Gigi

It was a perfect gift and got it for a great price.

Leslie Caron is absolutely enchanting in this very amusing, cheerful musical. The supporting cast is out of this world. Better than a box of the very best chocolates, a pure indulgence. Enjoy!

I get a kick out of people bad mouthing this movie. They call it creepy, disturbing, or worse things. It is NOT any of those things.It's rated G. There is nothing wrong with it. It's family friendly. Times change, but if anyone finds things wrong with this movie's story, they probably bring there own issues into the equation. You can rest assured that it is just fine for everyone to watch and enjoy and accept the innocence of it.There are a couple great signature songs in it.The story is interesting and deals with a romance in Paris society. It's takes place around turn of the 20th century, a much more genteel and simpler time, even if more sophisticated in many respects. That's probably why some don't like it. They can't relate.The performances are very good. Leslie Caron is superb. Not to mention Maurice Chevalier. The cinematography is good. The costumes and sets are outstanding. The musical pieces are good, and as mentioned, there are a couple of really great, memorable songs in it.I hadn't seen it in decades, but just saw it again and it was a pleasure.

Gigi (1958) is set--and mostly shot--in Paris, France, and appears in the form of an impressionist painting. The film is adapted from a French, 1945 novel by Colette, a French and female author. The American-produced film's English-speaking leads are played by French actors. It features the lyrics and music of Lerner and Loewe, and a screenplay by Lerner. It stars Leslie Caron, who had performed the title role for the stage play in London, in Audrey Hepburn's 1951 title role from Broadway. Vincente Minnelli of An American in Paris and Brigadoon directs.The film received all nine Academy Award Oscars for its nine nominations, including Best Picture: a perfect nomination-to-win ratio. Yet, it is one of only a few films to have won the Best Picture Oscar without receiving a single acting nomination. One other film to have also received a Best Picture Oscar and not receive any acting nominations is another Vincente Minnelli film, An American in Paris, both films having Leslie Caron as leading actress. Gigi maintained the Academy Award record of having the highest Oscar count of films winning awards in every category for which it was nominated, including a tie in 1987 by The Last Emperor, until it had been broken in 2003 by the film The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King, which won all eleven of its eleven nominations. Gigi therefore held the number one spot in this record for 45 years, and it held the record by itself for 29 of those years. Gigi enjoyed this Oscar record longer than any other film--45 years--and this fact is an Oscar record within itself.MGM and Warner released a DVD of Gigi merely a year apart. The first release by MGM came on 4 May 1999 and has a plastic case with an 8-page booklet inside. The second release by Warner came on 2 May 2000 and has a white cardboard case with no booklet. Yet, the DVDs inside of them are exactly the same: the second Warner release is a re-issue with only the case changed, and without the booklet. I have placed a scanned photo of the MGM booklet's cover--pages 1 and 8--under the MGM release, as well as an image of the front cover which had been missing, here on Amazon.If one looks to buy a DVD of this award-winning film Gigi, he should opt for the first MGM release of May 1999, because it comes in a plastic case with the 8-page booklet containing essays on the film, its music and lyrics, its actors, and its art direction. Also, its box cover art matches the DVD interactive menu as it should. Because the newer Warner release DVD has different box art with the disc being exactly the same, the box cover art doesn't match the DVD menu screens. So, again, one should opt for the original MGM DVD release of May 1999.There's some digitized appearance to the DVD feature. Also, the film's condition warrants a restoration because of minor scratches and worn film. The movie, itself, is a very good-looking film, and so film decay hurts the intent of the original presentation in some scenes. But mostly, the DVD looks quite pristine. There's some slight film fade and fluctuations in color, and some DVD pixelization. As far as the DVD sound, it only spans the front three tracks and is likely matrix-encoded. Overall, the DVD presentation is good for a film so old that hasn't been restored.A beautiful film such as this should be marked by film historians Harris and Katz for restoration, although I'm sure they have a lot of other work to attend to first, since a single film takes them around two years to restore. Harris and Katz are the preservationists who restored My Fair Lady, Vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia, and a few other important classics.

I'm a feminist, but I love this movie. Yes, it focuses on the ongoing plan to turn a nice kid into a high-priced courtesan. Not a career option to which most women today aspire. But if you know history, you know that the women of the era depicted had limited career options. Very, very limited. This movie at least is fairly hard-headed about that fact. If you were going to rent yourself out (as a courtesan), you aimed for the highest-paying renter (patron/boyfriend/whatever). If you were going to sell yourself (as a wife), then you go for the highest paying buyer (husband). Not an unreasonable way to make the best of what is, to me at least, a bad and inherently dehumanizing situation (but, then, so is working at a job you hate just to pay the bills. And a lot of people do that today). So I could relate. I'm sure some feminists will simply reject this movie outright because they can't relate and find this kind of thinking unacceptable. Chacun a son gout!The movie is lush, beautiful, with colors that pop, settings that are spectacularly appealing, costumes that are elegant and gorgeous, and people who are always well-coiffed and impeccably turned out in every way. It's a visual stunner.Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan are beautiful people with charisma. They have real chemistry in their lead roles - you can believe there's a strong attraction, both physical and emotional, between them. It's a pleasure to watch them together. As written, the Leslie Caron character is no fool. She's smart, realistic, thoughtful, original and enjoys life immensely. Hermione Gingold and Maurice Chevalier star in the older roles: Gingold as Caron's grandmother, and Chevalier as Jourdan's best friend and mentor. Both have a twinkle in their eye, although the Herminioe Gingol character is much more of a realist, since she's basically a flesh-peddler trying to get the best price for her young charge and can't afford to kid herself about the rules of the game.The music is wonderful, both lyrics and melody. The ending is happy but believable. I bought this movie so I could watch it on streaming as many times as I like. It always leaves me feeling happy. There's a lot to be said for beauty, wit and charm, along with just enough of a dose of reality to make it non-mawkish, but not so much that you walk away feeling hopeless and depressed. When that's what I want, I read the newspaper.

Delightful, with an outstanding cast and gorgeous costuming. Wonderful songs!

I rarely buy a movie, but I bought this one. It lifts my spirits in so many ways!

Ein toller Film in Brillanten Farben und klares Bild top 🔝

This movie is a classic like "An american in Paris", also with Leslie Caron! I love it!

Still tuneful and entertaining

It is so hard to find old movies. I was so happy to have found this one on Amazon. Packaging was in tact and no problem during the movie. I was in perfect condition. Must have watched it three time sinse my purchase. Thank you :)

One of my rare criticisms of Amazon would be their failure to distinguish between reviews of ordinary dvd's and that of a Blu-ray update. For many films they are worlds apart and Gigi is no exception. I have been a fan of Gigi for more years than I care to remember. As a young man I adored the film and would seek out cinemas to watch the film again and again. Imagine my disappointment when I bought the ordinary dvd to show on my new large projection screen home cinema! To some extent the quality was acceptable when viewed on a standard size television but the picture imperfections were clear as soon as it was magnified on an 8 foot screen! And then there was the problem of the lip synch.To my amazement this is a problem that is rarely discussed in Amazon reviews or indeed anywhere else. I know that I am more susceptible to this problem than many others. However, in some cases on ordinary dvd's the sychronisation is out by nearly half a second. 'There's Something About Mary' and 'Prelude to a Kiss' are examples of bad lip synch and sadly the ordinary Gigi dvd is equally bad. I know that you can make slight adjustments on modern home cinema equipment but the synchronistion is often too far out to be corrected.Eureka! Problem solved on every Blu-ray disc that I have bought and in particular with the Blu-ray version of Gigi. Last night we watched this wonderful film in the Blu-ray version. It was like watching a new film. Fabulous revitalised colours and a pin sharp picture for most of the time. Such detail! The sound quality had also been much improved although this was less obvious than the benefit in video quality. There are also some very interesting extras which include an early 'Tom & Gerry' carton, a complete version of the original 1949 French version of Gigi (non-musical) and a very informative film on the making of this version. This is filmed mainly in HD and includes interviews with Leslie Caron and others who made the film. Fascinating. The extras also include the original trailer for the film and this is a further illustration of the sea difference in quality between the different versions.I admit that I hesitated for some months before I made this upgrade purchase. I am just so glad that I bought this upgrade. It is worth every single penny and more. What a wonderful restoration of this fabulous masterpiece.