Kiss Me Kate VHS

KISS ME KATE [1953] [3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray] The Original 3D Movie Remastered on Blu-ray 3D! Witty and Thoroughly Beguiling! Every Number’s A Show-Stopper!When two squabbling ex-marrieds are cast as squabbling Renaissance romantics in a musical entitled “The Taming of the Shrew,” where life imitates art, art imitates life and it all proves no musical comedy imitates ‘Kiss Me Kate’ which was adapted from the 1948 Broadway smash that features 14 peerless Cole Porter songs. Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson are the two tangled twosome who are “So in Love” despite her saying “I Hate Men” flashpoints. Ann Miller adds heat, razzle-tap-dazzling in “Too Darn Hot” and wowing “Tom, Dick and Harry” [Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall and Bobby Van]. Bob Fosse and Hermes Pan provide zesty choreography under George Sidney’s nimble direction. So “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” and enjoy. Kate won’t just kiss you. She’ll floor you.FILM FACT: Dorothy Kingsley's screenplay, which was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award, was adapted from the musical's book by Samuel and Bella Spewack. The songs were by Cole Porter, with musical underscoring by Saul Chaplin and André Previn, who were nominated for an Academy Award®. Hermes Pan choreographed the dance routines. The movie was filmed in 3D using the most advanced methods of that technique then available. Devotees of the stereoscopic 3-D medium usually cite this film as one of the best examples of a Hollywood release in polarized 3D. The movie had a mostly positive reception. Although ‘Kiss Me Kate’ is often referred to as the first 3D musical,Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ron Randell, Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Keenan Wynn, James Whitmore, Willard Parker, Bobby Van, Kurt Kasznar, Bob Fosse, Michael Dugan, Carol Haney (Specialty dancer) and Jeanne Coyne (Specialty dancer)Director: George SidneyProducer: Jack CummingsScreenplay: Dorothy KingsleyComposers: Cole Porter (songs), Saul Chaplin (score), André Previn and Conrad SalingerCinematography: Charles RosherVideo Resolution: 1080p [Technicolor]Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono and Spanish [Castilian]: 1.0 Dolby Digital MonoSubtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish [Castilian], Korean and Spanish [Latin]Running Time: 110 minutesRegion: Region A/1Number of discs: 1Studio: Warner Home VideoAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘Kiss Me Kate’ is a cinematic adaptation of the hit Cole Porter Broadway musical of the same name. Its "play within a film" structure follows the efforts of Director/Star Fred Graham [Howard Keel] to stage a theatrical musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” with himself in the role of Petruchio and his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi [Kathryn Grayson] as Katherine. Fred Graham’s efforts to woo back his ex-wife using the pretence of the play are complicated by Lilli’s recent engagement to cattle baron Tex Callaway [Willard Parker], his ill advised promising of the role of Bianca to nightclub dancer Lois Lane [Ann Miller], and the unwelcome backstage presence of a couple of gangsters [Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore] intent on collecting a gambling debt incurred by Bill Calhoun [Tommy Rall], Lois’ sometime beau who is cast as Lucentio.Here is the classic M-G-M musical and another outstanding restoration in 4K from the 35mm Ansco Color camera negatives by Ned Price and his team at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. In fact, it’s their best restoration work on a 3D film to date. The vertical alignment and left/right panel matching is spot on.A musical extravaganza featuring the witty tunes of Cole Porter’s ‘Kiss Me Kate’ [1953] is a remake of Shakespeare's “The Taming of the Shrew.” Set behind the scenes of a spectacular Broadway production of “Kiss Me Kate,” this fetching musical concerns the tensions that erupt between former husband and wife Fred Graham [Howard Keel] and Lilli Vanessi [Kathryn Grayson] while performing together as Petruchio and Katherine. The combative relationship between Lilli and Fred often carries over onto the stage where they bicker and feud as enthusiastically as their fictional counterparts, Petruchio, the hunk intent on wooing, and Katherine, the maiden adamantly opposed to being wooed. Things become even more complicated when a pair of mildly bumbling, stage-struck crooks Lippy [Keenan Wynn] and Slug [James Whitmore] arrive backstage to collect on a gambling debt and vow not to leave Lilli or Fred's side until Fred pays up.George Sidney had a great understanding of stereoscopic composition and the excellent cinematography by Charles Rosher and properly matted for widescreen, has never looked better. My only quibble is that some of the medium shots are a wee bit tight and it would have benefited from remastering in M-G-M’s recommended aspect ratio of 1.75:1. This was the only “Golden Age” 3D feature to have a sequence with gimmick shots physically cut into the Technicolor prints for 3-D bookings in 1953. That rare footage has now been properly restored at the beginning of “The Taming of the Shrew.” And kudos to Warner Bros. for leaving the original Intermission card in place. Many people saw ‘Kiss Me Kate’ in 3D and widescreen over sixty years ago and now is your chance to have the same experience in superb quality at home. This wonderful 3D Blu-ray belongs in every collection!At the time in 1953, director Sidney reimagined the play for Hollywood with the 1950s novelty of 3D. Unfortunately, though ‘Kiss Me Kate’ was shot in both flat and 3D versions, the rapid decline of the fad meant the film was never released in its 3D version. So viewers were never able to experience the peculiar thrill of Lois Lane (Fred's new love interest, played by Ann Miller) kicking her gams out at the audience or Lilli Vanessi in a shrewish temper pitching bouquets and vases at the audience, or the final close-up embrace with Katherine and Petruchio popping out at their audience, all gimmicks used to show off the 3D techniques. But now we get to see it in its true cinema presentation with this spectacular 3D Blu-ray disc and from the title ‘Kiss Me Kate’ shooting towards the audience, you get to finally see it in glorious Technicolor 3D and well worth the wait. But one of the better gimmicks in Kiss Me Kate is surely Cole Porter's songs, like a smoky rendition of "Too Darn Hot" performed by a madly tap-dancing Lois [Ann Miller] in the compact Manhattan living room of her boyfriend [Fred Graham], or the uproarious, cleverly phrased number "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," performed by gangsters Lippy [Keenan Wynn] and Slug [James Whitmore]."From This Moment On" was inserted in ‘Kiss Me Kate’ to accommodate three dancing couples in a final number, which featured Carol Haney and Bob Fosse as one of the couples. That brief but unforgettably sultry two-minute dance number turned out to be responsible for launching three showbiz careers. Bob Fosse choreographed the brief ‘Kiss Me Kate’ dance between Carol Haney and Bob Fosse himself, showing off the sharp, quirky dance style that would be seen by film audience’s decades later in the semi-autobiographical film version of his life, ‘All That Jazz’ [1979]. Note Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore as a couple of gangland thugs, too. Their clowning as backstage interlopers gives the right touch of low comedy, and their singing of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" is done with stridence and skill.But, of course, it is really Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel tossing off the Cole Porter songs that make for the best things in the film. Together they're smooth and melodious in the romantic "So in Love" and deliciously arch and sprightly in the rolicking "Wunderbar." Miss Grayson's shrewish squawking of "I Hate Men" is the darling, and Mr. Keel's singing of several solos is in a top-notch style. Twelve of the original song numbers of Cole Porter are in the film, and a new one is in for a bright ballet. It is called "From This Moment On." Under George Sidney's direction, the whole thing moves with zest and grace. Don't wait to be invited. Accept the offer of this 3D Blu-ray title post-haste, you will not be disappointed.Blu-ray Video Quality – ‘Kiss Me Kate,’ as I have already informed you that according to director George Sidney, was meant for the 1.75:1 aspect ratio, despite many original theatrical presentations using other Academy ratio. The Technicolor’s print (from Ansocolor sources) needed space on the stock for sound, but the Blu-ray properly masters the film for George Sidney’s preference, is a stunning beautiful presentation. The Colours is intense and it is unmistakably vintage, but despite this, it absolutely glowing with primaries. Stage costumes are a total glorious mixture of ridiculously bright reds, purples, yellows, and blues. Grayson’s lipstick is strongly accentuated. There is no dilution of hues due to age, nor any apparent digital amplification. The Technicolor colours are as they should be and the restoration work is of high resolution. All of that is fine, but ‘Kiss Me Kate’ Blu-ray highlight is the 3D work of art and it is totally brilliant. Depth is outstanding from the mammoth opening title. Separation between foreground and back is intense and this modern 3D presentation so rarely tries to be this extensive, but here ‘Kiss Me Kate’ has no such fears, it totally triumphs.Blu-ray Audio Quality – Originally sent to cinemas in stereo and mono, neither of those tracks is offered here. Instead, a full stunning 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio remaster is used. Much is made of the stereos, including vocals which slip off screen and into either side channel. It’s seamless when separating from the centre. Surrounds fills in ambient orchestration. Most impressive is fidelity. Opening notes spill through the speakers with spectacular clarity. Any signs of hiss or fading are gone. Cliché as it may be, it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Rarely has that statement been so true. The only faults are in the highest of notes. A few of the highs in “Wunderbar” are the slightest bit unstable. Those audible quirks comprise mere seconds.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:Vintage Feature: Ann Miller Hosts Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot [2003] [480i] [4:3] [9:40] Ann Miller hosts this documentary short on the making of the M-G-M Cole Porter hot musical ‘Kiss Me Kate.’ This short about Cole Porter is included as a special feature for ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ a play whose score was written by Porter. It's narrated by Ann Miller and has interviews with Katherine Grayson, Howard Keel, Tommy Rall and James Whitmore. It's a very nice special feature to watch if you get the DVD for ‘Kiss Me Kate.’ Unfortunately it really is NOT specifically about Cole Porter despite the title! Instead, it's about the play and more about the film ‘Kiss Me Kate with surviving cast members giving their recollections about making the movie. I like this sort of thing, but it's again not a film about Cole Porter and he's only mentioned at the beginning! It's a case of a film with a very, very poor title. It's a shame, though, as I did want to learn more about this composer! The people contributing to this short special are Ann Miller, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Tommy Rall and James Whitmore. Director and Screenplay: Peter Fitzgerald.Vintage Documentary Short: Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City [1949] [480i] [4:3] [5:06] Although not officially an entry in the Traveltalks series, the same production crew was used for this two-realer, and the opening credits have the same appearance. The film visits many of the neighbourhoods and landmarks on Manhattan Island and occasionally includes a history lesson. The neighbourhoods include the Bowery, Chinatown, Herald Square, and Times Square. Some of the architectural highlights are the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library, Temple Emanuel, the Central Park Zoo, and the Rockefeller Center complex. The film ends in with a visit to a dining room in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where the Xavier Cugat Orchestra entertains. Narrated by James A. FitzPatrick. Director: James H. Smith.Warner Bros. Cartoon: Barney's Hungry Cousin [1953] [480i] [4:3] [6:40] Barney Bear heads to a national park for a vacation while another bear, native to the park, notices Barney's picnic lunch and makes various attempts to steal Barney's food while Barney tries to eat. Barney notices the bear and tries to escape the moocher but wherever Barney goes, the omnipresent bear is always there too. Finally, Barney gives up and offers the bear some food at which point the bear informs the park rangers that Barney is feeding the animals and the rangers take Barney off in their wagon. Directors: Dick Lundy, George Gordon, Michael Lah, Preston Blair and Rudolf Ising. Producer: Fred Quimby and Rudolf Ising. Composer: Scott Bradley.Theatrical Trailer [1953] [480i] [4:3] [3:22] This is the epic original spectacular trailer, and is proof positive that MGM was promoting Kiss Me Kate as a prestige release in 1953. Sadly it is not in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio or in 3D. The makes no mention of the 3D process.Finally, fans of vintage 3D will have reason to celebrate with this outstanding 3D Blu-ray presentation of ‘Kiss Me Kate,’ as it is one of the most prestigious productions of the 1950s 3D boom. Vintage musical fans who are not 3D equipped will be treated to a high definition ‘Kiss Me Kate’ that corrects framing errors from the prior inferior NTSC DVD release. 'Kiss Me Kate' stands on its own as one of Hollywood's most delightful musicals, but seeing it in its original 3D splendour and the way its creators meant it to be seen. Every Hollywood music classic fan should pick up this superior disc, which earns a very high and very hearty praise and everybody wins, and especially again if you are a massive fan of musicals, this is the disc that may convert you to 3D! Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film FanLe Cinema ParadisoWARE, United Kingdom

Brush up your Shakespeare, dust off your LCD 3-D glasses, and crank up your Surround Sound home theater amplifier to full volume, because this gorgeous film is not only in beautiful stereoscopic 3-D, but it also has the original Stereophonic soundtrack from the film. I don't know enough superlatives to adequately describe the outstanding quality of this Warner Video Blu-ray 3D restoration of Kiss Me Kate, so I'll just say this is the closest you'll ever come to seeing a first run Cole Porter musical on Broadway, unless you were sitting in the front row of Kiss Me Kate on opening night.I'm not going to get into the plot of Kiss Me Kate, because others will do that and because that's not the main reason to see this wonderful film. The real reason to see this film is the beautiful Cole Porter music, the incredible dancing by people like Bob Fosse, the rainbow spectacle of color, and seeing the miracle of depth in a beautifully crafted 3-D film. Those are the qualities that make this film a total delight. This treasure was photographed in perfect 3-D by the best cinematographers at MGM, using their own in-house Metrovision Tri-Dee 3-D camera rig. Most of the so-called 3-D films made today are really flat 2-D images that have been converted into fake 3-D in post production, because it saves a lot of money. The actors in this film were photographed with a stereoscopic camera that used a separate strip of film for each eye, so they look solid. There is roundness in their faces and depth in their bodies, it's like looking into a mirror at real people. If you've only seen this film in 2D, then you haven't really seen Kiss Me Kate until you see it in Blu-ray 3D. By the way, contrary to what most younger people believe, we never used red/blue 3-D glasses in the Fifties. We used polarized glasses like they do today, because you can only see full color with polarized 3-D glasses or LCD shutter glasses. Most people today are also surprised to learn that we had multi-channel stereo surround sound in movies back in the fifties. I know these things, because I went to a lot of movies in the Fifties and I saw almost all of the 3-D films. There really hasn't been much progress after all these years, except for digital projection, which improves distribution and projection, but doesn't make the picture significantly better than 35 mm film. As for IMAX, we had Cinerama and a number of 65mm and 70mm formats in the fifties (such as Todd-AO), that came close to the IMAX experience of today. Some of the old processes were arguably better, considering that many IMAX features are really just 35mm (or the digital equivalent) blown up to fit the IMAX screen.I love the horror movies like House of Wax and Creature from the Black Lagoon that have been released on Blu-ray 3D, and I have purchased them all. But, 3-D movies were made in every genre from westerns, to costume dramas, to musicals, and it's great to finally see a big 3-D musical finally restored and released in the 3D Blu-ray format. And what a musical they picked, this is arguably the best musical MGM made in the Fifties and it had some of the best songs the great Cole Porter wrote. I'm an old geezer who saw Kiss Me Kate in dual-projection, polarized 3-D and stereophonic sound when it opened in 1953. So, I can tell you from first hand experience that this transfer is a flawless copy of what I saw and heard in the theater more than 60 years ago. There is not a single instance of faded color, not a single visible scratch and not a single frame of misaligned 3-D on this Blu-ray disk. The brilliant Ansco color will knock both your shoes and your socks off. Just look at the vibrant color of that skimpy hot pink outfit Ann Miller wears in the Too Darn Hot number. Apparently, Technicolor prints of the entire film have survived, because the color in the original Ansco camera negatives would have faded long ago.The people at Warner Video are perfectionists who know exactly what they are doing. Although Kiss Me Kate was not filmed with anamorphic lenses (i.e. CinemaScope), it was intentionally photographed to be cropped in the projector and shown in widescreen. As it happens, the film was composed to be shown in 1.75:1 which is almost the same aspect ratio as a modern 16:9 HDTV screen. So, this transfer has been properly cropped to fill the entire screen of our HDTV sets. It would have been a shame if less knowledgeable people had done the transfer and letterboxed the picture to a narrow 1.33:1 image. It's also apparent that Warner's has given us a disk with true stereo surround sound from the original stereo soundtracks. In most cases, the original stereo soundtracks have been lost and the stereo had to be faked on the disk, which was unfortunately the case with House of Wax, which had a lost magnetic stereo soundtrack. The stereo surround on this disk is so good that with a 5.1 home theater system you'll think you're sitting in the middle of the orchestra. The sound in a musical like Kiss me Kate is as important as the picture and the sound on this disk is crisp, clean, and in real stereo High Fidelity. It's probably the best sound I've heard on any Blu-ray disk.Incidentally, my favorite song from the film, Cole Porter's From This Moment On, was not in the original Broadway show, but fortunately it was included in the film's big dance number. The dancing in this segment is some of the best ever put on film. We expect the best dancing in a classic MGM musical, the home of Kelly and Astaire. But, the dancing of Tommy Rall and Bob Fosse seems to defy gravity, from the moment when Rall comes flying onto the stage from what appears to be a height of two stories and lands in the kneeling position, to Fosse's "hip" dance style that revolutionized choreography. I had to pause the picture and single-step through some parts of this number one frame at a time to believe what I was seeing, because the dancer's feet seem to spend more time suspended in mid-air than on the floor. These guys were not only great dancers, they were great athletes, and they looked as sleek as sharks in their period costumes.Although this film was not made to show off 3-D gimmicks, director George Sidney does manage to slip in quite a few of them. I like the fact that most of the out-of-screen effects are slipped in when we don't expect them and not set up in the predictable "here comes another pie in your face" style that was so common in early 3-D films. One of the best 3-D illusions to me was not something being thrown at the audience, it was Howard Keel calmly waving a banana at the audience to make his points during a monolog. The banana projected just far enough out of my TV screen to make a totally believable illusion that there was a real man inside the TV set poking a banana out through the screen.The disk has several special features on it. One is the original somewhat faded theater trailer (aka preview). Another special feature is a cartoon from the era. It's too bad they didn't include a 3-D cartoon on the disk (quite a few cartoons were made in 3-D in the Fifties), but with a beautiful restoration like this I can't nit-pick about the cartoon. There is also a 2-D short subject about New York City that appears to be from the late Forties and not the Fifties. I can estimate the year to be around 1948 from the look of the cars in the street scenes. I'm not sure why a short subject from the Forties is included, other than a brief shot of Ann Miller. Maybe they just didn't have a short from the Fifties. The best special feature is a 2003 TCM interview with Ann Miller, Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, James Whitmore and Tommy Rall. The anecdotes are priceless, especially the one told by James Whitmore about Hermes Pan trying to teach Whitmore and Wynn to dance. Unfortunately, as I write this in 2015, the only surviving original cast member of the film is Tommy Rall. And yet, thanks to the magic of full-color stereoscopic cinematography, we can see and hear them today looking just as real, just as young and just as beautiful as they did back in 1953. Without stereoscopic photography this illusion would not be so perfect. At one point in the movie, I paused the picture, walked up to my 60 inch screen and ran my fingers through individual strands of Kathryn Grayson's flaming red hair.... that's how good the detail in this Blu-ray transfer is.I'm very grateful to Warner Video for bringing this great classic film to us in fully restored 3-D. Amazon is selling the disk for only $14.95 which is an unbelievable bargain. I would have gladly paid $100 for it. At this low price no collector should be without a copy of this film. If you love classic 3-D movies, or if you love musicals, then this is a "must have" disk for your collection. Even if you don't currently own a 3-D TV, you should get this disk, because the disk also contains a 2-D version of the film and I believe this is the only Blu-ray version of this movie that's available.NOTE: When I wrote my review I had not read any of the other reviews of the new Blu-ray 3-D version of Kiss Me Kate. Now, I've read the other reviews and I see that many people have commented on a problem with 3-D ghosting. I don't know why some people get ghosting, but I'd like to go on record as saying that on my Samsung plasma 3DTV there is no ghosting at all--- none! So, I don't see how the problem can be on the disk. I don't know why some people get ghosting with some of these Blu-ray 3D disks and others like myself don't, but my hunch is that it might have something to do with the brightness and contrast settings of the 3DTV set. LCD shutter glasses attenuate light, so viewing through LCD 3D shutter glasses requires a brighter picture with stronger contrast than 2D viewing. 3-D ghosting may be physiological when screen brightness is low, due to the effect of increased persistence of vision on sequential 3-D images as they are presented through shutter glasses. For years we have been told by the experts to reduce the brightness and contrast of our sets, because they have been pre-configured for bright sales showrooms. Books and magazines are written on this subject, and special disks are available for adjusting HDTV sets. But, I think we may need to reconsider or modify this thinking when it comes to watching 3-D. If you have ghosting, then I urge you to bump up the brightness and contrast settings of your set and see if the ghosting goes away. Also, remember that what some people call ghosting may be normal 3-D. The brain can't fuse images that are too far apart on the Z axis. If your eyes converge on your hand, then a tree 20 feet away will look like two trees, and if your eyes converge on the tree then you will see two hands. In 3-D cinematography, the cameraman controls what to converge the camera lenses on, so if the camera is converged on a nearby object, then you can't re-converge your eyes on an object 15 feet way like you can in real life. If you concentrate on the background, then you're going to see a double image, if the cameraman was photographing a close-up. But, this is not a defect in the disk or the TV; it's just the way 3-D movies work and this won't change until holographic 3-D movies are perfected.The second issue that many people had with this disk was the aspect ratio. 1953 was a pivotal year for theaters. In the wake of Cinerama and with the premier of CinemaScope in 1953, theaters were rushing to install new wider screens and new projector lenses required to fill the wider screens. Some theaters had wide screens in 1953 and other theaters didn't. This presented a problem for the studios, so many studios shot films spherically in the old 1.33:1 Academy ratio, but marked up the camera viewfinder for a wide screen format, so the film could be shown full frame in theaters with old screens and in widescreen in theaters equipped with the new wider screens. Because the camera viewfinders were marked up for widescreen, the projector's aperture could be matted for widescreen and the picture could be enlarged without chopping off the top of actors heads. Head chopping did happen, but only with older films, which were not photographed with widescreen projection in mind. For the record, I saw Kiss Me Kate in 3-D back in 1953 at the Lowes State Theater in Houston Texas and it was shown in widescreen, exactly the way it appears on the new disk. So, for all you purists our there, Warners Video could have cropped the picture either way and they would have been true to the way the film was presented in theaters in 1953. Personally, I'm glad they picked the widescreen format, which was the preferred way to show the film in 1953.

This is the holy grail! fabulous musical with a Cole Porter score to die for beautifully sung by Kathyn Grayson, Howard Keel and Ann Miller, Bob Fosse dancing in the From This Moment On number, the 3D effects are impressive, I couldn't stop thinking how stunning this must have looked on a big cinema screen over 60 years ago, but still looks great on a big tv screen today, I've see this film many times in the flat version that's been around for years but nothing prepared me for the 3D version from 1953 it is awesome, great script, wonderful score, perfectly cast, it's one of a kind the only now classic musical shot in 3D I so wish there had been more, and last but certainly not least thanks to Warner Bros for a pristine print transfer loved it, if you enjoy musicals don't hesitate to buy it you'll watch it again and again :)

I have just purchased this film in 3D wow, it is fantastic, I have waited over 60 years to see this again as it was meant to be seen, the 3D effects are really outstanding....I did purchase on DVD many years ago, but this 3D version is a different film completely from the 2D version.The singing of Katherine Grayson and Howard Keel, is out of this world.The dancing of Ann Miller and Tommy Rall surpasses anything of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers, plus the contributions by Bob Fosse and Bobby Van, two very talented dancers themselves, make the dance routines really come to life.I am now hoping that more of the 50's 3D films are to be released in the 3D format they were filmed in.Thank you Warner Brothers for this fantastic film.

This two disc set is advertised as being compatible with Region 2 players - unfortunately that is not the case.Kiss me Kate plays fine, no problem. It is an enjoyable film, funny, well acted, lots of good songs, and Howard Keel at his roguish best. Ann Millers dancing is stunning.Showboat, on the other hand, does not play at all on Region 2 players. I tried it in my PC, because I can change the setting in there, and it seems OK but, obviously, that is not an ideal place to view a film. Also the settings can be only be changed three times and, frankly it is not worth the hassle.If you have a player that covers all regions - this would be an excellent addition to your DVD library. If you have region 2 only, then you'd be better advised to buy the films separately rather than repeat my mistake and be disappointed.

Kiss me Kate is the perfect example how 3D media can be an intelligent test in order to improve the quality and effects of a good script and not as a circus entertainment without sense. Other good examples are House of Wax and The Creature of Black Lagoon. Not many more. Let's say that Kiss me Kate IS THE TRUE THEATRICAL 3D EXPERIENCE. Today is a shame to compare the quality of an IMAX digital 3D film and the productions made with two cameras. I think that 3D film nowadays is only a product of digital laboratory and nothing more. In IMAX today we see3 D efects made with persons or monsters more near or far from the public but each model in flat appearence not with volume. It is the same effect made with the children toy mini theatres where all sets and actors are retired from a page of paper, without of course the volumetric dimension. If we need a good example of 3D today we can refer the Blu Ray edition of the modern Journey to the Center of the Earthor and the last century production of Wings of Courage made with 70mm IMAX film, not the hard disc digital one. Congratulations for this super restoration of the 3D version of Kiss Me Kate. And let's go to the theatre, in good stall in the center of the room.João Pereira Bastos Lisboa, Portugal

Fabulous 3D print of one of the all time great movie musicals. It’s well staged, beautifully acted and my only caveat is that some musical numbers had been cut,