Pandro S. BermanTop Hat (DVD)

It's hard to have to defend one of Fred and Ginger's best movies,the one with Cheek To Cheek, but there seems to be a bit of misunderstanding out there about early musicals. This is completely understandable as time has gone by since 1935 when Top Hat was the second biggest box office hit of the year. Basically, most of the potential audience by now has been raised on the post-Oklahoma "integrated musical".We are used to musicals with big plots, often complicated and serious, with large scale dramatic effect. It's without question that the songs relate to the plot and arise from it and the characters' state of mind. We're used to South Pacific, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Camelot, Oliver, The Music Man, West Side Story and Phantom of the Opera. So when seeing an early musical people are often taken aback by their fluffiness and simplicity. But that's what musicals were. They were either revues with absolutely no plot or story or like all the old Gershwin and Porter shows, a light skit of a plot to engage the audience between numbers that had nothing to do with the story.Top Hat is almost one of those. Certainly it's that light, the whole plot being nothing but a bunch of situations and jokes arising out of a case of mistaken identity. But at least the songs, a bunch of tuneful songs by Irving Berlin including three of his greatest classics: Top Hat White Tie and Tails, Isn't It a Lovely Day and Cheek To Cheek, have some relation to what's going on. Cheek To Cheek, with Ginger in her famous feathered dress is one of the most-shown excerpts from any of their films together and it one of the great dance numbers on film. (It's a shame the plot requires Dale (Ginger) to still be mad at Jerry (Fred) at the end because she should be swept off her feet).Everything else about the film is as concerned with gritty realism as the all-white Deco sets that included a huge and obviously fake Venice that took up two sound stages and had black-dyed water to set off its all white architecture. The supporting cast is a bunch of incredible eccentrics including memorable turns by Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore bouncing off each other's nuttiness, a wonderfully droll Helen Broderick as Horton's wife and Erik Rhodes as Alberto Beddini the fashion designer who gives Ginger the excuse to be constantly wearing drop-dead outfits, one of which is now in the Smithsonian. Rhodes Beddini also offended Mussolini, so something must be said for that.This is a delightful film as long as you know in advance that it's a bunch of fluff. Even Fred Astaire noted there was no plot.

Perfect dvd and absorbing content.

Top Hat (1935) is one of the first movie musicals, and it delivers charm, humor, and overall fun. The classic pair of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire are just warming up in this one, as they will go on to dazzle audiences with several more films together. As for this film, the plot is thin, but that’s not a negative; it’s actually secondary to the dance numbers and the overall goofiness that Top Hat brings to the forefront. If you’re just getting into the Astaire/Rogers films, this is where to start. Unfortunately, there still isn’t a blu ray of this film, but the DVD is still a very respectable copy, with well above average picture and sound quality for an 83 year old film. Quite frankly, I don’t know how much better a blu ray version would be for this film; perhaps that’s one of the reasons why it’s not available in that format yet? The DVD has some nice extras on it, so it’s a very worthwhile purchase for sure. I recommend this classic musical as essential to your collection.

great movie. The dancing is great to see. This movie plays well and was shipped on time. Good buy.

A movie that is so well written you actually have to pay attention, nothing is repeated and the story is solid. The dancing and the music are of course sublime.

...but, nonetheless, he is an epic dancer so it's worth watching.

This movie is Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at their best--best dancing--best humor--snappy and fun--best supporting cast. If you love 30's dance movies-- you will love this one! The price is fair-- the delivery on time--the quality of the DVD excellent! Thank you Amazon.

Very nice Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie. nice music and dancing. maybe their best.