Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19568 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-15
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.com
The Band Wagon (1953) marked the culmination of a series of near-autobiographical pictures Fred Astaire made for MGM following his return from premature retirement in the late '40s. Astaire plays Tony Hunter, a fading film star (his big hit: Flying Down to Panama) who decides to return to his former glory, the Broadway stage. (In 1931, Astaire had starred on Broadway with sister Adele in The Band Wagon, a revue that lent some of its songs to this film.) His playwright-songwriter friends (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant) hook him up with Broadway's hottest director, Jeffrey Cordova (a nicely hammy Jack Buchanan), who proves that the "new" theater traditions can be an awkward fit with the old. Hunter also finds himself at odds with his prima ballerina leading lady (Cyd Charisse), one of his chief worries being that she seems a little tall. Along the way, producer Arthur Freed, director Vincente Minnelli, choreographer Michael Kidd, and songwriters Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz treat us to some quintessential MGM numbers: Astaire's solo ode "By Myself," the flashy arcade romp "A Shine on Your Shoes," Astaire and Charisse's romantic duet "Dancing in the Dark," the faux-German drinking song "I Love Louisa," the manic trio "Triplets" (with Astaire, Fabray, and Buchanan in matching baby outfits), the Mickey Spillane-esque "Girl Hunt Ballet," and the classic show-biz anthem "That's Entertainment." Even if its ending and obligatory romance fall a little flat, The Band Wagon is one of the classic backstage musicals, a grandiose MGM spectacle that also manages to poke some fun at how grandiose MGM pictures had become. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Amazing!!!
I have a huge collection of Musicals, but this one is quickly becoming one of my favorites!! What's not to like about Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse!!! The supporting cast is wonderful and it's truly a timeless classic!! The scene with "The Triplets" is not to be missed...it leaves you scratching your head and wondering HOW they did it!! The answer is revealed in the comentary by Lisa Minelli whose father directed this fantastic musical. The dancing is superb and there's so many marvelous dance routines and songs that you really get a lot of entertainment for your money with this one!! I also really enjoyed the theatrical trailers that come with the C.D. I hope that parents get these musicals for their families to watch together and teach their children to love them so they won't be lost to future generations! All I can say is "That's Entertainment"!!!

The Band Wagon
The dancing by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, and the show biz contributions by Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant make this an excellent DVD.

fine MGM musical with love, a stageshow epiphany and a victorious opening just waiting to pop out at you
The Band Wagon is one of those excellent MGM musicals with enough song and dance musical numbers to make your eyes bug out! The color is excellent and the sound is good. The plot moves along at a good pace; and there was never a dull moment. The cinematography and the choreography work very well, especially in scenes where the actors are performing a play within a movie.

The action begins when Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire), a washed up actor and dancer, comes to New York to try his luck on Broadway as well as meet his old friends Lily and Lester Martin (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant, respectively). Lily and Lester are not just married--they're also a writing team! They hatch a plan to revive Tony's career with a great artistic vehicle for him. Tony agrees but soon there's a great deal of uneasiness for Tony when he discovers that Lily and Lester want the great star Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan), who also directs and produces, to plan out the show.

Things become even more uneasy when Tony doesn't exactly hit it off with the female leading lady, Gabrielle Gerard (Cyd Charisse). Tony worries that Gabrielle might be taller than he is; and Tony and Gabrielle just don't get along. Worse yet, Jeffrey Cordova insists that the vehicle for Tony's comeback be transformed into a type of Faustian play that Tony comes to loathe.

Of course, from here the plot could go just about anywhere. Will Tony and Gabrielle ever see eye-to-eye? What about Gabrielle's boyfriend who is the choreographer for the show--how will he fit into the picture? Will the changing of the show to a Faustian theme really work? How will Lily and Lester react to the changes being made to the show? No spoilers here, folks--you'll just have to watch the movie to find out!

Of course, you buy this for the movie; but the extras are extensive and very impressive. There's a great commentary by Liza Minnelli and you get a great documentary about Vincente Minnelli, the director of The Band Wagon. The Fred Astaire trailer gallery is nice but you'll probably be more amazed at a rare Vitaphone short featuring Jack Buchanan way before The Band Wagon was ever filmed!

The Band Wagon is clearly one of the great MGM musicals. There are many timeless moments including the "That's Entertainment" number; and the sequence of musical numbers that wind up the film is wonderful to behold. I highly recommend this film for people who love classic movie musicals; and fans of the stars of this picture will almost surely want to get this for their collections.