An American in Paris (1951)

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An American in Paris (1951)
Topic Started: May 1 2009, 08:49 PM (389 Views)
Laughing Gravy	May 10 2009, 08:40 PM Post #16
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Paul, you've mentioned The Leopard being cut on the Criterion DVD before - but that is something I've read nowhere else. Did you purchase the DVD, or rent it from Netflix? The Criterion is a 3-disc set, and the third disc is the cut (American) version while the first disc is supposedly the full 185-min. uncut version. Frankly, with all the film fans who collect Criterions, I find it hard to believe that nobody has noticed that the Criterion release is missing footage.



panzer the great & terrible	May 11 2009, 11:09 AM Post #17
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Find it hard to believe if you like, but the film ends abruptly because the last reel is missing. I saw it in Atlanta in the mid-eighties. After the ball, Lancaster roams the streets of his town; nothing much happens but it's heartbreaking: he's lost everything but life goes on. On the Criterion, the ball just ends, period, and the point is only made by implication. This whole business of "improving" masterpieces sucks. If you're implying that the Netflix version isn't the Criterion, you're mistaken there too.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Frank Hale	May 11 2009, 01:07 PM Post #18
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	I did some brief Googling, and apparently the original cut was 205m, but after reviews Visconti himself edited it down to 185 or 187m (depending on who you read). The ultra-long version appears to have received a limited revival release in the late 70’s / early 80’s, which is where Paul presumably saw it. Never saw any version, myself, although I remember the exceptionally badly dubbed trailer for the Fox version in the mid-60’s.



panzer the great & terrible	May 11 2009, 07:46 PM Post #19
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	I saw the long version at the Plaza Theater in Atlanta, and it quickly jumped to my favorite film of all time. Alas, the Criterion version, though good, is not great. I find it appalling that Visconti himself wrecked his best movie, but Italians are famous for being neurotic. Jews are too, and presumably that's why Spielberg ruined Close Encounters. I hate, hate, hate it when that happens.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


thadk	Jun 10 2009, 08:39 AM Post #20
Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 316 Group: Members Member #177 Joined: February 19, 2007	Personally... I've never liked An American in Paris... or The Band Wagon... not sure what that says about me. (But I do love Singin' in the Rain!)



panzer the great & terrible	Jun 10 2009, 09:03 AM Post #21
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	That's easy -- it says you don't like musicals. Singing is the musical that people like who don't like musicals. The music isn't anything special, but the story is fun and the dancing athletic.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


JazzGuyy	Jun 10 2009, 01:31 PM Post #22
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,164 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	Most musicals have silly or inane plots. An American In Paris is no exception. But what musical fans love first is the music/singing and dancing and the plot is a distant third. There are musicals with great stories and good to great music/singing and good dancing like The Wizard of Oz. The Band Wagon is a better all-around musical than Singin' In the Rain because it has a pretty good story to tell and better music and dancing than Rain IMO. I like even the bad ones, if they have at least one song or dance scene that saves the show (like for instance, Bye Bye Birdie, which only has one decent song). Just like when you watch a serial, you have to be able to suspend your sense of disbelief to watch a musical.



panzer the great & terrible	Jun 13 2009, 06:46 PM Post #23
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	I guess, now that you mention it, Band Wagon is about my favorite. One we haven't mentioned is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, ridiculous plot and all. There are some good songs with superb Johnny Mercer lyrics ("Spring, Spring, Spring" may be the cleverest he ever wrote), and Michael Kidd's muscular dances are a joy. Some people fault the movie for using painted sets, but it doesn't bother me except it's disorienting when they intercut stock of a real avalanche. Paradoxically, the viewer resents the intrusion of reality into a carefully constructed dream world. Still, it's hard to imagine staging a fake avalanche that would look right in color and 'scope.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


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