The Philadelphia Story

I really didn't see what made this such a "great" film. It was not bad and somewhat entertaining. However, it was, in my opinion, no greater than many other romantic comedies of that era. I actually fell asleep on it twice.

The Philadelphia Story is pure garbage. People and critics have always raved about this movie so I decided to watch it and see for myself, to my utter disbelief this film is nonsense. The plot is childish and goes nowhere and the non-stop talking drove me insane 30 minutes in. Jeez Katharine Hepburn never shuts her big fat mouth, talk, talk, talk! James Stewart is pretty good but he didn't deserve the Oscar. This film is for whiny, spoiled upper-middle class nutcases! I hate it sorry but I can't pretend this is cinema art.

After I saw The Philadelphia Story at our local Civic Theater, I had to see the original film. It's a wonderful good old fashioned romance story and great to watch. It will completely take your mind off the cares of or present everyday living and take you back to a time when you could watch a movie and not be embarrassed by the language, content or dress. Although this is an "oldie", it's worth every minute of the time you spend watching it...and, of course, the acting is great! I'm glad I decided to purchase it to add to my DVD library.

"The Philadelphia Story" is a streamlined example of superlative movie making. Directed impeccably by George Cukor, the film was based on a play written specifically for Katharine Hepburn when she re-invented her career on Broadway after leaving RKO in 1938, a box office has been at aged 31. The script was superbly tailored to Hepburn's image and mannerisms and the humanising of Tracey Lord, the lead character, is indelibly linked to the humanising of Hepburn. Surrounded by high class MGM production values, 2 popular box office stars, Cary Grant and James Stewart, and a perfect supporting cast, the film was a box office smash and remade as "High Society", an equally succesful musical in the fifties with Grace Kelly. This was the film which really launched Katharine Hepburn to immortality and there are some excellent one liners. Special mention of Ruth Hussey, a typical second rung actress who never had quite enough individuality to make the top but never gave a bad performance. She is outstanding here. The print of the film is superb too.

This two-disc special has some great extras. Janine Basinger provides a detailed and well paced commentary covering all bases. Basinger is one of the best of the historians because she understands the context of the films about which she speaks and her delivery is always clear. Equally as interesting is the film about Hepburn made in 1992. Hepburn herself narrates. Clearly, at age 85, she was prepared to speak of things which had been off limits for years and in doing so, she perpetuates her legend cleverly. In the light of recent biographies about her, this film offers a number of challenges and is compulsory viewing.

A documentary interview with George Cukor is also included, part of a series of documentaries on famous film makers - invaluable to those interested in the history of film. Other extras include a funny short film with Robert Benchley, a cartoon and a couple of radio adaptions of the film, always only of minor interest when the original film is available.

The DVD is excellent value but even better if purchased as part of the Classic Comedies set.

This movie is entertaining and is miles better than say "His Girl Friday" but it's not all that great. I found that it was a tad too long and I had to catch myself from yawning at times although I thought the screenplay was very good as well as the acting. The jokes don't age very well and so I chose to focus on the side of the story about Tracy's eventual acceptance that her perfectionist ways are what's turning people away from her and how her character changes throughout the movie to climax in her final choice of husband. I thought Hepburn's acting was the best and most convincing of all while the chemistry among she, Stewart and Grant was very good. Overall a nice feelgood movie with an interesting storyline but certainly not a good comedy with today's audience.

This DVD though is a bit of a disappointment as the sound quality is Digital Mono although with a Dolby Pro Logic system you can simulate surround sound to a certain extent and the picture quality isn't very good. Perhaps it would be a good idea to wait for a properly restored version perhaps Blu-Ray to surface and to give this version a miss.