American in Paris, An (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

The colors, the costumes, the choreography (by Kelly, of course), and the music are terrific and make "An American in Paris" an attractive proposition in everything but story and character.

Video:
The Warners video engineers reproduce the movie's original 1.37.1 (at 1.33.1) Academy ratio picture in brilliant colors and reasonably good standard definition. The copy is pretty clean, too, with a normal amount of print grain but no glaring spots, scratches, lines, specks, or flecks. The hues are deep, rich, and sparkling, set off by strong black levels. While some scenes looks a tad rough, most of the film looks sparkling.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio doesn't come up nearly as well as the video. It's a little thin at the bottom and edgy at the top, but displays a smooth, natural midrange. There's a bit of background noise, not much, yet noticeable. Although there is a limited frequency and dynamic response most of the time, they open up in the finale, with good clarity and impact.

Extras:
Disc one of this Two-Disc Special Edition contains the feature film, plus a few bonus items of interest. There is what the keep case describes as a "Concerto of a Commentary," hosted by Gene Kelly's widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, and featuring the recollections of star Gene Kelly, director Vincent Minnelli, producer Arthur Freed, screenwriter Alan Jay Lerner, music director Johnny Green, composer-songwriter Saul Chaplin, art director Preston Ames, costume designer Irene Sharaff, and new observations by actresses Leslie Caron and Nina Foch. After that is a vintage "FitzPatrick Traveltalks" short feature, "Paris on Parade," about eight minutes; a classic Tex Avery cartoon, "Symphony in Slang," and a theatrical trailer. In addition, we find twenty-seven scene selections; English and French spoken languages; French, Japanese, and Thai subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.

On disc two there are more and longer bonus items. First, there is an "American Masters Career Profile: Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer," twenty-three chapters and eighty-four minutes long. After that, there is a the new documentary "'S Wonderful: The Making of An American in Paris," forty-two minutes and featuring interviews with Leslie Caron and Nina Foch. Finally, there are seven audio-only outtakes totaling about fourteen minutes; three radio interviews with Johnny Green, Gene Kelly, and Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, also about fourteen minutes; and a two-minute song outtake, "Love Walked In," with sound and picture. A slim-line keep case encloses the two discs, and a matching slipcover finishes the job.

Parting Thoughts:
Depending on how much you like singing and dancing, "An American in Paris" will either delight you or bore you. I found myself entertained by the music and bored by the rest, so I will be forever grateful for the "Next" button on my remote control. Fortunately, the musical numbers have enough life for two pictures because the romance sits as flat as day-old Coke. Darned good thing Gerwshin and Kelly are so good.

---

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---