Product Details

• Actors: Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill, Keenan Wynn
• Directors: Stanley Donen
• Writers: Alan Jay Lerner
• Producers: Arthur Freed
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: February 24, 1995
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301980514
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,267 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling in this 1951 Alan Jay Lerner musical for MGM, directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain). The appealing story finds Astaire as part of a brother-and-sister act (along with Jane Powell) that travels to London at the time of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding. Astaire and Powell each find romances that threaten to break up the act, but that's mostly fun window dressing in a movie better known for some truly creative sequences made vivid by Donen, including Astaire's famous dance with a hat rack and his duet with Powell, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You (When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life)?" --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful musical, poor transfer to DVD, July 12, 2000

By 

Ed N "Ed" (Kensington, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal Wedding (DVD)

This is one of my favorite Fred Astaire musicals. It has some of his classic numbers, such as the hatrack dance and the dancing-on-the-ceiling routine. Plus, I truly adored the cockney number that Fred Astaire performed with co-star Jane Powell. I used to have a recording of this film I made off the TV, and when the DVD version was available, I decided to purchase it.

So....what can I say? The DVD is less then $10, and the film is great fun. Fred and Jane play a brother-sister vaudeville act, probably based on the real-life Fred and Astele Astaire act of the 1920s. They go to England for their new show and find new love, all during the time of Queen Elizabeth's wedding (hence the title). Along the way, we get those wonderful dances and songs (Jane Powell's "Too Late Now" won the Oscar for best song, I believe).

However....the DVD transfer is, to be polite, poor. The color looks faded in some spots and there is horrible pixelation or blockiness in other spots (especially at night). The sound quality isn't that great either, (but at least it sounds better than my TV recording). That's not saying too much, though, given the potential for DVDs. This film looks like a straight transfer from a poor VHS copy to DVD with no attempt at clean-up or restoration. This trait, however, is common to all Madacy DVDs, so I wasn't expecting any surprises there. One reviewer mentioned a widescreen version - I don't think this film was made in widescreen but rather in full-frame, so what you see on the screen is all there is to the film, I believe.

At any rate, bottom line...the movie itself gets 5 stars but due to a rather lazy DVD transfer, I can only give the DVD 2 stars. However, it *is* less than $10, so decide for yourself if it is still worth purchasing.

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Great Movie That Isn't Given Justice on This DVD, May 16, 2002

By 

KittyKins "KittyKins" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal Wedding (DVD)

I love this movie. Good acting by Powell, Astaire, and one of my favorites - Peter Lawford. Unfortunately the transfer to DVD is very poor. I think the film is badly in need of restoring. Even the colour (such as the skin on Jane Powell's face) is not constant in the film while watching. I bought it because I felt I had nothing to lose. It was a good price and is better than my EP copy that jumps, if that gives you any idea of the quality. It's probably better if you get a chance to get a hold of a SP version of the video. Of course the DVD is nice as you can skip to your favourite scenes, but there are no extra features with this one. Fred Astaire's dancing on the ceiling routine is a real classic though, and the movie is definitely worth seeing! If you buy the DVD just be prepared to overlook the flaws. Also, just a warning that there are two DVD versions, one in colour and the other is advertized as B & W.

*Note: Thanks to another reviewer, I found out that the best version of this movie was released by GOODTIMES DVD as it was digitally remastered. It is also sold by amazon, but be careful when ordering because there are quite a few different dvd releases of this movie. The picture in the Goodtimes version is much better than the other releases (and believe me I practically bought all of them before finding the best one, lol).*

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Loved the movie, hated the DVD, May 26, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Royal Wedding (DVD)

By an odd coincidence, the same evening I watched this DVD one of the cable stations was broadcasting the same movie. The DVD image was horrible--it looked like a third-generation tape dupe. Bad resolution, bad color, poor video and sound. The movie on TV was crisp and clear. What a contrast! This is undoubtedly the worst DVD transfer I have ever seen. What a disappointment for fans of this movie to receive an absolutely terrible copy. Makes me want to cry every time I try to look at it. The publishers should be ashamed!