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Gigi
MGM/Ken Films Digest
400ft color
I thought for sure this had been reviewed, but apparently not. So let me rectify this omission, because this is a beautiful digest.
Gigi, of course, was the last of the great MGM musicals, produced in 1958 when the musical genre was in decline. MGM certainly went out in style with this wonderful film, which starred Leslie Caron as Gigi, Louis Jourdan as Gaston, and the marvelous Maurice Chevalier. The film won 10 Academy Awards and was the biggest grosser of all the Arthur Freed unit musicals.
Of course we come to this 400ft digest for the wonderful songs and music, and in this regard MGM’s digest does not disappoint. In fact all the major songs of the film, Thank Heaven For Little Girls, I’m glad I’m not Young Anymore, I Remember It Well, Say A Prayer For Me Tonight, and GigI ( sung to perfection by Jourdan) are all shown here in their entirety. This was such a wise choice by the digest editor. A 400ft reel cannot do justice to both the story and the musical numbers, and thankfully for us he decided on the latter. Even so the digest manages to include several short clips to provide the basis of the story.
I’m not sure of the pedigree of my particular print. I purchased it new from Derann but it came in a plain white box. So I’m wondering if it is a Derann re-print of an MGM/Ken digest.
The color on my print has not faded at all and the print is perhaps just a bit soft although not objectionably so – just not as sharp as the best super 8 prints.
I have re-recorded my digest in stereo, and I got a truly wonderful transfer which I would call a reference level stereo track for super 8 - just incredible quality, which adds immensely to the enjoyment of all that great music. I have played this digest countless times, it’s that good, and I use it a lot to check sound quality on my stereo projectors.
Highly recommended if you can find it.
*****
PRINT QUALITY B+
SOUND (ORIGINAL MONO) B
SOUND RE-RECORDED STEREO A+
MGM/Ken Films Digest
400ft color
I thought for sure this had been reviewed, but apparently not. So let me rectify this omission, because this is a beautiful digest.
Gigi, of course, was the last of the great MGM musicals, produced in 1958 when the musical genre was in decline. MGM certainly went out in style with this wonderful film, which starred Leslie Caron as Gigi, Louis Jourdan as Gaston, and the marvelous Maurice Chevalier. The film won 10 Academy Awards and was the biggest grosser of all the Arthur Freed unit musicals.
Of course we come to this 400ft digest for the wonderful songs and music, and in this regard MGM’s digest does not disappoint. In fact all the major songs of the film, Thank Heaven For Little Girls, I’m glad I’m not Young Anymore, I Remember It Well, Say A Prayer For Me Tonight, and GigI ( sung to perfection by Jourdan) are all shown here in their entirety. This was such a wise choice by the digest editor. A 400ft reel cannot do justice to both the story and the musical numbers, and thankfully for us he decided on the latter. Even so the digest manages to include several short clips to provide the basis of the story.
I’m not sure of the pedigree of my particular print. I purchased it new from Derann but it came in a plain white box. So I’m wondering if it is a Derann re-print of an MGM/Ken digest.
The color on my print has not faded at all and the print is perhaps just a bit soft although not objectionably so – just not as sharp as the best super 8 prints.
I have re-recorded my digest in stereo, and I got a truly wonderful transfer which I would call a reference level stereo track for super 8 - just incredible quality, which adds immensely to the enjoyment of all that great music. I have played this digest countless times, it’s that good, and I use it a lot to check sound quality on my stereo projectors.
Highly recommended if you can find it.
*****
PRINT QUALITY B+
SOUND (ORIGINAL MONO) B
SOUND RE-RECORDED STEREO A+
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