High Society (Sinatra Tribute) (DVD)

This is an excellent presentation of a truly fabulous movie. Everything is first rate. Imagine having two of the greatest singers of all time (Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby) together in one movie. They even sing a song together; it is spectacular. Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun. Grace Kelly is exquisite as always but you also have to love Celeste Holm as the well grounded photographer who eventually gets her man. The only downer is having a middle aged man (Bing Crosby) romancing a young girl (Grace Kelly); in real life she'd want a man with more mileage left in him. There's lots of wonderful songs, snappy jokes & a happy ending. Who could ask for more? High Society has my highest recommendation.

Five stars for the film and the 4K quality, great restoration effort by Warner home archive. The problem I have had is I contacted Amazon via an online representative who assured me the missing slipcase cover would be rectified and I would get another copy sent out, slip cases are nice, they add value to a product, well that representative lied to me, blatantly lied, nothing has been sent, I have no slipcover, Amazon are slipping when it comes to discs, I am losing faith in them and looking elsewhere now, I hate I was lied to and Amazon are not providing me with the slipcover which is on this release.

High Society Wonderful Musical/Romance movie starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and others with the jazz great, Louis Armstrong and his band. Grace is having a party celebration at her Mom's mansion for a pre wedding to John Lund. SDhowing up at the celebration is Crosby who was her ex-husband and who is still in love with Grace. In addition, to get a story for their magazine, Frank Sinatra and Celese Holmes show up to interview how the rich live and ask incisive questions to Grace. There is great music in this movie, plus comedy. With Sinatra and Crosby you get great singing of great Cole Porter songs. Interworven into the story is the timeless song with Crosby and Kelly singing, "True Love". Sinatra and Crosby sing a song together which is a real treat by the two crooners. Among the highlights of this movie is a great jazz performce with Armstrong and his band, accompanied with Crosby and his singing. But, the storyline is great as Grace has a romantic interest now at the party with Sinatra, but also has risen feelings with her ex-husband, Crosby. And Celeste Holmes has a thing for Sinatra. Grace kelly gets smashed at the party with hilarious consequences and her fiance is not amused at all. Who ends up with who is the climax of the movie which, if you have never seen it before, is worth seeing, and I will not reveal it. The wedding takes place, but who is getting married to whom is the question to be answered.

This has long been one of my favourite musicals. So I ordered from the US, on 4K & Blu-ray discs. -Have still to acquire a 4K player, but the Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic. Starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly , Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm & Louis Armstrong; could have done with a bit more of him in the movie, this film's dialogue is almost verbatim that of the dialogue in The Philadelphia Story with Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn & James Stewart in the leading roles; which generally is a better film. However, the casting in High Society does have a slight edge, in my humble opinion, over The Philadelphia Story. In that film you don't find the storyline of Tracy Lord (Hepburn) abandoning her husband-in-waiting so she can remarry C.K. Dexter-Haven (Grant). It seems too easy a choice. Whereas in High Society it's Grace Kelly who eventually "throws" her husband-to-be, so she can remarry Bing Crosby; which in my opinion is a bit more of a stretch if you compare Bing to the hunk she intended to marry. That however is the only point on which High Society outscores The Philadelphia Story. -That is until you factor in the phenomenal Louis Armstrong. The film is worth sitting through, although it is no ordeal, just to see and hear him perform. Released by Warner Archive, the Blu-ray disc have a serious plus. It'll play on an ordinary Blu-ray player in the European region. If you like musicals with a good story and snappy dialogue, look no further. This film is a gem! Also for those who own the DVD version of this film, the Blu-ray certainly carries the same extras as the DVD. A tribute to Cole Porter (ca. 20 min. long) hosted by Celeste Holm; A newsreel from the premiere; Trailer & a Droopy cartoon. What's not to like?

This is a musical remake of George Cukor's classic "The Philadelphia Story". The new setting: the Newport Jazz Festival and the chic mansions on its surroundings. The story is exactly the same: Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly in her last film) is engaged to David (John Lund). But her ex-husband (Bing Crosby) won't let her go that easily. In the between, there are a couple of journalists (Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm) with problems on their own. This is one of those films where everything is great. The whole cast is excelent. This is classical Hollywood in full gear!! The music by Cole Porter will leave you singing for days after you see this movie: "Well, Did You Evah?", "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", "Little One", "You're Sensational" and the multi-million Dollar seller "True Love" are great tunes. The film has also a five-minute overture with music that is usually cut by television (great music!!!). This DVD comes with a great pack of extras. But first... the image: gorgeous Technicolor (it was shot in VistaVision). The beautiful soundtrack was remastered in Dolby 5.1 (it seems it was recorded only 10 years ago). There is also a documentary on Cole Porter hosted by Celeste Holm herself! (still beautiful after all these years). There is a newsreel about the film's premiere, Radio adds with Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby, Trailers (from both "High Society" and "The Philadelphia Story"), Notes ..........and a great Cinemascope Cartoon "Millionaire Droopie". The only bad thing about this DVD is that the subtitles dissapear during the songs (and there are 3 languages). Anyway... this a great film with all the elements at their peak!

"High Society" is a musical remake of "The Philadelphia Story" film and play. Starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and featuring Louis Armstrong as well, the film cannot help but dazzle given the outstanding acting, singing, and music (by Cole Porter). The lovely setting of Newport, Rhode Island also enhances the film. For these reasons alone I happily give the film four stars right off the bat. I found the story, however, less satisfying and would have given the film three stars had it not been for the outstanding features cited above. Had the story been more cohesive, the film would have garnered five stars. The graceful and talented Grace Kelly plays Tracy Lord, the daughter of a wealthy Newport family. Her father has abandoned the family due to his philandering ways. Tracy herself is divorced; her former husband, C.K. Dexter-Haven, played by Bing Crosby, lives next door to the Lord mansion. Tracy is to be married the next day to George Kittredge, a man who has worked his way up as opposed to the older wealth of the Newport set. Tracy's uncle Willy informs the family that "Spy" magazine will publish an expose of her father's scandalous behavior unless she allows the magazine to cover her wedding. For the sake of her mother, Tracy reluctantly agrees to allow the presence of a "Spy" reporter and photographer. Frank Sinatra plays Mike Connor the reporter and Celeste Holm is Liz Imbrie, his wise-cracking photographer sidekick. Tracy's father surprises everyone by showing up for the wedding. Crosby's Dexter is still in love with Tracy and wants her back. Sinatra's character is dazzled by her good looks and charm as well. Tracy's fiancee George is a humorless fellow who worships her supposed virtue and perfection, rather than loving her for who she is, warts and all, as does Dexter. Tracy demands perfection from others, especially a husband, and projects a lofty image to the world. Her attitude is depicted as burdensome to her family; it is implied that this was the cause of her divorce from Dexter. In a critical scene with her dissolute father, he faults her for being unforgiving and unsympathetic to his own needs and situation. The key idea the film imparts is that she is not understanding of normal human frailty as she should be, and that this is in itself a serious character flaw. The loose ends of the story are all tied up at the climax and conclusion when Tracy learns her lesson that she is as weak morally as anyone else and that there is honor and integrity to be found where she did not expect it--in the relative self-restraint of Mike Connor and the loyalty of Dexter. She can live honestly with her true self and accept the love of those who also see her for who she really is. This more serious theme of an otherwise light-hearted movie is both of great interest and importance. That we are all prone to poor choices and even worse actions is the great leveler of all mankind. Understanding this about human nature should make us more humble about ourselves and more generous towards others despite their failings. At the same time, we are all capable of great good, and those whom we might look down on or even despise may be the ones who rise to the occasion in a time of need or even crisis with valor, self-sacrifice and generosity. "High Society" does give one pause to reflect in this regard, another reason to recommend the film. However, there were two problems with the film that weakened the theme. First, despite Grace Kelly's wonderful acting, the film did not depict her character in keeping with the main conflict. Up until the revelation of her problem, she comes off as a witty, slightly wacky, fun-loving society girl. There was really little I can recall in the scenes prior to her confrontation with her father that gives credence to her being some kind of "holier-than-thou" ice maiden. Most jarring is the fact that the principal expositor of her moral blindness is her philandering father, who even seems to indirectly blame Tracy for his own erring ways. Worse still, this scene between Tracy and her father and the successive events could be understood as minimizing his adultery, and adultery in general. This unfortunate view is reinforced by the character of Uncle Willy, who is hot in lustful pursuit of the photographer Liz Imbrie. The most serious flaw in "High Society" is that it might be presenting a view of humanity that goes beyond acknowledging the fact that all are flawed and prone to errors, but that these errors and misdeeds, including adultery and uncontrolled womanizing, are not really that big of a deal. Anyone who has been hurt by adultery knows its destructive impacts. Such a moral failure is not something one can make light of. Tracy Lord's coldness and fear of intimacy are actually understandable seen in the light of her father's abandonment and betrayal. "High Society" is a wonderful film in many respects. Yet the lesson that Tracy Lord learns does not quite convince and satisfy this viewer. Yes, we need to be reminded to be understanding of each other's foibles and falls, trivial and serious. But this cannot be achieved by pretending that immoral actions are harmless and inconsequential.

If you’re a fan of this film, prepare to fall in love all over again. Stunning restoration. Great video and Dolby Atmos track.

This remastered version of High Society is beautifully restored from the VistaVision camera negatives and is encoded with Dolby Vision for a spectacular picture and the soundtrack beefed up with Dolby Atmos for a wonderful immersive soundscape. Grace Kelly is beautiful and Louis Armstrong and band are in fine form. Bing and Frank come across a little creepy chasing after the affection of a much younger woman, but that’s always been there to deal with. This is the version to own and enjoy. Wonderful presentation.