MGM: When the Lion Roars
by Frank Martin
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DVD details
Actor: Freddie Bartholomew, June Allyson, Lew Ayres, Patrick Stewart, Samuel MarxDirector: Frank Martin
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Michael Lonzo
Writer: Frank Martin
Editor: Christopher Cooke
Producer: Barbara Price
Producer: Joni Levin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 366 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-01-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- On April 24, 1924 the movies changed forever: the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio opened and soon assembled ?more stars than there are in the heavens.? Patrick Stewart hosts this enthralling Emmy winner as Best Informational Series, a 3-part story of MGMs reign as Hollywoods act and legendary entertainment empire. Bursting with memorable film clips, rare interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and inside
DVD Reviews of MGM: When the Lion Roars
DVD Review: a fond and nostalgic retrospective
Summary: 5 Stars
MGM: When The Lion Roars is an extremely well done two DVD documentary about MGM hosted and narrated by Patrick Stewart. The two DVDs tell the story of the birth of the company, its rise and benefit from the "studio system" and the "star system," its heyday and the company's slow but sadly inescapable decline beginning in the late 1940s/early 1950s as government rules ended the studio system, TV competed for their audiences and much more. The documentary proceeds at a very good pace and film buffs will not be bored! The archival footage from both the old MGM movies and the MGM "get-togethers" for MGM stars is very well done and these add to the artistic value of the documentary. I love the interview footage we get from stars like Van Johnson, June Allyson and George Murphy, too. We also learn about power struggles within the company as egos clashed and people with honest disagreements fought; we get quite a bit of information about Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg, other MGM big wigs and Nicholas Schenck who was president of Loew's Inc. in New York, the parent company of MGM.
I particularly enjoyed the segments of the documentary that are devoted to one major MGM star at a time along with any remarkable movies in which they starred. For example, we get a fantastic segment on Judy Garland along with footage of her in "The Wizard of Oz" and even some of her other films as well. They also have a wonderful segment on the great Clark Gable and his role in "Gone With The Wind;" this is so well done and the rest of the segments are so nicely presented that it's bound to warm your heart.
On the second DVD there is the end of part two of the documentary; and we also have the third and final installment of the film. The final installment does an excellent job of finishing up the depiction of MGM's glory days especially as a studio that could make superlative musicals including "Singing In The Rain" and "An American In Paris;" the film clips throughout are incredible and the interview footage we get with Vincente Minnelli is fantastic. Then we see how MGM fell from its lofty position with actors leaving at the end of their contracts--Nicholas Schenck in charge at Loews's back in New York thought that the MGM office in California was simply spending too much money. Sadly, to some extent Nicholas Schenck was right. MGM starts to lose money and they stop turning out one full length feature film per week which had always been one of their many claims to fame. Under Dore Schary, Louis B. Mayer was eventually let go by Nicholas Schenck despite the fact that people sometimes cringed at Schary's "message pictures." Of course, the studio also lost steam because people were staying home to watch television. The documentary also shows us the effects of directors wanting more creative power and Kirk Kerkorian buying MGM so that he could essentially demolish it and sell the picture library to Ted Turner.
In short, this is an outstanding and rather comprehensive documentary about MGM, one of the greatest Hollywood motion picture studios that ever was or ever will be. I highly recomemnd this two DVD documentary for film buffs and fans of the actors of the glory days of MGM. In addition, newcomers who want a springboard to start learning about the old Hollywood movie making system and MGM will find this to be a fine place to start.
DVD Review: At last, The Lion Roars
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems I've been waiting forever for this magnificent piece of movie history to be released, but the wait was well worth it. To relive the movies and memories of MGM is an absolute joy. Any film enthusiast will love the complete MGM story from its beginnings to its final curtain.
I cannot recommend this 3 DVD set, containing all 6 chapters highly enough.
DVD Review: Nothing but a commercial
Summary: 2 Stars
Turner Entertainment owns the MGM film library. Turner shows the library on Turner Classic Movies. When the Lion Roars is nothing but a promotional showcase for TCM. It's well put together, but what's here is nothing but warmed-over clips and breathless fan mag build-up. There's nothing critical here, nothing that provides insight, only puff pieces on movies you'll be seeing on TCM. This isn't a documentary but a commerical. DVD Review: Great but, where is Fred?
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great set but........
Fred Astaire was on the TV version, but not in the DVD version due to the circumstances discussed earlier.
So are the Fred Astaire sequences in the earlier 3 pack VHS version?
DVD Review: mgm
Summary: 5 Stars
the history of mgm is an american classic and some thing to watch over and over again
Description of MGM: When the Lion Roars
On April 24, 1924 the movies changed forever: the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio opened and soon assembled "more stars than there are in the heavens." Patrick Stewart hosts this enthralling Emmy winner as Best Informational Series, a 3-part story of MGMs reign as Hollywoods class act and legendary entertainment empire. Bursting with memorable film clips, rare interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and insider info, this is a mother lode for film fans, profiling perfectionist moguls, glamorous and charismatic actors, innovative filmmakers and landmark movies. Experience the dramatic and romantic fire, singing and dancing magic, and sweeping epic adventure of Hollywoods greatest studio in this must-have 2-Disc Deluxe Edition DVD.Clad in an array of elegant outfits, Patrick Stewart hosts TCM's three-part profile of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer--better known as MGM. As he proclaims in his best stage diction, "There's magic in the very name!" Part one, "The Lion's Roar," examines the partnership Louis B. Mayer and Irving G. Thalberg formed in 1924, leading to a vast Culver City back lot, crowd-pleasing productions like Grand Hotel, and legendary stars, such as Greta Garbo and Lon Chaney. "The Lion Reigns Supreme" picks up the story after Thalberg's passing in 1936 (the brilliant, fragile production head would go on to inspire F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon). Afterwards, Mayer assembles a new creative committee, and the milestones continue, namely The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and an all-out support of the war effort. The concluding chapter, "The Lion in Winter," covers MGM's masterful musicals, the arrival of socially-conscious producer Dore Schary, and the ouster of Mayer (TCM's Ted Turner also figures in the narrative). Along with a cavalcade of clips, each part presents exclusive and archival interviews with the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Charlton Heston, and Stanley Donen. If the Emmy-winning series starts out as a glorified puff piece, director Frank Martin doesn't overlook the studio's biggest blunders, from their resistance to sound to their mishandling of the outsized talents of Erich Von Stroheim, Buster Keaton, and two-time Oscar winner Luise Rainer, who felt like a mere cog in Mayer's star-making machinery. Missteps aside, he and Thalberg were two of the key architects behind Hollywood's Golden Age, and When the Lion Roars stands as a fitting testament to their creation. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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