Official Synopsis:
Gene Kelly, producer Arthur Freed, director Vincente Minnelli and a skilled production team conjure an entertainment for the ages. Kelly plays an ex-GI who loves Paris and alluring (but engaged) perfume-shop clerk (Leslie Caron in her beguiling screen debut). Dazzling dance sequences are spun around songs by the Gershwins. And the closing ballet - combining the George Gershwin title piece, Impressionist set stylings and Kelly's inimitable talent for telling a story in dance - lifts this winner of six Academy Awards including Best Picture (plus an honorary Oscar to Kelly), into the ether of timelessness.
  
Our Take:
An American in Paris was one of the many great musicals to come out of MGM’s Freed Unit during the movie musical’s two decade Golden Age of the 1940s and ‘50s.  As usual with the excellent Freed musicals, the choreography is top notch thanks to the coming together of the immense talents of director Vincente Minnelli and star/uncredited co-director Gene Kelly.  The dance sequences in the film, including an unbelievably elaborate seventeen-minute dance number, are utterly delightful.  In addition, the impeccable stage design of An American in Paris will surely impress as Paris was beautifully re-created on the MGM studio lot.     

Yet, while An American in Paris may be the Academy Award winning collaboration between producer Arthur Freed and Gene Kelly, it is far from their best work together.  An American in Paris contains excellent stage design, singing, and dancing, which is certainly enough to make the film an enjoyable one to watch, but there is not much more.  The pinnacle of the musical genre, Singin’ in the Rain (made the following year) contains all that may be found in An American in Paris, but with the addition of a compelling plot.  An American in Paris is overflowing with song and dance numbers, but like the film’s protagonist (Gene Kelly), it just sort of drifts along.

Warner Bros. has released An American in Paris in an excellent 2-disc edition featuring excellent video quality that is brimming with excellent bonus material as follows:

Disc 1
* Concerto of a Commentary -  Hosted by Patricia Ward Kelly and featuring rare, often previously unheard interviews with Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, Arthur Freed, Alan Jay Lerner, Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Michael Feinstein, Preston Ames and Irene Sharaff and newly recorded observations by Leslie Caron and Nina Foch
* Paris on Parade - Vintage FitzPatrick Traveltalks Short

* Symphony in Slang – A classic cartoon.
* Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2
* 'S Wonderful: The Making of An American in Paris – A documentary about the creation of the film featuring 10 new interviews, including Leslie Caron and Nina Foch.
* American Masters Career Profile - Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
* Love Walked In – An Outtake Song Sequence.
* Audio-Only Bonuses - Outtake Songs Gallery and Gene Kelly/Leslie Caron/Johnny Green Radio Promos.

An American in Paris: 2-Disc Edition is a no-brainer upgrade over the previously released editions of the film and is certainly worth the double (or triple for the hardcore fans) dip of this wonderful musical.  While An American in Paris may be a touch overrated, it is still a wonderfully enjoyable Arthur Freed musical.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: B+
DVD: A-

- Matthew Orlando
Staff Writer