Fred and Ginger dance their way to DVD
In 2009, Turner Classic Movies and Warner Home Video teamed up to offer consumers a way to own various collections of movies at an affordable price. Each collection includes many bonus features that would reflect the times of the release of the films.
“TCM Greatest Classic Films: Astaire and Rogers-Volume Two”
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are the most famous dancing partners in the history of film. They made 10 musicals together, and each one featured beautiful dance routines with fun songs. The four films are: “Flying Down To Rio,” “Roberta,” “Follow the Fleet” and “The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle.” The bonus features include featurettes, musical shorts, cartoons, radio promos and theatrical trailers.
“TCM Greatest Classic Films: Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland”
Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland shared great chemistry and made 10 films together. Music played a big role in their movies, and fans will recognize many of the songs. In fact, Mickey Rooney received his first Oscar nomination for “Babes in Arms;” the other films are “Strike Up The Band,” “Babes on Broadway” and “Girl Crazy.” The bonus features include commentaries, shorts, radio promos, music remixes, cartoons, newsreels, three radio shows and more.
“TCM Greatest Classic Films: Thin Man 1”
The Thin Man films were adapted from Dashiell Hammett's classic detective novels and featured a married crime-solving couple. Nick (William Powell) and Nora Charles (Myrna Loy) along with their dog Asta take center stage in these movies in which the audience tries to figure out who committed the various crimes. The writing and acting were excellent. Among the bonus features are comedy shorts, radio promos, musical shorts, cartoons, trailers and more.
“Reader's Digest: The Road to World War II”
Eric Sevareid hosts this complete 16-part award-winning series on six discs. Sevareid was a pioneering war correspondent who was present at many of the war's most important events. He captures the intensity of the times and brings authenticity to the reporting. This is a fascinating series with original newsreels, archival footage and soundtracks. You can relive the times and revisit the crucial sites over the globe.
Available next week
“6 Ed Sullivan Shows starring The Rolling Stones”
“Band of Brothers/The Pacific set”
“Bell Telephone Hour 1960-1965”
”Celine Dion: Live in Vegas”
“Il Divo: At the Coliseum”
“Jerry Weintraub: His Way”