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Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway) |  | Directors: Charles Walters, Edward L. Cahn, Friz Freleng, George Stevens, Joseph Henabery
Actors: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Bill Thompson, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Category: DVD
List Price: $59.98
Buy Used: $14.99
as of 9/2/2010 14:25 CDT details
You Save: $44.99 (75%)
New (29) Used (15) from $14.99
Seller: fortworthl
Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 8545
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Original recording remastered, NTSC
Languages: English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Region: 1
Discs: 5
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 532 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.5 x 3
MPN: 053939725926
ISBN: 0780650786
UPC: 053939725926
EAN: 9780780650787
ASIN: B0009NSCR6
Theatrical Release Date: May 4, 1949
Release Date: August 16, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Fans of classic movie musicals will be in heaven with Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1, featuring the DVD debut of five films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the quintessential dancing duo. The two gems of the set are Top Hat (1935), generally considered their definitive movie, and Swing Time (1936), which many consider their most enjoyable. Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) fill out the set, each with its own charms. 
Follow the Fleet | The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport '30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there's that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical. With a score by Irving Berlin, Top Hat is most famous for two numbers, Astaire's definitive tuxedo setting "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and the feathery duet "Cheek to Cheek." But other joys include Astaire's "Fancy Free" declaration, "Isn't It a Lovely Day," and the grand finale "The Piccolino." Favorite musical moments in Swing Time include the set-piece "Pick Yourself Up," in which Rogers "teaches" Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode "Never Gonna Dance," and the Oscar-winning "Just the Way You Look Tonight," from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. 
Swing Time | Follow the Fleet changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including "Let Yourself Go," which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series' defining moments. Shall We Dance has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married before the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin's brilliant "They Can't Take That Away from Me" into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include "Slap That Bass," "They All Laughed," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," unforgettably performed on roller skates. The Barkleys of Broadway is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It's trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to "They Can't Take That Away from Me"). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. --David Horiuchi
Product Description
A collection of musical films starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 73
The other 5 star reviews were right May 24, 2010
K. Nesler (Wisconsin, USA)
The other reviews, which gave this 5 stars, are right. The transfers are great and the special features go above and beyond what I expected. Enough said. For a follow up or before seeing these movies, I would recommend reading a biography of Fred Astaire. I found, "The Man, The Dancer: The Life of Fred Astaire" by Bob Thomas and Fred Astaire, to be very good. A volume with more meat is, "Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache", A Biography by Peter J. Levinson, is also good (according to my hubby). I haven't gotten to a Ginger Rogers biography/autobiography yet, but they say her autobiography, "Ginger: My Story" by Ginger Rogers, is good. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were amazing people and these movies show that, but don't stop with just these movies, pick up a book about them and be sure to see their other movies, together and with other co-stars.
Volume one and two the best way for the same DVDs. April 7, 2010
Vic Setterholm (Silicon Valley, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Have been watching Astaire and Rogers on T.V., TCM, and tape and DVD since before cable or satellite. Bought this collection and the other half of their film collection because it was a little more than half what the complete collection is going for now. If you pick the right time to order the complete collection or the two collections that have the same films included, you can shoot for a deal. Fred Astaire was a perfectionist and Ginger Rogers an accomplished actress before joining him. I believe you will truly enjoy this collection, and do not forget to purchase the other one.
It was a HIT! January 10, 2010
D. Lanctot
Seller insured I had it in time to put under the tree. The receipient of this gift was very pleased and danced with me to the music on Christmas morning just like Fred & Ginger.
We will be purchasing Volume 2 in the near future
Good Set, Odd Collection January 5, 2010
Charles Gaines (New York)
This set contains five of the pairs' ten films. However this set does not contain the first five or the best five. Rather the films are split without rhyme or reason between the two sets.
If you buy this set, after viewing a few of the films you will quickly find yourself ordering Volume 2.
Volume 1 is great, better than Volume 2, but both are must haves.
Astair/Rogers Vol. 1 July 7, 2009
Johnine M. Phillips
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I ordered two Astaire/Rogers Vol.1 collections by mistake and had to return one to Buy Now Ship Now and I had no trouble at all returning it!
Tom was most understanding and gracious about my mistake. Thanks Tom.
Johnine M Phillips
Showing reviews 1-5 of 73
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