Freed was one of the most influential people at MGM. He is perhaps the most responsible for the classic era of musicals that people love to revisit. He composed songs that live in our hearts as classics even if we don't know all the words or know what it came from. This documentary is about his life and the part he played in the era of film.
We see plenty of evidence of his genius. There are clips from films like The Broadway Melody, Babes in Arms, Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris, Royal Wedding, Singin' in the Rain, and Gigi to name a few and we hear testimony from people like Mickey Rooney, Vincent Minelli, Leslie Caron, Gene Kelly, and Cyd Charisse.
Some of this might seem rather familiar though. If you're familiar with the When the Lion Roars series or know a lot about Judy Garland's career, you might already know everything presented here. Still, if you know a lot about it, you must be interested, so this isn't a bad film to watch just to look back at the glory days of musicals.
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