Musicals Great Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM (1996)
Director: David Thompson
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
This lucid, lively and informative account of the lyricist-turned-producer who transformed the movie musical (from revue fare with contemporary hits and tap-dancing chorines, to lavish stories in which songs and dance furthered plot and characterisation) features terrific clips from all his hits and a raft of revealing interviews. Rare highlights include footage from the abandoned version of Annie Get Your Gun starring a less than capable Garland, and of the Broadway version of On the Town, with songs cut from the film. Best clip: the amazingly erotic blues section of the American in Paris ballet.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: David Thompson
Producer: Margaret Smilow
Cast: Leslie Caron, Cyd Charisse, Betty Comden, Stanley Donen, Adolph Green, Michael Kidd, Ann Miller, Andre Previn, Mickey Rooney full cast
Genre(s): Documentaries
Duration: 85 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now