The Gangs All Here (1943)
Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Alice Faye,
Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, Benny Goodman and Orchestra, Eugene Pallete,
Charlotte Greenwood
My Review and Thoughts:
When it comes to Musical and high class, classic comedy and
perfection in music numbers then it’s a Busby Berkeley picture.
His films are
always absolutely mind numbing and flooring when it comes to choreographing music
numbers or building the amazing set ups that the stars shine during. He was a genius when it came to this
reality. His visionary work, pioneering expertise in showcasing dance
numbers and stage sets is beyond experience. You have to remember this was
during the day when everything was done by hand, imagination and structure, it
wasn’t simple drawing on a computer or touching a couple keys on a keyboard to
create a film. This was during the time where your visionary want, was built and
brought to life by artistry of the mind and hands.
Of his over 30 pictures he directed, there is not one I do
not like. I love everything he has done. Gold Diggers of 1935 is pure mastery.
One of the greatest films out there. Busby was truly a gifted artist that not
only directed, but had his hands in total production in making the film. His
dance movies and music numbers and visionary imagination shine in all his
works. I was again super excited when I learned this was going to be one of
Twilight Time's 3,000 Unit Special Edition Blu-ray’s.
If there is one singing actress or actress period, that
should always be talked about and remembered in the history of the cinema world, it is
the truly gifted, one of a kind, masterly voice and performances of Alice Faye. She
was a goddess of sound, beauty and a total acting attitude that shined. Many actresses could never dream of having her ultimate ability of performance. She
stars in The Gang’s all Here and owns every bit of it. This movie shines because of her.
Also starring the one and only personality of Carmen
Miranda. She died way to soon, 46 from a heart attack. A heart attack that took away her beauty and
mastery in film and performance. She truly was one of those interesting stars
that shinned and created an atmosphere like no other. Her beautiful smile was truly
breathtaking. It was wonderful seeing her again in this film. Also the movie
is filled with a vast array of acting and musical excellence. The one and only musician
and composer and actor, Benny Goodman. There will never be another Benny
Goodman, he was music. He shines in this film as always.
I have often felt that this movie has never gotten the love
it deserved. It has a low rating and a
mix of critics. I for one think it’s a great classic musical with amazing
acting and equally impressive direction. The music is perfect. The
entertainment gets you pumped in that old style of dance and song. These movies
bring back a classic sense of entertainment and in my viewpoint is an important
part of cinema history that should always be experienced and shared. Thankfully
there are companies like Twilight Time Blu-ray that care enough to give these
older films a new home, and new outlet to be expressed and taken care of for a
new generation. Twilight Time has done it again, simply put an amazing Blu-ray
with a classic sense of olden day nostalgia.
Audio/Video:
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Once again I feel like I repeat myself over and over again,
but it's the honest truth, Twilight Time makes these films shine on High Definition
transfers. The film is vibrant, beautiful colors, crisp imagery. The sound
quality is spot on entertaining. The music numbers through the audio is breathtaking
and make you want dance. Another flawless wonderful job by Twilight Time.
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.33:1
AUDIO: English 2.0 DTS-HD MA / English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Extras:
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Isolated Score Track. (with some dialogue and effects). The
composer behind the music is another one of those wildly important figures in
music and film history. Not only a composer but a lyricist. Amazingly he won 3
Oscars but was nominated a 11 times. His talent is almost
wordless. It’s hard to express the amazing quality he had writing and composing
for film. My personal favorite is for the song Lullaby on Broadway. He worked
with director Busby Berkeley many times. Warren was one of those brilliant genius
that seemed to never do anything lack luster. It was like his passion and soul
for music wrote the very definition of music.
Mixed with the visionary talent
of Berkeley it was almost like seeing to infinite gods of their craft coming together
to create the big bang. Warren was such a master that well over 800 songs he wrote, and amazingly, many of those songs are still sung today, or used today,
or remembered today. Just read a few of his songs I will list and the majority of anyone reading
this, has heard, or sung, or experienced his lyrics: "I Only Have Eyes for
You, "Jeepers Creepers", "We're in the Money", "That's
Amore", "At Last", "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and so many
others. His music is still used today on soundtracks and are you ready for this,
as of this writing his music has been used on 1 thousand 700 movie
soundtracks. If that doesn’t say something, then nothing will. Great special
feature supplied by Twilight Time.
You get two audio commentaries and both are very informative
for any lover of cinema history. Both listens are well worth the time. The
first commentary is a little long winded and Drew Casper tends to repeat
himself over and over again which was a little turn off, but still was a great
listen.
The second I found
much more entertaining listening to the three film historians. It was paced better and
felt like average people discussing a film without going into a lot of high
class mumbo jumbo. Film Historians Glenn Kenny, Ed Hulse,
and Farran Smith Nehme really know cinema.
Busby Berkeley: A Journey with a Star. This is a little over
19 minutes. It has a wonderful collection of film historians talking about
Berkeley’s career, this was a fantastic watch.
Alice Faye’s Last Film: We Still Are! This program is a
little over 24 minutes and it has a collection or a memory lane of Alice’s films. A
great little older retrospect of her amazing career. A great watch.
Deleted Scene: The $64 Question. This is a little over 5-minute
deleted scene which was great to see, for this was my first time seeing it, and
so that was a treat.
Original Theatrical Trailer
You also get to me one of the most important parts of the
Twilight Time Blu-ray’s the booklet inserts by film Historian Julie Kirgo. I
love reading these booklets and looking at the beautiful pictures from the
film. As always a great read by Julie, the film historian guru.
Overall:
Again I am utterly satisfied. Pure entertainment through a
flawless Blu-ray. Twilight Time aces it so many times, but they really aced it
with this one, great collection of special features, a beautiful visual transfer, and an audio journey of music bliss. Highly Recommend. A must own Blu-ray that
really needs to be experienced in all it's amazing musical, classic glory.
INFO:
Make sure you head over to www.screenarchives.com to buy all
the wonderful Twilight Time Blu-rays. The main page that gives you these
beautiful releases on top quality Special Editions.
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