Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer

Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer
by Robert Trachtenberg

Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer
List Price: $24.98
Our Price: $1.45
You Save: $23.53 (94%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD details


(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD details

Actor: Betsy Blair, Fred Astaire, Jeanine Basinger, Leslie Caron, Stanley Tucci
Director: Robert Trachtenberg
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: David M. Ferrara
Producer: Robert Trachtenberg
Writer: Robert Trachtenberg
Editor: Arnold Glassman
Producer: George Feltenstein
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-09-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
  • The life and career of this film star and innovator whose work includes Singin' in the Rain, On the Town and An American in Paris are vibrantly recalled in this profile of the driven genius - often narcissistic, always a perfectionist - who reenergized the movie musical and redefined dance on screen. Packed with marvelous clips (including rare footage of Kelly's breakthrough Pal Joey Broadway role

DVD Reviews of Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer

DVD Review: Very informative
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a very informative commentary on Gene's life and career. We have enjoyed watching it though we seldom watch it all the way through at a sitting. It is a bit slow paced compared to a Gene Kelly movie. My daughter did a paper on it for college and got a good grade. That was worth it!

DVD Review: A retrospective of a true American genius
Summary: 5 Stars

When I was a student at UCLA in 1970, Gene Kelly came to give a free lecture to students. There were about 200 people in the room. He came in and gave a wonderful talk about his work and then openned it up for questions. He answered them all, the silly fawning questions and the more serious questions about dancing, movies, being a movie star, his masterworks everything with charm, erudition and consideration. It was impressive that a man of his caliber would come to a free to students lecture.
This DVD is definitely a keeper. I am so glad it was made. You can own the DVD's, but the commentaries are invaluable. They not only tell the story of the man, but also an important part of American culture, cinema and dance. The "good" image that America had throughout the world is because of the Gene Kelly movies that really did not need translation.
This DVD adds not only valuable information about Gene Kelly, but it enriches your knowledge and appreciation of Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Stanley Donen and other luminaries who created these works of art.

DVD Review: Loved it.
Summary: 5 Stars

I loved this CD on Gene Kelly. He was one of my favorite dancers when it came to musicals. I loved to watch him dance.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loved musicals.

DVD Review: Dancer, Choreographer, Director, Actor, Singer
Summary: 5 Stars

"Gene Kelly Anatomy of a Dancer" is the DVD edition of an American Masters program narrated by Stanley Tucci.

For those that don't know, Gene Kelly (along with Fred Astaire) was the leading film musical star of the 1940s and 1950's. He is known for the films "An American in Paris" and "Singing in the Rain". In the latter film, Mr. Kelly's single greatest solo performance is dancing to the titled song.

This is a masterfully done retrospective of Mr. Kelly's career as actor, dancer, choreographer and director. As you probably know, Gene Kelly made enormously popular and classic movie musicals during the 1940s and `50s. This DVD covers his life and career using interviews with former associates (Cyd Charisse, Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Debbie Reynolds, etc.) family and film critics.

It starts with a brief biography of Gene leading up to his arrival on Broadway. It is there he meets Betsy Blair his first wife (one of the commentators) and achieves success as the lead in "Pal Joey". (They even show a bootleg film of Kelly's stage performance.) Eventually Hollywood calls where he is mentored in his transition to the by screen by Julie Garland.

One of the things I liked about this program as it discusses the film musical as an art form separate and distinct from a Broadway musical. Like all other art forms, the medium is significant in how it affects our senses. Gene dancing with himself or with Jerry the Mouse requires considerable technical cinematic skill. The finales from "American in Paris' and `Singing in the Rain' involving lighting and instantaneous costume changes impossible to implement on Broadway.

The documentary also discusses the collaboration between Stanley Donen and Gene. Gene handled things in front of the camera, Stanley behind the camera. The collaboration lasted through Kelly's most productive years. The intense creative process caused their professional and personal relationship to suffer. The former Mrs. Kelly's comments are especially insightful.

If you are curious about Gene Kelly and movie musicals, this DVD is essential viewing.

DVD Review: Gifted dancer and so much more
Summary: 4 Stars

Most people know that Gene Kelly was a gifted dancer. This DVD certainly gives plenty of evidence of that fact.

However, he was more than "just" a dancer. As this DVD shows, he was a skilled choreographer and director. He had a great eye for camera shots.

The biography doesn't pull punches or gloss over his faults. I came away with a much deeper admiration for his abilities...and a thankfulness that I never knew him. He took competitiveness to extremes and was intolerant of some groups, such as amateurs; he was also a perfectionist. Granted, he had to push his dance partners to get them "up to speed" if they weren't dancers when hired on...but making them keep at it until their feet were bleeding was going beyond the line.

This is an excellent and balanced biography.

Description of Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer

The life and career of this film star and innovator whose work includes Singin' in the Rain, On the Town, and An American in Paris are vibrantly recalled in this profile of the driven genius--often narcissistic, always a perfectionist--who reenergized the movie musical and redefined dance on screen. Packed with marvelous clips (including rare footage of Kelly's breakthrough Pal Joey Broadway role) and interviews with family members and Hollywood colleagues, Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer is the definitive look at a magical talent whose story has never been fully told until now. It's a life to be watched, celebrated, enjoyed. 87 minutes.
This biography of Gene Kelly comes from the American Masters series, and even by the high standard of that pedigree, it's an unusually fine portrait. The clips from Kelly's films are superbly chosen (and in sparkling condition), illustrating his low-to-the-ground dancing style and his sky-high choreographic ambitions. "Singin' in the Rain" is here, of course, but so is his lonely, lovely solo with a newspaper in Summer Stock and his double-exposure "Alter Ego" number from Cover Girl. The documentary is not fawning; testimony from collaborators such as Debbie Reynolds and Andr? Previn leaves no doubt about his vanity and his perfectionism. The best of the interviewees is the actress Betsy Blair, Kelly's first wife, whose intelligence and frankness reflect well on him. A running theme is Kelly's masculine, blue-collar image, which allowed audiences to accept sailors and baseball players dancing with balletic precision. It's the precision of genius. --Robert Horton

General DVDs

DVD Video
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Valentino: The Last Emperor ImageValentino: The Last Emperor
PEACE ARCH HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2009-09-08; DVD
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: $14.99
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns ImageThe Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
BURNS,KEN; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $35.95
Price in other shops: $99.99
On the Road with Charles Kuralt, Set 1 ImageOn the Road with Charles Kuralt, Set 1
Acorn; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $27.10
Price in other shops: $39.99
The National Parks: America's Best Idea [Blu-ray] ImageThe National Parks: America's Best Idea [Blu-ray]
Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $68.53
Price in other shops: $129.99
Monty Python: Almost The Truth ImageMonty Python: Almost The Truth
Uni; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops: $29.99
The Secret (Extended Edition) ImageThe Secret (Extended Edition)
The Secret; Release date: 2006-10-01; Published: 2006; DVD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Carter ImageThe Carter
HART SHARP VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops: $19.99
Ken Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea ImageKen Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea
Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $60.95
Price in other shops: $99.99
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series ImagePlanet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $26.67
Price in other shops: $79.98
Food, Inc. ImageFood, Inc.
MAGNOLIA PICT HM ENT; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops: $26.98
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Ziegfeld Follies ImageZiegfeld Follies
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $4.60
Price in other shops: $19.98
An American in Paris (Two-Disc Special Edition) ImageAn American in Paris (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-09-16; DVD
Best price: $12.04
Price in other shops: $20.98
Fosse ImageFosse
REINKING,ANN; Release date: 2002-02-05; DVD
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops: $24.99
It's Always Fair Weather ImageIt's Always Fair Weather
KELLY,GENE; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops: $19.98
For Me and My Gal (Keepcase) ImageFor Me and My Gal (Keepcase)
GARLAND,JUDY; Release date: 2006-08-29; DVD
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops: $19.98
That's Entertainment! The Complete Collection ImageThat's Entertainment! The Complete Collection
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-10-12; DVD
Best price: $36.48
Price in other shops: $49.98
Summer Stock ImageSummer Stock
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $5.53
Price in other shops: $19.98
The Pirate ImageThe Pirate
KELLY,GENE; Release date: 2007-07-24; DVD
Best price: $12.59
Price in other shops: $19.97
Gene Kelly: A Life of Dance and Dreams ImageGene Kelly: A Life of Dance and Dreams
by Alvin Yudkoff
Billboard Books; Published: 2001-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.25
Price in other shops: $16.95
That's Dancing! ImageThat's Dancing!
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-07-24; DVD
Best price: $12.43
Price in other shops: $19.98
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners