"The Busby Berkeley Collection Vol. 2 | HdBluDVD.Com - More HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, DVD Information"

Warner Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of the Busby Berkeley Collection Volume 2 on 16th September 2008. # Actors: Busby Berkeley # Format: Box set, Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC # Language: English # Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.) # Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 # Number of discs: 4 # Rating: # Studio: Warner Home Video # DVD Release Date: September 16, 2008 # Run Time: 387 minutes These are some of Berkeley's post production code works. My memory fails me on the details of these films since TCM hasn't broadcast them on a regular basis for some time now. They're not quite up to the quality of Berkeley's work in the pre-code era, but I do remember them as quality musicals from the 1930's. If you enjoy musicals from that era you're sure to enjoy these. One important thing to note: This package, like the three disc Jazz Singer release from last fall, is advertised to include the two remaining excerpts from the lost 1929 film Gold Diggers of Broadway. However, the Jazz Singer did not have the "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" number, as it was advertised to have. This set should finally give us that last excerpt. The following is the press release about the set, since my memory fails me on the precise details of the films: Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936) Dick Powell plays an insurance agent with musical ambitions while Joan Blondell is a showgirl who becomes a secretary. But the plot is secondary as dance creator Busby Berkeley turns a garden party into a tap-happy romp, and Blondell leads leggy soldiers in a banner-waving, precision-formation rendition of "All's Fair in Love and War" that's Berkeley spectacle at its showy best. Berkeley received an Academy nod for Best Dance Direction. BONUS FEATURES: 1997 documentary Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof Technicolor historical short The Romance of Louisiana Classic cartoons Plenty of Money and You and Speaking of the Weather Two excerpts from 1929's Gold Diggers of Broadway Theatrical trailer Hollywood Hotel (1937) The plot about a Hollywood newcomer (Dick Powell) caught between a spoiled star (Lola Lane) and her likeable look-alike (Lola's look-alike sister Rosemary Lane) is secondary to watching Busby Berkeley's ace direction. The film opens with the jubilant debut of Tinseltown's unofficial anthem Hooray for Hollywood. The jaunty "Let That Be a Lesson to You" shows off Berkeley's mastery of editing and camera angles. Benny Goodman and his Orchestra is also featured with Harry James on trumpet and Gene Krupa on drums are in the number "Sing, Sing, Sing". BONUS FEATURES: Technicolor historical short The Romance of Robert Burns Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy comedy short Double Talk Classic cartoon Porky's Five & Ten Theatrical trailer Varsity Show (1937) Broadway impresario Chuck Daly (Dick Powell) leads cast that includes film-debuting sisters Priscilla and Rosemary Lane and fluty-voiced comic character star Sterling Holloway, in this exuberant college musical. Oscar nominated for his dance direction in this film, Berkeley creates and directs a football-themed finale featuring high-style overhead shots, kinetic camerawork and hundreds of dancers on a 50 ft. by 60 ft. staircase. BONUS FEATURES: Musical short Flowers from the Sky Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy comedy short A Neckin' Party Classic cartoon Have You Got Any Castles Theatrical trailer Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) The Gold Diggers are headed for Paris, bringing their feathers, frills, and ballet shoes. A French diplomat has mistaken 43rd Street's Club Ballé for the American Academy Ballet, and the chorus isn't going to turn down a free trip to Paris over such a tiny misunderstanding. Rudy Vallee stars as the club's impresario and Busby Berkeley creates and directs the inventive musical numbers. Bridging the musical and comedy aspects of this film is an odd little group called the Schnickelfritz band. BONUS FEATURES: Two Broadway Brevities musical shorts: The Candid Kid and Little Me Classic cartoon Love and Curses Theatrical trailer Now if only someone would put on DVD Berkeley's other works that hardly ever get shown: "In Caliente", "Palmy Days", "Flying High", "Wonder Bar", and "The Fashions of 1934". Believe me, there is a big market for these old musicals. Comments Please login to post comments or replies.