Product Description

Lerner and Loewe's musical version of 'Pygmalion' about a Covent Garden flower girl who becomes a lady.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: NR
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8260 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2004-02-03
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 173 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Hollywood's legendary "woman's director," George Cukor (The Women, The Philadelphia Story), transformed Audrey Hepburn into street-urchin-turned-proper-lady Eliza Doolittle in this film version of the Lerner and Loewe musical. Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady stars Rex Harrison as linguist Henry Higgins (Harrison also played the role, opposite Julie Andrews, on stage), who draws Eliza into a social experiment that works almost too well. The letterbox edition of this film on video certainly pays tribute to the pageantry of Cukor's set, but it also underscores a certain visual stiffness that can slow viewer enthusiasm just a tad. But it's really star wattage that keeps this film exciting, that and such great songs as "On the Street Where You Live" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." Actor Jeremy Brett, who gained a huge following later in life portraying Sherlock Holmes, is quite electric as Eliza's determined suitor. --Tom Keogh

DVD features
The chief attraction of the two-disc edition of My Fair Lady is a 58-minute documentary made in 1994 in conjunction with the film's undergoing a major sound and picture restoration for theatrical rerelease. Hosted by Jeremy Brett (who played Freddy Eynsford-Hill and later went on to fame as Sherlock Holmes), the documentary discusses the restoration, the musical's stage beginnings, voice dubbing, costume design, and other topics. Because the heavy restoration lifting was done in 1994, the original DVD release looked and sounded marvelous and the new edition looks and sounds marvelous too; a new high-definition transfer doesn't add all that much. The bonus features from the previous DVD have been retained--a commentary track, a vintage featurette, and two songs with Audrey Hepburn's original vocal tracks--and supplemented by black-and-white footage of a 1963 "production kickoff" dinner and the L.A. premiere, an audio clip of George Cukor directing the actors, and various sketches, stills, posters, and other memorabilia. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

How do you do? And which DVD version to buy ...
MFL is a marvellous film about a professor who turns a common flower girl into a lady. It is full of sing-a-long songs and funny moments. It is basically a classic for all the right reasons! Plenty of re-watch factor makes it a film to own.

In 1994, the film was restored and thank the lord they did! The film's negative was almost lost forever. In fact, the film had become yellow-tinged and full of scratches, blotches and all the rest! It would have been a very sad day for the movie industry if a flim like this had been lost.

The original DVD that featured this new restoration was released in the late 90's. This DVD included a 9 minute featurette, actor profiles, audio commentary, and Audrey Hepburn singing in 2 scenes.

This original 1-disc DVD has since been updated to a special 2-Disc Edition. Which one to get? I have both so I feel qualified to answer this. The new DVD includes all the features found on the original DVD, except the actor profiles. The new DVD once again includes the restored print but is apparently a new transfer from the restored print. However, according to a report that I have read, the new transfer is not perfect and has aliasing problems throughout. The average watcher probably won't pick up on this detail. If this is an issue to you, purchase the original edition DVD where the transfer has been given two thumbs up!

The advantage of the special 2-Disc Edition DVD is that it includes a 58 minute 1994 documentary hosted by Jeremy Brett (Audrey's love interest in the film). Jeremy is no longer with us, so it's nice to have this as a piece of nostalgia. On top of this, there are many more features on this disc that aren't included on the original DVD such as footage from the film's premiere, production dinner, as well as discussions with Rex and Audrey.

The choice is easy. If you're a fan of the film and don't care for all the extras, buy the original DVD. You at least get the best transfer. If you do care about having all the extras, buy both!

More than fair, it's luverly
This is a extremely elegant and stylish movie - the kind of spectacle that you just don't see any more, in a certain type of Technicolour that just isn't duplicated these days. Extremely witty and classic songs, a swish script, and gorgeous costumes. Admittedly, it is eye candy, but what eye candy! George Cukor directs it with true aplomb, turning "Titanic-era" London into a stylised and colourful melée, bringing out the humour and joyfulness of the screenplay, and Cecil Beaton's extravagant and yet, somehow, chic costumes and sets form a perfect setting for the actors - and the actors themselves are superb. Rex Harrison is totally believable as Henry Higgins, mixing crustiness with a very dry humour, whereas Audrey Hepburn looks just right as Eliza Doolittle. One is forced to ponder what Julie Andrews would have done in the role, following her playing the part on stage, but I just can't see Eliza played by anyone other than Audrey Hepburn, who is, quite simply, delicious. From the mawkish, ramshackle flower-girl, to the rebellious pupil, to the cool and composed "lady" of the title, she is perfectly credible, whether throwing a Cockney temperament, or floating through the conservatory, calmly sending Professor Higgins about his business. I am told her Cockney accent is awful, but being deaf, I cannot comment; no more than I can comment upon the fact that apparently her recording of "Oh Wouldn't It Be Luverly" has been reinstated upon the soundtrack. The appeal for this film lies in its spectacle - I saw it at the cinema once, in an arthouse revival, and it was utterly amazing - and in the speech therapy storyline, which has a lot of relevance to me. "My Fair Lady" is simply... a cinematic glory of a particular type that would be impossible to duplicate ever again. The Ascot scene is worth the money alone, a refreshing, gliding harmony of black and white, choreographed and stylised escapism, totally summing up the essence of a musical.

Ah, it's lu-ver-ly - Lu-ver-ly - Lovely!

Great Chemistry.
First, I fully admit that I have seldom been a fan of musicals. This changed my mind. Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison truly had perfect chemistry. Stanley Holloway was also excellent as A.P. Doolittle. It won 8 Oscars for a reason. This is a richly layered story. One of this quality that you are unlikely to see again. Humor , music & the angst of human foibles are finely meshed into an improbable story. Centered around Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl who wishes for a better life with all its finery. In front of a theater she hears someone mimicking her every word.


The man, professor Higgins{Rex Harrison} claims he can make a lady of her if she wants to try. She shows up at his doorstep & the comedic soap opera begins. The journey is a sparkler. Liza discovers she is becoming a lady, & starts falling in love with the patronizing professor. The feeling is mutual, but prof. Higgins fights it all the way. On the outside Liza appears to become a new person, but inside she is the same. Struggling to find her place in the world while feeling lost between the old & the new. Where will she fit in? Watch & find out. The music flows through the movie like a cool breeze. This was three hours well spent.