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Amazon.co.uk Review
Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling in this 1951 Alan Jay Lerner musical for MGM, directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain). The appealing story finds Astaire as part of a brother-and-sister act (along with Jane Powell) that travels to London at the time of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding. Astaire and Powell each find romances that threaten to break up the act, but that's mostly fun window dressing in a movie better known for some truly creative sequences made vivid by Donen, including Astaire's famous dance with a hat rack and his duet with Powell, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You (When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life)?" --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Product Description
Brother and sister dance act Tom and Ellen Bowen finish an engagement in New York and journey to London at around the same time as a Royal wedding. On board the cruise ship Ellen meets and falls in love with Lord John Brindale, with the result she plays less attention to her dancing. Upon arrival in London Tom auditions for a new partner and meets Anne Ashmond, but romance starts to threaten the act…
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The other review on here is right - except that it's a huge understatement. The transfer to Dvd has been bungled beyond belief. Both the picture and sound are TRULY awful. I bought this because the famous 'dancing on the ceiling' part was featured on the Disc 2 extras of 'Singin in the Rain', and i was entranced by Astaire's dancing. On THAT disc, the quality was fine - so there was obviously no reason for it to be bad on this one. However, it is, and Elstree Hill Entertainment (whoever they are!) should be ashamed of this lacklustre transfer. Maybe when it's been remastered, i'll buy it. Until then, this goes straight back. Oh by the way, in addition to the poor quality throughout, the disc actually failed to play in several sections and froze up - at times the picture was completely pixelated. Need i say more?
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
No need to say much about the movie itself. This is Fred Astaire at his best singing and dancing. A true classic. Every home should have one. The dancing sequences alone, including the one Astaire dances on cieling and walls, are worth watching again and again.
The movie has indeed been released for home use under various formats over the years. To my knowledge, this is its first DVD release, which unfortunately is most disappointing in term of both sound and picture quality.
The sound is lacklustre and among the poorest quality I have ever heard on a DVD; and this despite the Dolby Digital logo on the cover.
But the real problem with this DVD is its picture quality, which is unacceptably poor, considering the potentials of the format. Compare this to other DVDs or other versions of the films and you will see it from the first minute to the last. Any decent VHS cassette will score FAR better than this DVD in term of picture quality. My laserdisc version of the film, for instance, looks sharp and bright, with near perfect resolution, after comparison.
The only consolation on this DVD, perhaps, is the bonus on how the "cieling dance" sequence was filmed. There is nothing new for a real Astaire fan to learn about here, but at least the filming is clearly explained and illustrated. But is this alone worth the price of the disc?
In short, this is a release that simply fails to do justice to both a great film and a great home movie format that is the DVD.
Those of you lucky enough to have the laserdisc version should stick to it and treasure it so dearly, for who knows when another DVD version (worthy of the name) will come along.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The cover of this DVD has a warning: 'When transferring to digital format some quality may have been lost.' It has. The picture is somewhat blurred, and at times the dialogue cannot be understood. Why can't the transfer be done better? A CD transferred from an LP is almost always an improvement. But, if you want to see Astaire dance up the walls and across the ceiling, you have to put up with the poorish quality.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
massive disappointment
This was a movie I was really looking forward to watching. Some of my favorite Fred Astaire moments coupled with brilliant music played by a fantastic band! Read more
Published 4 months ago by jontrom100
royal wedding
I was waiting for this video but was a bit dissapointed with the quality of the film,which is a shame.
Published 8 months ago by kit
Royal Fiasco
This is not one of Astaire's best movies - Jane Powell as his sister sings sweetly enough, and was very pretty although there is something slightly iffy about the brother/sister... Read more
Published 16 months ago by W. Russell
It's restored,It's the best to date.
Royal Wedding is my favorite Astaire musical, and till now I have been very disappointed with the quality of any DVD purchased. Read more
Published on 9 April 2010 by Mr. Gfm Abrahams
beware: this is awful quality
I didn't read the other reviews, so I got burned: the image is very blurred, it is unbearable to watch. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2010 by DanW
I didn't read the above reviews :-(
Ouch, this is almost unwatchable, and the sound is appalling.
Note to self, read reviews first before ordering.
Note to self, read reviews first before ordering.
Published on 5 Sep 2009 by B. Dubbe
Fred Astaire deserved better
A brother-sister dance team go to England to perform at the time of Princess Elizabeth's wedding. Both siblings are devoted to the act and claim to have no interest in romance, but... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2009 by Kona
Great Musical!
Jane Powell and Fred Astaire star in this wonderfully directed musical as Ellen and Tom Bowen, sister and brother dancing team. Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2007 by Rama Rao
Astair a star.
Using a little colour newsreel about the wedding of, the then, Princess Elizabeth to Prince Phillip, gave MGM the opportunity to call this film Royal Wedding. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2005 by "khammond1928"
hilarious talent!
This is a classical musical with a brilliant cast including Fred Astaire, Jane Powell and Peter Lawford. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2004
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