Gigi - Musical - Leslie Caron [DVD] [1958]

One of my rare criticisms of Amazon would be their failure to distinguish between reviews of ordinary dvd's and that of a Blu-ray update. For many films they are worlds apart and Gigi is no exception. I have been a fan of Gigi for more years than I care to remember. As a young man I adored the film and would seek out cinemas to watch the film again and again. Imagine my disappointment when I bought the ordinary dvd to show on my new large projection screen home cinema! To some extent the quality was acceptable when viewed on a standard size television but the picture imperfections were clear as soon as it was magnified on an 8 foot screen! And then there was the problem of the lip synch.To my amazement this is a problem that is rarely discussed in Amazon reviews or indeed anywhere else. I know that I am more susceptible to this problem than many others. However, in some cases on ordinary dvd's the sychronisation is out by nearly half a second. 'There's Something About Mary' and 'Prelude to a Kiss' are examples of bad lip synch and sadly the ordinary Gigi dvd is equally bad. I know that you can make slight adjustments on modern home cinema equipment but the synchronistion is often too far out to be corrected.Eureka! Problem solved on every Blu-ray disc that I have bought and in particular with the Blu-ray version of Gigi. Last night we watched this wonderful film in the Blu-ray version. It was like watching a new film. Fabulous revitalised colours and a pin sharp picture for most of the time. Such detail! The sound quality had also been much improved although this was less obvious than the benefit in video quality. There are also some very interesting extras which include an early 'Tom & Gerry' carton, a complete version of the original 1949 French version of Gigi (non-musical) and a very informative film on the making of this version. This is filmed mainly in HD and includes interviews with Leslie Caron and others who made the film. Fascinating. The extras also include the original trailer for the film and this is a further illustration of the sea difference in quality between the different versions.I admit that I hesitated for some months before I made this upgrade purchase. I am just so glad that I bought this upgrade. It is worth every single penny and more. What a wonderful restoration of this fabulous masterpiece.

I love this film and the Bluray has a great picture. The Bluray which arrived was brand new and in its wrapper but the film juddered to a halt during the seaside scene and to a certain extent before that during the run up to the "Night They Invented Champagne" song.I tried to clean it and made it worse so I didn't think it right to return it. This was the German version but has English soundtrack and English subtitles so it didn't matter. I have changed the rating to five star accordingly.I have reordered it from the Netherlands, also brand new and it remains to be seen whether it is a batch fault or I was just unlucky the first time.I have given a 4 star rating as the supplier supplied the disc and fulfilled their duty and it was not their fault it was a dud. Assuming the discs are usually OK, then the film itself is wonderful and it is a good Bluray with a nice selection of extras.This is as fair as I can be under the circumstances.The old BW French version (among the extras) is monumentally bad and just shows how much better the American version was. I was very pleased to be able to make the comparison.UPDATE I purchased the same film from the Netherlands. The disc was identical in every way (apart from having a fault) and played perfectly. My Bluray player even thought it was the same disc and remembered which point I had reached when I had been playing the other one. Therefore, I can confirm that I was just unlucky and you can buy this Bluray with confidence.I heartily recommend it.

I like this film because it is a good musical with stars of yesteryear whom I very much like, particularly Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold. There are some poignant scenes and lyrics that would turn the hardest of hearts......., songs like "I remember it well", where Maurice sings about their last meeting and gets all the details wrong (fully remembered by Hermione, of course!) but his feelings for her, he can still remember Very Well.This particular copy suffers somewhat from deterioration of the sound track which goes rather quiet in places, but not sufficient to spoil the whole effect. I am glad I bought it and will watch it many times to come.

This film has special memories for me as I remember seeing it as a kid and the whole family loved it. I probably hadn't seen it since but I had just one or two vague memories of scenes and it was fascinating to check them out. I don't think this would appeal to a young audience but for people like, who aren't as young as we were when we were younger, it recalls a more innocent epoch. It maybe helps to have some of French culture in the blood (though it's all in English). For these, given it's based on a novel by Colette and the songs and book are by Lerner and Lowe (of My Fair Lady immortality), it's worth a few old francs! (Quick delivery.)

For a movie that is almost sixty years old it holds up very well. The transfer to Blu-ray has to be applauded, the colour is beautiful and the soundtrack is as clear as a bell. My only niggle is with the inclusion of the 1948 French version in the special features. Because the sub-titles where white on white in places they could not be seen clearly, that makes it virtually impossible to follow what the characters are saying as I regret that I do not speak French. But I can say from a personal point of view Gigi will be watched again and again. Highly recommended

Well package great dvd

It probably could not be made for today's audience but I remembered seeing it at cinema years ago and really enjoyed it.

Used to watch this growing up when I stayed with my grandparents. Really happy to finally be able to watch it again after so many years. Worth a watch if you like slightly off the wall musicals.