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Pygmalion [1938] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Our Price: £13.51 (subject to change)
LADETTE TO LADY - eat your heart out.
Review date: 2008-07-10 Rating: 10 out of 10
No, this isn't MY FAIR LADY, this is Shaw's original play, boating a screenplay by GBS, to boot. Strong stuff.
To begin with, you can't help but compare the musical with this much older version. And to begin with, you miss the songs. But then the spell of this atmospheric and grainy London tale of a ladette-turned-lady quickly grips you.
And it is frequently hilarious, which the musical simply ain't: the tea-party scene can surely never be beaten.
In many ways I prefer this 1938 black and white masterpiece. It's a bitter-sweet romantic drama. and it's got everything - fabulous one-liners, a galaxy of stars (many of whom are now all but forgotten - but when you see them, you realise why they were stars)and a sense of atmosphere that for me is oddly lacking in the musical.
I also prefer Howard's Professor Higgins. It's less obvious than Rex Harrison's version, and has a slightly dark side ... Wendy Hiller is a delight from start to finish, and as her dustman father, Wilfrid Lawson is definitive.
If you haven't got this on DVD - get it. Get MY FAIR LADY, too, and enjoy both of them. They are works of genius.
Similar Products
- Major Barbara
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- The Scarlet Pimpernel/Return Of The Scarlet Pimpernel [1935]
- Summertime [1955]
Reviews
Excellent screen adaptation
Review date: 2004-06-21 Rating: 10 out of 10
Windy Hiller "Major Barbara" (1941) plays a Cockney flower seller. Seeking a better position sees a professor of linguistics about improving her speech.
Professor Henry Higgins (Leslie Howard) bets that he can pass her off as a duchess in six months by adjusting her speech pattern.
The Film is good however I am used to the later version "My Fair Lady" and I miss the music. This is a screen adaptation of a George Bernard Shaw play based on Greek mythology. This is a must for your collection.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Scott Sunderland
Wendy Hiller
Leslie Howard
Marie Lohr
Wilfrid Lawson
Creators:
Leslie Howard (Primary Contributor)
Wendy Hiller (Primary Contributor)
Anatole de Grunwald (Writer)
Cecil Lewis (Writer)
George Bernard Shaw (Writer)
Ian Dalrymple (Writer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Criterion
Manufacturer: Criterion
EAN: 9780780023536
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 0780023536
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC,
Release date: 2000-09-19
Universal product code (UPC): 037429151822
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Picture format: Pan & Scan
Region code: 1
Running time: 89 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1939-03-03
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)