This review is really two reviews in one: first a review of the movie itself, then a review of the DVD extras.

THE MOVIE
Singin' in the Rain is a thoroughly enjoyable film that holds up over time. I can watch this film again and again, as there is so much to enjoy.

Plot Synopsis
Singin' in the Rain tells a story of the transition from silent films to "talkies". As a movie studio embarks on a new talking picture featuring its silent stars, the voice of the beautiful leading lady (Jean Hagen) proves a liability. Meanwhile, a young actress, just starting out in the business (Debbie Reynolds) and the leading man (Gene Kelley) seem to be falling in love.

It's light, it's fun, and it's a great vehicle to showcase the the songs of Arthur Freed, as well as the singing and dancing of Gene Kelley and Donald O'Connor.

Song and Dance
Although the plot is fun, the singing and dancing are the main reasons I watch this movie. This movie was put together to showcase Arthur Freed's songs. He was a songwriter before he became a producer of musicals, and most of the songs were originally written during the time period in which the movie takes place. The only original song for this movie is Make 'em Laugh, but the delivery of many of these songs is original. On the DVD extras, you can see songs in excerpts from the movies in which they appeared.

As there are many, many song and dance numbers, I am only mentioning a few here.

Singin' in the Rain is the title song of the movie, and one of the numbers for which Gene Kelley is most known. Great singing, great dancing, and a lively and fun production. There's also a reprise later with Debbie Reynolds which is a fun part of the movie plot, but can't compare otherwise.

Make 'em Laugh is a great vehicle for Donald O'Connor. His vaudeville schtick is a bit silly, but it never fails to make me laugh!

Moses is a somewhat forgettable song, but has a great dance routine by Gene Kelley and Donald O'Connor.

Good Mornin' is fun and light-hearted. I don't know how Debbie Reynolds keeps up dancing with Gene Kelley and Donald O'Connor when she's dancing in high heels! Unfortunately, this song may be a bit spoiled for those in North America who think of it as the "Viagra" song.

Broadway Rhythm Ballet is one of those long extended song and dance numbers that have nothing to do with the overall musical. Some people hate that, but I like this particular number, featuring Gene Kelley, Cyd Charisse and Rita Moreno.

You are my Lucky Star is a tender song sung by Gene Kelley. One of the DVD extras is an additional version of a Debbie Reynolds solo that never made it to the final cut.

The Cast
Gene Kelly is a joy to watch as he sings and dances his way through this movie.

Debbie Reynolds is cute and perky in her first major role.

Donald O'Connor is a lot of fun and has some great routines. His dancing style is different from Gene Kelley's, but they work great together.

Jean Hagen is hillarious as the beautiful glamour actress with an obnoxious voice.

Cyd Charisse and Rita Moreno only appear in the extended dance sequence, but are enjoyable to watch.

DVD EXTRAS
This DVD is loaded with extras, from a documentary on Freed musicals (he is the producer of Singin' in the Rain), to trailers and an audio commentary track. Some are of high quality, while others are lighter fare.

Documentaries
This DVD includes two documentaries.

Musicals Great Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM is a 1.5 hour documentary on Arthur Freed's career of making musicals at MGM. As this documentary was originally created for tv, it is not full of all the publicity phoniness that comes from some of the studio efforts. This documentary is a fascinating look at many of the Freed musicals. It's filled with trivia and behind the scenes looks at his various musicals, including quite a bit on "Singin' in the Rain". If you like this sort of thing, it will make up for the lack of extras on some of your other DVDs (e.g., "On the Town"). It may also give you some ideas as to what other musicals you want to own. It reminded me that I'd like to see "An American in Paris" again.

What a Glorious Feeling is a 30-minute documentary recently created by the studio to add to the DVD. If you watch this documentary first you might enjoy it, but after "Musicals Great Musicals", it wears thin as a studio piece and does not have that much to add. There are a few extra trivia tidbits, for those who feel they must get the complete experience.

Commentary Track
Commentary is provided by Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Cyd Charisse, Kathleen Freeman, co-director Stanley Donen, screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, and author/film historian Rudy Behlmer. Having such a large and varied group provide commentary kept the commentary track interesting. They had lots of interesting stories to tell. For example, during the "Make 'em Laugh" song, Donald O'Connor talks about how the bit with the manequin got into the movie and his feelings about the "wall walking" stunt.

Additional Materials
Some of the extras, like the theatrical trailers and stills gallery don't do a lot for me, but are easy to include and available on many DVDs.

The Excerpts of movies in which Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown songs originated is a lot of fun. "Singin' in the Rain" appeared in one of the first "talkies", but with a completely different delivery that is quite amusing to watch now. Most of the songs were originally quite different in their presentation, and it's fun to compare.

The Outtake musical number: "You Are My Lucky Star" was very pleasant and would have given a slightly different feel to the musical. Both the documentaries cover the original planned placement for this song, which would have been Debbie Reynolds' solo.

The Scoring session music cues are also included, but were not of much interest to me.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day