An American in Paris
May 2009 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: Blu-ray	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

I don't understand why people rush out to buy the latest piece of Hollywood junk when it comes out on Blu-ray Disc. It seems a much better idea to purchase a classic that hasn’t been seen in the theaters for years but that has been refurbished to look like new in one’s home. Such is An American in Paris, a movie 58 years old that takes advantage of today’s technology to become a disc by which one can measure the color reproduction capabilities of a monitor.

Mine passed with -- no pun intended -- flying colors. This movie has every color known to man in it, often in dazzling contrast and combinations we might not think of today. We are relatively jaded as far as color goes, but in 1951 it was still a relatively new thing, and movie producers wanted to push it to the max. Even in relatively unspectacular scenes, such as the musical number "A Melody by Strauss," we find a red sweater, tee-shirt, sign, and carnation that are entirely different reds, all faithfully rendered. In the fantasy sequences that director Vincente Minnelli so loved, the color combinations are even headier. When we first meet Leslie Caron, we see her in several different dance tableaux where we find amazing contrast in her costumes and backgrounds: pink against bright blue, purple against pink, and bright yellow against green.

In the final ballet sequence, where each part is designed to represent the work of a different painter (Dufy, Renoir, Utrillo, Rousseau, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec), it is said that the Van Gogh section contains 25 different shades of yellow! This ravishing color palette is perfect in the Blu-ray transfer. The detail is also sharper than ever, which gives each scene a three-dimensional quality that can only be hinted at by the otherwise excellent DVD transfer. In a balcony scene near the end of the movie the characters, and camera, overlook the city of Paris. The scene is so detailed that we can tell Paris is a matte painting, but we gasp at the depth and appreciate the art. Scene after scene seems new and fresh in this brilliant transfer.

The sound is not as good, however. The original was monaural, and it is Warner’s policy in such cases to present that as 1.0, where most other companies might offer it in 2.0, while still mono. It’s a test to see how good your center speaker is. If it’s excellent, you will get sound that is a little pinched on top, and lacking in firm bass but smooth and excellent in the midrange. Warner chose just to use Dolby Digital, which seems a good choice. I doubt that Dolby TrueHD would have added anything at all. There’s just nothing in the source material that calls for it.

The extras are splendid. For starters, there’s a 90-minute American Masters Career Profile documentary on Gene Kelly that is brilliant, probing, and as evocative as the man’s art, which raised the level of dance in film by elevating the common man as its principal focus. Then there is a brand-spanking-new featurette on the making of the film, which includes a wealth of information. It was made in 2008, shortly before Nina Foch passed away. She and Caron both look fabulous as older versions of the young women they played in the movie and offer good insight to boot.

There’s a unique and excellent commentary, hosted by Patricia Ward Kelly, Gene’s widow, that features new and period comments from most of the cast and production team. You’ll also find a period short, "Paris on Parade," and a choice Chuck Jones cartoon, "Symphony in Slang." There is an outtake song ("Love Walked In") as well as a whole set of audio-only extras. The entire group of extras is the sort of thing we see only from Criterion: ancillary material that helps one enjoy the film with greater depth and understanding.

Whether you are a lover of musicals, a film historian, or just want a great disc to show off that new monitor you have in your home theater, this Blu-ray Disc will deliver. Moreover, considering all of the extras, it’s a real bargain.

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