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

[cinemel1]

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....

Just received Show Boat today. Watched the whole thing. Video and audio were both a delight. I even watched the 15 minute Show Boat sequence from the opening of Till the Clouds Roll By. It also had a wonderful Technicolor transfer. They ought to get busy on releasing the whole film. Also received Moonlight Bay and The Dream is Yours with Doris Day. They are both minor musicals but I peaked at the transfers and they are up to Warner Archives high standards.

 

[daver812]

I'VE WAITED YEARS FOR THIS MOVIE ON BLU RAY! I was so disappointed when Show Boat came out on DVD with a mono soundtrack (having owned the Laser disc box set for years). I had emailed Warner Bros about this many times over the years. So glad the stereo soundtrack and audio commentary are finally here! Too bad they couldn't have also added the audio vocal out takes that are also on the laser disc.

The Kiss Me Kate 3D Blu Ray is awesome. I never dreamed that would come out on DVD. (attached is a photo of a treasure).

I hope Warner Bros will continue to release more MGM (and Warner Bros.) musicals on blu ray.

Also looking forward to more Doris Day on blu ray too.

 

[Matt Hough]

Of course, there are plenty of Doris Day movies left to appear on Blu-ray, but I have to admit she's been treated very well by the format even if we had to wait a long, long time to get many of them.

 

[roxy1927]

I wasn't able to pre-order and the price went up $4! All the other recent releases are still at 17.99. How annoying.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We watched this last night. Even my wife, who doesn't notice these things often, mentioned several times how beautiful the picture looked.

 

[warnerbro]

It looks like a brand new film. It is so sharp and robust it almost looks 3-D. And the new stereo mix is amazing and rich. It's like watching it for the first time. Even though this version is pretty watered down from the original, it still packs an emotional punch and is beautiful.

 

[warnerbro]

I'm wondering why they didn't include the video portion on the Ava Gardner vocals like they did on the DVD and laserdisc and THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT.

 

[Ken Koc]

Ava's version is vastly superior to the dubbed version. I wish they had included the video with her vocals as well.

 

[Will Krupp]

Ava's version is vastly superior to the dubbed version. I wish they had included the video with her vocals as well.

Her vulnerability shines through and adds so much to the performance. She acts the songs whiles she sings them and just breaks your heart. I also think that the dubbing (though a more 'professional' sound) was a mistake.

 

[Matt Hough]

I think the producers must have feared that her vocals in comparison to the trained voices of the other major singing stars Keel, Grayson, and Warfield would suffer, and, indeed, reactions to her singing in the first sneak previews were not enthusiastic (though her character was always the favorite). I think that's why they settled eventually on Warren. They did give her voice a chance at the previews, and it just didn't go over then.

 

[roxy1927]

Just went down to pre-order pricing so I should be watching it tomorrow night. Very much looking forward to it. Having seen Marge a couple of times and receiving a warm response to a fan letter from Gower(saw the original cast of HD as a tot) I find watching them bittersweet.

 

[PMF]

We watched this last night. Even my wife, who doesn't notice these things often, mentioned several times how beautiful the picture looked.

Scott’s post has tipped the scales.

I can no longer hold out for WAC’s upcoming 4 for $44 sale.

Sold! Full price!! Ordered today!!!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Watched this film for the first time yesterday.

The transfer, as everyone has pointed out, is absolutely stunning. Kudos as always to Warner Bros.

The film itself? I wasn't overly in love with it. A bit too old-fashioned for my tastes. Most of the songs were mediocre outside of "Old Man River" which they kept repeating.

I prefer more modern musicals such as Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, West Side Story, and 1776.

The Hollywood production values for the time were just phenomenal. There was so much detail in the picture that in one sequence aboard the deck of the Cotton Blossom, you could see a seam in the paper backdrop of the sunset sky.

In all, it was a nice watch. I am intrigued enough that I am interested in perhaps seeing the 1930s version at some point.

 

[jayembee]

I prefer the 1936 version, but I can't disagree about how wonderful the 1951 version looks on Blu-ray. Jaw-droppingly amazing!

 

[roxy1927]

Most of the songs were mediocre outside of old Man River?!!!
They contain among them the most imperishable songs in the Broadway theater. Kern mediocre? I'm gobsmacked.