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My Fair Lady (Two-Disc Special Edition) by George Cukor, Suzie Galler
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DVD detailsActor: Audrey Hepburn, Gladys Cooper, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White Director: George Cukor, Suzie Galler Brand: HEPBURN,AUDREY Writer: Suzie Galler Producer: Jack L. Warner Producer: James C. Katz Writer: Alan Jay Lerner Writer: George Bernard Shaw Writer: Roy McDonald DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled) Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.20:1 Running Time: 173 minutes DVD Release Date: 2004-02-03 Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of My Fair Lady (Two-Disc Special Edition)DVD Review: See It Before the Blossom in Your Cheeks Turns to Chalk! Summary: 5 Stars In honor of what would have been Audrey Hepburn's 80th birthday, I take the opportunity to review what is perhaps her best-known role, and if not her best-known, definitely one of her most exquisite.
Replacing Broadway's Julie Andrews in the role of Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, Hepburn brings her own essence to the part, with her shrill bellowing when a wealthy concert patron accidentally knocks her flowers into the mud outside Covent Garden, and when she first encounters the two men, namely Professor Henry Higgins (the formidable Rex Harrison) and Colonel Hugh Pickering(Wilfrid Hyde-White), who will play a major role in reshaping her life.
We follow our heroine through her interactions with her fellow lower class street sellers(As is well-known, Hepburn's singing voice is dubbed by Marni Nixon) and her dealings with her drunken, dustman father, Alfred (Stanley Holloway).
Taking into serious consideration Professor Higgins' boast that he could help her improve her speech, and consequently, her life's prospects,and pass her off as someone from the upper class, Eliza goes to Professor Higgins' home on Wimpole Street to take lessons from him. After expressions of skepticism from Pickering, who is now Higgins' houseguest, and some antagonism between Eliza and the Professor, Higgins agrees, although his new pupil recoils at certain aspects of life at a new socioeconomic level, refusing to allow the maids, led by chief housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce ( Mona Washbourne)to give her a bath.
It takes some time for Eliza to develop an ear for differing speech patterns. Higgins responds to her difficulties with much insensitivity a lot of the time. The enmity towards her teacher grows, especially amid one revenge fantasy. But Pickering is sympathetic to her.
At one point, Mr. Doolittle pays a visit to the Professor that will alter the course of his life as well.
After several grueling sessions, there is finally a breakthrough, and Eliza goes to bed feeling elated.
Higgins takes Eliza on her first assignment at Ascot, where he seeks the help of his mother (Gladys Cooper), and Eliza attracts the attention
of young Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Jeremy Brett). But Eliza reveals her common origins and the session ends badly.
The smitten Freddy waits outside Higgins' home for days, hoping to see Eliza, but she refuses to see anyone.
Still, she is to go to the Embassy Ball where she will be passed off as Pickering's niece.
In so doing, she absolutely dazzles, revealing no trace of her origins, and dancing with a prince. When Higgins' former pupil, Zoltan Karpathy (Theodore Bikel) wrongfully identifies Eliza as a fellow Hungarian, Higgins knows that Eliza's transformation is complete.
Yet more strife arises when Eliza, who took all the blame for the disaster at Ascot, received absolutely no credit from either Higgins or Pickering for the triumph at the Embassy Ball. Once again, Higgins reacts with insensitivity to Eliza's feelings, and she flees Wimpole Street sometime during the night, encountering Freddy, a few former street acquaintances, her father, and ultimately a supportive Mrs. Higgins along the way.
But she has become too much a part of Higgins' and Pickerings' lives during that brief time for either of them to let her go gracefully. Pickering is straightforward about this , while Higgins hides behind his pride. So what will the resolution be?
Viewers will find it amid a Lerner and Lowe score, performances, and costumes that are as exquisite as any flowers Eliza Doolittle might have sold. Under George Cukor's direction, George Bernard Shaw's modernized and musical version of "Pygmalion" still entrances 45 years after its release. A toast to all involved in this "loverly" production!
DVD Review: Excellent DVD Summary: 5 StarsThis My Fair Lady Special Edition DVD arrived in a very timely manner. Moreover, Amazon has the best price for this DVD out there. Highly recommended.
DVD Review: A fair movie Summary: 4 StarsMy Fair Lady is a good film and definitely worth watching. Storyline is good up until the ending. For some reason, the ending is flat for me. At that point, Hepburn becomes shrewish and Harrison becomes odious (it's hard to imagine a happy marriage blooming from this pair). But, the music is wonderful and Hepburn's gowns are exquisite. Excellent supporting cast.
DVD Review: Fantastic all-time musical! Summary: 5 StarsThis is a classic musical that I recommend to everyone. It's my favorite musical. I'm very pleased with my DVD copy of it.My Fair Lady (Two-Disc Special Edition)
DVD Review: One of the best all time Musicals.... Summary: 5 StarsA wonderful play that became a classic movie. If you are an Audrey Fan like me you will be thrilled. Her tranformation is amazing and the timeless story is lots of fun. Enjoy!!!
Description of My Fair Lady (Two-Disc Special Edition)Lerner and Loewe's musical version of 'Pygmalion' about a Covent Garden flower girl who becomes a lady. Genre: Musicals Rating: NR Release Date: 3-FEB-2004 Media Type: DVD Hollywood's legendary "woman's director," George Cukor (The Women, The Philadelphia Story), transformed Audrey Hepburn into street-urchin-turned-proper-lady Eliza Doolittle in this film version of the Lerner and Loewe musical. Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady stars Rex Harrison as linguist Henry Higgins (Harrison also played the role, opposite Julie Andrews, on stage), who draws Eliza into a social experiment that works almost too well. The letterbox edition of this film on video certainly pays tribute to the pageantry of Cukor's set, but it also underscores a certain visual stiffness that can slow viewer enthusiasm just a tad. But it's really star wattage that keeps this film exciting, that and such great songs as "On the Street Where You Live" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." Actor Jeremy Brett, who gained a huge following later in life portraying Sherlock Holmes, is quite electric as Eliza's determined suitor. --Tom Keogh
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