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High Society [DVD] [1956]
 
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High Society [DVD] [1956]

DVD ~ Bing Crosby
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
RRP: £13.99
Price: £4.88 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

High Society [DVD] [1956] + Singin' In The Rain (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1952] + Seven Brides For Seven Brothers [DVD] [1954]
Total RRP: £41.97
Price For All Three: £13.84

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

High Society [DVD] [1956]
85% buy the item featured on this page:
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Product details

  • Actors: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, John Lund
  • Directors: Charles Walters
  • Writers: John Patrick, Philip Barry
  • Producers: Sol C. Siegel
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 26 May 2003
  • Run Time: 103 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000092WD7
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 637 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  DVD > Classics > Comedy
    #9 in  DVD > Classics > Musicals
    #19 in  DVD > DVD Bargains > The Warner List--Up to 65% Off Warner DVDs and Blu-ray

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

MGM's bold idea to remake George Cukor's Oscar-winning upper-class romantic farce, The Philadelphia Story, into a star-studded technicolor musical with Cole Porter tunes somehow works splendidly and remains an underrated gem. Even the plot and character names--and some bits of dialogue--all remain the same as the original. Crooning Bing Crosby replaces Cary Grant as the wealthy ex-husband trying to win back his soon-to-be-remarried ex-wife, spoiled ice queen Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly, stunning and aloof in her last film role, originated in the earlier comedy by Katherine Hepburn). Unlike Grant, however, Crosby has jazz great Louis Armstrong, playing himself, in his corner for quixotic persuasion. Frank Sinatra (cocky in James Stewart's former role) and Celeste Holm add support as the nosy reporters covering, and subsequently complicating, the upcoming wedding. Sure, High Society lacks the original's witty satire, sarcasm and character complexity; but it's assuredly paced and wonderfully acted, and contains enough romantic chemistry to keep the plot engaging. And then there's the music. Unlike the grandiose production numbers of many 40s and 50s musicals, High Society's musical sequences are considerably low-key and intimate, focusing on Porter's lyrical content and the style in which it's delivered by the charismatic performers. Armstrong kicks the film off in telling style: he sings the title track, a calypso tune outlining the plot like a Greek chorus--not as an elaborately choreographed song-and-dance number, but instead stuffed claustrophobically in the back of a limousine with his jazz band. Other musical standouts include Sinatra and Crosby playfully tossing barbs during "Well, Did You Evah?"; Crosby and Armstrong teaming up for an energetic clash of styles in "Now You Has Jazz"; the two soaring, archetypal ballads by the leads--Crosby's "I Love You, Samantha" and Sinatra's superior "You're Sensational"; and, finally, the satirical Sinatra/Holm duet, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", the closest High Society ever comes to social or class-commentary. --Dave McCoy, Amazon.com


Special Features

* Cole Porter In Hollywood: True Love
* Millionaire Droopy (1956 MGM short)
* Gala Premiere for High Society
* Radio Ads
* Theatrical Trailer
Aspect Ratio
Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio Mono (1.0)
Languages: English, French, Italian
Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Arabic, Dutch, Danish
Hearing Impaired: English, Italian
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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Swell!, 8 Jun 2003
Just released on DVD format, this fabulous musical remake of George Cukor's The Philadelphia Story (1940) sees Grace Kelly in her last ever film role before crossing the pond to marry into the Monaco monarchy (she even wore her actual engagement ring in the movie).

Kelly plays the spoilt heiress Tracy Samantha Lord, a rather icy perfectionist (this generation would say 'control freak'), who is due to marry the stuffy George Kitteridge (John Lund) when her ex-husband C K Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby), unexpectedly turns up... Still in love with her, he puts in place a subtle plan to win back her heart. Throw in an incorrigible little sister, a playboy dad, a couple of snoops from Spy magazine, Louis Armstrong (as himself) and buckets of champagne... and now you has jazz!

With a witty script and quite the line-up (it was the first time Crosby and Frank Sinatra, playing Spy magazine reporter, appeared on screen together), the romantic comedy is carried by one of Cole Porter's best - and one of his last - musical scores which includes Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Well, Did You Evah?, Now You Has Jazz, and Kelly and Crosby's moving duet True Love.

Rarely are remakes a patch on the original but in this case High Society is an exception. That said, however, The Philadelphia Story - with an equally strong cast that includes Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart - is as swell a party...

Like most rereleases of older movies onto DVD, what actually makes you update your video copy are the bonus features. This version includes a short documentary on 'the making of...', narrated by Celeste Holm (born 1919, who played Spy magazine photographer). Although it makes for entertaining viewing (throwing up little snippets such as how Kelly's father warned Prince Rainier of Monaco before they got married she was a crap driver), one can't help thinking that someone cruelly substituted Holm's oxygen tank with helium. Which is slightly distracting. Other special features are a nostalgic newsreel of the film's 1956 première, the original theater trailer and, rather bizarrely, 'Millionaire Droopy', a five-minute cartoon about two dogs (Spike and Droopy) battling over an inheritance, which uh... has absolutely no relevance to High Society at all.

Overall verdict? Thoroughly entertaining and an absolute must for fans of classic musicals and all that jazz...

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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Sensational", 15 Feb 2005
Even if you were to hate the plot (improbable), the actors (imposible) and the set (implausable) you'd LOVE the music. Songs like the Armstrong-Crosby "Now we has jazz" and even the Crosby "I love you, Samantha" warm you right to the soul.
Not many films can boast such an amazing cast with Crosby as the love-struck ex-husband, Sinatra as the distraction and Kelly as the focus of all their attention as well as Armstrong (playing himself) providing excellent music, as only he could. The characters work extremely well together as the witty dialoge flits effortlessly from one to the other allowing the audience to easily keep up with the quick-moving plot.
They certainly don't make films like this anymore,nor should they try as, in the words of Bing in the movie, they'd "never be able to follow it".
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29 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A very bad new edition, 27 April 2003
By Michael Bo - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This underrated gem from the second Golden Age of Hollywood musicals deserves the best presentation possible, and this one is NOT it. It is blurry and unfocused, lacks definition, colours that fade into on another.
To make things even worse, the songs have no optional subtitles, which to me is a crime with musical comedy. The lyrics to this movie are great, they are sassy, they are clever, and they are the sole reason for subtitles on musicals, but here you don't get them for some reason. And neither can you skip directly into the songs.
The sound is passable, though, and the film has some of Cole Porter's most wonderful, most intimate songs, such as the rhumba 'Mind If I Make Love to You', sung by Sinatra, the spectacularly musical 'Now You Has Jazz' with Crosby and Armstrong, and the hilarious duet between Crosby and Sinatra, 'Well, Did You Evah!'.
It has always been popular to say that the comedy 'The Philadelphia Story', of which 'High Society' is a fairly obedient musical remake, is the superior film, but watch them both without prejudice,and you might find that nothing quite tops the exuberance, drunk on champagne as the characters are most of the time, of this film, the driness of Bing Crosby, commenting on a lame line from one of the others, "Oh, I wish I had said that!". Wonderful.
But, again: this is not the version that you want.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars No Business Like Show Business
Didn't need to know anything about this dvd. High Society is a favourite musical from way back when. The words and music are sublime. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Georgia

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
This is just a great film, if you like Frank Sinatra and /or Bing Crosby. Not forgetting Louis Armstrong of course... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. C. Churcher

5.0 out of 5 stars High Society DVD
An absolutely superb film which brought back memories to the older generation but was also very much enjoyed by our grandchildren, ages 4 to 14, who demanded to see it several... Read more
Published 5 months ago by M. Pell

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly "High Society"
A very good film could watch it over and over again,good family film with no bad language
Published 6 months ago by Mrs. Celia Fitch

5.0 out of 5 stars a great film!
A great Classic with top-drawer actors. Super story and the film certainly captures it well. Light-hearted with some drama. Read more
Published 6 months ago by drewina

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Musical Ever Made?
I have loved this film for about 30 years (gosh, am I really THAT old!) It's one of those films that you can watch again & again and never tire of. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Ms. Deborah Ivany

5.0 out of 5 stars They Don't Make 'em Like This Any More!
This is a total and utter classic and definitely one of my favourites of all time - ( I am a BIG Grace Kelly fan) and Grace Kelly absolutely dazzles in this film from start to... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mrs. J. S. Pearce

4.0 out of 5 stars Golden Oldie
The film is old enough to rate as a "golden Oldie" and is a high quality musical let down only by some o.t.t. mugging by Louis Armstrong. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ballistic

5.0 out of 5 stars Singing & Binging
This DVD enthralled my over 80's relatives during the Christmas break. It whisked them back to their younger days. A nostalgic trip for them which gave us pleasure. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. P. D. Clucas

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
Just watch it, you mad fools. If you never see another musical in your life - actually no, if you never see another musical watch "Singin' in the Rain" - but if you only ever see... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Katy Bagshaw

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