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The Two-Disc Special Editions of two glorious Best Picture Oscar®-winning 1950s classics from the crown jewel collection of M-G-M’s Golden Age of Musicals, is now available on Blu-ray Hi-Def.
An American in Paris and Gigi were meticulously remastered and released on standard DVD by Warner Home Video last September and were an instant success. George Feltenstein, WHV’s Senior Vice President, Theatrical Catalog Marketing said, “Warner Home Video is truly proud to be able to release these two magnificent films as special editions on Blu Ray disc. Our talented colleagues at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging put a great deal of effort into creating the newly restored masters of both films, and the amazing technical capabilities offered by Blu Ray technology truly transforms the viewing experience to a whole new level of entertainment.”
The films won a total of 15 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best director, were produced by Arthur Freed and helmed by Vincente Minnelli. Alan Jay Lerner was the screenwriter on both.
An American in Paris, originally photographed in Technicolor, is the latest recipient of Warner Bros.’ proprietary Ultra-Resolution process, which takes the original Technicolor negatives and carefully combines them to yield a stunning picture with sharpness and depth of field never seen before.
Extras include:
- Concerto of a Commentary hosted by Patricia Ward Kelly and featuring rare, often previously unheard interviews with Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, Arthur Freed, Alan Jay Lerner, Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Michael Feinstein, Preston Ames and Irene Sharaff and new observations by Leslie Caron and Nina Foch
- 1938 MGM short: Paris on Parade
- 1951 MGM cartoon: Symphony in Slang
- Theatrical trailer
- 2002 American Masters Documentary: Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
- ‘S Wonderful: The Making of An American in Paris, an all new documentary, produced especially for this release. A dynamic history of the making of the film, which reveals how George and Ira Gershwin’s classic songs, the dazzling art of the French impressionists and the ultimate teamwork of MGM’s legendary “Freed Unit” came together to create a musical masterpiece. Featuring ten new interviews, including co-stars Leslie Caron and Nina Foch
- Outtakes: Georges Guetary performing Love Walked In and Gene Kelly performing I Got a Crush on You (audio only)
- Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron promotional radio interview with Dick Simmons
- Love Walked In Outtake
- Audio Outtakes
- Alternate Main Title
- But Not for Me Guetary
- But Not for Me Levant Piano Solo
- Gershwin Prelude #3
- I’ve Got a Crush on You
- Nice Work if You Can Get It
- ‘S Wonderful
- Radio Interviews
- Johnny Green
- Gene Kelly
- Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron
Gigi was produced after the demise of the original Technicolor system, photographed in the industry-standardized Eastmancolor process. For this new DVD release, Gigi has been photo-chemically restored from its original camera negative and safety separations to produce a much sharper and colorful image than has been seen in decades. It also contains a 5.1 audio mix created from the original multi-track source elements.
Extras include:
- New Commentary with Leslie Caron and Film Historian Jeanine Basinger
- The Million Dollar Nickel [1952 MGM short]
- The Vanishing Duck [1958 MGM cartoon]
- Theatrical Trailer
- Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi – The story of how 1958’s Best Picture winner (the last of the classic MGM musicals) survived a turbulent production that included censorship battles over its daring sexual content and creative struggles between a studio in turmoil and a demanding, visionary director. Featuring an all-new interview with star Leslie Caron, and a rare interview with Oscar-winning director Minnelli (in HD)
- Original 1949 Nonmusical version of Gigi starring Daniele Delorme in the title role and directed by Jacqueline Audry (in French Mono with English subtitles)
