Gigi (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Gigi (1958) is set--and mostly shot--in Paris, France, and appears in the form of an impressionist painting. The film is adapted from a French, 1945 novel by Colette, a French and female author. The American-produced film's English-speaking leads are played by French actors. It features the lyrics and music of Lerner and Loewe, and a screenplay by Lerner. It stars Leslie Caron, who had performed the title role for the stage play in London, in Audrey Hepburn's 1951 title role from Broadway. Vincente Minnelli of An American in Paris and Brigadoon directs.The film received all nine Academy Award Oscars for its nine nominations, including Best Picture: a perfect nomination-to-win ratio. Yet, it is one of only a few films to have won the Best Picture Oscar without receiving a single acting nomination. One other film to have also received a Best Picture Oscar and not receive any acting nominations is another Vincente Minnelli film, An American in Paris, both films having Leslie Caron as leading actress. Gigi maintained the Academy Award record of having the highest Oscar count of films winning awards in every category for which it was nominated, including a tie in 1987 by The Last Emperor, until it had been broken in 2003 by the film The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King, which won all eleven of its eleven nominations. Gigi therefore held the number one spot in this record for 45 years, and it held the record by itself for 29 of those years. Gigi enjoyed this Oscar record longer than any other film--45 years--and this fact is an Oscar record within itself.MGM and Warner released a DVD of Gigi merely a year apart. The first release by MGM came on 4 May 1999 and has a plastic case with an 8-page booklet inside. The second release by Warner came on 2 May 2000 and has a white cardboard case with no booklet. Yet, the DVDs inside of them are exactly the same: the second Warner release is a re-issue with only the case changed, and without the booklet. I have placed a scanned photo of the MGM booklet's cover--pages 1 and 8--under the MGM release, as well as an image of the front cover which had been missing, here on Amazon.If one looks to buy a DVD of this award-winning film Gigi, he should opt for the first MGM release of May 1999, because it comes in a plastic case with the 8-page booklet containing essays on the film, its music and lyrics, its actors, and its art direction. Also, its box cover art matches the DVD interactive menu as it should. Because the newer Warner release DVD has different box art with the disc being exactly the same, the box cover art doesn't match the DVD menu screens. So, again, one should opt for the original MGM DVD release of May 1999.There's some digitized appearance to the DVD feature. Also, the film's condition warrants a restoration because of minor scratches and worn film. The movie, itself, is a very good-looking film, and so film decay hurts the intent of the original presentation in some scenes. But mostly, the DVD looks quite pristine. There's some slight film fade and fluctuations in color, and some DVD pixelization. As far as the DVD sound, it only spans the front three tracks and is likely matrix-encoded. Overall, the DVD presentation is good for a film so old that hasn't been restored.A beautiful film such as this should be marked by film historians Harris and Katz for restoration, although I'm sure they have a lot of other work to attend to first, since a single film takes them around two years to restore. Harris and Katz are the preservationists who restored My Fair Lady, Vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia, and a few other important classics.

One of my all time faves! I adore Maurice Chevalier! Leslie Caron was a delightful ingènue. Louis Jordan was very good; such a handsome actor! And Hermione Rheingold(spell) & Eva Gabor( I keep getting her mixed up with her sister). Always liked the name Hermione, lol. Reminds me of flowers for some reason. Anyway, a very enjoyable movie!

The movie has great sound quality and the picture quality was excellent. I highly recommend buying this movie.

Classic

Whenever I think of a musical to watch it is usually "Gigi" I put on. It is colorful, the costumes are exquisite, the cast is terrific and the songs are wonderful to listen to. I have always made certain that "Gigi" is in my collection. I finally got it in Blu-Ray and It truly makes the experience of watching "Gigi" more enjoyable. There are not many musicals I watch but this one is at the top of my most watched. The next two are "Brigadoon" which I finally got in Blu-Ray and "Singin in the Rain." I need to get that in Blu-Ray next. If you haven't seen "Gigi" then get a copy and enjoy!

I'm a feminist, but I love this movie. Yes, it focuses on the ongoing plan to turn a nice kid into a high-priced courtesan. Not a career option to which most women today aspire. But if you know history, you know that the women of the era depicted had limited career options. Very, very limited. This movie at least is fairly hard-headed about that fact. If you were going to rent yourself out (as a courtesan), you aimed for the highest-paying renter (patron/boyfriend/whatever). If you were going to sell yourself (as a wife), then you go for the highest paying buyer (husband). Not an unreasonable way to make the best of what is, to me at least, a bad and inherently dehumanizing situation (but, then, so is working at a job you hate just to pay the bills. And a lot of people do that today). So I could relate. I'm sure some feminists will simply reject this movie outright because they can't relate and find this kind of thinking unacceptable. Chacun a son gout!The movie is lush, beautiful, with colors that pop, settings that are spectacularly appealing, costumes that are elegant and gorgeous, and people who are always well-coiffed and impeccably turned out in every way. It's a visual stunner.Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan are beautiful people with charisma. They have real chemistry in their lead roles - you can believe there's a strong attraction, both physical and emotional, between them. It's a pleasure to watch them together. As written, the Leslie Caron character is no fool. She's smart, realistic, thoughtful, original and enjoys life immensely. Hermione Gingold and Maurice Chevalier star in the older roles: Gingold as Caron's grandmother, and Chevalier as Jourdan's best friend and mentor. Both have a twinkle in their eye, although the Herminioe Gingol character is much more of a realist, since she's basically a flesh-peddler trying to get the best price for her young charge and can't afford to kid herself about the rules of the game.The music is wonderful, both lyrics and melody. The ending is happy but believable. I bought this movie so I could watch it on streaming as many times as I like. It always leaves me feeling happy. There's a lot to be said for beauty, wit and charm, along with just enough of a dose of reality to make it non-mawkish, but not so much that you walk away feeling hopeless and depressed. When that's what I want, I read the newspaper.

its a must to see for a musical comedy

It probably could not be made for today's audience but I remembered seeing it at cinema years ago and really enjoyed it.

Såg om den för första gången på många år, och blev förvånad över hur mycket bättre den var än jag mindes den. Inget slår klass och kvalitet. Stjärnorna, sångerna, miljöerna och fotot sopar banan med allt som görs idag.

Parigi fin de siecle perfettamente resa anche con splendidi costumi.Leslie Caron bella e semplicemente deliziosa; Louis Jourdan un simpatico ricco annoiato; Maurice Chevalier indimenticabile nei panni di un anziano viveur.Azzeccato il resto del cast di contorno.Vincente Minelli dirige in modo impeccabile.Ottimi il video e il sonoro con doppiaggio italiano originale dell'epoca.

Envío perfecto. Feliz de tener este clásico musical en Blu-ray.