I guess, to see Judy Garland and Fred Astair. Seemed like an odd pairing
Specs:
An hour and 45 minutes; COLOR with a capital "C" -- I guess with all caps.
Supposedly set in 1912 :)
Our family's average rating:
6.88
More about the film and our reaction to it:
This serves as an extraordinary exposition of Technicolor. Half the point of making this film must have been to showcase "color" -- deep lush velvet and silk fabric drapes in every color, enormous bouquets of flowers, gowns with sequins and fringe, all overdone in the most saturated tones imaginable.
Even at age 50, Fred Astair moves like a dream on a cloud. He must be the most graceful man to have ever danced. As we watched his dance scenes with Judy Garland - who is a lovely dancer, but primarily a singer, we could see the difference with his top-notch dancing skills. He moved with total fluidity. On the other hand, Judy sang with complete power, skill, style and talent. Fred couldn't hold a candle to her pipes. The movie benefits, oddly enough, by allowing each to shine in their own way and help showcase the other's complementary talent.
The supporting roles were enjoyable as well. Peter Lawford and Ann Miller play the alternate love interests and, up until the end, my younger son and I were sure that Judy would end up with Peter, and Fred with Ann. Jules Munshin, an actor I'd never heard of, gives a wonderfully funny performance as a waiter. His description of how he makes the salad was comic genius.
Rounding out the film were awesome Irving Berlin songs, which are now resonating in our heads, some incredibly elaborate sets, a very cool special (dance) effect where Astair moves in slow motion relative to the background dancers filmed at normal time. This movie had to have had a big budget and, all in all, was very enjoyable - though we would have enjoyed it a fair bit more had it been about 15 minutes shorter. I think it's rating must have dipped at least a 1/2 point by lasting just that bit too long!
It irked me to no end that the picture was set in 1912 when almost nothing about the film (other than an occasional car or telephone) looked anything like it belonged in 1912. Not the hairstyles, nor the clothes, nor the furnishings, the music, dance styles or the male/female relationships gave any impression of 1912. In fact, though the picture was released in 1948 I thought it had a very 1950s look and sound.
Iconic shot:
