Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

Fred Astaire danced for the aristocracy. Gene Kelly represented the proletariat. Fred Astaire wore a top hat and tails. Gene Kelly wore a t-shirt and khakis. As one historian notes in this wonderful, moving profile originally broadcast on the PBS series American Masters, "you gave your heart to Fred Astaire, but you saved your body for Gene Kelly." Combining a treasure trove of classic film clips and rare behind the scenes footage with new and archival interviews featuring family, colleagues, historians, and Kelly himself, Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer, narrated by Stanley Tucci, charts the beloved song-and-dance man's career, step by glorious step. Viewers will see Kelly's uniquely "American style" of dance evolve--as athletic, masculine, and brash as the Everyman characters he often portrayed. Not a puff piece, this indelibly etched portrait doesn't tap dance around Kelly's perfectionism (he made Singin' in the Rain costar Debbie Reynolds rehearse until her feet bled), his ruthlessly competitive personality, or his career setbacks. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Lee Benson)