Anything Goes [DVD]

Quality was great. Good movie

Loved this film. I never saw the original Cole Porter musical, which is perhaps why I like it much more than other people seem to- nothing to compare it to. Taken on its own merits, Anything Goes is a charming film. It follows a typical romantic comedy plotline, but the true strength is the talent of the four leads. I’m the first to admit that Mitzi isn’t the strongest singer, but her vivacious and engaging screen presence and her dancing still make her fun to watch. I’d never seen Zizi Jeanmaire, but her dancing is fantastic, and Bing is as romantic a crooner as always. Best of all is the criminally underrated Donald O’Connor, whose talents as a singer, dancer, and acrobatic comedian are well showcased here. Overall, I think it’s a great, fun, entertaining film- incidentally, with a stellar finale.

Not the greatest movie musical but up there with the next tier of thoroughly enjoyable examples of the genre, this one rich with performances of delightful Cole Porter songs. And in the "It's De-lovely" number, Mitzi Gaynor and Donald O'Connor get pretty close to an Astaire-Rogers performance. Finally, as a swan song for Bing Crosby, it works just fine. He leaves us with the inimitable style that he brought to so many musical films and not once does he seem to be pushing it or lacking in full enthusiasm for this happy farewell. Highly recommended!.

It's not easy to review a movie with a fairly tedious script but with truly wonderful musical and dance numbers, songs by Cole Porter and dancers of the caliber of Mitzi Gaynor, Donald O'Connor, and JeanMarie. Once you've seen the whole thing, you can subsequently just go for the numbers and skip the rest. On the basis of the numbers alone, I really think this DVD should be re-mastered and turned into a blu-ray. The '50s Technicolor and Vista Vision are great but are not done justice to by the only passable DVD resolution. My favorite dance numbers are probably "It's De-Lovely" with Mitzi and Donald dancing quite acrobatically on the top deck on an ocean liner, "You Can Bounce Right Back," with Donald and a gaggle of children in a shipboard nursery, and the closing number with the full cast: "Blow, Gabriel Blow." Normally, I love '50s ballet sequences, but JeanMarie, though an accomplished dancer, seems to me to lack the stage/screen presence and sex-appeal that she's supposed to embody. She must have been wonderful when she was younger, but here -- sorry to say -- she seems past her prime. Compare her, for example, with Leslie Caron in "Daddy Long Legs." In any case, JeanMarie seems well suited to her love interest, the paternal figure of Bing Crosby, whose singing is as good as ever but who also kind of lacks pizazz. Actually, Mitzi really tends to steal the show here. As always, she is the total package: beautiful, sexy, a fantastic dancer, a good singer with an appealing if not supple voice, and total energy and savvy in every word and movement.

Loved all the talent from long ago.

While the story may be entertaining in its own right, and ANY chance to see Donald O'Conner dance is worth it, this can be a very disappointing film to Porter buffs. The plot has nothing to do with the stage play except that some of it does take place on a ship. The story line is totally different and therefore some of Porter's original songs have been taken out and replaced by songs of Sammy Cahn and James Van Huesen which do not live up to Porter's quality. The best examples I can give is the fact that there is no Evangelist so the title song "Anything Goes" turns into a second act number, sung by Mitzi and chorus (with horrific word changes) and "Blow Gabriel Blow" becomes a finale in the broadway show (sung by the four main characters) that comes at the end of the picture and has nothing to do with any character or plot line. If you haven't seen it on stage it's pleasant enough, but if you're expecting the broadway show it's a major disappointment.

Donald O'Connor was one of the most talented on the lot, no doubt about it! Watch Donald O' Connor. He is fantastic!!! I love the great cast of wonderful actors who could sing, dance and act their way through a wonderful story,

Withe all of my equipment the playback was as if I was in a cinema theatre...only, I was there ALONE!

All to like

Ich will hier gar nicht den Inhalt des Films beurteilen. Ein mittelmäßiger Musikfilm mit einer etwas an den Haaren herbeigezogenen Geschichte. So etwas kennt man ja schon durch die Fillme mit Ester Wiliams. Die Besetzung von "Anything Goes" ist natürlich großartig, wie auch die Musik von Cole Porter großartig ist.Was ich wirklich bemängele ist die mieserable Filmqualität auf der DVD. Ich weiß, das auch die DVD ihre Grenze hat, aber hier werden die Möglichkeiten der DVD nicht einmal angetastet. Die Darsteller im Film sind Unscharf, als ob ein Videoband, das schon oft benutzt wurde, abgetastet wurde. Ich verstehe das nicht! Die werden doch das originale Filmmaterial haben, oder ist das so wie bei "Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse" wo nur (noch) die MAZ-Aufzeichnungen vorhanden waren.

Arrived in excellent condition. Love these oldies.

Malgré la présence de ce dvd sur le site Amazon, quelque jours après la commande on m'aenvoyé un avis qu'il n'était plus disponible. Morale: Amazon ferait bien de garder son site à jour plus régulièrement afin d'éviter ce genre de couacs et de pertes de temps mutuelles.

A decent enough song and dance movie, with great Cole Porter music and good dancing from O'Connor and Gaynor. Not one of the great musicals, but if you're a fan of the genre, this one is well worth watching.