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Truly Dreadful Film

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

It is very easy to see why 'That's Entertainment' was and still is such a hit. It was followed by two sequels, both of them also well worth watching.'That's Entertainment' makes for a truly delightful couple of hours, a nostalgic trip down memory lane it is affectionate, hugely entertaining and also moving and makes one want to watch or re-watch the films and scenes included.A vast majority of the hosting and narrating segments are very informative and interesting, a fair few of them being knowledgeable and make one want to listen for hours. Behind the scenes stuff and personal lives could have been elaborated on more though. Particularly good was Liza Minnelli's, it is essentially a tribute to her mother Judy Garland but it is an exquisitely poignant one and saw some of her most justifiably famous or iconic scenes such as "Over the Rainbow" ('The Wizard of Oz'), "The Trolley Song" and "Boy Next Door" ('Meet Me in St Louis) and "Get Happy".Not all of them work, there are two exceptions. One is Elizabeth Taylor who looks bored and uncomfortable. The other is Frank Sinatra, whose seemingly "objective" opinion on the very impressive (though sometimes criticised for being overlong) dance sequence from 'An American in Paris', a flawed but still hugely enjoyable musical being MGM's greatest achievement being a sweeping generalisation and for a fair few (myself included) an opinion they don't share, his comments on the chorus girls is also not going to go down well (the point is clear but it just came over wrong).What immediately captivated was seeing the who's who of musical/dance/singing talent being featured. The production values are lavish and just beautiful to look at, the music dazzles and is full of emotions and the choreography is often enough to make the jaw drop. Some scenes could have been better edited and some are too short, and while almost all the scenes featured are fantastic, even masterpieces, those with Joan Crawford don't even come close to the unintentional humour factor. It was interesting seeing James Stewart and Clark Gable singing and such, though one would be lying saying they were great.Of the singing, Judy Garland is definitely a standout in several numbers from particularly 'Meet Me in St Louis', as are Gene Kelly in the iconic 'Singin In the Rain' number, William Warfield's timeless rendition of "Ol Man River" from Showboat" and Mario Lanza's "Be My Love".Dancing-wise, Fred Astaire and Kelly can't be beat, all of Kelly's routines show what a choreographic and dancing genius he was and Astaire's ceiling and walls dance in "You're All the World To Me" is similarly incredible. This said, it was also an absolute joy seeing Ann Miller, the barn dance from 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' and Esther Williams' water ballet.Overall, has some flaws here and there but simply wonderful entertainment on a very grand scale. Fans of the MGM musical should not miss this. 9/10 Bethany Cox

You do not have to be a fan of musicals to appreciate "That's Entertainment"; being a movie buff in general should be enough. Although, if you're looking for a comprehensive documentary on the genre, this is not it: with a few exceptions (most notably James Stewart), most of the hosts don't give you much of a historical context on the development of the genre, and of course the film focuses exclusively on the musicals made by MGM, ignoring all other studios. There is not much point in doing a "traditional" review for a project like this, so I'll just name my favorite moments from it:Clark Gable's utterly delightful, semi-parodic "Puttin' On The Ritz" from "Idiot's Delight"Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly dancing together for the first and only (up to then) time in "Ziegfield Follies" Astaire's astonishing, gravity-defying dance on the ceiling in "Royal Wedding".Esther Williams' extravagantly spectacular swimming pool number from "The Million Dollar Mermaid".And all three sequences from what is perhaps the apogee of the Hollywood musical, "Singin' In The Rain": Donald O'Connor's hyperkinetic "Make'Em Laugh", the finale to the Broadway Ballet, which is a technical marvel, and of course, the exhilarating title song and number.*** out of 4 as a whole.

A good way to have lotsa fun...and to teach history of film choreography/musicals! I do agree that extra time is spent on swimmer Esther Williams (a bit long) but the film pace picks up and there are...so many wonderful song and dance moments packed into this movie. Many great MGM performers are represented!!! Right now, I'm seeing the still modern 'American in Paris" dance number with Gene Kelly and Leslie Canon. Fabulous.Note...this movie came out in 1974 when people were soured over the Vietnam war, over Watergate. You can tell by the great box office $$$ numbers that old is sometimes fresher than new...as baby boomers discovered what their parents loved at the films. And their parents relived great film moments of their youth!Note: One of the best Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney numbers, I think done by Busby Berkley is wonderful except..the actor/singer/dancers are in blackface (ewww!) Here the teacher could explain why blackface was both a compliment and an insult to black performers.

How times change! Just last year, I declared with complete resolution the utter pointlessness of the movie musical. I considered myself immune to the charms of the genre, lest I have to admit to my friends that my weekend involved watching two skilled performers dancing across a stage. 'Singin' in the Rain (1952)' was the first picture to chip away at my cocoon of ignorance, and the farcical comedic trappings of 'Top Hat (1935)' sealed the deal. It was only then that I rediscovered the delights of childhood favourites 'Mary Poppins (1964)' and 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971),' and I've since enjoyed the glamour and spectacle of three more Astaire/Rogers pairings, George Cukor's 'My Fair Lady (1964)' and the unspectacular but solid 'An American in Paris (1951)' and 'High Society (1956).' Throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, one studio stood above all others when it came to producing musicals, and, even today, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) continues to be identified with the glossy Technicolor masterpieces remembered so fondly by film-goers.'That's Entertainment! (1974)' is the first in a trilogy of documentaries tracing the history of MGM as a producer of musicals, telling the story through the compilation of classic musical numbers. What might have been a simple, inconsequential clip-show is offered a vital touch of class through the participation of some of cinema's most beloved stars, including Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Mickey Rooney, Jimmy Stewart, Bing Crosby, Peter Lawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Liza Minnelli (representing her mother, Judy Garland, who prematurely passed away in 1969), and also some guy named Frank Sinatra. As temporary co-host, each performer offers a carefully-scripted running commentary on the sequences being shown to us, on occasion tossing in details of their own experience. Particularly fascinating is a clip of the 1936 musical 'Born to Dance,' in which Jimmy Stewart demonstrates, for the first and only time, what happens when he is forced into performing a musical number – but at least it's not quite as embarrassing as Clarke Gable's cheesy rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz!"The most memorable feature of this documentary is how it includes not only the classic musical moments that we all remember, but also a variety of selections that were, as a newcomer, completely unknown to me. I've already developed a list of movie moments that I must experience in their unabridged versions, including Gene Kelly's duet with Jerry Mouse in 'Anchors Aweigh (1945)' and Fred Astaire's mind-boggling waltz across the ceiling in 'Royal Wedding (1951),' which employed a rotating set that inspired a similar sequence in Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).' The actors' introductions, filmed on the soon-to-be-demolished MGM back-lots, are informative and entertaining, though it's rather saddening to see their weathered faces and to know that their glory days were, even then, lost in the past. But perhaps "lost" is the wrong word, because each of these magical musical moments linger in both our memories, and, even when these fail us, in the magnificence of celluloid. Entertainment doesn't get much better than this.