Blu-ray Review Show Boat (1951) Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Nick*Z]

Yes, Peterson is on the various LPs and is credited. If I recall, it's the last cut on at least one of the albums of it I have.

You're right, SInatra is nowhere to be heard on the LPs, just as Perry Como isn't on the Words and Music soundtrack LPs.

Como, previously with Decca, was with RCA Victor by 1943 and they were rather territorial about licensing recordings outside of that label. While he was allowed to sing in MGM's Words & Music, those vocals were not permitted, contractually to be included on any early MGM soundtrack album, nor was Metro interested in licensing them to RCA Victor. Como's label did allow him to 're-record a handful of those songs for their label. But there's just something about the MGM style that's lost in those re-issues.

The 'Composer's Collection' LD release of Till The Clouds Roll By ,Words and Music and Deep in My Heart from 1991, contained isolated 'audio only' recordings of all of Como's cuts, flubs and deleted songs in addition to the songs he recorded that stayed in the movie. One outstanding exclusion that did not survive the movie cut, but was included as a extra here, "You're Nearer" - a gorgeous ballad in which Como positively tears the heart out. Good stuff!

 

[Matt Hough]

Not making any promises, but I would suspect we'll see 'Clouds' on Blu-ray from WAC sooner rather than later, and, in its entirety. I'll concur with you here - it is one of the finest musical anthology bio-pics in their canon - in fact, the granddaddy that kickstarted the others at the studio. So, hopefully we also get Words & Music, Thousands Cheer, and Ziegfeld Follies at some point too. But I would sincerely prefer WAC preceded them all with The Great Ziegfeld, and Ziegfeld Girl first, and work their way out from there.

Dear lord, let's not forget Three Little Words!

 

[roxy1927]

I've owned that album in many different incarnations but never on 78s.

Como, previously with Decca, was with RCA Victor by 1943 and they were rather territorial about licensing recordings outside of that label. While he was allowed to sing in MGM's Words & Music, those vocals were not permitted, contractually to be included on any early MGM soundtrack album, nor was Metro interested in licensing them to RCA Victor. Como's label did allow him to 're-record a handful of those songs for their label. But there's just something about the MGM style that's lost in those re-issues.

The 'Composer's Collection' LD release of Till The Clouds Roll By ,Words and Music and Deep in My Heart from 1991, contained isolated 'audio only' recordings of all of Como's cuts, flubs and deleted songs in addition to the songs he recorded that stayed in the movie. One outstanding exclusion that did not survive the movie cut, but was included as a extra here, "You're Nearer" - a gorgeous ballad in which Como positively tears the heart out. Good stuff!

Did that include his entire beautiful With a Song in My Heart which is so brutally truncated at the end of the film? Does that still exist? I was told that was done intentionally by Louis B because Como managed to insult him by dropping the f bomb at a public function. Whatever the reason It is unfortunate.

 

[Nick*Z]

Did that include his entire beautiful With a Song in My Heart which is so brutally truncated at the end of the film? Does that still exist? I was told that was done intentionally by Louis B because Como managed to insult him by dropping the f bomb at a public function. Whatever the reason It is unfortunate.

A more complete version of With A Song In My Heart by Como did exist as an audio only extra on that aforementioned Composer's Collection. Ebay is currently selling 1 for only $19.99. I think I paid around $65 when it was new! Anyway, you have to have a player to play it on, but you'd be getting a real amazing set.

MGM COMPOSERS COLLECTION Used Laserdisc VG +5 disc box set | eBay

“ MGM Composers Collection” deluxe box set of five discs.

www.ebay.com

 

[Richard M S]

Sinatra was entering the roughest part of his career at the time.

I'm disappointed that they included the scenes from Till the Clouds Roll. Despite its PD status I was still hoping for a bluray as it is one of MGM's Technicolor musical spectacles for the ages. This makes it appear unlikely. The final segment taking place in MGM heaven where it ends with three of Kerns most beautiful songs performed by Tony Martin, Lena Horne and Sinatra is glorious. Honestly I'm not crazy about Sinatra vocally in this period of his career before his genius was fully revealed in his Nelson Riddle Capitol/Reprise years but here he is stupendous. Could you imagine an audience today filled with literally thousands of people(it opened as the Christmas film at Radio City) sitting through an ending of three slow ballads where the camera barely moves? And that final pull back is amazing. I can't get over how they painted that massive studio floor to make the entire set look like it's floating in space. I wanted that so much revealed in its Technicolor brilliance on bluray.

And I Won't Dance with Bremer and Johnson is such a knock out I think it's one of the best numbers musical ever. One of the best popular songs ever written with Robert Alton's dazzling choreography, Bremer beyond beautiful and Johnson breaking the fourth wall and pouring on the charm.

Oh you may not have wanted to have been in that Radio City audience. Bosley Crowther of the NY Times said Sinatra looked pale and sang horribly. I know my Aunt and Uncle went on a date to see the film and he, as did many in the audience, laughed at Sinatra in his all white suit singing Ol' Man River. Lol, my Aunt yelled at him; she loved Sinatra, who was beginning his downward slide at the time. (There may have been some lingering resentment from ex-GIs like my Uncle.)

Ok, bringing it back to Show Boat, the bluray remains one of my most anticipated purchases on Amazon, I could never wait for a WarnerArchive sale for this title.

 

[roxy1927]

A friend sent out a group email with the clip of Sinatra singing Old Man River as a joke. I most be the only one who thinks he's great here as absurd as some people might find the whole thing. I guess I just have a sweet tooth for MGM at its most baroque. That a in the word along at the end I find thrilling. A friend insists it was not one take but was edited as if Sinatra was incapable of it.

 

[roxy1927]

A more complete version of With A Song In My Heart by Como did exist as an audio only extra on that aforementioned Composer's Collection. Ebay is currently selling 1 for only $19.99. I think I paid around $65 when it was new! Anyway, you have to have a player to play it on, but you'd be getting a real amazing set.

MGM COMPOSERS COLLECTION Used Laserdisc VG +5 disc box set | eBay

“ MGM Composers Collection” deluxe box set of five discs.

www.ebay.com

Thank you. Had no idea it existed. I grabbed it. Looks like a real treasure chest. Now one day I'll pick up a used laser disc player on ebay and hope it works...

 

[dukiejosh54]

Dear Roxy1927:

Warner rescued Till The Clouds Roll By from PD hell at least a decade ago and continue to hold onto those rights with renewals, hence the inclusion of the Show Boat opener on this Blu. The TTCRB Show Boat prologue was, frankly, a revelation, as I was suspecting it would merely be a slapped together montage from the tired old DVD scan. It's not. It's a new scan in HD and looks utterly magnificent. It seems a terrible waste for WAC to go to that trouble to scan in a prologue and NOT actually have remastered the rest of the movie too in HD for a pending new-to-Blu release.

Not making any promises, but I would suspect we'll see 'Clouds' on Blu-ray from WAC sooner rather than later, and, in its entirety. I'll concur with you here - it is one of the finest musical anthology bio-pics in their canon - in fact, the granddaddy that kickstarted the others at the studio. So, hopefully we also get Words & Music, Thousands Cheer, and Ziegfeld Follies at some point too. But I would sincerely prefer WAC preceded them all with The Great Ziegfeld, and Ziegfeld Girl first, and work their way out from there.

Not sure if it's the same transfer that's on the Show Boat blu-ray but Till the Clouds Roll By is available to purchase on Itunes in HD. I Haven't bought it to see how it looks yet because i've been hoping the blu-ray is coming soon.

 

[Matt Hough]

Not sure if it's the same transfer that's on the Show Boat blu-ray but Till the Clouds Roll By is available to purchase on Itunes in HD. I Haven't bought it to see how it looks yet because i've been hoping the blu-ray is coming soon.

I did buy it, and it looks beautiful, but like every other MGM musical that I've bought on iTunes HD and then bought the Blu, the Blu-ray is one slight notch upward in visual quality.

 

[Reed Grele]

Next Tuesday can't come fast enough!

 

[RolandL]

I'm disappointed that they included the scenes from Till the Clouds Roll. Despite its PD status I was still hoping for a bluray as it is one of MGM's Technicolor musical spectacles for the ages. This makes it appear unlikely. The final segment taking place in MGM heaven where it ends with three of Kerns most beautiful songs performed by Tony Martin, Lena Horne and Sinatra is glorious. Honestly I'm not crazy about Sinatra vocally in this period of his career before his genius was fully revealed in his Nelson Riddle Capitol/Reprise years but here he is stupendous. Could you imagine an audience today filled with literally thousands of people (it opened as the Christmas film at Radio City) sitting through an ending of three slow ballads where the camera barely moves? And that final pull back is amazing. I can't get over how they painted that massive studio floor to make the entire set look like it's floating in space. I wanted that so much revealed in its Technicolor brilliance on bluray.

And I Won't Dance with Bremer and Johnson is such a knock out I think it's one of the best numbers in a musical ever. One of the best popular songs ever written with Robert Alton's dazzling choreography, Bremer beyond beautiful and Johnson breaking the fourth wall and pouring on the charm.

7/19/1951

 

[roxy1927]

And I believe it was followed by An American in Paris.

 

[RolandL]

10/4/51

 

[Matt Hough]

Does anybody know right off the length of the runs of Show Boat and An American in Paris at the Music Hall? I honestly didn't even know they played there. I guess I just assumed they'd played the Capitol or the State.

 

[roxy1927]

Having played a number of major MGM musicals throughout the 40s from Babes on Broadway to On the Town by '51 the Music Hall became practically MGM's NY musical showcase house with the exception of Gigi which opened as a roadshow in the Royale a Broadway house or what the Hall management considered a lesser film like Meet Me in Las Vegas.

 

[RolandL]

Does anybody know right off the length of the runs of Show Boat and An American in Paris at the Music Hall? I honestly didn't even know they played there. I guess I just assumed they'd played the Capitol or the State.

7/19/51

9/13/51

10/14/51

11/22/51

12/6/51

 

[roxy1927]

Many in the Music Hall audience had already seen this.

Michael Feingold in his essay on this film is scathing about the Freed remake.

 

[Garysb]

The story of "Showboat" has changed much since the novel was written. In the original novel Gaylord Ravenal never returned once he abandoned Magnolia and his daughter. It wasn't until the Broadway musical that he came back in old age which was retained in the 1936 version and changed to a much earlier reunion in the MGM version. Per Wikipedia

Magnolia and Gaylord fall in love and marry after a whirlwind courtship, and here again the novel and the musical differ.
In the novel, they stay on the boat until shortly after the accidental drowning of Cap'n Andy during a storm. Because of the incessant nagging of Magnolia's mother, Parthy, they leave the boat with their baby daughter and move to Chicago, where they live off Gaylord's gambling earnings. They are alternately rich and poor, and Gaylord is occasionally unfaithful to his wife and belittles her. Years later, upon hearing that Parthy is coming to visit, and finding himself broke, he borrows money from the local whorehouse madam and returns, completely drunk, to the boarding house at which they are living. As he sleeps, Magnolia goes to the whorehouse to return the money, is horrified and saddened to discover that her old friend Julie is working as a secretary there, and comes back to the boarding house to discover that Ravenal has abandoned her (Magnolia). He never returns, and Magnolia brings up their daughter alone. Ravenal eventually dies under unexplained circumstances, in San Francisco. Years later, after Parthy dies, Magnolia returns to Mississippi to manage the show boat and gives her daughter all of Parthy's inheritance money.

Quite different than the 1936 and 1951 movies. I disliked how they changed the ending of the 1951 version from the 1936 which was truer to the Broadway musical but not the novel. It is interesting to read about all the different versions of the story.

 

[Joel Arndt]

Received my copy today and even though I'm working at home I had to spot check it. All I have to say from what I've seen and heard so far is that this is a thing of beauty. So detailed and the colors pop off the screen. Enjoy everyone!

 

[M90GM]

So exciting!

It's been such a long wait. But it'll soon be over!

Thanks, Matt!

THIS IS A MAJOR WORTHWHILE BLU RAY UPGRADE ...a "class" MGM "event" musical with a stereo sound upgrade? That is the drawcard surely! Cant wait to play it big and loud....