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My Fair Lady 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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davidmatychuk said:
No, if you pull the strip out of the cardboard holder there are six consecutive frames in total. I'm not sure why they didn't design it so that you could see every frame they were giving you.

I stand corrected. Should have remembered, as all the cutting occurred in our appropriately named cutting room. No one received frames of legs, horses hooves, or other less than appropriate frames.


RAH
 

warnerbro

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I never cared a flip about this film until I saw Robert Harris' restoration on laserdisc. I found the last box set left at Ken Crane's and decided to get it because it was half price. I fell in love. And I'm so glad I bought the laserdisc box set because I got a gold CD, 2 books, and frames from the original 70mm Super Panavision with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison in the garden scene at the end. I treasure it like it's the Holy Grail! If only they would have done something like this for this Bluray 50th anniversary edition! I even began to appreciate Audrey Hepburn in this role and I now agree with Rex Reed that we were lucky to have her in this picture (even though we all love Julie Andrews like mad).
 

Ethan Riley

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I still use the dvd version for my annual airing, didn't get that blu. The dvd is still one of the best in my collection.
 

Michael1

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Sheesh, some of those comments about Audrey Hepburn's original vocals on that audrey1.org site are mind-boggling. I realize all the people there are super fans of hers, but....


"She's great and her voice should have been used in all the film."


No, just no.


"Audrey was a class act, and her voice should have been used in the movie. It has never been fully explained why it was not."


Yes, she was a class act, and no, her singing voice should not have been used in the movie. I think it has been fully explained why it wasn't, and at any rate, the reason as obvious if you listen to the original vocals.


"I think audrey has a great voice..'i could have danced all night" was a struggle for her it sounds but 'without you' and 'just you wait' are ideal."


No, her singing is unacceptable in all of the pre-recordings. Bear in mind that they were recorded as guide vocals anyway, and if they had decided to go with her singing voice (which never would have happened), Audrey would have re-recorded all of them with a lot more care taken to get them to sound better. But they still wouldn't have been acceptable, because she just didn't have the vocal ability for the MY FAIR LADY songs.
 

Robert Harris

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If one listens to all of the unedited attempts, it becomes very clear that Miss Hepburn was acutely aware that she did not have the necessary vocal range. She was constantly trying, again and again, and apologizing to those working with her. She knew.


Please note that I have not said that she didn't have the "voice."


She did. And within certain ranges, it was sweet, pure, and magnificent. Just listen to Moon River, and you'll be sold.


What a magnificent lady, gone far too early.


RAH
 
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I've been to a lot of movies over the past 35 years, but my all-time favorite movie-going experience was seeing "My Fair Lady," for the very first time, during the 30th anniversary showings of the restored version back in 1994.


At the time, I lived in Iowa, and the closest theater showing the film seemed to be the McClurg Court Cinema in downtown Chicago, about 3 1/2 hours away. I knew almost nothing about the movie, but I was vaguely familiar with a few of the songs from my childhood, and I knew the film had been restored by the same people who had worked on "Lawrence of Arabia." That was enough incentive for me. So I took a day off work and hopped in my Ford Ranger and drove 200 miles, through a long series of tiny, one-stoplight Illinois towns, into the heart of bustling downtown Chicago.


When I saw the nondescript exterior of the theater, I was disappointed. I had hoped for an old, restored movie palace. But when I entered the theater, I encountered the biggest movie screen I'd ever seen, along with hundreds and hundreds of seats upholstered in beautiful red velvet.


From the moment the lights dimmed and the overture began, I was enthralled. The luminous Audrey Hepburn singing “I Could Have Danced All Night,” the gorgeous cinematography, the witty dialogue, the infectious musical score... An hour into the film, I noticed my face hurt and I quickly realized it was because I had been smiling ear to ear the entire time.


This being a 1 p.m. weekday matinee, there were only about two dozen people at this particular showing, but when the film ended, everyone stood and applauded. Walking out, I was thinking to myself, "So this is what it was like when one went to the movies back in the 1950s and early 1960s." It was an event, not just a casual outing. It was such a thoroughly enjoyable experience, I seriously considered staying for the next show -- and I would have done exactly that were it not for the fact that it would have meant getting back home long after 1 a.m.


When the deluxe 30th anniversary laserdisc boxed set -- with the gold CD, the harcover book and the 70mm frames inside -- went on sale, I didn't hesitate to buy it. And a few years later, when all laserdiscs were being sold off at fire-sale prices due to the advent of DVD, I bought another sealed copy of the exact same set. A few years after that, I even picked up a sealed copy of the deluxe VHS version with all of the assorted extras. By then, I didn't even have a VHS player, but I suppose it was my way of reconnecting with that magical day in Chicago. That day wouldn't have been possible had this amazing film not been restored by Robert Harris & James Katz. In bringing that movie back to life, they not only created a new generation of fans for "My Fair Lady," they turned back the hands of time and enabled some of us to experience the thrill of sitting in a darkened theater and being transported to another place and time.


The McClurg Court Cinema is long gone now. But fortunately, two or three of the theaters where I now live have regular showings of classic films. Next week, I plan to go see “How The West Was Won” on the big screen, which is part of the current “TCM Presents” series playing at theaters nationwide. I know it won’t compare to my experience of seeing “My Fair Lady” for the first time, but it won’t entail a day off work and 400 miles of windshield time, either. It’ll be good.
 

lukejosephchung

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Agreed, Robert...if Ms. Hepburn had any kind of diva's ego, she would have insisted that the producers record her vocals and release them on the finished soundtrack, but she had the humility and realism to understand that she would have been competing against the well-established vocal talents of her predecessor in the stage version, Ms. Julie Andrews...she elected to do the wise thing and have Marni Nixon dub her vocals... :thumbsup:
 

Robert Harris

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lukejosephchung said:
Agreed, Robert...if Ms. Hepburn had any kind of diva's ego, she would have insisted that the producers record her vocals and release them on the finished soundtrack, but she had the humility and realism to understand that she would have been competing against the well-established vocal talents of her predecessor in the stage version, Ms. Julie Andrews...she elected to do the wise thing and have Marni Nixon dub her vocals... :thumbsup:

It appears that it was less "elected," and more an understanding of the necessity.


Keep in mind that MFL was a 12 million dollar project. Huge in 1963 dollars. You could buy a house and have a car left over. It was the same cost as Lawrence.


It is understandable that Mr. Warner may not have felt comfortable giving that role to a very young, albeit superb stage actress.


That particular superb stage actress has proven Mr. Warner wrong, but back in 1963...


RAH
 

classicmovieguy

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The film needed a *name* in either Eliza or Higgin's role. Julie Andrews was a known star on the stage but untried in films. The decision to cast Audrey was entirely necessary.
 

MatthewA

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For what it's worth, for years my mother believed Audrey actually was English! She believed that about Christopher Plummer as well.
 

lionel59

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Any hints as to when this will be being released? I have it on pre-order with Amazon.

Re Audrey's vocals, Marni Nixon's voice may not have suited her as well as it did Deborah Kerr and (to a lesser extent perhaps) Natalie Wood, but she gives a good, professional account of the score. Betty Wand, who dubbed Leslie Caron in GIGI, may have had a vocal sound closer to Miss Hepburn's speaking voice. To my mind, she is a better "actress" as a voice double (for evidence of this listen to. 'I Don't Understand The Parisians' by Miss Wand on the soundtrack). We DO get to hear Audrey at the very beginning of 'I Could Have Danced All Night' and the opening and closing portions of 'Just You Wait'.(By the way, does anyone know if the actor portraying King Edward in the fantasy seqment does his own singing?)

I agree with Rex Reed. Eliza Dolittle was a character unlike any Miss Hepburn had played before and quite a stretch for her. I believe she met the challenge superbly and is hilarious as the guttersnipe and far more touching in the latter scenes (where she feels cast aside) than I can imagine Julie Andrews' being. I like Miss Andrews, but I don't think she does "vulnerable" as well as an actress of Miss Hepburn's class. Miss Andrews went on record stating that she though Audrey Hepburn was "terribly good" in the role and she won the Italian award ( the David de Donitelli ) for Best Foreign Actress for her performance and was nominated for Best Actress (Musical/Comedy) at the Golden Globes.

It's a pity that by the '70's, stars who needed to be dubbed were allowed to use their own vocals. Clint Eastwood in PAINT YOUR WAGON, Sophia Loren in MAN OF LA MANCHA and Lucille Ball in MAME are examples which come to mind. According to Lucy, Lisa Kirk (who sang most of Rosalind Russell's vocals in GYPSY and was in KISS ME KATE on Broadway in the Ann Miller role) recorded the songs but Warners ultimately- and foolishly- opted to use Lucy's versions of the songs. I like the movie and Lucy in it ( a minority view ) but the tuneful score is lessened considerably by amateur vocals from a comedienne who often acknowledged (comically in her sitcom) that she couldn't sing. Detractors may be surprised to learn that she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance and that-reportedly- a family crisis made Angela Lansbury's participation in the movie impossible even if Warners had felt they could entrust the multi-million dollar production to her name. It may have its flaws, but for my money it has one of the most rousing and creative title sequence I've ever seen which immediately establishes the mood and the period of the ensuing narrative. Great editing and terrific supporting performances too. (No MY FAIR LADY however!)
 

AnthonyClarke

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We are hoping, Lionel, that it may be released this year or next, but it appears there's nothing definite on that score yet.

I totally agree with you about Betty Wand ... a perfect match for the lovely Leslie Caron.

As for Clint Eastwood in 'Paint Your Wagon', I think the inadvertent comedy in that performance made up for his vocal deficiencies!

With Awards in the air, I like to remember that one of my best friends won the Oscar for best design for 'Paint Your Wagon', and he (his name was John Truscott) also won it for 'Camelot'. We still miss him very much.
 

Jim*Tod

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Truscott's costumes and sets for CAMELOT were really amazing. It is too bad that Logan's direction dragged this film down... I have always felt it would have been a much better film with another director... maybe Minnelli or Donen. Last year an exhibit of Hollywood Costumes came here to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. One of the costumes was Guinevere's wedding dress which was sewn with organic items that looked like large seeds. It was incredibly beautiful and the detail was amazing (sadly not that apparent onscreen). As I am sure you know the Camelot set was re-dressed for the horrendous LOST HORIZON and later used for the KUNG FU tv series. Did Truscott design any more films?
 

Matt Hough

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AnthonyClarke said:
With Awards in the air, I like to remember that one of my best friends won the Oscar for best design for 'Paint Your Wagon', and he (his name was John Truscott) also won it for 'Camelot'. We still miss him very much.

Your friend John Truscott won two Oscars for Camelot: for production design and for costume design. He won neither award for Paint Your Wagon (he wasn't nominated in either category for it.)
 

AnthonyClarke

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Re John Truscott's 'Paint Your Wagon' .... Yes, a memory slip. Don't know what's going wrong. What year is this?

And what's this about Marni Nixon? I'll have to check with Audrey about that...
 

MatthewA

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lionel59 said:
It's a pity that by the '70's, stars who needed to be dubbed were allowed to use their own vocals. Clint Eastwood in PAINT YOUR WAGON, Sophia Loren in MAN OF LA MANCHA and Lucille Ball in MAME are examples which come to mind. According to Lucy, Lisa Kirk (who sang most of Rosalind Russell's vocals in GYPSY and was in KISS ME KATE on Broadway in the Ann Miller role) recorded the songs but Warners ultimately- and foolishly- opted to use Lucy's versions of the songs. I like the movie and Lucy in it ( a minority view ) but the tuneful score is lessened considerably by amateur vocals from a comedienne who often acknowledged (comically in her sitcom) that she couldn't sing. Detractors may be surprised to learn that she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance and that-reportedly- a family crisis made Angela Lansbury's participation in the movie impossible even if Warners had felt they could entrust the multi-million dollar production to her name.

I've always speculated that the reason they insisted on doing their own vocals, harsh as they may have sounded, is precisely because of the negative publicity over the dubbing in this film. The reasoning was that using the actor's own voice was more "authentic," even if it was, in fact, a pre-record stitched together from dozens of takes! I have mixed feelings about using untrained singers in musicals. Sometimes it works if it's a voice that fits the character. Sometimes not so much. But at least they couldn't use AutoTune because it didn't exist yet. It's bad enough when pop stars use it to pull the wool over listeners' ears to make people believe they are better singers than they really are, but do they have to do it in musicals as well? This goes for both film and television; I won't name names, but they know who they are.


As for Mame (and I've always felt the film's reputation might be different had Lucy been dubbed, and that Lisa Kirk would have been a good vocal match, certainly moreso than the vocal double they used in the first episode of Here's Lucy), Lansbury left Hollywood to save her children's lives. Her son and daughter had gotten hooked on heroin (I recently lost a friend to it; he is now in jail because of the bad decisions he made while under its influence) and started hanging around the Manson family. As great as it would have been to have her recreate her Broadway triumph on screen, she had to think about her family first. The son and daughter are still alive and both in their 60s.
 

classicmovieguy

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Carole Cook (one of Lucy's proteges who also headlined the original Australian company of "Hello, Dolly!") dubbed Lucy's songs for 99.9% of "Here's Lucy".
 

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