That's Entertainment!!!

As I am posting on this blog, I am also watching the opening ceremony of IPL, something I was looking forward to right from the second I woke up today morning. However, I could never involve myself completely into IPL. My mind's still thinking about this special I saw on TCM today afternoon, That's Entertainment! III.

The film contained scenes from various MGM musicals, right from Hollywood Revue (1929) to Gigi (1958). Ah! The Golden Age of Hollywood.

These Musicals are just incomparable. I have never seen such lavish sets, such wonderful screenplays, such dazzling costumes, such memorable music, such fabolous dances and such perfect performances, all combined into one single package. This is what these musicals were all about. Every new film made just had to be better than the previous. That only means MGM improved perfection and set a new benchmark for the word each time.

One major feature these Musicals carried was they gave the viewers' a power of imagination which no film of today can. They didn't need major visual effects to place the audience in their fictional world, pretty much like Broadway (ooh, how I would love to watch musicals on Broadway too!).

And the colours!!! They immediately transport you into their universe. You watch the movie like a small child would watch a magician - not able to believe what has been happening, and very keen to know what magic appears in front of it's eyes in the next few minutes.

Infact, it is the musicals itself which contain the best moments of cinema. It is often agreed that Gene Kelly 'dancin' in the rain' is probably the single greatest moment in cinema. And who can forget Fred Astaire tap dancing and producing music only by his shoes and drums, Gene Kelly doing a similar act - providing music only by using a wooden floor and a newspaper, and one more moment of him dancing with Jerry the mouse.

By watching the documentary today, I also had a chance to truly appreciate the musicals as it contained the making of several songs, especially Lady Be Good, where Eleanor Powell's dance steps were captured quite innovatively for us, the audience.

There is no flaw in MGM's famous line; they really did have more stars in their studio than there are on the sky!

I consider myself a very lucky person as installing DishTV was one of the best things that could happen to my film-watching experience. I have now seen almost a hundred of such musicals and I think even if I don't watch any new film from now on, I'll die a content man.

I consider myself a very unlucky person as well. I wish I was there in the USA, during the Golden Age. I would give anything to watch those movies in the theatres back then when they were just released. Even now, if it all I had a time machine and I had just two places to go, one would be my childhood dreams of going back to the Jurassic era (just for a few hours though) and the other would ofcourse be America in the mid 20s. I would never want to come back till 1965 I think.

So far I have not written much about the movies and the music and the stars of the old MGM musicals. I don't think I will ever be able to write anything about them. They always leave me dazed, leaving me with no words to describe them.

Gene Kelly, in this documentary, rightfully said we'll never be able to see such wonderful cinema again, but thankfully we'll always memories and 'miles and miles of film'.

In the words of Irving Berlin, "The song has ended, but the melody lingers on."