An American in Paris
by Vincente Minnelli
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Product details
Actor: Gene Kelly, Georges Gu?tary, Leslie Caron, Nina Foch, Oscar LevantDirector: Vincente Minnelli
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; French (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Digital Video Transfer, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 115 minutes
Release Date: 1998-01-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
VHS Movie Reviews of An American in Paris
Movie Review: Outstanding.
Summary: 5 Stars
Very enjoyable. My husband and I are seniors and found it refreshing to review such an outstanding program....and one without a lot of 4 letter words in it which seems to be standard in todays movies. The acting and story were great. The dancing was superb! We had both seen it when it first came out and it was a joyful experience to view it again. Highly recommended. Movie Review: One of the two best musicals of all times
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw AN AMERICAN IN PARIS for the first time when I was ten years old, back in 1954, and I think it's the second best musical of all times only because SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is better. In both of them, the personality of Gene Kelly shines as actor, dancer, singer and choreographer. Not a coincidence. Here, director Vincente Minnelli deserves the credit as the real inspiration of the film, because his trade mark is absolutely clear in the sequence of the ballet, a glorious gem unsurpassed until now. No wander the Academy selected the film as the best production of 1951 with several Oscars, as a recognition of the efforts of the Arthur Freed Unity in the genre. A brilliant musical, a tribute to Paris and his painters, to the music of George Gershwin and the talent of Gene Kelly. I have seen this film over 50 times, and it's a joy to have it now in this optimal version, with the color and the sound shining as ever, plus the excellent documentary ANATOMY OF A DANCER. I expect the same treatment for INVITATION TO THE DANCE, not yet realeased on DVD. What are you waiting for?Movie Review: An American in Paris Movie Review from The Massie Twins
Summary: 4 Stars
An American In Paris is a simple love story at heart, embellished with lavish sets, baronial dance sequences, comedic interludes and grandiose music. It is one of the finest musicals ever made, featuring the marvelous talent of Gene Kelly and newcomer Leslie Caron, along with the voice of Georges Guetary and the piano skills of Oscar Levant.
Heartrending romance is illustrated through elaborate musical sequences that top nearly everything that came before it, and although considered an upset, An American in Paris won the Best Picture Oscar for 1951. Even more incredulous is that the following year Singin' in the Rain was released, and failed to even receive a Best Picture nomination.
In Paris in 1945, ex-G.I. Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) stays on to live out his dream of being a painter. His apartment consists of entirely collapsible furniture, and although he rarely sells his works, and is therefore constantly broke, he knows everyone on the block and can always find time to rejoice. His good friend Adam Cook (Oscar Levant), a concert pianist, frequently joins him in the nearby caf? for some hearty song and dance, and Henri Baurel (Georges Guetary), a well-to-do nightclub singer, stops by to partake in the festivities.
While Adam wiles away the days dreaming about monumental concert performances, Henri prepares for a trip to New York with his fianc?e, Lise (Leslie Caron, introduced with an impressive collage of risqu? ballet routines). Jerry is spotted by a wealthy sponser (Nina Foch), who is interested in more than just promoting his artwork and setting up his first exhibition, but he is infatuated with a young shop girl who he noticed at a restaurant. The catch is that the girl is the very same Lise who is engaged to Henri!
There are no clear-cut villains in this light-hearted musical, but with the introduction of an occasionally hilarious and oftentimes tear-jerking love triangle, someone has to lose out. The problem is that each of the three main characters are clearly protagonists, so ultimately Lise feels like the malefactor, gaily leading Jerry on. To add to the promotion of three positive leads is that the film opens with a narration by each one separately.
The story is used almost entirely to transition from one George Gershwin song to the next and while few are positively unforgettable, the dance sequences are absolutely spectacular. Atmospheric and colorful, the enormous end sequence for the film, which makes use of huge sets built to represent various French impressionist painters, showcases an entire movie's worth of love and romance. Beautifully choreographed by Kelly himself, all of the dancing is ambitious and powerful. Expressing a love story through music and dancing has never looked so agile and bold, and An American in Paris does it all with regal splendor.
- Mike Massie
Movie Review: An American in Paris
Summary: 5 Stars
What a beautiful musical and the dancing was wonderful. I love Gene Kelly! This is a great classic, you must have it! Thank you!Movie Review: OVERRATED AND BORING MUSICAL
Summary: 1 Stars
I am a HUGE musical fan especially the musicals of yesteryear but I have always considered this film to be boring. Gene Kelly always irritated me - a fantastic dancer and singer but he never had any talent for acting and he lacked masculinity.
Summary of An American in Paris
A GI (Gene Kelly) stays in Paris after the war to become an artist, and has to choose between the patronage of a rich American woman (Nina Foch) and a French gamine (Leslie Caron) engaged to an older man. The plot is mostly an excuse for director Vincente Minnelli to pool his own extraordinary talent with those of choreographer-dancer-actor Kelly and the artists behind the screenplay, art direction, cinematography, and score, creating a rapturous musical not quite like anything else in cinema. The final section of the film comprises a 17-minute dance sequence that took a month to film and is breathtaking. Songs include "'S Wonderful," "I Got Rhythm," and "Love Is Here to Stay." --Tom KeoghBallet & Dance Video
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