Laserdisc Title: "SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1951)"
Edition: The Criterion Collection (Double-Disc Set)
Directed By: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Conner, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno, Cyd Charise
Special Features: ---see footnotes below for more information---
Production / Year: 1951 Loew's Inc. Renewed 1979 by M-G-M Inc.
Running Time: 103 Minutes / Color by Technicolor
Audio Format: Digital Sound
Video Format: NTSC, CAV (Standard Play)
Miscellaneous Features: Not Rated
Distributed By: The Voyager Company (First Printing 1988)
Catalog / Spine Number: CC1152L (Spine Number 52)

IMPORTANT: This is a 12-inch Diameter Laserdisc, which is NOT the same as DVD and cannot be played on a DVD player!

Cosmetic Condition:
Disc (s): Excellent - Hardly noticeable to very minor hairline surface swirls, if any
Jacket: Very Good - Normal shelf wear, creases, light scuffs, worn-out corners or edges but no signs of spines splitting

Synopsis:

Decades before the Hollywood film industry became famous for megabudget disaster and science fiction spectaculars, the studios of Southern California (and particularly Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) were renowned for a uniquely American (and nearly extinct) kind of picture known as The Musical. Indeed, when the prestigious British film magazine Sight & Sound conducts its international critics poll in the second year of every decade, this 1952 MGM picture is the American musical that consistently ranks among the 10 best movies ever made. It's not only a great song-and-dance piece starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and a sprightly Debbie Reynolds; it's also an affectionately funny insider spoof about the film industry's uneasy transition from silent pictures to "talkies." Kelly plays debonair star Don Lockwood, whose leading lady Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) has a screechy voice hilariously ill-suited to the new technology (and her glamorous screen image). Among the musical highlights: O'Connor's knockout "Make 'Em Laugh"; the big "Broadway Melody" production number; and, best of all, that charming little title ditty in which Kelly makes movie magic on a drenched set with nothing but a few puddles, a lamppost, and an umbrella.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN's story is well known, and concerns 1920s silent romantic acting team Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen.) Trouble is that sound is coming in--and Lina's speaking voice could peel paint off the wall. The solution? Don's best friend (Donald O'Connor) and love interest (Debbie Reynolds) have the inspiration of revamping Lockwood and Lamont's debut sound film as a musical, with Reynolds dubbing Hagen's vocals. The resulting story is a high-energy, extremely witty, and truly sparkling film laced with period songs by Arthur Freed, a film that many regard as the single finest musical to emerge from Hollywood.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is a musical that even people who hate musicals love. Whether or not you consider it "the" finest musical ever created by Hollywood is, ultimately, a matter of personal preference; there are several contenders for that title, most notably MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, GIGI, and THE WIZARD OF OZ. But no matter where you personally rank it, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is certainly ONE of the best, a film that simply gains in critical and popular stature with every passing year, a national and a world treasure of cinematic art.

SPECIAL FEATURES

An audio essay by noted film historian Ronald Haver in which he discusses the music, the dancing, the actors and the production of the film.

The original film versions of songs performed in Singin' in the Rain

A behind-the-scenes outtake from the making of the film.

The Voice from the Screen, an early demonstration of talking movies.

Full Feature Format (CAV) -- All laserdisc functions are available including freeze frame, slow and fast motion, and random access.

THIS IS NOT A DVD!!! THIS IS A 12" LASERDISC AND WILL NOT PLAY IN A DVD PLAYER

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