Singin' in the Rain (DVD)

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Video:
I couldn't find a single thing to grouse about in this completely remastered, 1.33:1 ratio, standard-screen presentation. The film was originally made by MGM in Technicolor, and everything about it has been preserved by its new owner, Turner-Time-Warner, with loving care. The colors are bright and natural; the contrasts are vivid; and the image is sharply defined. What's more, there's hardly a trace of grain and virtually no moiré effects, pixilation, or other digital artifacts to be seen. It's as perfect a color transfer as I could imagine possible.

Audio:
The movie's soundtrack has been remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1, and it does open up the audio to a broader and more realistic degree than the original mono. However, this is not to say it is anything like modern, discrete, five-channel sound, the sonics here being more of a stretched monaural across the front speakers with few directional clues and a signal so comparatively weak in the rear speakers, it's almost nonexistent. However, the overall effect is still pleasing, the sound warm and smooth. With a background free of noise or hiss and possessing a fairly wide frequency range, the audio is quite listenable. It works best in the big musical numbers and, in fact, seems to improve as the film goes on.

Extras:
There are more bonus items on this two-disc set than there is movie. There must be three or four hours of documentaries and supplemental information for the viewer to pursue, making the package a bargain by any yardstick. Disc one contains the film itself, of course, its remastered DD 5.1 soundtrack; English and French spoken languages; English, French, and Spanish subtitles; plus an audio commentary with Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Cyd Charisse, Kathleen Freeman, co-director Stanley Donen, screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, and author/film historian Rudy Behlmer. In addition, there's a feature called "Singin' Inspirations: Hidden Treasures," which if utilized places the icon of a film reel on screen from time to time encouraging you to find out more background information about various scenes in the movie. Lastly, there's a cast and crew listing, an awards listing, thirty-eight scene selections, and a theatrical trailer. And that's just disc one!

Disc two begins with two full-length documentaries. The first of these, "Musicals Great Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM," is eighty-six minutes long and was made by Turner Broadcasting in 1996. It contains a wealth of interviews from surviving filmmakers about producer Arthur Freed and film clips from the producer's musicals made from "Broadway Melody" in 1929 through "Gigi" in 1958. Note that Freed came in and went out with Oscar winners for Best Picture. The second documentary is called "What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of Singin' in the Rain," a 2002, fiftieth-anniversary production that's thirty-five minutes long and features interviews with host Debbie Reynolds, star Donald O'Connor, director Stanley Donen, writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and many others. Reynolds and O'Connor admit they had no idea at the time they making anything but just another musical. Next comes a series Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown songs used in "Singin' in the Rain" shown from their originating movies; an outtake of "You Are My Lucky Star"; twenty-six scoring session music cues (the original prerecorded musical numbers from the show, including multiple takes); and a stills gallery. Whew, that's quite a lot of stuff, really, and most of it fun to view.

Parting Thoughts:
So, is "Singin' in the Rain" really the best musical of all time? I dunno. My personal preferences are still inclined toward "Cabaret," "My Fair Lady," and "The Music Man," but surely "Singin' in the Rain" isn't far behind. The film is light, frothy, and charming, a complete delight from beginning to end. It has fun, excitement, romance, humor, and high good spirits. What with the extra materials the current Special Edition sports on its two discs, plus its remastered sound and picture, it makes a tempting stab at number one.

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