Product Description

You'll Love The Way Fred and Ginger Look Tonight in the 5-film, 5-Disc Astaire and Rogers Collection Volume One, including the highly acclaimed Top Hat and Swing Time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2898 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2005-08-16
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 532 minutes

Features

• You'll Love The Way Fred and Ginger Look Tonight in the 5-film, 5-Disc Astaire and Rogers Collection Volume One, including the highly acclaimed Top Hat and Swing Time. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS Rating: NR Age: 053939725926 UPC: 053939725926 Manufacturer No: T7259

Amazon.com
Fans of classic movie musicals will be in heaven with Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1, featuring the DVD debut of five films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the quintessential dancing duo. The two gems of the set are Top Hat (1935), generally considered their definitive movie, and Swing Time (1936), which many consider their most enjoyable. Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) fill out the set, each with its own charms.

Follow the Fleet

The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport '30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there's that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical.

With a score by Irving Berlin, Top Hat is most famous for two numbers, Astaire's definitive tuxedo setting "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and the feathery duet "Cheek to Cheek." But other joys include Astaire's "Fancy Free" declaration, "Isn't It a Lovely Day," and the grand finale "The Piccolino." Favorite musical moments in Swing Time include the set-piece "Pick Yourself Up," in which Rogers "teaches" Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode "Never Gonna Dance," and the Oscar-winning "Just the Way You Look Tonight," from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

Swing Time

Follow the Fleet changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including "Let Yourself Go," which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series' defining moments. Shall We Dance has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married before the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin's brilliant "They Can't Take That Away from Me" into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include "Slap That Bass," "They All Laughed," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," unforgettably performed on roller skates. The Barkleys of Broadway is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It's trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to "They Can't Take That Away from Me"). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. --David Horiuchi

DVD Features
Picture quality on the DVD ranges from quite good (Barkleys) to rather fuzzy (Shall We Dance). Three of the discs have commentary tracks. John Mueller, the author of Astaire Dancing, does a nice analysis of the dance numbers in Swing Time. Film historian Larry Billman offers more of a series overview on Top Hat. He's joined by Astaire's daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, who doesn't say a lot but does provide a nice glimpse of Astaire as a father. Pianist Kevin Cole and songwriter Hugh Martin (Meet Me in St. Louis) team up for the track on Shall We Dance. They speak affectionately about Astaire and Rogers but especially enjoy conversing about George and Ira Gershwin. All five DVDs have a featurette, ranging from 11 to 18 minutes each, and each on a different topic: dance numbers, the series, Astaire and Rogers's early careers, Gershwin music, and the Barkleys reunion. Interviewees include the commentary contributors plus Leonard Maltin, former Astaire partner Barrie Chase, and Broadway performers Noah Racey and Nancy Lemenager. Racey and Lemenager demonstrate some steps, having played the Astaire and Rogers roles in the 2003 Broadway musical Never Gonna Dance, which was based on Swing Time. Also filling out the discs are various musical shorts and cartoons.

Customer Reviews

Charm and Elegance
It was the touch of finger tips, a hand on the waist, a longing look and a smile, and a graceful spin; it was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, making love while they danced into our hearts and stayed there. It was elegance and charm, a romantic screen teaming like no other. Fred and Ginger gave the country a boost and a bit of hope in dire times, and made a collection of funny and romantically elegant dance musicals that have never been surpassed as film entertainment. There was magic when they danced, and charm when the talked to each other.

Here, in this wonderful boxed set, are some of their finest films. It is a bit of heaven you can slide into your vcr any time you need a lift, and never be let down. The best of the three films the couple were in together before they became the main attraction, "Follow the Fleet," is included in this set. It is an early glimpse of their magic, and while the film itself is not on a par with the others, its inclusion here is nice. Also found in this set is "The Barkley's of Broadway."

Fred and Ginger fans will be glad their final film together is here to enjoy also. It was made as a "reunion" picture, ten years after the couple had said goodbye. It is an enjoyable film on its own, a bit of nostalgia for their fans, but a notch below "Swing Time," "Shall We Dance," and "Top Hat.". Nevertheless, every fan of Fred and Ginger needs to own that one also.

Here is an overview of this lovely collection of fun and romantic films we all took to our hearts long ago------


TOP HAT

"Isn't This a Lovely Day to Get Caught In the Rain?"

A merry Dwight Taylor story, this time adapted as a screenplay by Taylor himself and Allan Scott, gave Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire another chance to shine in this elegantly crafted Pandro S. Berman production, directed by Mark Sandrich. Lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and some truly lovely gowns created for Ginger by Bernard Newman, make this Fred and Ginger outing as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears. Their's was a style and grace that passed only once this way, and we shall never see anything like it again as long as our planet keeps spinning.

The three wonderful character actors from "The Gay Divorcee," Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes, are joined this time around by Helen Broderick, giving a deft touch to this fun and zany story which was as good an excuse as any for Fred and Ginger to sing and dance the Irving Berlin tunes. It is Eric Blore this time who steals every scene he's in as Horton's quite odd little manservant, Bates. Just as in Deanna Durbin's "Lady on a Train," Edward Everett Horton will somehow manage to get a black eye!

Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is meeting Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton) at the stuffy Thackery Club to talk about starring in his new show. Horace's wife, Madge (Helen Broderick), has plans to set up the single Jerry with her girlfriend Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers). The meeting will be in Italy, but by chance, his dancing wakes up the prety girl below Hardwick's suite, who just happens to be Dale. From the moment she comes to complain about his dance affliction, Jerry is smitten, pouring sand on the floor to dance her lightly to sleep.

Jerry pursues her, not knowing at first who she is. His posing as a horsedrawn cab driver with an accent is one of the amusing scenes in his pursuit of his dream girl. Both he and Dale get caught in a storm and find shelter under a gazebo, where the couple share one of their finest and most romantic moments ever, to Irving Berlin's "Isn't This a Lovely Day to Get Caught In the Rain?" Later in the story, they will get to dance "Cheek to Cheek."

Another only in the movies mix-up causes Dale to think Jerry is Madge's husband, Horace, bringing about a confused, and twice slapped, Jerry. Horace, of course, has never seen Dale before, and sends his crazy little manservant Bates to follow her around Italy once they arrive, thinking she is out to trap his pal Jerry. Dale tells her friend Madge about the incident, of course, and more fun follows as Dale tries hard not to fall for Jerry, who she thinks is her best friend's husband.

Not to be forgotten in this merry mess is Erik Rhodes, as fashion desiner Alberto Beddini, using Dale as a model for his creations. Dejected at the situation, Dale will marry Beddini, causing no end of frustration and hilarity as Jerry has figured out by this time what is going on. Madge hasn't, and gives Horace a black eye! Can Jerry get Dale to unload her new husband Beddini once everything is cleared up and she is free to love him? Will he even need to? Don't forget, the wildly eccentric Bates, who refers to himself as "we" has been shadowing Dale all over Italy!

The glossy RKO sets match the elegance and beauty of Irving Berlin's songs, giving the public another big dose of what it needed as the country recovered from the great depression, which wasn't so great at all. You don't have to wear white tie and tails while watching this marvelous film, but you'll almost wish you were, so you could be up there with Fred and Ginger and enjoy a style of romance that shone brightly, but passed ever too briefly in American film.


SWING TIME

"Never Gonna Dance"

The easy elegance and fluid grace of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers blend perfectly with the romantic music of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields in this most charming of stories, produced by Pandro S. Berman and directed by George Stevens. Erwin Gelsey wrote the story and Howard Lindsay and Allan Scott contributed the screenplay to the film Ginger always pegged as her favorite of the 10 she and Fred made together. "Swing Time" is charming perfection, and a reminder of just how wonderful the movies can be.

George Stevens gave "Swing Time" a romantic glow with the use of snow and the never to be forgotten "Never Gonna Dance." The bittersweet six minute sequence of "Never Gonna Dance" is one of the most romantic ever filmed. Fred and Ginger shot 48 takes before they were completely happy with it. Ginger is lovely beyond words in gowns by Bernard Newman, especially in this scene. "Never Gonna Dance" was actually the working title of the film.

John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire) is a dancer and gambler on his way to marry Margaret Watson (Betty Furness). His pal Everett "Pop" Cardetti (Victor Moore) knows it's the end for the troupe if this happens, so he and the boys pull a gag about cuffs that leaves Lucky without pants! Lucky misses the wedding, of course, but the very pretty and sincere Margaret is willing to forgive him. Her dad gives him a chance to redeem himself if he can go to New York and earn 25,000 dollars and prove his worth.

He and Pop run into redheaded dance teacher Penny Carrol (Ginger Rogers) on the street and the smitten Lucky spends the rest of the film trying not to earn the money so he won't have to go back and marry Margaret. There is a lot of charm as Lucky saves Penny's job at the Gordon Dance Academy by showing the owner (Eric Blore) how much she has taught him in only a few minutes! Pop hits it off with her pal Mabel (Helen Broderick) and offer support as Lucky tries not to fall for the sweet Penny.

Lucky must battle band leader Ricardo Romero (Georges Metaxa) for Penny's hand when he discovers to his glee that Margaret doesn't want to marry him either. Scenes such as an unseen kiss by Fred and Ginger behind a door, the rendering of "A Fine Romance" in the snow, and a last second, delightful surprise for Fred and Ginger fans, which takes place in front of a beautiful bay window as the snow falls, all make this film an exquisite delight.

The lovely "The Way You Look Tonight " won the Oscar as Best Song, and Hermes Pan was nominated for his work as Dance Director for Astaire's astounding "Bojangles of Harlem" number. Fans often go back and forth as regards "Swing Time" and "Top Hat" as to which one was the couple's best film. The truth is, they were all wonderful, and there was something to love about them all. My personal favorite is "Carefree." "Swing Time" happens to be my daughter's favorite. Which only goes to show how timeless these true classics are.


SHALL WE DANCE

"They Can't Take That Away From Me"

The beloved "Shall We Dance" was the only Fred and Ginger film with songs from George and Ira Gershwin, and they were splendid. Songs like "They Can't Take That Away From Me" made for great entertainment when coupled with the opulent RKO sets in this Pandro S. Berman production. The lively tale of mix-ups and misunderstandings was from a screenplay by Allan Scott and Ernest Pagno, based on an adaptation by P.J. Wolfson of a story by Lee Loeb and Harold Buchman. Ginger's gowns by Irene were fabulous as always and Mark Sandrich once again took the helm.

On his stay in Paris, Pete (Fred Astaire), a famous ballet dancer also known as Petrov, wants to meet musical comedy star Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers), and in fact, would like to marry her! Pete and his pal Jeffrey (Edward Everett Horton) discover she's sailing on the S.S. Queen Anne and follow her. Pete uses a fake accent for a short time but is eventually found out, and finds out that dogs are the way to a girl's heart.

A wild story Jeffery told Lady Tarrington (Ketti Gallian) in Paris comes back to haunt Pete, as suddenly everyone on the cruise thinks he and Linda have been secretly married, and are going to have a baby! It's a bit much for Linda, who has sworn off reporters, and they decide to really get married, so they can get divorced. But it's too late for Linda, as she has fallen in love with the pursuing Pete, and there is a sadness as Pete sings "They Can't Take That Away From Me" on a ferry to Manhattan after it's all done. The tune was nominated as Best Song but lost the Oscar to "Sweet Leilani" from "Waikiki Wedding."

Hilarious moments in the film include Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore in a "hushing" duel with ballet patrons, Horton and Jerome Cowan getting tight, with Horton getting ill afterward, and Fred convincing Horton that he's seasick, even though the water is perfectly calm. Blore ends up in jail for the second time in one of the couple's pictures and is once again a riot.

Ginger sings "They All Laughed" and she and Fred share a lovely dance that culminates with a smile, as the couple sit on a piano. A fun and famous scene has them on skates in the park, dancing to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." Fred's character Pete wants to dance with Linda all his life, but what's he to do when she won't consider it? Dance with images of her, that's what. A charming conclusion has Linda joining the other girls, but Pete can't figure out which is the real Linda. Will Linda say yes to Pete? If you are a fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers you know the answer to that one!

Devoted fans of one of the most fondly remembered couples in screen history might be shocked to learn that during production, there were plans for this to be their final film. "Swing Time," their previous entry, now widely regarded by film historians, along with "Top Hat," as the zenith of their films together, had done huge box office business in large cities upon its initial release. But that business had quickly subsided and there were those at RKO who felt they had gone to the well once too often.

Fortunately for us, that theory was squashed, and we got to see the hilarious "Carefree" and the tender "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" before the couple said farewell. Again, fortunately, we don't have to say farewell, only "see you later," because we now have the ability to watch these wonderful films at home whenever we want. "Shall We Dance" is a charming reminder of a magic that passed this way only once, and something you'll want to capture forever by picking up a copy today.


THE STARS MUST BE BRIGHTER

Watching the sheer elegance and timeless grace of Fred and Ginger when they danced, and sharing in the laughter of their humorous pursuit of love, is a gift we could never measure, or put a price tag on. The delightful and charming escapism they brought into our lives helped carry us through the roughest of times. They still take our breath away and gives us a boost when we need it, as each new generation discovers the magic of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. And sometimes, in the evening, if we listen carefully, we can hear the faint echoes of an orchestra, playing a tune by Berlin, or Kern, or Gershwin, and we know for certain, the couple we hold dear in our hearts, who gave us so much love and laughter, dance the night away, among the stars......

Don't Waste Another Minute - - BUY THIS SET!
I won't waste time reviewing the individual films since it's already been established, many times over, that they are all cinematic treasures. Further, if you didn't already know this, it's doubtful you'd be here looking to buy this DVD set. So, I'll confine my review strictly to the quality of the set. First of all, I was very impressed with the restoration. These films are all around 70 years old, the original prints never had proper storage, and even the best of VHS prints showed the flaws one would expect. It's amazing what they were able to do in the restoration process. I did not experience visual or audio problems with any of the DVDs in this set. The audio was clear, the visual was crisp. I was singularly impressed, and kept feeling like I was watching a film that had just been made, such was the quality improvements over the VHS prints I previously owned. Additionally, "Top Hat", which was often edited in it's VHS and television formats, is shown here in its entirety, and it was thrilling to discover even small bits of new footage.

Secondly, there was a solid effort at providing special features that I highly appreciated, since most classic films that are released to DVD fail to include any. It would have been preferable to have audio commentary on all 5 of the films, but 3 is better than none. "Swing Time" by far has the most interesting and astute audio commentary. "Top Hat" has the worst. The inclusion of Astaire's daughter as a commentator makes sense, but probably wasn't the wisest choice. She admits early on in the commentary that she doesn't know all that much about her father's films and, indeed, her comments offer nothing new or insightful. Meanwhile, Larry Billman, the other commentator, simpers at her and repeatedly thanks her - even for the most mundane comments - every time she speaks, which gets very annoying, very fast.

The classic cartoons and shorts they've included are okay. They are supposed to have some slight connections, such as including actors from one of the Astaire-Rogers films. However, at times, it is baffling to try to figure out what possible connection there could be.

All of the "Making Of" type featurettes are wonderful - and there is one included for every film. It is particularly thrilling to see the rehearsal footage - in color, yet! - included on the "Shall We Dance" DVD.

Overall, this DVD set is an excellent purchase. It includes brilliant restorations, audio commentaries, and featurettes. It is well worth the purchase price, and an excellent gift idea for any Astaire-Rogers fan, or a fan of dance, in general. It's only half of the Astaire-Rogers films, but they're done so well, they leave you eagerly awaiting the final installment.

Timeless films that will last forever..at last on DVD
FINALLY! Five of Fred & Ginger's best films are heading to DVD, getting the treatment that only a class-act like Warner Bros. can give them.

A pal who works at a famous film restoration lab in L.A. told me that WB has been working on these wonderful movies for nearly two years, in many cases, using the original negative (when available) as their source material.

This means they're gonna look great..and it was worth the wait.

Each great film has been given a new documentary, some have commentaries, and most (all?) have shorts or cartoons.

No one lavishes as much love & intelligence on their classic releases as Warner does. I'm sure these will not disappoint!

"Look...no cuffs!"