Funny Face [Blu-ray] [1957] [Region Free]

FUNNY FACE [1956] [Blu-ray] S'Wonderful! S'Marvelous! She's The Fairest Lady Of All! Knocks Most Other Musicals Off The Screen!In the Academy Award® nominated classic, Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire join forces in lending their song and dance talents to the timeless and classic film musical. When fashion magazine mogul Maggie Prescott [Kay Thompson] and her head photographer Dick Avery [Fred Astaire] (which was based on real-life cameraman Richard Avedon, who was both a visual consultant on ‘Funny Face’) scout out a bookstore for their next photo shoot. Dick discovers the unique face of bookseller and amateur philosopher Jo Stockton [Audrey Hepburn] and is soon whisked off to Paris. Jo is soon transformed into a global supermodel . . . and finds herself falling for the photographer, who first noticed her sunny, funny face.FILM FACT: The National Board of Review gave the film Special Citation award for the photographic innovations. Leonard Gershe was nominated for Best Written American Musical by the Writers Guild of America. Stanley Donen was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures and for a Golden Palm at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. Fred Astaire received a Golden Laurel nomination for Top Male Musical Performance. The film received four Academy Award® Oscar Nominations: Leonard Gershe for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay and Written Directly for the Screen. Edith Head and Hubert de Givenchy (Audrey Hepburn's costume designer) for Best Costume Design. Ray June, Hal Pereira, George W. Davis, Sam Comer for Best Cinematography and Ray Moyer for Best Art Direction and Set Decoration.Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair, Robert Flemyng, Dovima, Suzy Parker (Think Pink Number), Sunny Harnett (Think Pink Number), Jean Del Val, Virginia Gibson, Sue England, Ruta Lee, Alex Gerry, Iphigenie Castiglioni, Geneviève Aumont (uncredited), Paul Bisciglia (uncredited), Nina Borget (uncredited), Jack Chefe (uncredited), Albert D'Arno (uncredited), Carole Eastman (uncredited), Heather Hopper (uncredited), Don Powell (uncredited), Cecile Rogers (uncredited), Elizabeth Slifer (uncredited), Emilie Stevens (uncredited) and Baroness Ella Van Heemstra (uncredited)Director: Stanley DonenProducer: Roger EdensScreenplay: Leonard GersheMusic and Lyrics: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Adolph Deutsch (main score)Cinematography: Ray JuneVideo Resolution: 1080p [Technicolor]Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 [VistaVison]Audio: English: 5.1 TrueHD Dolby, French: 1.0 Mono, German: 1.0 Mono, Italian: 1.0 Mono, Japanese: 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish: 1.0 MonoSubtitles: English, English SDH, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish and SwedishRunning Time: 103 minutesRegion: All RegionsNumber of discs: 1Studio: Paramount PicturesAndrew's Blu-ray Review: This is a sort of Pygmalion story set in the rarefied world of high fashion, ‘Funny Face’ [1957] is an irresistible combination of music, style, and star talents: top production staff from M-G-M's fabled The Arthur Freed Unit; the legendary dancer Fred Astaire; enchanting gamine Audrey Hepburn; and photographer Richard Avedon. Fred Astaire plays fashion photographer Dick Avery, who turns a scruffy Greenwich Village intellectual Jo Stockton [Audrey Hepburn] into a supermodel, and takes her to romantic Paris, and eventually falls in love with her.Pizzazz! The very word came into being with ‘Funny Face’ in 1957. Stylish and energetic `Funny Face' is a collaboration extraordinaire involving some of the great talents of the era: Producer Roger Edens and director Stanley Donen, screenwriter Leonard Gershe, cinematographer Ray June, costumer Edith Head, couture designer Hubert de Givenchy, photographer Richard Avedon and the film's matchless stars Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Kay Thompson. Sprinkled with an assortment of Gershwin tunes, this is a brilliant film of considerable pizzazz!`Funny Face' had been a work in progress for years, but the vital element that finally brought the project together was Audrey Hepburn. Then under contract to Paramount Pictures, Audrey Hepburn was a white-hot star at the time and any picture with her name attached had a very good chance of being made. She loved both the script and the opportunity to dance with Fred Astaire and quickly agreed to do the picture. Fred Astaire, then nearing 60, was coming to the end of his career in musical films. `Funny Face' and `Silk Stockings' were released within months of each other in 1957 and were his last popular film musicals.Kay Thompson, ace vocal coach, arranger and cabaret star, had worked with Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Lena Horne and many others during her years in M-G-M's music department. Gershe had her in mind from the start for the role of Maggie Prescott, a character closely modelled on powerhouse fashion editor and style doyenne of the era, Diana Vreeland. According to Leonard Gershe, it was Vreeland who coined the word `bizzazz' that mutated into `pizzazz.' Kay Thompson as Maggie Prescott, is an invigorating presence and she steals just about every scene she's in; early on, her "Think Pink!" number kicks Funny Face into high gear.Ultimately, the success of `Funny Face' belongs just as much to Thompson as it does her two co-stars; the ebullient and ever dapper Fred Astaire and translucently glamorous gamin Audrey Hepburn. To voyage with these three into the chic byways and street cafes of Paris is to be magically teleported on a grand holiday through Parisian haute couture. And Stanley Donen's direction makes Funny Face so much more than mere sumptuous entertainment. It is a wry musical comedy taking a deadly sly poke at the fashionista guru. Under Stanley Donen's expertise and Leonard Gershe's capably crafted screenplay the exclusivity of haute couture evolves from haughty parade into a surreal exploitation of that impressionist and elegant lifestyle. This is a world created by human hands and ego, and, about as far removed from the one we find ourselves a part of at the beginning of our story. But that is precisely why ‘Funny Face’ succeeds; because it parallels the mundane with the superficially sacred, and elevates the escapism to a most rarefied art form.`Funny Face' is a Cinderella tale, the kind of story that was Audrey Hepburn's bread and butter. The film begins in the offices of Quality magazine where editor Maggie Prescott [Kaye Thompson] decrees that the world of fashion shall think and wear pink (though she does not)! Soon after, she and photographer Dick Avery [Fred Astaire] venture to bohemian Greenwich Village on a shoot...where bookstore clerk Jo Stockton [Audrey Hepburn], an ugly duckling with swan potential, is unearthed. The plot takes off from here. Cut to Paris where newly made-over model Jo wears exquisite Givenchy haute couture and is gorgeously photographed by Dick Avery everywhere in the City of Light. Songs are sung. Dances are danced. Love blooms. A fairy-tale ending eventually comes to pass. The basic storyline is nothing new, but watching Hepburn, Astaire and Thompson cut loose in New York and Paris (and in song) is so easy on the eyes and ears that in so many ways...s'wonderful!Ultimately, the success of `Funny Face' belongs just as much to Thompson as it does her two co-stars; the ebullient and ever dapper Fred Astaire and translucently glamorous gamin Audrey Hepburn. To voyage with these three into the chic byways and street cafes of Paris is to be magically teleported on a grand holiday through Parisian haute couture. And Stanley Donen's direction makes `Funny Face' so much more than mere sumptuous entertainment. It is a wry musical comedy taking a deadly sly poke at the fashionista guru. This is a world created by human hands and ego, and, about as far removed from the one we find ourselves a part of at the beginning of our story. But that is precisely why `Funny Face' succeeds; because it parallels the mundane with the superficially sacred, and elevates the escapism to a most rarefied art form.Musically, `Funny Face' achieves many high water marks with Audrey Hepburn singing in her own voice the poignant, "How Long Has This Been Going On." Fred Astaire taps the exuberant "Let's Kiss and Make Up." Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn do an elegant pas deux to George and Ira Gershwin’s immortal "S'Wonderful" and the entire cast gets into the act with "Bonjour Paris!" Arguably, the song which lingers the longest in our collective memory remains Kay Thompson's acidic and comical "Think Pink" an ode to fashion for fashion's sake. As Kay Thompson croons "Red is dead. Blue is through. Green's obscene. Brown's to boo...and there is not the slightest excuse for plum or puce...or chartreuse."Finally, `Funny Face' is a beautiful lightweight and cheerful little musical, immeasurably aided by Paramount Pictures patented high fidelity widescreen process VistaVision, and the sumptuous backdrop of Paris at its most photogenic, despite reoccurring inclement weather throughout the shoot, `Funny Face' emerges with a genuine sparkle and heart; an ultra-gorgeous musical with much to appreciate and admire throughout with "On how to be lovely." `Funny Face' rates a perfect ten! So all in all, this was well worth the wait for Paramount to release this sumptuous Blu-ray release, but sadly this UK Release has no Extras, like with the USA Blu-ray Release, but despite this I am still proud to have this enchanted Hollywood Classic Musical in my Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film AficonadoLe Cinema ParadisoUnited Kingdom

As expected (another) great performance.

Done in typical Hollywood 50's style, Funny Face is the story of a bookshop clerk (Audrey Hepburn) with a love for all things philosophical who happens to have a 'funny face'. She is discovered by a world-famous fashion photographer (wonderful Fred Astaire) who loves her 'sunny funny face' and thinks that she could be the biggest thing in fashion. He convinces his magazine editor (Kay Thompson) to take a chance on the girl, and bribing Hepburn with the chance to meet her philosophy lecturer idol, they whisk her off to the most fashionable city in the world - Paris!!It was called by one reviewer 'a delightful mixture of intelligence and froth' which is exactly what it is. It's sheer entertainment like we don't have in today's cinema, with no pretence, just fun.Audrey Hepburn is lovely as usual, and really gets to show off her dancing talent in the classic 'Basal Metabollism' sequence. She looks amazing in the Givenchy/Edith Head fashion of the day, the entire movie plays like a huge fashion show for her (which is always a plus).Fred Astaire is charming and proves that he can still dance up a storm and croon a song even if the age difference between him and Hepburn is slightly unbelievable. But he charms you into forgetting all that.Kay Thompson was really great as the magazine editor, loud and brassy and very funny.The songs are Gershwin classics and are performed excellently by the entire cast. Audrey Hepburn charms her way through 'How Long Has This Been Going On?', Fred Astaire sings 'He Loves, She Loves' and dances another of his classic routines to the title song 'Funny Face'. And Kay Thompson gets to belt out 'Think Pink'.But the most stunning aspect of this film really is the picture quality and technicolour. I have honestly never seen a better looking technicolour film. It's utterly beautiful and hasn't aged a single bit, from the dance to Funny Face in the developing room with only red lighting, to the underground cafe' in Paris lit by multicoloured lights.A really nice, entertaining movie that is a rightful classic.

Man, so much more tha I expected. A bit of soft romcom with dance we rented as a break from political news? But this turns out o be only loosely based on the Broadway show in which Astaire starred 30 years before. This is about the fashion industry (rather like Devil Wears Prada) only from the viewpoint of a fictionalized (and dancing!) Richard Avedon, who was a in reality consultant designer for the film as well. The result of a collaboration between Astaire, Avedon, and Gershwin, in effect, and a star vehicle for former ballerina Audrey Hepburn, with all her charm turned to 11. as a philosophy student -intellectual turned model. It's a dated piece, the attitudes towards romance and women might be forward looking at the time but seem horribly paternalist now, yet seen in context it isn't really too offensive, as Hepburn's character is the active agent of her own story arc, and is given credit for her intelligence throughout the script. Her dancing is superb, and the slightly-aging Astaire is still legendary, umbrella-twirling, jazz tapping, blues-singing, and generally outdoing music stars half his age. They have some real chemistry, and Avedon's design is mid-century genius. WAAAYYYYYY better than i thought, I'm a late-middle-aged football-on-Sundays guy, and I really enjoyed this.

Audrey Hepburn carries this musical, she looks utterly gorgeous in the clothes she models and is luminously beautiful. But Fred Astair, though classy as always, is too old for the part and it is very much a film of its time with some questionable values about women and fashion.