Singin' in the Rain [VHS] (0790743507)

Singin' in the Rain [VHS]
from Warner Home Video
starring Cyd Charisse, Mae Clarke, Harry Cody, Douglas Fowley, Lance Fuller
directed by Stanley Donen

Features:

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Original recording reissued
• NTSC

Editorial Review:

No one even bothers to argue about it any more--by any standard and international consensus, this is the best movie musical of them all. Its arcane, unlikely milieu is Hollywood during the transition in the late 1920s from silent to sound motion pictures. Its reason for being was producer Arthur Freed's desire to use the catalog of songs he had written with Nacio Herb Brown in the '20s and '30s for various shows and movies. But, ironically, it's now the soundtrack that seems cobbled together from disparate sources, while the movie itself remains seamless. That's thanks to a literate screenplay by Adolph Green and Betty Comden and ebulliant acting and dancing by the young Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. Jean Hagen is especially brilliant as the silent-screen star whose speaking voice is so screechy she has to be dubbed for talkies. Kelly codirected with Stanley Donen, and both can take credit for a masterpiece. Musical standouts are "You Were Meant for Me," "Good Morning" and "All I Do Is Dream of You." Visually, the indelible image will always be Kelly sloshing around in puddles while singin' in the rain. That said, this coupling of video with a definitive version of the soundtrack benefits from Rhino's meticulous reconstruction of the material and extensive annotations, which only enhance our grasp of this film and musical legend's gestation. ---Robert Windeler

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Humility is divine, arrogance is laughable
  That film is one of these classics we all know about but we most of us have never seen, in full or in parts. And that was my case. That film of 1952 looks back at the great shift in the cinema from silent movies to talkies and the drama it may have represented for some artists who could not adapt. This film adds to that some nasty aspects of that change, of silent films (and that has not really changed), how everything is artificial and nothing but a glossy appearance. Those actors and actresses love one... more info

• classic
  bought this for my son who is doing this as their high school musical play. Funny because he didnt realize all the dancing! absolutley loves it and just happens to be one of my favorite movies.
  one we will watch for a long time.

• Singin' in the Rain
  I got this for my boyfriend as an anniversary gift because he needed more musicals in his collection. Bought it without a hitch. Love this movie so much!

• Truly Worthy of It's Status
  Unlike many other movies that top various best of lists, I absolytley agree that Singin in the Rain deserves to be tops in many great musical lists. There's something that makes Singin in the rain a magical experience, especially when it's stacked against the competition of musicals that threaten it's reputation (West Side Story blows). Maybe musicals aren't my thing, but most songs are slow, drawn out, boring, and the same thing over and over again in most musicals. Music such as Grease have a pretty weak... more info

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