One of Hollywood's saddest heartbreakers with the emotional Garland, fast approaching her final crack-up, superb as the fast rising young star leaving behind her true love, Mason in one of his greatest performances, on the slippery road to failure. The DVD version includes important excised footage, many scenes admirably filling gaps in the original, rediscovered in archives.
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FUNNY GIRL (1968)
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The life of comedienne Fannie Brice, from her early days in the Jewish slums of the Lower East Side, when only her mother believed Fanny could make it in show business, to her hilarious debut as a rollerskating chorus-girl and on to the height of her career as a star with the Ziegfeld Follies. Unfortunately she fell in love, and married, the wrong man; handsome, urbane but inept gambler Nick. Streisand won the best actress Oscar in this classic musical.
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FUNNY LADY (1968)
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Now divorced from wealthy Nick Arnstein, Fanny teams up with songwriter Billy Rose, a brash showman bursting with enthusiasm and theatrical ambitions. They make an unusual couple, the polished performer and the upstart producer, but their friendship gradually blossoms into love. Funny Lady lacks the freshness and energy of the original Funny Girl but there are still some dazzling production numbers and Caan and Streisand make a believably feisty couple.
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GREASE (1978)
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A high school musical which ripped off everything it could from the 1950s. At the time it was slated, but, in retrospect, it started a trend and is nowhere near as bad as some of the movies which followed it. In fact, one could go as far as to say it's now a bit of a classic...
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LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT (1967)
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Delphine and Solange are twins, whose mother owns a cafe around which most of the action takes place, living in the seaside resort of Rochefort. One is a dancer the other a musician and both hope to further themselves and move on from the town. But both fall in love, Delphine with a sailor on shore leave and Solange with an American composer. "The Young Girls of Rochefort" is a lush homage to the heyday of Hollywood musicals, highly enjoyable with wonderful songs, dance and awesome pastel-shaded
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ORCHESTRA WIVES (1942)
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Connie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot. After marrying him, she joins the bands tour and learns about life as an orchestra wife, weathering the catty attacks of the other band wives.
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SOUTH PACIFIC (1958)
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A tale of love in the South Seas as an American nurse falls for a French planter in the war torn months following Pearl Harbour. Lush settings and exotic music. It won an Oscar for the songs and was adapted from the Broadway hit.
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THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
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This is it, the movie that kicked it all off, the first commercially released full length (with synchronized dialogue) talkie... although that's not the only reason to watch this musical story of a Jewish man breaking with his traditionalist father in order to pursue a career as a Jazz singer.
'The Jazz Singer' later became a template for other musical biopics and highly influenced the direction talkies would take. One of the most notable features of the film is the unusual use of 'blackface',
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THE KING AND I (1956)
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Visually spectacular and well photographed screen version of the hugely successful musical set in Thailand, or Siam as it was known back then... With Kerr, dubbed by Marni Nixon for the songs, as the prim widowed teacher gradually falling for the King's charms. This won four Oscars and includes witty lyrics and a lush score.
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THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1943)
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A lush Technicolor musical extravaganza about the embittered and disfigured ex-violinist who promotes the career of the beautiful diva that he loves, but ends up kidnapping her and dragging her down to his pad in the sewers.
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