Being a movie collector is lots of fun. You go to the store or the online site and shop for hours looking for deals on your favorite movies. But, a problem for me is I go to secondhand stores and will sometimes buy movies that maybe I wasn’t crazy about when I saw them but now it’s only $6, so I figure “Why not?” Or, I buy a movie I’ve seen and I forget to watch it.
I have mentioned before that my wife is supportive of my collecting, but she also gets annoyed because I buy movies and they sit on my shelf, never seeing the inside of my blu-ray player.
At first, I told my wife “I’ve watched most of them!” But recently I decided to separate the films that I have not watched. And darn it, my wife is right!
So, I took all those discs and placed them on the bottom of my shelf. My movies are organized alphabetically, so I thought for fun I would mix them up, place them back on the bottom of the shelf and watch whatever movie is next.
I will review the discs as it will help keep me focused on completing my task of finally being able to tell my wife, “I have watched them all!”
Welcome to Blu-Buried!
My Fair Lady: 50th Anniversary Edition
My Fair Lady stars the incomparable Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle. A cockney flower girl, who after meeting Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), decides that he will teach her “English, English”. Higgins also believes that with his help nobody in high society will even know the difference from a flower and a Duchess.
Eliza decides to take him up on his offer as she dreams of working in a flower shop and begins lessons with Higgins and fellow phonetics expert, Colonel High Pickering (Wilford Hyde-White) watching Eliza’s progress.
We also meet Eliza’s father, Alfred Doolittle (Stanley Holloway). Who is a lovable dustman, but jumps at the opportunity to get money out of Higgins for keeping his daughter.
My Fair Lady is one of the most beloved and best musicals to ever come out of Hollywood. The year 1964 also gave us Mary Poppins, talk about a double whammy. Mu Fair Lady was already a hit on Broadway and Warner Bros. jumped at the chance to bring it to the big screen.
Given an unheard of budget of $17 million Warner Bros was tasked with now putting the film together. Hiring director George Cukor, was a stroke in genius. Cukor was already an accomplished director with such classics as The Philadelphia Story, Gaslight, and A Star is Born. Cukor had the chops and he was up to the task as My Fair Lady is a sight to behold. Clocking in at almost 3 hours, Cukor never lets the film get boring, it just sings along.
Next was the cast. Rex Harrison was cast as Henry Harrison, a role he played on Broadway. According to the son of Stanley Holloway, Julian, the part was offered to Cary Grant. Grant for his part told Jack Warner that if he did not cast Rex Harrison, he would never be in a Warner Bros. movie again.
Maybe more controversially the part of Eliza Doolittle went to Audrey Hepburn. Eliza was played by the amazing Julie Andrews on Broadway, and almost everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that Andrews would play her in the filmed version. She did not, but she did go onto to play Mary Poppins and get the Academy Award for that role.
But whatever reservations were had for Hepburn playing Eliza are immediately washed away when she firsts enters the picture. She’s funny, she’s dirty and boy does she absolutely own the screen when she is on it. Although Warner Bros. replaced her singing voice with Marni Nixon, it doesn’t matter, Hepburn is Eliza. She’s absolutely “loverly”.
Every element of My Fair Lady is brilliant, the songs, the acting, the costumes are Hollywood at its best. It’s impossible not to enjoy the film.
Warner Bros. and CBS restored My Fair Lady for its 50th Anniversary and it is an astonishing restoration. The person behind the restoration is Richard Harris and a crack team of preservationists. You will not believe your eyes watching this film. Harris returned the original aspect of the film, 2.20:1 framed image, from an 8K scan restored to 4K. The colors pop, the details are eye popping. There is an older bonus feature on the film that talks about the length of the previous release of My Fair Lady, which was extensive, for them to go back and make even better is a treat for us movie fans.
Also included is a new 7.1 TrueHD soundtrack. It is breathtaking. You will get the full orchestra and full-throated singing on this disc. Everything sounds perfect. The best part in my view is the incredible layers the soundtrack has. I have never heard My Fair Lady like this before.
Warner and CBS brought out the bells and whistles for this 50th Anniversary release of My Fair Lady. It has three discs, one for the feature, one blu-ray for the special features and for those who haven’t converted yet, a DVD of the film. While a standard blu-ray case is now available for My Fair Lady, I prefer he one my came in, a heavy duty attractive Neo-Pack. Here’s what you get and it’s a lot;
More Loverly Than Ever: The Making of My Fair Lady Then and Now: is an absolute must watch. It details the making of the film and the efforts to preserve the film. Great stuff.
1963 Production Kick Off Dinner: Fun but fluffy.
Los Angeles Premiere: Red carpet with the stars!
British Premiere: Red carpet, U.K. style.
George Cukor Directs Baroness Bina Rothschild: A quick look at Cukor directing.
Rex Harrison Radio Interview: way too short but nevertheless it is good.
Production Tests: Alex Hyde-White brings along some newly discovered tests in the WB archives. Cool stuff!
Alternate Audrey Hepburn Vocals: these are on two songs, Wouldn’t It Be Loverly and Show Me.
Comments on a Lady: Short interviews with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Martin Scorcese.
Trailers: A bunch of them.
The Story of a Lady: Look at WB’s acquisition of My Fair Lady.
Design of a Lady: Costumer Designer Cecil Beaton is given the spotlight.
The Fairest Fair Lady: Another documentary with Julie Andrews and others.
Rex Harrison BFI Honor: Another quick chat with the actor.
Rex Harrison Golden Globe Speech and Academy Awards Ceremony from 1965.
Last there is also a gallery of photos and publicity material.
My Fair Lady is everything a Hollywood musical should be, grand, funny, heartbreaking and performances that are second to none. CBS and Warner Bros. have delivered a blu-ray that should be in every movie fans library.
Film: A+
Video: A+
Audio: A+
Extras: A+
Overall: A+