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Love Me Tonight | Year: 1932 Classification: Musical Directed: - Rouben Mamoulian Actors/Actresses: - Maurice Chevalier - Jeanette MacDonald Love This Film! Long absent from home video titles, 1932's LOVE ME TONIGHT has finally been released on dvd in all of its glory - and a wonderfully pristine print it is too! There are enough superlatives already published about this film and its creators, director Rouben Mamoulian and Rogers & Hart, that I don't need to think up new ones - Leonard Maltin calls it simply "one of the best musicals ever made" - but it's worth observing that Hollywood never made another musical even remotely like it until the recent CHICAGO. (OK, let's credit 1933's HALLELUJAH I'M A BUM, a notorious flop.) Even in some of our most beloved musicals - such as SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - let's admit it, the story stops dead in its tracks to perform a musical number. At best, the number is usually redundant of information already provided to the viewer. Rogers and Hart told LOVE ME TONIGHT's story through its musical numbers, a seemingly obvious approach that films have steadfastly ignored all these decades except for CHICAGO where LMT's approach seems to have been rediscovered. Perhaps the quality that distinguishes LMT from later and better-known musicals is its lack of pretension, indeed, its playfulness. Despite the film's imagination and continual inventiveness, it is never impressed with itself (oh, that the "great" MGM musicals of the 1950s had this quality!). The only problems I found are minor and not the fault of the film itself. There seems to be a slight rumble on the soundtrack when the scene is in silence, most notably in the famous opening sequence of Paris at dawn. I also wondered why some slight speckling was not removed from the opening titles. These two items aside, Kino Video did a great job and provided some great supplemental material including a thoughtful essay by Miles Kreuger. If you have any interest in movie musicals, LMT is "must" viewing! One of the greatest movies! Arguably the finest musical; Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hart thought so. It's my favorite in the genre, along with 'Wizard of Oz', 'Sound of Music' and 'All That Jazz'. <BR>A friend, whose favorite was 'Singin in the Rain', now prefers 'Love Me Tonight'.<BR> <BR>I can't believe it's from 1932! Stylistically, I think it's as innovative and vivacious as 'Battleship Potemkin', but being a musical, it's much more fun. Loaded with verbal and visual puns, 'Love Me Tonight' is about as sexy as Bob Fosse's work, yet nothing's blatant. The jokes the kids aren't supposed to get will go right over their heads. Perhaps in using Fosse as an analogy I'm comparing apples and oranges, since there's next to no dancing in 'Love Me Tonight'. On second thought, the entire film is, in a sense, a dance. A smart fairytale romance (there's an oxymoron!). Light as a feather, yet profound. Like champagne Like champagne, the musical comedy "Love Me Tonight", is light, bubbly, and improves with age. It's hard to fathom that this delightful movie was made over 70 years ago because it looks and feels fresh and contemporary. Rouben Mamoulian directs with verve complemented by the vibrant black and white photography of Victor Milner. Master composer Richard Rodgers creates lovely, wistful melodies that stay with you. And the erudite lyricist Lorenz Hart infuses his sophisticated lyrics with wit, charm, and innuendo. The two leads, Maurice Chevalier as the smitten tailor, and Jeanette MacDonald, as the royal object of Chevalier's affection, have seldom been more appealing. Here's a toast to the delectable artists who cultivated the sparkling, effervescent classic "Love Me Tonight". Buy Love Me Tonight at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Love Me Tonight Search with the Priority Search Engine on Love Me Tonight This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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