Dancing Cheek to Cheek – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance in the 1935 RKO film ‘Top Hat’, music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. In this scene, Ginger’s friend Madge is trying to match Fred and Ginger romantically. Fred is trying to woo Ginger, who mistakenly thinks that he is married to Madge, hence her reluctance to dance with him, but she succumbs to his charm in the end. Their dance shows the fabulous artistry of both stars in the expression of the tenderness between a man and a woman. So many young people have commented favourably on this clip, expressing a longing for the romantic time of the 1930s. It was a hard time for many, the Great Depression. Films like this were a way for poor people to escape grim reality for a few hours inside the cinema, to catch a glimpse of the glamorous world of the rich and beautiful. Today people long to escape the mediocrity and awfulness of modern taste – violent blockbuster movies, unintelligible actors, loud pointless soundtracks (you could hardly call it music). Artistry and talent has given way to mediocrity and the cult of celebrity. Now is the time for young people to abandon crowded gigs and nightclubs where they prance aimlessly, waving their arms in the air, deafened by the noise. Go to an old fashioned ballroom dance, with a band that doesn’t rely on amplification and plays real tunes. There you may meet the person of your dreams, to hold in your arms and talk to. |
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Fred Astaire Jane Powell Collection Fred Astaire Jane Powell Collection |
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 TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: American Musicals (The Band Wagon / Meet Me in St. Louis / Singin’ in the Rain / Easter Parade)  EASTER PARADE Strolling along 5th Avenue or bumming around as A Couple of Swells, Judy Garland and Fred Astaire lead a parade of m… |
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FRED ASTAIRE "FINIAN'S RAINBOW" RARE LP SOUNDTRACK
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Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)
 You’ll Love The Way Fred and Ginger Look Tonight in the 5-film, 5-Disc Astaire and Rogers Collection Volume One, including the highly acclaimed Top Hat and Swing Time.Fans of classic movie musicals will be in heaven with Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1, featuring the DVD debut of five films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the quintessential dancing duo. The two gems of the set are Top Hat (1935), generally considered their definitive movie, and Swing Time (1936), which many consider their most enjoyable. Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) fill out the set, each with its own charms.
The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport ’30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there’s that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical. With a score by Irving Berlin, Top Hat is most famous for two numbers, Astaire’s definitive tuxedo setting “Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails” and the feathery duet “Cheek to Cheek.” But other joys include Astaire’s “Fancy Free” declaration, “Isn’t It a Lovely Day,” and the grand finale “The Piccolino.” Favorite musical moments in Swing Time include the set-piece “Pick Yourself Up,” in which Rogers “teaches” Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode “Never Gonna Dance,” and the Oscar-winning “Just the Way You Look Tonight,” from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.
Follow the Fleet changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including “Let Yourself Go,” which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket,” their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series’ defining moments. Shall We Dance has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married before the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin’s brilliant “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include “Slap That Bass,” “They All Laughed,” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” unforgettably performed on roller skates. The Barkleys of Broadway is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It’s trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer’s apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to “They Can’t Take That Away from Me”). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. –David Horiuchi
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Jazz Tribute To Fred Astaire Jazz Tribute To Fred Astaire |
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FRED ASTAIRE starring 2 LP MONO SG 32472 VG++ 1973
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(out of 73 reviews)
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Gene Kelly Collection
- Hollywood’s greatest dancer in four stand-out features.An American in Paris; Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer; On the Town; Singin’ in the Rain Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS Rating: NR Age: 085392666027 UPC: 085392666027 Manufacturer No: 26660
Product Description
Hollywood’s greatest dancer in four stand-out features. An American in Paris; Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer; On the Town; Singin’ in the RainFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS UPC: 085392666027Amazon.com
The Gene Kelly Collection is an unbeatable selection of DVDs showcasing the marvelous Gene Kelly, the Pittsburgh kid whose ballet shoes burst with muscle and ambition. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) is everybody’s favorite musical, a sarcastic spoof of the early days of talking pictures directed by Kelly and longtime collaborator Stanley Donen. (Ah, the joys of DVD: to be able to zap into the blissful title number or Donald O’Connor’s “Make ‘Em Laugh” at the touch of a button. Plus, the 2002 special edition is exceptional.) An American in Paris (1951), a dream project for Kelly and director Vincente Minnelli, is at its best in its glorious Gershwin numbers. Kelly’s lengthy fantasy ballet, drenched in all the Technicolor MGM could muster, may have you thinking that this, after all, is why movies were invented.
Kelly and Donen forced MGM to let them shoot on location in New York for the exteriors of On the Town (1949), the movie that took musicals into the open air (and remained Kelly’s favorite of his films). The spirited dancing and the wisecracking Comden-Green script make this an ebullient tale of three sailors on a 24-hour leave. The choreography plays multiple variations on the triangular team of Kelly, Jules Munshin, and a still-gawky Frank Sinatra. Finally, Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002) is a terrific American Masters documentary, with oodles of superbly chosen (mint condition) film clips and interviews with many of Kelly’s friends and colleagues. The emphasis is on how Kelly changed the image of the male dancer, complementing the aristocratic Fred Astaire with a more blue-collar, regular-Joe approach. It’s an unblinking portrait, acknowledging the taskmaster behind the pearly grin. Those revelations make perfect sense when you see the astonishing dances: how could anyone this great not be a perfectionist? –Robert Horton
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Broadway Bound 10 movie pack
Product Description
Watch Hollywood legends such as Judy Garland Fred Astaire Frank Sinatra Bing Crosby and many more dance and sing in these enchanting musicals.10-Movie Star-Filled packs remastered on DVD for hours of home entertainment!Included1. Black Tights2. Calendar Girl3. Doll Face4. Palooka5. Private Buckaroo6. Road to Hollywood The7. Royal Wedding8. Second Chorus9. Till The Clouds Roll By10. TrocaderoSystem Requirements:TRT: 598 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS UPC: 683904100191 Manufacturer No: MV10019
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Starring Fred Astaire
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Starring Fred Astaire $59.99 – @ Amazon
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Fred Astaire Signature Collection
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“Royal Wedding”. Beautiful Jane Powell stars alongside legendary Fred Astaire in this musical inspired by the fairytale wedding of England’s Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip. Featuring a rollicking plot, romance, a host of hilarious characters and of course great musical performances, all set against the backdrop of an English royal palace. Includes Astaire’s unforgettable dancing-on-the-ceiling number! 1951/1 hr 33 min/Color/Not Rated: Suitable for all audiences. “Second Chorus” Burgess Meridith and Fred Astaire play a couple of friends vying for success in both their muscial careers and the love of their beautiful manager, played by Paulette Goddard. Features lots of great big band performances, as Meredith and Astaire outdo each other at every turyn. 1940/ 1hr 20 min/B&W/Not Rated: Suitable for all audiences. “The Over-The-Hill Gang Rides Again”. Fred Astaire shows off his versatility as an actor in this Western comedy that casts him as a one-time ranger who has become the town drunk. A group of retired Texas Rangers gathers again to save their small town from criminals and rehabilitates Astaire, enabling him to take on his former job of marshall. Astaire is joined by an all star cast including Lana Wood, Walter Brennan, Andy Devine, and Edgar Buchanan. 1970/ 1hr 13min/Color/Not Rated: suitable for all audiences
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Fred Astaire Signature Collection $16.99 – @ Amazon
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Top Hat: Hits from Hollywood
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Top Hat: Hits from Hollywood $39.98 – @ Amazon
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The Man, The Dancer: The Life of Fred Astaire
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In January, 1933, a young Broadway star named Fred Astaire entered the RKO studios for a screen test. “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Also dances,” was the reaction of one official. Thus began the amazing film career of one of the world’s most celebrated dancers.
Astaire: The Man, The Dancer captures the elegance and mystique of the most recognized and loved figures ever to dance across the silver screen. During nearly eighty years in every major entertainment medium, he has persevered and excelled. He never quit, never passed up an opportunity to push himself and to dance to new levels of achievement. The first complete, up-to-date biography – is a fitting tribute to the man and his art.
Foreward by Peter Bart, Editor-in-Chief, Variety.
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The Irving Berlin Songbook
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A crack six-piece band featuring Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel, and bassist Ray Brown backed the sharp one on this 1952 session. Swinging in the most laidback way on a group of songs that are almost as much his as the composer’s–the singer-dancer introduced all but one in his classic films–Astaire works the mic charmingly. Excellent for late-night listening or over the morning’s first cup of coffee. –Rickey Wright
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Night and Day
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Night and Day $0.99 – @ Amazon
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