374 Love Me Tonight

[MichaelB]

LOVE ME TONIGHT
(Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Release date: 11 December 2023
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)

Pre-order here

From director Rouben Mamoulian (The Song of Songs), Love Me Tonight features four-time screen couple Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald (The Love Parade, The Merry Widow) teaming up once more for a much-loved musical comedy.

When the debt owed to Parisian tailor Maurice (Chevalier) becomes too great, he decides to travel to the aristocratic home of his non-paying customer. There, he falls for Princess Jeanette (MacDonald), who rejects his advances due to his low social standing. However, she changes her tune when she is led to believe he is a royal, travelling incognito.

With songs by the legendary Rodgers and Hart, including the immortal ‘Isn’t It Romantic?’, and a supporting cast featuring Charles Ruggles (Honor Among Lovers) and Myrna Loy (The Thin Man), Love Me Tonight is one of the screen’s greatest musicals.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2019 restoration from a 4K scan
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writers and critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme (2023)
• Geoff Andrew on ‘Love Me Tonight’ (2023): in-depth discussion of Rouben Mamoulian’s classic musical by the writer and critic
• Hollywood on Parade excerpts (1932): Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald perform musical numbers from the film for the newsreel series
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive with a new essay by Phil Concannon, archival interviews and articles, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK

All extras subject to change

#PHILE374B
BBFC cert: PG
REGION B
EAN: 5060697923735

[felipe]

Wow, nice release. Not a big fan of the film, but definitely glad to see it getting a nice blu-ray edition. Wish Criterion would do something similar with their Lubitsch musicals.

[Rayon Vert]

Is there a chance Indicator would do those?

[MichaelB]

Final specs:

[Matt]

Apropos of a discussion in the Desire thread, I have made some quick VLC screen captures (not identical frames, no additional processing or correction) of both the Kino (top) and Indicator (bottom) discs:
















What these don't show you is that the image has been stabilized on the Indicator and not on the Kino. To me, that's more important than differences of framing, but in that case the Indicator still bests the Kino.

In my opinion, the Kino BD looked overall worse than the Kino DVD, but the Indicator seems like the best option of all given the image, the booklet, and the supplements. Each BD has an exclusive commentary, so I will keep both, but I know which one I will be watching from now on.

[Peacock]

Thanks for the info and comparison Matt. The Kino is quite heavily cropped here, particularly at the top. You can see the Indicator loses a bit at the bottom but in this comparison I definitely agree that Indicator wins (slightly more detail as well) so I’ll be double dipping.

[hearthesilence]

Apropos of a discussion in the Desire thread, I have made some quick VLC screen captures (not identical frames, no additional processing or correction) of both the Kino (top) and Indicator (bottom) discs...

What these don't show you is that the image has been stabilized on the Indicator and not on the Kino. To me, that's more important than differences of framing, but in that case the Indicator still bests the Kino.

In my opinion, the Kino BD looked overall worse than the Kino DVD, but the Indicator seems like the best option of all given the image, the booklet, and the supplements. Each BD has an exclusive commentary, so I will keep both, but I know which one I will be watching from now on.

Much appreciated Matt. I also prefer the texture on the Indicator caps - the grain looks better there.

[dadaistnun]

I’ve only ever seen this via the Kino dvd and spaced on the fact that they released it on BR. Glad I did — thanks, Matt, for posting these.

[Matt]

Much appreciated Matt. I also prefer the texture on the Indicator caps - the grain looks better there.

The grain looks good in motion, too. I think what Kino might have softened the overall image to "manage" or smooth the grain. Indicator's wider contrast range might also make the grain slightly more apparent.

[domino harvey]

Having revisited this today via Indicator's disc, let me posit the following: this film's nearest equivalent isn't a Lubitsch movie, it's an episode of classic era the Simpsons. I was deeply impressed by how many different kinds of jokes we got in this one, all of which I'd somehow forgotten in the interim-- some dependent on external knowledge and tied to references to the stars, some tied to musical conventions, some tied to context, and some just plain funny with zero grounding. And all of them so effortlessly and breathlessly relayed at a rapid clip that never lets up. I think, like Last Exit to Springfield or Marge vs the Monorail, you could show this movie to literally anyone and they'd get enough laughs out of it to make it worth it

[Drucker]

I watched this for the first time last night and absolutely loved it. Song of Songs was the first film of Mamoulian's I watched and I found it fairly forgettable, and even the Indicator liner notes don't exactly do the best job advocating for the film's merits. This on the other hand I found engaging right from the opening notes. The humor is enjoyably risqué and truly feels "pre-code" where they couldn't have gotten away with it years later (and the liner notes make mention of lost scenes cut during a re-release due to the Hays Code). The camerawork and trickery all involved, from scenes that flow into each other to very creative editing all feels very natural and enjoyable. This film is a real delight, and one of the best Indicator discs I've watched recently as I make my way through my backlog.

[Tom Amolad]

Can anyone enlighten me on the a point of length? Wikipedia says it was originally 104 min but cut to 96 by the censors for the 1934 reissue, and that this is the only version that survives. Yet it looks like all video releases are 88 minutes, a further 8 minutes shorter. What’s the deal?

[Beloved Aunt]

What a spanking cover this release has!

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Can anyone enlighten me on the a point of length? Wikipedia says it was originally 104 min but cut to 96 by the censors for the 1934 reissue, and that this is the only version that survives. Yet it looks like all video releases are 88 minutes, a further 8 minutes shorter. What’s the deal?

Well, the cited source (Richard Barrios' A Song in the Dark) doesn't actually back up the claims in question: AFAICT the book doesn't provide a running time for any version of the movie, and it states there was no reissue until 1949 (Joseph Breen having advised against a planned re-release in 1937). The Motion Picture Herald reviewer who saw the film at a preview screening gave a runtime of 104 minutes but noted that it "may be reduced"; when Variety ran its review a few days later, the runtime was given as 90 minutes, and that figure was used repeatedly as the movie continued its run. My guess is it underwent around twelve minutes of cuts following previews (probably for reasons unrelated to censorship), then a couple more in 1949 at the hands of the Production Code Administration. A book on the film was published last year as part of the "Oxford Guides to Film Musicals" series and it has an entire chapter on its censorship history, but unfortunately I don't have it.

[Tom Amolad]

Thanks -- I appreciate the digging for details.

[Matt]

Well, it only took me two years to getting around to watching my copy of this, but I want to say that this release is a delight from top to bottom. Obviously the film is an overflowing bushel of charm, but the chummy yet informative commentary is also delightful, the little shorts are delightful, and Geoff Andrew's visible enjoyment in talking about the film is delightful. Even the interviews in the booklet are delightful.

Some disc releases these days feel overloaded with extras, as if there's an obsession to address every possible aspect of a film, to leave no stone unturned. Others can feel thin, as if the producers could find no one with anything interesting to say about a film or had no interest in finding them. Indicator, in this case particularly, seem to find the sweet spot. There's just enough history and context to make you feel you've got a firm understanding of the film, but not so much as to smother all enjoyment of the film.

[domino harvey]

A book on the film was published last year as part of the "Oxford Guides to Film Musicals" series and it has an entire chapter on its censorship history, but unfortunately I don't have it.

For anyone interested, new copies are selling for $6 and change right now on Amazon btw

[domino harvey]

Wow, all five remaining copies already sold out and the price went back up! Glad I followed my rule of ordering before sharing any deals

[soundchaser]

I was one of those five! Wouldn't be surprised if others here were too.

[Lowry_Sam]

Was that deal for the Indicator or the Kino? I'm not seeing the Indicator on Amazon (US).

[domino harvey]

It was for the book the Fanciful Norwegian mentioned

[DeprongMori]

Wow, all five remaining copies already sold out and the price went back up! Glad I followed my rule of ordering before sharing any deals

There were two left when I ordered. Thanks for the tip!

[senseabove]

And I got the last...

[therewillbeblus]

I was going to order as soon as our vet appt was over, doh!

[Lowry_Sam]

It was for the book the Fanciful Norwegian mentioned

I saw $6 and had to rush to Amazon before looking more carefully.