One of the last musicals from the Freed unit is lovingly restored for high definition. The subject of the film is sugarcoated, but it comes to high definition with a nice transfer as well as some bells and whistles. An American in Paris seems more lovingly restored, but Gigi makes a fine companion to set on your shelf beside it.
Gigi (Leslie Caron) is a teenager who has come of age. She now is under the tutelage of her Aunt Alicia (Isabel Jeans) to become a courtesan. Her grandmother Alvarez (Hermione Gingold) doesn’t know if Gigi is mature enough to take these lessons seriously.
Bachelor Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jordan) doesn’t seem to be enjoying the finer things of life and appears bored. He does enjoy spending time with Madame Alvarez and Gigi. He’s chastised by his elder Uncle Honore (Maurice Chevalier) that he should drink up life and all of the pleasures that it has to offer, especially all the beautiful girls (you old dog!). Gaston decides to take a vacation by the sea after discovering his mistress (Eva Gabor) is cheating.
Gigi wants to go and challenges him to a card game that if she wins he has to take her and her grandmother along. Gigi and Gaston begin to bond during the vacation and Gaston slowly comes to realize that he’s in love with the girl, who has blossomed into a beautiful woman. However, because of her lot in life will she be fated to be his mistress or something more?
Gigi is based on a story by Collette and was adapted into a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe. Arthur Freed was the producer at MGM who produced many of their lavish musicals, dubbed the Freed Unit. Gigi would be the final musical success from the Freed Unit.
If you’re not aware a courtesan is the mistress of a rich man. Basically it’s a high paid prostitute. The subject matter of Gigi is clear, but it’s a bit sugarcoated and we never really imagine that Gigi is being trained to be a hooker. That might be the reality of it, but a grand MGM musical in 1958 would be frowned upon if the subject matter was more detectable. This somewhat reminded me of how things were during the production code where directors could hide more salacious subject matter with style and get away with it.
Gigi would go on to win ten Academy Awards, best picture, director for Vincente Minnelli, adapted screenplay, art direction, cinematography, costume design, film editing, score, song, and an honorary Oscar for Maurice Chevalier. If you’re going to go out, go out with a bang may have been apt for the Freed Unit (though I doubt they knew it would be their last – the unit did make other films, just not as successful).
Gigi has been lovingly restored for Blu-ray, but it feels a hair lower than how An American in Paris looks. Some scenes do look a bit washed out (especially process shots), but then you get to Madame Alvarez’s apartment done in red and it pops off the screen. The cast is a delight with special attention going to Chevalier who is wonderful as the aged raconteur and his memorable “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.” It’s a magnificent film and one to enjoy.
Gigi is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.40:1). Special features include a commentary with film historian Jeanine Basinger and Leslie Caron. “Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi” is a 35 minute making of documentary that is also in high definition.
The remainder of the special features are in standard definition. “The Million Dollar Nickel” (1952) is a short encouraging sending mail to European friends to counteract Communism and features Caron. The “Vanishing Duck” (1958) is a Tom and Jerry cartoon.
You also get the 3 minute theatrical trailer. Another interesting addition is the 1949 French version of Gigi (82 minutes). It’s in poor condition, but an interesting compare and contract nonetheless.
Gigi is a fantastic musical and a delight to have on Blu-ray. Having an earlier film version of the musical was a nice touch and the special features are delightful too. An American in Paris seemed to get a bit more, but you can’t go wrong with Gigi in your collection.
Gigi [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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