Kiss Me Kate
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Movie Reviews of Kiss Me Kate
Movie Review: The Three Leads Are Wonderful!
Summary: 4 Stars
I can't believe I had never seen either the stage or movie version of this famous Broadway musical until now. This 1953 movie is very enjoyable because of the excellent singing, dancing, charisma and acting of the three leads - Howard Keel, Ann Miller and Kathryn Grayson. The supporting cast is fine too with great dancing and comedy bits. The story is far from politically correct (take a look at the "spanking" DVD cover) which makes it seem more than a bit dated and of course the core of the story is taken from Shakespeare. And I am not surprised to read it was originally released as a 3D film since there are lots of time when the actors throw things rather unnecessarily to the audience. Still a must see for all musical lovers.Movie Review: DULL LOOKING TRANSFER NEEDS SOME TAMING
Summary: 3 Stars
"Kiss Me Kate" is Cole Porter's charming update of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". It stars Kathryn Grayson as Lily Vanessi, a hyper-sensative diva of the stage who stars opposite her ex-husband (Howard Keel) and his new lover (Ann Miller). On their way to a hit show, the three repeatedly bump heads and egos, ultimately finding true love. Porter's score for this musical is perhaps his finest, with such standards as "From This Moment On", "Wunderbar" and the title track. "A" list performances throughout make "Kiss Me Kate" a real show stopper.Unfortunately the same can't be said for Warner Home Video's dull looking transfer. Colors are muted, at time appearing bleached or, at the very least, weak. The same is true of the picture's contrast and black levels. There is a haze that plagues the picture quality throughout and adds to its overly soft characteristic.
Now, about that - the visual characteristic is generally soft looking throughout (most likely the result of over use of noise reduction equipment used to master the DVD). On a 32 inch television screen the picture will merely appear generally soft. On a 65 inch monitor it looks down right blurry and at times incredibly out of focus.
I am really at a loss to explain why this movie looks this bad. Owning the laserdisc and, doing a side by side comparison, I can report that the laserdisc actually surpasses this DVD in all of the above mentioned catagories. Of course, no laserdisc can hold a candle to DVD, in its superior resolution capabilities, and this DVD is no exception. There is no edge enhancement, aliasing or fine detail shimmering to speak of. This movie has been remixed to 5.1 surround. It's generally good, only suggesting a strident characteristic during brief interludes of dialogue or effects. The musical score is well represented.
Extras: Another all too short featurette on Cole Porter and the making of this movie - this one hosted by Ann Miller, but also featuring snippets from Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Tommy Rall and James Whitmore. A theatrical trailer and isolated music track are also worthy of mention.
Bottom Line: In light of Warner's usually pristine efforts on DVD this transfer is a big disappointment and NOT recommended.
Movie Review: Wonderful Show; Does Not Translate Well to DVD.
Summary: 3 Stars
It is difficult to rate this DVD, because the play is solid--full of one-line zingers and genuine laughs; the music is top-drawer Porter; the acting, singing, dancing are splendid; the costumes and settings are gorgeous, and the film is well-worth watching. Something about it doesn't quite work, however, on DVD.
I was lucky enough as a kid to see this film in 3D. "Kiss Me, Kate" literally jumped off the giant screen; it was truly spectacular--especially the dance numbers, which were staged upon a modernist forced-perspective De Chirico-like set, with Bob Fosse and Carole Haney, who went on to "Pajama Game" in 1954, leaping and twirling their way to fame. Also memorable were Katherine Grayson's "I hate men!" and Howard Keel's "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua!" And Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore, the stage-struck hoods, stole the show as they brushed up their Shakespeare and hoofed their way off stage and out of the lives of the characters whom, through a set of mistaken circumstances, they had come to apply their brass knuckles.
Like Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," which is a play within a play, "Kiss Me Kate" is played onstage before a large "audience." When one saw the film on a large screen in 3-D, one overlooked details, such as the utter lack of reaction by the on-screen audience. Without the excitement of a real audience reacting at the special effects, the play becomes static, and one notices the silence where laughs from the on-screen "audience" would be natural.
The extras are interesting, with comments about the production by Ann Miller, Katherine Grayson, and Howard Keel. They also give you a glimpse of some of the 3D effects (allowing you to fill in the blanks with your imagination. There is also a rather tedious Fitzpatrick travelogue on Manhatten, which is nevertheless of historical interest since it was shot in grainy color before the UN was built in New York City.
With all its faults, including the grainy color transfer, "Kiss Me Kate" should be in your library, as it demonstrates the excellence to which the old Hollywood musicals could strive, and will likely never achieve again.
Movie Review: An Interesting Item from the MGM Vaults
Summary: 3 Stars
A recent review I read of the re-release of KISS ME KATE refers to this film as one of MGM's lesser musicals. Of course for MGM, even their "lesser" musicals are still something to see. Howard Keel plays the swashbuckling, good hearted, but somewhat of a heel character of Fred Graham rather well. When Kathryn Grayson's Lilli Vanessi sings "I Hate Men," we believe her. Ann Miller is wonderful as the brassy, lovable Lois which begins with her "Too Darn Hot" number at the beginning and her "Always True to You In My Fashion" is both humorous and sincere. The dance numbers are well done, particularly "From This Moment On" which includes the talents of Ann Miller, Bob Fosse, and Bobby Vann is one of the films gems.The chief weakness of the film version of KISS ME KATE is due not to the acting, but more to the fact that this "play within a play" works better on stage than on screen. As far as the quality of the film is concerned, as other reviewers have noted, there is something missing in this transfer to DVD which takes away some of the magic. Still, movie buffs will want this DVD in their collection, especially fans of the great musicals.
Movie Review: Good Movie, Poor DVD
Summary: 3 Stars
After watching this movie on TCM earlier this year, I thought it would be a good idea to get this newly released DVD. I was extremely disappointed.First, the transfer was soft and sometimes grainy. The picture wasn't much better than the TiVo recording that I had made off of cable TV.
Secondly, it's a cropped full screen presentation (not pan and scan.) Really, not a big loss since the TCM broadcast was closer to 16:10 than 16:9, and you lose the dancers feet occasionally rather than losing entire characters. But if you have a widescreen TV, it's very annoying.
Third, the DVD extras are lame. A new documentary hosted by Ann Miller provides little information and only one interesting anecdote. Personally, I found the 50's short on New York more interesting, being a New Yorker, but other might find it dull.
Finally, the subtitles lack lyrics for the songs. Once a musical number starts, there are no subtitles!
I would recommend you tape it off of cable, as the DVD provides no significant extras in content nor quality.