The Busby Berkeley Collection (Footlight Parade / Gold Diggers of 1933 / Dames / Gold Diggers of 1935 / 42nd Street)

I just read in the paper about this collection and immediately hopped up to the computer and pre-ordered my copy! Here are Brad's top ten reasons that I want to own it and you should too:10) You know there are some things - works of art, foods, smells, people - that leave such an indelible image on you that every time you come across them you seem to be immersed in a nostalgic haze. Watching these Berkeley films does it to me. I can't always explain it. When I show my VHS copies to friends or students of mine, invariably somebody goes "what the heck is that?!?" Berkeley's over-the-top quality has to be experienced to be believed.9) I don't have "Dames" or Golddiggers of 1935" although I've seen them. I consider them lesser works, but each contains some incredible numbers: "Dames" has a catchy title song that was included in the stage production of 42ND STREET and "1935" has "Lullaby of Broadway" which is a complete musical tragedy in 15 minutes.8) I don't even know what the extras are, but I can't wait. Extra numbers?7) Another reviewer hinted at this: it's that Warner Brothers stamp on the musical genre that makes these films so amazing. It's a toughness, a rawness, a gangster film-like quality. It's performances by actors like Jimmy Cagney, Joan Blondell, Aline McMahon and Ginger Rogers that give these films....oh, I'll call it 'moxie!" And then couple them with the sweetness of Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell, and the combination can't be beat.6) The three "Prologues" that close FOOTLIGHT PARADE should be seen by everyone. From the soft-porn leering of "Honeymoon Hotel" to the aquatic excess of "By a Waterfall" to the brilliance of Cagney and Keeler in "Shanghai Lil".....I never lose the thrill down my back when I watch them.5) The chance to see some of the greatest character actors in the Warner Bros. stable strut their stuff, even in tiny parts (i.e. Sterling Holloway as the delivery boy in GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933). Watching Guy Kibbee or Hugh Herbert or Una Merkel or Aline MacMahon or any of the others on screen is a treat.4) Speaking of G. of 1933, "Petting in the Park" reminds you of what films could show before the Hays Code messed everything up. Another prurient delight from Busby Berkeley's dirty mind. And then "Shadow Waltz" shows you how romantic and stirring he could be. Best of all "My Forgotten Man" is a must-see at the end of that picture. Berkeley could play with mood as well as anybody. As hilarious as this film is, you never forget that these people are in the middle of a Depression and are always on the verge of starving. Happy ending or not, Berkeley can't let you forget it either. The number is magnificent. The amazing Joan Blondell can sing about as well as Ruby Keeler could tap, and it doesn't matter!!!!!!3) Did I mention Ruby Keeler's tap-dancing? I work with a lot of tappers in my profession, and nobody ever stepped like her. It's thunderous and awkward and absolutely beautiful. And her voice, which approaches near-bass qualities.....I know it sounds like I'm putting her down, but I love this woman. She makes you smile and breaks your heart, all at the same time.2) If you absolutely hate musicals (and that means you probably aren't even in this spot on Amazon, reading this, but just on the off chance that you are) then skip over the musical numbers and watch the snappy patter of the dialogue scenes. Cagney in FOOTLIGHT PARADE is Cagney at his best! Watching Ginger Rogers, Una Merkel and the rest of the showgirls engage in witty, bitchy banter in 42ND STREET of G. of 1933 will have you howling.1) If you love musicals, then I highly recommend these films because they are the works of a true original. Nobody approached musical theatre like Busby Berkeley. It's hard not to feel strongly about him; you could end up hating the guy for his craziness. But I'm betting you won't!

If you love movie musicals, you simply must own the matchless, endlessly entertaining THE BUSBY BERKELEY COLLECTION boxed set from Warner Home Video. The five movies are gems from the 1932-1935 Warners era and rich in Depression era artifacts in the sets and the songs. The movies are 42ND STREET, GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933, FOOTLIGHT PARADE, DAMES, and GOLDDIGGERS OF 1935. A bonus sixth disc is a Busby Berkeley paradise, with almost THREE HOURS of nothing but Berkeley musical numbers---21 of them from nine movies.The wonderful songs in this DVD boxed set are mostly by Harry Warren and Al Dubin. They include the title songs from "42nd Street" and "Dames", plus "Shuffle Off to Buffalo", "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me," "Pettin' in the Park," "Shadow Waltz", "Remember My Forgotten Man," "Honeymoon Hotel," "Shanghai Lil", "I Only Have Eyes For You," "The Words Are In My Heart," and the incomparable "By a Waterfall" and the Oscar-winning "Lullaby of Broadway". They are all both products of the Depression and ageless exercises in pure style. The numbers are mind-boggling; how did Berkeley do it? This is way beyond Astaire and Rogers doing a perfection dance number. Berkeley takes his camera under water and literally through the studio roof and does all sorts of gymnastics with the camera.The casts are interchangeable and fabulous: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, Warren William, Hugh Herbert, Guy Kibbee, James Cagney, Bebe Daniels, Warner Baxter, Adolphe Menjou, Glenda Farrell, Aline MacMahon, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady, George Brent, and a couple of hundred chorus girls in each film's climax. Get acquainted with this Warners contract player roster. Watch for them in other movies.But what stuns me is how entertaining and first-rate the plots are in these five movies. They do follow a formula--putting on a Broadway show, staging "prologues" that went before or between movies in big cities of the early 1930's, stage professionals fight a moral decency group to put on their show, poor boy Dick Powell wants to marry either poor Ruby Keeler or wealthy Gloria Stuart (62 years before James Cameron's TITANIC) despite a mother who won't hear of it. The plots are fun, with witty dialogue and romantic scenes and lesser songs in the middle of the movie before the big climax.There is more because this is a Warner Home Video boxed set--five new featurettes with directors and critics praising the Berkeley style; no less than 13 original era musical or comedy shorts; nine classic cartoons; theatrical trailers and radio spots. You are not getting a movie, but rather a full three hour 1932 or 1933 or 1934 or 1935 Night at the Movies with each disc. Or longer, if you need two nights per disc. Too bad the other video companies choose not to include bonuses like this, but only five movies, in the same price range. Warner Home Video could teach Universal Home Video, in particular, some packaging lessons.Do check out THE BUSBY BERKELEY COLLECTION--and show at least part of THE BUSBY BERKELEY DISC to any friend who does not know his choreography genius. It is a fabulous, scintillating, romantic, and tuneful gem of a DVD boxed set. Great movies, great stars, great stories, great musical numbers, and fun bonus material from the era. It just does not get any better than this.

The plot - boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl end up in big musical. This is a time honoured Hollywood plot also seen in the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies. The plot may be thin but the musical productions are fantastic.

Toutes les plus gandes comédies musicales de Busby Berkeley figurent dans ce coffret... "Gold diggers de 1933"... "Dames"... "Footlight Parade"... "Gold diggers de 1935"... "Forty second street" toutes les mélodies chantées telles "Shadow waltz"... "By a waterfall"... "I only have eyes for you"... "Forty second street"... "Shangaïe Lil"... "Remember my forgotten man" et j'en passe... Le charme l'élégance et la grâce, le chic et le bon goût... Chaque numéro est une création prestigieuse comme le sont les modèles de la haute couture... En v.o. sous-titrée en français... Nombreux bonus non sous-titrés... Dois-je ajouter que je vous le recommande?...

Quel talent ! Personne n'arrivera à égaler les chorégraphies de Busby Berkeley : tout simplement grandioses. Un seul regret que ces films soient en noir et blanc. Quant aux danseuses on constate qu'à l'époque elles étaient quelque peu potelées, mais ce qui n'enlève rien à leurs prestations, quelle souplesse et coordination dans les ensembles ! A recommander chaudement.

Un coffret indispensable pour qui adore la comédie musicale de la grande époqueUn cinéaste découvert grâce à Patrick BRIONAttention : nécessite d'avoir un lecteur capable de lire le format NTSC