Don your bonnet for Easter Parade on Blu-ray

We recently reviewed Warner Brothers’ collection of musicals on DVD, and pointed out a title or two that seemed conspicuous by their absence in the set. One title even we overlooked was the classic MGM musical Easter Parade, but Warner Brothers apparently had a reason for that omission. That reason is now crystal clear — literally — with the new Blu-ray release of the musical. And, as usual, Warners has done another superlative job with the film’s restoration for the high def presentation.

If you’re unfamiliar with the 1948 musical, the story itself is fairly simple. Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) and Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) are a successful vaudeville dance team, but Nadine decides to break up the act to pursue her own career path. Hewes, in an attempt to prove that he was the one who made Nadine a star (and make her jealous at the same time), picks the first girl he finds in a chorus line to groom as his next dance partner. While Hannah Brown (Judy Garland) is a little rough around the edges, she proves to be a quick study and the new team are a hit. Don begins to fall in love with Hannah, but wants to keep the partnership strictly professional. Hannah believes he is still in love with Nadine, and her suspicions seem to be confirmed when he dances with Nadine in a nightclub floor show. Will jealousy split up the new team? It’s an MGM musical … what do you think?

Easter Parade was first issued on DVD back in 2005 using the same high resolution process Warner Brothers has used to restore other three-strip Technicolor films like Singin’ in the Rain, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Meet Me in St. Louis. It’s not known if this is a fresh upgrade from the 2005 restoration, but the full 1080p resolution looks simply spectacular. For a film that is all about color, from vibrant reds and yellows to more pastel pinks, lavenders and greens, this high def edition of the film delivers on all counts. Best of all, the film’s grain has been retained to give it a pleasing film-like quality, but it’s never obtrusive like some scenes in the newer Top Gun Blu-ray. The original mono audio is presented in a crisp, clear DTS HD Master 1.0 track (no original studio recordings were found to fashion a new 5.1 mix) keeping voices and music front and center, but the singing is never overwhelmed by the orchestra.

The Blu-ray also includes some wonderful extras (all ported over from the 2005 DVD), and at the top of the list is a commentary track with Ava Astaire McKenzie (Fred’s daughter) and Garland historian John Fricke. The insight these two have on the film is nirvana for true film buffs, with a look into the film’s production — Gene Kelly was supposed to star but broke his leg, Cyd Charisse was supposed to play Nadine but was also injured, Red Skelton was supposed to have a supporting role — the costumes (Ava points out the in-joke about Astaire and feathered gowns), Irving Berlin attempting to coach Garland on how to sing a song, trivia about some of the supporting players, the age difference between Astaire and Garland, and how the much darker script was given a bit of a polish to make it lighter are invaluable. This is what a film’s audio commentary should sound like!

Also included is a 34-minute documentary covering the film’s production history with input from Sidney Sheldon (who was brought in to give the script its lighter touches), McKenzie, Fricke and Jimmy Bates, the young boy with the Easter bunny featured in the “Drum Crazy” number. Bates was so in awe of Astaire (and the commentary track proves the admiration was mutual) that he became a choreographer himself. This feature (in SD) combined with the commentary track, give viewers a wonderful history lesson on the film.

Also included is the musical outtake “Mr. Monotony,” performed by Garland, as well as a collection of dailies of the number that show what went into the making of a musical number. There is also a 5-minute radio promo (audio only) with Fred Astaire discussing his retirement and how he was lured back to the movies with the persuasion of his pal Gene Kelly, and a 54-minute radio adaptation of Easter Parade (audio only) with Astaire, Garland and Peter Lawford reprising their roles and Monica Lewis filling in for Ann Miller. It’s a slightly different adaptation of the script, with some songs dropped or replaced, but it’s still a nice bit of history to have preserved. There is also a re-release trailer. Unfortunately, not all of the DVD’s supplements are included on the Blu-ray, despite what the back of the package claims. The American Masters program, “Judy Garland: By Myself,” is missing from the disk so if you are a fan of the film and want to upgrade from the SD version to the HD edition, you will have to hold on to that DVD to have all the extras. Despite that one omission, the Blu-ray edition is simply gorgeous as evidenced by the clip below (be sure to change the settings to HD).