Musicals: 4-Movie Collection

Talk about a glorious feeling: four classic MGM and Warner Technicolor musicals in one gorgeous, budget-priced Blu-ray boxed set. Making its Blu-ray debut here is Kiss Me Kate (1953), presented in both an eye-popping new 3D remastered cut and a standard 2D version. Based on the 1948 Broadway smash hit inspired by Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, director George Sidney's saucy battle-of-the-sexes rom-com stars Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson as squabbling lovebirds, and features a sparkling Cole Porter score and fancy footwork courtesy of Bob Fosse and Hermes Pan. Also bowing on Blu-ray is Calamity Jane (1953), filmmaker David Butler's musical Western (featuring the Oscar-winning song “Secret Love”), starring Doris Day as the titular tomboy and Keel as archrival/love interest Wild Bill Hickok. 1953 was a stellar year for musicals: also new to Blu-ray, Vincente Minnelli's The Band Wagon is a hoofer's dream, a musical-within-a-musical starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse that also boasts a few memorable tunes, including “That's Entertainment.” The set is rounded out by the previously released on Blu-ray Singin' in the Rain (1952), co-directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, and starring Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor in a “let's put on a show” extravaganza that has become the gold standard by which motion picture musicals are judged. Presented in DTS-HD 5.1 (except for Calamity Jane, which is in DTS-HD mono), extras include audio commentaries, a 1973 special on Minnelli, and vintage shorts and cartoons. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)