An American in Paris (Two-Disc Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Vincente Minnelli
Actors: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $20.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 4176
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Original Recording Remastered, Restored, Special Edition, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Japanese (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 113
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: WARD035911D
UPC: 883929003952
EAN: 0883929003952
Theatrical Release Date: 1951
Release Date: September 16, 2008
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/16/2008
Amazon.com essential video
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 Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 S'Wonderful March 20, 2004
39 out of 42 found this review helpful
A glorious movie that showcases Gene Kelly's breathtaking talent. Forget the silly story and just watch him dance and dance and dance. He does more with a turn of a shoulder than most dancers can do with their whole body. This movie also introduced the lithe and lovely Leslie Caron as the object of Kelly's affection. The film builds to its dramatic hallucinatory conclusion as Kelly dances his way across a Paris dreamscape, that brings all the elements of modern dance together in a tour-de-force that was unprecedented in musicals of that time. You can't help getting swept away in the feel-good spirit of this movie. It was another time and place.
Special Edition gets Ultra-Resolution Process July 2, 2008
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Warner Brothers' proprietary Ultra-Resolution process has brought new life to such classics as "The Wizard of Oz," "Gone With the Wind," Errol Flynn's "Robin Hood," and "Singin' in the Rain." By going back to the original three-strip technicolor negatives and realigning them digitally, the color and detail blows away anything that customers have seen in the past with home video. "An American In Paris" has now undergone the same process and is going to be released in a special 2-disc DVD on Sept. 16, 2008 (as a note of caution: it has already been announced that this film will be released on Bluray in 2009; for those who can wait and don't want to double-dip...). Here is a list of extras that Warners has released:
Disc 1:
1.33:1 Full Screen with Original Mono audio
1938 MGM short: Paris on Parade
1951 MGM cartoon: Symphony in Slang
Theatrical trailer
Disc 2:
2002 American Masters Documentary: Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (previously released on DVD)
`S Wonderful: The Making of An American in Paris, an all new documentary, produced especially for this release. A dynamic history of the making of the film, which reveals how George and Ira Gershwin's classic songs, the dazzling art of the French impressionists and the ultimate teamwork of MGM's legendary "Freed Unit" came together to create a musical masterpiece. Featuring ten new interviews, including co-stars Leslie Caron and Nina Foch
Outtakes:
Georges Guetary performing Love Walked In and Gene Kelly performing I Got a Crush on You (audio only)
Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron promotional radio interview with Dick Simmons
Audio Outtakes: Alternate Main Title, But Not for Me (Guetary), But Not for Me (Levant Piano Solo), Gershwin Prelude #3, I've Got a Crush on You, Nice Work if You Can Get It, 'S Wonderful
Radio Interviews: Johnny Green, Gene Kelly, Gene Kelly & Leslie Caron
Not all of the original musical recording stems have survived over the years, preventing a true stereo/5.1 restoration of the soundtrack; instead, it appears that a restored mono version is being made available.
Most are familiar with the movie; storywise, it is a little creaky and hasn't necessarily survived well over the years, however the glowing color, fantastic music by Gershwin (arrangements by the talented Conrad Salinger), and the amazing choreography of Gene Kelly will keep this one a classic for years to come. Just the ending ballet alone is a masterpiece; the art of Toulouse Lautrec comes to life with Gene Kelly & Leslie Caron dancing their hearts out to some of the most imaginative choreography (Kelly's) in years. The Freed Unit at MGM was at their peak when this movie was made, and this is one of the last great ones that it created.
An excellent film September 14, 2001
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
"An American In Paris" is an amazing film. It won the Oscar for Best Picture and Gene Kelly was awarded a special Oscar for his choreography. I, and I'm sure that most people would agree, feel that "Singin' In The Rain" is Gene Kelly's best film, but this is a close second.
Basic story: Kelly is an ex-GI who stuck around in Paris to become an artist. He's now an artist, but a struggling one. He meets Leslie Caron and through the wonders of movie musicals, he falls in love with her in about ten seconds. He starts his pursuit of her, but he is also being pursued by a wealthy older woman who wants to sponsor him in an art show. The woman is interested in more than Kelly's art and Caron also has her own problems. She is engaged to an older man whom she doesn't love, but rescued her during the war and so she feels indebted to him. However, even with all these complications we must remember that this is a '50s musical so there can only be one outcome, a good one. Also worth noting is Oscar Levant. He plays Kelly's best pal and brings his usual cynicism and humor to the role.
The plot is exceptionally good for a musical, but what makes a person watch this movie is the musical numbers. Gene Kelly does the dancing and George Gershwin's catalog is used for the music. What could be better? Kelly shows his "everyman" qualities by dancing in a small cafe, on a sidewalk with a swarm of French children, and in the apartment of his best friend. He also does an incredibly romantic dance with Leslie Caron to Gershwin's "Our Love Is Here To Stay". Its beautiful.
The whole movie climaxes in a 17 minute ballet finale. Yes, ballet. Now I don't like ballet, but Kelly brings such an earthy and sexy feel to it that you almost forget its ballet. There are elements of humor in the finale, but for the most part it is incredibly romantic. Its set to a beatiful orchestration of Gershwin's "An American In Paris" suite. The ballet is set on a massive scale, there are many dancers and the fact that Kelly was able to choreograph everything so flawlessly is just a testament to his genius. Everyone is different and for some this isn't a "rewatch" scene, but the first time you see it, it is breathtaking. It took me a few viewings before I think I fully appreciated everything that was going on in the scenes.
One last note, any woman who enjoys seeing good looking men must see this film. Gene Kelly is very handsome and has a strong, dancer's body. During the ballet he dons a skin-tight costume and struts across the screen. Women, keep a glass of ice water handy. Don't say I didn't warn you.
A display of breathtaking colors dizzyingly romantic... December 16, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Vincente Minnelli directed some of the most celebrated entertainments in cinema history... He was among the first Hollywood directors to show that a profound love of color, motion and music might produce intelligent entertainment... His 'American in Paris' is a display of breathtaking colors dizzyingly romantic...
'American in Paris' is the story of an ex-GI who remains in France after the war to study and paint... He falls in love with a graceful dancer... Their romantic love affair sparkles as brightly as the City of lights itself... The whole movie brings a touch of French elegance where technique, artistic style and music all come together in perfect synchronism...
The first musical sequence introduces the exciting personality of Leslie Caron in her screen debut... She is like a diamond, a touch of class... George Guetary describes his fiance ambiguous grace in a montage of different dance styles, sweet and shy, vivacious and modern, graceful and awesome... The number leads to an unpretentious bistro, where Kelly and his very good friends in Paris share a gentle parody of Viennese waltzes... Later Kelly celebrates a popular tap dancing with a crowd of enthusiastic children singing with him 'I Got Rhythm,' and at the massive jazz nightclub Kelly spots the girl of his dreams... He is instantly hit by her sparkling sapphire blue eyes, and only one clear thing is in his mind, to pull Lize onto the dance floor and sing to her: "It's very clear, Our love is here to stay."
To the joyful 'Tra-La-La,' Kelly provides humor, wit and talent all around Oscar Levant's room ,and even on the top of his brown piano...
When he meets his pretty Cinderella along the Seine river, Kelly is swept away by his happy meeting with Caron... He expresses all his emotions with 'Our Love Is Here to Stay.' The piece had a definite nighttime feel as the two lovers were bathed in soft, blue smoky light... They start an enchanting dance-duet juxtaposing differing elements... Caron dances with her head on his shoulder, then tries to run away in a fluid way... They move backward, away from each other, then pause to rush toward each other, for a little kiss, and a warm hug...
The film's weakest numbers were those that bear little relation to the story... In one, Georges Guetary performs an entertaining stage show with showgirls in giant ornaments floating down to the stage... In another, Oscar Levant imagines himself conducting a concert, and playing not only a piano recital, but the other instruments as well... He even applauds to himself as members of the audience...
The extravagant climactic super ballet of the film is quite an adventure, a breakthrough in taste, direction and design... It is a blaze of love, fury and vividness... It is Kelly's major fantasy of his lost love and of his feeling about Paris as viewed through the huge backdrops of some of France's most Impressionist painters...
The number starts at the Beaux Arts Ball after Kelly finds himself separated from Lise, and begins a sketch with a black crayon... It gathers the important parts of the film's story through a constantly changing locations, all in the style of the painters who have influenced Jerry... The tour, richly attractive and superbly atmospheric, includes the Place De la Concorde Fountain, the Madeleine flower market, the Place De l'Opra, to his Rendez-Vous at Montmartre, with the cancan dancers in a representation of Lautrec's Moulin Rouge...
Kelly seems to defy the boundaries of his physical self... Caron seems to dominate her space and sweeps you away to another time and place...
Nina Foch appeared very attractive and elegant in her one-shouldered white gown... In one of the film's most famous lines, Kelly asks her: 'That's quite a dress you almost have on. What holds it up?" Nina, cleverly replies, "modesty!"
'An American in Paris' garnered six Oscars, including an honorary award to Gene Kelly... The film gave us a wealth of memories to take home...
GENE KELLY AT HIS BEST - WONDERFUL MUSICAL November 29, 2004
18 out of 21 found this review helpful
This film has eveything going for it: great Gerswhin music, great visuals, the beauty of Paris (despite being filmed on a backlot), a fine script, the lovely Leslie Caron, the humorous Oscar Levant, the amazing talent of Gene Kelly, a still-breathtaking 17 minute ballet, choreographed by Kelly, at the film's climax, and ROMANCE! This is one of my favorite musicals of all-time!
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