“Paris is mood, a longing you didn’t know you had until it was answered. Paris is like love, or art or faith, it can’t be explained only felt.”
Watching Gene Kelly dance is one of the great pleasures of the movie musicals from the 1950’s. As the generation of children seeing these films on television we marveled at Mr. Kelly’s mastery of movement and style. We liked Fred Astair too, but Gene Kelly’s dancing was favored above all others.
And whether he was partnered with Cyd Charisse in Brigadoon, or Debbie Reynolds in Singin’ In the Rain, or Leslie Caron in An American in Paris, Mr. Kelly’s dancing was always an expression of the story, giving it much more depth and richness.
An American In Paris is a tale of a former WWII soldier, Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) who lives in Paris, is an artist, and is in love. He is in love with the city of Paris, but he also has fallen for a beautiful, but already engaged perfume sales lady (Leslie Caron).
Directed by Vincent Minnelli, and embellished with music by Gershwin (including the most intriguing ballet piece based on Gershwin’s opening theme for the movie), and clever, artistically designed sets, not to mention romantic story, it is no wonder that An American in Paris won the Academy Award for Best Picture as well as five additional Oscars.
This was Leslie Caron’s first American film, and her expertise in ballet was showcased in her performance, as well as her acting. Oscar Levant played Gene Kelly’s best friend, an unemployed pianist, with George Guetary and Nina Foch rounding out the supporting cast.
This movie is the Paris of our dreams, the art, the music, the scenery and the dancing, all present a portrait of a place that we wish we knew personally. Images from this movie are so firmly implanted in the mind, that when someone tells me they have an efficiency apartment, I immediately think of Gene Kelly’s attic room in this film, where everything did double or triple duty for his life there.
The Two Disc Special Edition of An American in Paris has some wonderful special features. The first disc has the film itself, in a new digital transfer that is beautifully clear and clean, with vibrant yet realistic color.
The audio is available in English or French and subtitles in English, French, Japanese and Thai. There is a commentary for the film by Patricia Ward Kelly, with Arthur Freed, Gene Kelly, Vincent Minnelli, Alan Jay Lerner, Saul Chaplin, Leslie Caron, Nina Foch, Michael Feinstein, Johnny Green, Preston Ames and Irene Sharaff.
Also on Disc one are “Paris on Parade” short, a cartoon Symphony in Slang, and the original theatrical trailer. Disc Two has “Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer” featurette, ‘S wonderful: The Making of An American in Paris” a new documentary about the production of this film, “Love Walked In” musical number outtake, audio outtakes and radio interviews.
It is a lovely set for musical collections as well as those who loved to see Gene Kelly dance and who have always been in love with Paris.
An American in Paris (Two-Disc Special Edition) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an Oct. 6th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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