DVD : Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 9780780650787
Format: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, NTSC
ISBN: 0780650786
Item Dimensions: 100
Label: Turner Home Ent
Languages:
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
MPN: TRNDT7259D
Number Of Items: 5
Publisher: Turner Home Ent
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 16, 2005
Running Time: 532 minutes
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Theatrical Release Date: May 04, 1949
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Studio: Turner Hm Entertainm Release Date: 08/16/2005 Rating: Nr
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 pi猫ce de r茅sistance 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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Top Hat
I am absolutely thrilled with my purchase. Very good value for money, and very well restored and remastered. “Top Hat” being my favourite, for the music timing and comedy.I really love the music and dancing, especially
“Dancing Cheek to Cheek”. I am also impressed with the special fearures of naratives and the scene selections in all the movies!
Rating: - Style, Grace and Dancing
Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work for her. Actually, she made things very fine for the both of us and she deserves most of the credit for our success”. –Fred Astaire
“I adore the man. I always have adored him. It was the most fortunate thing that ever happened to me, being teamed with Fred: he was everything a little starry-eyed girl from a small town ever dreamed of.”-Ginger Rogers
Those fans of the television show Dancing with the … Read More
Rating: - Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway
Loved them all. Brings back memories of good times. Well worth the price in memories and escaping into the past if only momentarily.
Rating: - JAR
I love Fred Astaire Movies, classic movies there’s nothing like these type of movies. excellent….
Rating: - GREAT MOVIES!
ARRIVED NEXT DAY I ORDERED THEM! VERY GOOD QUALITY OF MOVIES.
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