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Title:	An American In Paris (1951)
Studio Line:	Warner Bros. Gene Kelly, producer Arthur Freed, director Vincente Minnelli and an ace creative team conjure sheer screen magic, one of the American Film Institute's Top-100 American Films. Kelly plays an ex-GI who loves Paris and loves even more an alluring (but engaged) perfume-shop clerk (Leslie Caron in her beguiling screen debut). Dance sequences spun around Gershwin songs accent Kelly's romantic pursuit. And the final 17-minute ballet -- combining the title symphony, Impressionist set stylings and Kelly's unique talent for telling a story in dance -- lifts this winner of six academy Awards including Best Picture into the ether of timelessness. Love Is Here To Stay, Kelly sings. So is An American In Paris.
Director:	Vincente Minnelli
Cast:	Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, Nina Foch
Academy Awards:	Won for Best Picture; Best Screenplay; Best Cinematography; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. Nominated for Best Director; Best Film Editing, 1952.
DVD:	Standard 1.33:1; English Digital Mono, French Digital Mono; subtitles English, French; closed-captioned; single sided - single layered; 32 chapters; rated NR; 114 min.; $24.98; street date 6/13/00.
Supplements:	Theatrical Trailer.
Purchase:	DVD | Score soundtrack - George Gershwin

Picture/Sound/Extras: B-/C+/D- As I've noted often, I don't care for musicals. So why do I seem to watch so many of them? Because I decided to review every DVD available for films that won the Best Picture Oscar, and unfortunately for me, that involved quite a few musicals. Happily, I near the end of this trail; I'm working in reverse-chronological order, and 1951's An American In Paris represents the final Best Picture winning musical currently out on DVD. (The nightmare hasn't ended, though, since I'll have to screen The Sound of Music soon.) Actually, AAIP presented one of the potentially most interesting of these films, since I've always had a soft spot for Gene Kelly; Singin' In the Rain is one of the few musicals I actually enjoy, and I've liked his charm and energy for years. AAIP starts unusually, as we're introduced to three of the main characters in a very odd manner; the camera begins with Kelly's Jerry Mulligan and follows him through Paris as his voice-over discusses the specifics of his life. When we reach Jerry's friend Adam Cook (Oscar Levant), the point of view switches to his, and we learn about him until the situation leads to his pal Henri Baurel (Georges Guétary). Once Henri relates his information, that's where the device ceases, though we do learn of the story's fourth important character - Henri's girlfriend and Jerry's future paramour Lise (Leslie Caron) - through another irregular device; Adam questions Henri about the girl, and we see many different visages of her through some semi-fantasy dance sketches. Only Jerry's wealthy art patron and would-be lover Milo (Nina Foch) receives a traditional introduction, and that's where the story starts to go downhill. The creativity of the opening sequence added some nice vitality and excitement to the film; even when the participants launched into song, I stayed interested, whereas I usually get itchy once the first tune begins. Unfortunately, once Milo gets involved in the tale, it quickly de-evolves into a fairly standard love triangle, or perhaps quadrangle, though Milo's not all that much of a factor; essentially Lise dates both Henri and Jerry, both of whom know each other but aren't aware of their mutual relationship. Adam discovers this late in the game, which briefly adds some spice, but not much. Really, the only factor that sets the rest of AAIP apart from the pack stems from its famous dance segment that occurs near the end of the film. We find a 17-minute fantasy scene that is sure to delight fans of the genre. On the other hand, I couldn't stand it, but I recognize my bias in this matter, so I won't slam the piece. At least it provided something unusual in an otherwise-blah film. I thought that most of AAIP was well-executed. Kelly maintains his usual boyish exuberance, and Levant offers some curmudgeonly entertainment. However, Guétary seemed very bland and uncharismatic, which may actually be appropriate, since the audience is meant to side with Jerry, but it didn't make his time on screen very interesting. As for Caron, I thought she looked cute in Gigi but didn't strike me as attractive at all here. She sports an exceedingly uncomplimentary pixie-like haircut that only serves to accentuate her large mouth, all of which served to give her a serious case of horse face. Perhaps this was just another of my biases, but I had trouble accepting all of this conflict over such an unappealing girl. (Oddly, though it was made seven years after AAIP, Caron plays a younger character in Gigi. The years served her well, as she lost all of the bony gawkiness that made her so unattractive in AAIP; I didn't like Gigi, but at least I believed that folks would find her character appealing.) Ultimately, I thought An American In Paris had some promise to provide even a dedicated musical-hater like myself some pleasures, but the fun didn't last. Despite a generally good cast and some interesting moments, the film is hampered by an ordinary plot and an unattractive leading lady. Only the ever-present charm of Gene Kelly got me to the end of this one. The DVD: An American In Paris appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of approximately 1.33:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; due to those dimensions, the image has not been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Although it seems fairly inconsistent, the movie generally appears attractive. As with many aspects of the picture, sharpness varies throughout the film. Most of the time, it seems clear and well-defined, but a fair number of scenes appear slightly hazy and indistinct. Since most of these involve Caron, I suspect they occur due to the use of soft-focus, something that filmmakers of the era loved to use on that technique on their leading ladies. I've always thought this odd; it makes some sense for older actresses, but Caron was only 19 when they made this movie - how many flaws did they need to hide? In any case, I noticed some jagged edges during the film, but moiré effects seemed absent. Print flaws were a periodic concern. Some parts of the picture were rife with scratches, speckles, grain and other defects like thin vertical lines, while much of the movie looked very clean and fresh. I'd say no more than 25 percent of AAIP shows problems, but when they hit, they tend to be fairly prominent. Another inconsistency regards the hues of AAIP. At times, they seem quite lovely and lush, with some very distinct and well-saturated tones; for example, most of the street scenes show gorgeous colors that appear very rich. However, flesh tones tend to look rather bland and excessively brown, and many other segments are flat and pale. Most of the movie seems fairly accurate, but as with the print defects and sharpness, it's a crap shoot. The only genuinely satisfying aspect of the picture concerns black levels, which looked terrific. From start to finish, the dark tones seem deep and dense without too much heaviness. Shadow detail works similarly well, as dimly-lit shots are appropriately clear and thick. Overall, I found the movie to remain watchable, but the inconsistencies were somewhat frustrating. The monaural audio of An American In Paris seemed much more consistent that the image, but unfortunately, that's not necessarily a positive, as the sound appeared pretty bland. Dialogue was acceptably distinct and intelligible but it felt a bit thin at times. The music appeared rather flat and muddled; the songs display mostly mid-range, with only some hazy and boomy bass to add any depth. Some poor integration occurs during tunes like "I Got Rhythm", in which dialogue and singing are mixed; the speech sounds much more crisp than the vocals, and this makes the whole track seem oddly unbalanced. Effects are also a bit brittle but they sound acceptably clear. Mild background noise can be heard through much of the film. For a nearly 50-year old movie, the track seems decent, but it's pretty average. As with many Best Picture winners, An American In Paris contains almost no extras. We find a theatrical trailer and that's it. What're ya gonna do? Skip An American In Paris, if you listen to my advice. Clearly the film will offer more appeal to fans of musicals, but I still thought it was a fairly ordinary piece for the most part. It rests its legacy on one long and creative dance number, but other than that sequence, a clever opening, and Gene Kelly, the movie does little to differentiate itself from a slew of other musicals. The DVD provides relatively strong picture with mediocre sound and virtually no extras. This one's best left for serious musical buffs or those who just have to see all the Best Picture winners. Menu: DVD Movie Guide | Archive | Top