Right on the heels of An American in Paris comes
Gigi on Blu-ray
that has been remastered for this definitive movie format.
Considered the last great musical of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Gigi is
once again directed by Vincente Minnelli and unlike his
previous movie "set" in Paris, this movie is actually filmed in the
City of Love.
The most impressive feature of this movie for a film that is over
50 years old is the quality of the transfer and restoration which
looks simply stunning on Blu-ray with a beautiful colour palette, sharp
images and a decent soundtrack. The story of Giga of course revolves
around Giga (Leslie Caron) who is the granddaughter of Madame
Alvarez (Hermoine Gingold), a retired
courtesan that sends her to her aunt to be taught how to act like a
lady.
Madame Alvarez is also playing matchmaker and attempts to hook
up Gigi with Gaston (Louis Jordan). Unfortunately for Gigi, Gaston
has been brainwashed by his uncle Honoré (Maurice Chevalier) that
marriages are doomed and only a mistress will do.
From there, he
decides to vacation in Paris and invites Giga and her grandmother
along as the two become embroiled in this quirky and confused
romance. Gaston tries to convince Gigi to become his mistress,
however she declines and she vows to find true love.
Of course where
the movie does come into play besides the cute romance are the songs
and dance that features some great memorable songs like "Thank
Heaven for Little Girls" which although was quite innocent in its
day, might come across a little different these days, especially
when Uncle Honoré is singing.
Needless to say, Leslie Caron is the
star of this musical romance that is set in authentic Paris and
makes it difficult for viewers not to drawn in from
the sights and sounds of this wondrous city. As mentioned earlier,
the video and audio quality of this presentation is outstanding and
looks amazing on Blu-ray that goes hand in hand with the musical
soundtrack.
There is even some interesting extras that include
commentary by film historian Jeanine Basinger and even Leslie Caron
plus a variety of other pleasant extras that neatly puts a bow on
this impressive presentation.