979 Swing Time

[swo17]

Swing Time



In this irresistible musical, the legendary dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are at the pinnacle of their art as a feckless gambler and the shrewd dancing instructor in whom he more than meets his match. Director George Stevens laces their romance with humor and clears the floor for the movie's showstopping dance scenes, in which Astaire and Rogers take seemingly effortless flight in a virtuosic fusion of ballroom and tap styles. Buoyed by beloved songs by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern—including the Oscar-winning classic "The Way You Look Tonight"—Swing Time is an exuberant celebration of its stars' chemistry, grace, and sheer joy in the act of performance.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 1986 featuring John Mueller, author of Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films
• Archival interviews with performers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and choreographer Hermes Pan
• New interview with George Stevens Jr.
• In Full Swing, a new program on the film's choreography and soundtrack featuring jazz and film critic Gary Giddins, dance critic Brian Seibert, and Dorothy Fields biographer Deborah Grace Winer
• New interview with film scholar Mia Mask on the "Bojangles of Harlem" number
• PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith

[domino harvey]

This is one of the better Astaire and Rogers titles, and the number depicted on the cover is my fave of all their dances together, but this release feels like a missed opportunity to just upgrade the whole WB box. Zero surprise there’s an extra about the blackface number, but should be interesting to see what conclusions are drawn there

[Matt]

this release feels like a missed opportunity to just upgrade the whole WB box

My thoughts exactly. If it's only a 2K scan, just do that for all the rest of the films and give me a nice box at $150 MSRP. Not sure I'll bother to upgrade unless the transfer is a vast improvement over the DVD or if it doesn't get put up on Filmstruck II and I can't watch the extras any other way.

[onedimension]

This is one of the better Astaire and Rogers titles, and the number depicted on the cover is my fave of all their dances together, but this release feels like a missed opportunity to just upgrade the whole WB box. Zero surprise there’s an extra about the blackface number, but should be interesting to see what conclusions are drawn there

Maybe the best.. but I don’t think every film in the WB box is Criterion-worthy, & there may be issues with the prints and transfers.. Wasn’t the rumor that WB had delayed these for so long because they had new blemishes in high-definition - dust on the floors, visible wires?

[movielocke]

Damn! I was really hoping it was the entire set ala Dietrich. :-/ excited to revisit this though, it and top hat were my favorites as I recall

[swo17]

Top Hat, Gay Divorcee, and Shall We Dance at least are all Criterion-worthy, and the rest are no less so than anything in the Olympics box!

[movielocke]

Top Hat, Gay Divorcee, and Shall We Dance at least are all Criterion-worthy, and the rest are no less so than anything in the Olympics box!

Agreed those were the best, not sure if I ever saw all ten though.

[domino harvey]

I saw all ten, the worst is easily Barkleys of Broadway. The rest are at least okay. I know some of the discs in the WB box are kaput for everyone, so not sure I'll ever even get a chance to revisit via DVD, but I probably would only bother with the Gay Divorcee and Shall We Dance in addition to Swing Time if I'm forced to pick these up piecemeal (and maybe Carefree)

[domino harvey]

Also, here's our forum's original discussion about all of the Astaire/Rogers films from when WB released the box

[Glowingwabbit]

Love this film. If they only release Top Hat later I'll be happy.

I'm also really glad they are including an extra feature that addresses that Bojangles of Harlem dance number.

[colinr0380]

Is this another old Laserdisc release getting rescued and upgraded? The commentary is stated to be from 1986.

[Roger Ryan]

...Wasn’t the rumor that WB had delayed these for so long because they had new blemishes in high-definition - dust on the floors, visible wires?

The HD transfer supposedly revealed the floors were scuffed in Swing Time, but the "visible wires" belonged to The Wizard of Oz HD transfer (which WB felt justified in digitally removing).

[CSM126]

Is this another old Laserdisc release getting rescued and upgraded? The commentary is stated to be from 1986.

Yup

[Michael Kerpan]

Clearly no disrespect was _intended_ in the Bojangles number -- rather respect and admiration.

[domino harvey]

That’s why it will be interesting to see how they talk about it

[Cold Bishop]

Except the more you learn about the real Bojangles, the less the number seems to have to do anything with him. As a tribute, it seems poor and a little disingenuous.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

...Wasn’t the rumor that WB had delayed these for so long because they had new blemishes in high-definition - dust on the floors, visible wires?

The HD transfer supposedly revealed the floors were scuffed in Swing Time, but the "visible wires" belonged to The Wizard of Oz HD transfer (which WB felt justified in digitally removing).

I literally watched this film three weeks ago and noticed the floors were scuffed on the old murky DVD. It was seriously a detail I never paid attention to until my nth viewing, particularly during the "Never Gonna Dance" number.

[Glowingwabbit]

Clearly no disrespect was _intended_ in the Bojangles number -- rather respect and admiration.

Yeah I get that their were good intentions but that doesn't make it any more acceptable. I'm looking for to the special feature about it.

[Close The Door, Raymond]

Is this another old Laserdisc release getting rescued and upgraded? The commentary is stated to be from 1986.

Yup

John Mueller also did the audio commentary for Warner's 2005 DVD release.

[felipe]

I expected more when I saw they were doing Astaire and Rogers. Maybe a documentary on one of the stars, maybe a documentary on the backstage musical of the 1930s... Anything really.

[conceitedguy]

Except the more you learn about the real Bojangles, the less the number seems to have to do anything with him. As a tribute, it seems poor and a little disingenuous.

IIRC it's really a tribute to John Bubbles, who gave Astaire some taps lessons. I'm not sure how that came about.

[onedimension]

...Wasn’t the rumor that WB had delayed these for so long because they had new blemishes in high-definition - dust on the floors, visible wires?

The HD transfer supposedly revealed the floors were scuffed in Swing Time, but the "visible wires" belonged to The Wizard of Oz HD transfer (which WB felt justified in digitally removing).

Thanks, that sounds more accurate

[Fred Holywell]

DVDBeaver

[Michael Kerpan]

Doesn't look like this BRD will look significantly better than the DVD on our mere 50" plasma...

[artfilmfan]

Doesn't look like this BRD will look significantly better than the DVD on our mere 50" plasma...

There’s only one way to find out.