Funny Face [1957] [DVD]

Although first impressions may suggest this is a slight offering, "Funny Face" holds up as one of the best fifties musicals on repeated viewing. Inspired by the chic fashion world of renowned photographer Richard Avedon and Dior's new look, Audrey Hepburn plays Jo, a drab Greenwich Village bookshop assistant and philosophy student who is spotted by Astaire's photographer as the ideal new face for the cover of "Quality" magazine. Before she knows it, Hepburn has been whisked off to Paris for fashion fittings and photos, with the proviso that she can also attend some philosophy lectures with a renowned exponent of "Empathicalism". The Parisian scenes are pure tourist chocolate box and none the worse for it - especially when Astaire gets to dance an impromptu Spanish routine under Hepburn's balcony. Thanks to the DVD release, we're now able to see all three leads in the split screen sequence where they explore Paris. Kay Thompson is a vital force as Maggie, the editor of Quality magazine, who commands "Think Pink" at the start of the show. Hepburn can't really sing but boy does she dance well in a Parisian beatnik bar! Other excellent Gershwin songs such as the title song, "S'Wonderful" and "Ring dem Bells" (the latter a great comic routine for Dick and Maggie as they infiltrate the philosopher's salon disguised as Florida spiritualists) all conspire to make this as effervescent as pink champagne. I think it eclipses Astaire's "The Bandwagon" from the same period, which was largely based around two songs, "Thats Entertainment" and "Triplets". Sure, its hard to believe Hepburn would fall for Astaire, given the age gap, but I thought musicals were all about suspension of disbelief anyway! Treat yourself and check this little gem out.

His biographers probably do not record how Jean-Paul Sartre felt about being name-checked in a popular lyric sung by Audrey Hepburn, but it's unlikely that the Gallic penseur would have approved of the somewhat puckish depiction of Left Bank intellectualism that also features in `Funny Face', and that is also - to an extent - the cause for its cult status among movie intelligentsia.As the Amazon.co.uk product description mentions, this special edition of Stanley Donen's 1957 classic marks the 80th anniversary of Hepburn's birth, but although the 16:9 transfer here is superb for SD, it's not clear if it is from the new HD remaster made for an impending Blu Ray release. This edition features three shortish (around 10 minutes) 'featurette' extras: one about focusing on the relationship between Hepburn and fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, another looking at how the city of Paris is used as a Funny Face backdrop, and one standard-issue effort that reviews the Paramount Studio's most successful productions during the 1950s, and mentions 'Funny Face' only in passing; 'Funny Face's theatrical trailer is also included. The presence of these extras is not mentioned on the actual DVD case (if it is my eyes need testing), which seems an odd oversight on the part of Paramount Home Entertainment.PS: according to Wikipedia the Region 1 'Funny Face' 2009 re-issue features some different extras: a 30-minute documentary look at the career of co-star Kay Thompson, 'This is Vistavision', and `Fashion Photographers Exposed'.

This film is essentially an M.G.M. musical even though it is a Paramount production it uses Stanley Donen who directed 'Singing In The Rain' and 'On The Town' for M.G.M. also Fred Astaire who made some of his finest musicals at M.G.M. ['The Band Wagon', 'Silk Stockings' and 'Easter Parade']. Audrey Hepburn is very good in this film and it is her best performance in a musical, this is probably because the movies that star Astaire are more dance orientated so it doesn't present a challenge for her limited vocal range [this would be exposed in 'My Fair Lady'] as for the dancing she was when she was younger trained in the ballet so she moves very gracefully and when she or Astaire are dancing the movie works beautifully. The movie is almost stolen from it's two stars by the performance of Kay Thompson who is magnificent as the dictatorial magazine editor and funnily enough the chemistry between her and Astaire is better than the chemistry between him and Hepburn. So what you have is an M.G.M. musical not made by M.G.M. but that does not detract from this light wonderful concoction.

"Funny Face" is one of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies. I can watch it over and over and never get tired of it! Such wonderful song and dance numbers and unlike "My Fair Lady", Audrey was allowed to SING in this one! She had a beautiful voice and I'm glad they used her talents. Fred Astaire might have been old enough to be her father, but they made such a wonderful couple. So many great songs, like "Think Pink!""Funny Face" is often overshadowed by Audrey's more famous movies like "Breakfast At Tiffany's" "My Fair Lady" and "Roman Holiday", but it's so worth watching!! It definitely made me want to wear pink a lot more often!

Jolie film.

Einfach nur: wow.Zwar handelt es sich hierbei um einen schwarz-weiß Film, dennoch ist die Bildqualität wahnsinnig gut (ist ja immerhin Blu-ray). Auch der Sound ist akustisch leicht verständlich.Audrey Hepburn und Fred Astaire in einem Film zu sehen ist alles, was ich mir in Thema Filmen je gewünscht habe. Zwei ganz tolle Schauspieler treffen hierbei aufeinander und endlich sieht man auch Audrey Hepburn in einem Tanzfilm. Man merkt richtig, dass die beiden bei den Tamzeinlagen Spaß hatten und voll in ihrem Element waren. Der recht große Altersunterschied zwischen den beiden (der auch leicht sichtbar ist) muss dabei natürlich einfach ignoriert werden. ;)Die Story selbst war auch ganz nett. Zwar handelt sich dabei um nichts Besonderes, hat aber gut gepasst.

Mit der DVD bin ich zufrieden.

Bonjour,l'état du DVD d'occasion est très correct.J'ai eu une appréciable surprise à l'intérieur du DVD.4 magnifiques affiches cartonnées collector du film éditées sous la forme d'une carte postale sont présentes dans ce DVD.C'est peut-être normal puisque ce DVD est une édition spéciale mais en tout cas elles sont bien conservées et esthétiquement agréables à regarder.Je le recommande pour les amateurs du genre.