Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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88 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well Worth the Wait, 25 Nov 2003
For fellow Fred and Ginger fans, who have been waiting for years for these marvellous movies to appear in DVD format, I would say that the waiting was well worth it. The quality of the prints used is superb, really as good as one could hope for and much better than the prints used for the VHS tape releases.Fred Astaire’s daughter, Ava, apparently selected the four movies chosen and gives a brief introduction to each one. These introductions are interesting but some additions would be even better. When these movies were shown on BBC television in the 1980s, they were preceded by a couple of films that gave much background material about these movies with contributions by many of the key participants, who were then still alive. These included Fred and Ginger themselves plus Pandro S Berman and Hermes Pan. Perhaps these background films could be resurrected and included in the next DVD set release. Ava Astaire’s choice of four movies is Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Shall We Dance and Carefree. All are indispensable for any serious Fred and Ginger fan but I regret that my personal favourite, Swing Time, was not included. However, for sheer style, music, dancing and singing these musicals have never been surpassed and they will be watched with pleasure by future generations, when many of today’s dreary blockbusters are forgotten. At less than £8 each from Amazon, they are incredible value.
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163 of 164 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertainment at it's best, 2 Mar 2004
By A Customer
I first came to love Fred and Ginger films when first Fred, and then Ginger died, and all of the films they made together were shown on television. I was looking forward to the release of some of their films on DVD and have not been disappointed with this collection. The Fred and Ginger Collection contains four of their nine films (Top Hat, Shall We Dance, Follow the Fleet and Carefree), chosen by Ava Astaire, Fred's daughter. Each film has an introduction from Ava, telling a little about the production of the film - which I found very interesting. It was of course for the films that I bought this collection, and an excellent selection it is too. I confess I was hoping that my favourite Fred and Ginger film, 'Swingtime', would be included in this collection, so I'm now hoping for The Fred and Ginger Collection II to be released some time. The picture and sound quality is very good on the DVDs and the songs and dances are wonderful. With such classics as 'They Can't Take that Away From Me' 'Cheek to Cheek' and 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off', you can't complain. Never mind what the various plots are, I just love to see Fred and Ginger tapdance together - perhaps my favourite routine being the one after Ginger's solo song 'They All Laughed' in 'Shall We Dance.' Good clean fun!
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69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine collection by Laureate, 10 Dec 2003
I would recommend the Astaire & Rogers DVD collection which was released on Nov. 10, including _Top Hat_, _Follow the Fleet_, _Shall we Dance_, and _Carefree_.
I don't suppose anything about the collection is finer than
Ava McKenzie's introductions to the films. Running about 5-7
minutes each, Astaire's daughter gives background/behind the scenes type information on the films. She details the misconceptions about how Astaire and Rogers got along, as she has a time or two before. Mrs. McKenzie also shows the ring Astaire wore in Top Hat. In the intro to _Follow the Fleet_ you see a slowed image of the infamous shot to the head during the "...Face the Music and Dance" number. There is a story I never heard about Hermes Pan's embarrassing meeting with George Gershwin. During a rehearsal with a pianist who was actually George Gershwin (unbeknownest to Pan), Hermes didn't like the music's arrangement and said, "Gershwin or no Gershwin, this isn't for me!". Ava McKenzie's introductions are more elaborately shot than most intros you see on television. She often picks up letters and shows them to the camera as she reads. Using a shot from _Top Hat_ during the opening credits where Fred and Ginger were seen by their feet only, the intro begins showing Ava in the same fashion.
Having seen the pictures themselves so many times before, the introductions were clearly the highlight to me of the collection, and I popped in one disc after another to hear the introduction before finally settling into watching _Top Hat_ itself. Yet, the films are timeless classics. It is beyond about time that Fred and Ginger were preserved in the DVD format. And Mr. Barnes Laureate company very much leads the way in Astaire DVD entertainment. They produced a top-notch Holiday Inn DVD, and while this collection does not include the same amount of documentary and commentary, it is in itself better due to the quality of films it contains.
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