Clearly, 1930's audiences were far more impressed by musical numbers, costuming and set pieces than modern day audiences...because I don't understand how someone could not be bored by this. Three hours of singing, and singing, and more singing...yes I see the set and the shiny costumes that you probably spent lots and lots of money on. Enough already! Where's the story?
shareWhile I do agree the numbers are a bit dated- they are still good. And yes- I'm sure audiences in the 30's were very impressed. Technology has spoiled us. This is still one of my all time favorite movies. (And I can't get too mad seeing that your an Office fan too :) )
There's such thing as good grief. Just ask Charlie Brown.
I guess my mind functions a little more like someone from the 1930s and 1940s than most people today cause I thought this film was wonderful, especially the "Pretty girl is like a melody " part. Read what I wrote on the column that says "Pretty girl number..amazing". I know that a lot of people today are just not gonna relate to me on what I wrote there at all. But it doesn't matter. I'm gonna love whatever films and music I'm gonna love no matter what other people think about it.
sharethe musical numbers ruined The Great Ziegfeld for me. i lost all interest in the movie during those. if they had only shown the actual story i would have understood why it won the oscar for best picture that year.
shareWe believe that you either enjoy musicals or you do not. We look upon them as the adult fantasies of their period. Much like the HARRY POTTER films or THE LORD OF THE RINGS are todays.
shareThis wasn't boring at all. This was an impressive musical which everyone loved and even now to this day people love it.
shareI just saw this film (76 Best Pictures down, 4 to go) and overall I liked it. To me, the musical routines were there to give the audience a taste of what the Ziegfeld Follies were all about. That said, though, I think the film definitely suffers by virtue of being three hours long.
Does anyone know why William Powell wasn't nominated for Best Actor?
Because he was nominated that year as best actor for My Man Godfrey. (He lost to Paul Muni)
Academy rules in 1936 (and today) state that an actor can only be nominated for one performance in each category. Since Powell was already nominated for best actor for My Man Godfrey, he was automatically eliminated for this movie.
Which is too bad, since many believed that had he received the Oscar nod for this movie instead, he would've won.
"All you need to start an Asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people"-(My Man Godfrey)
Clearly not a movie for the youngsters, no offense. I doubt there are many people younger than 50 or so that could relate to this kind of movie. I'm not a fan of musicals but, this wasn't really a musical in my opinion. BTW, the lavish productions were what this movie was all about, along with {loosely} the life of Zeigfeld . I don't think there was any real great life story intended. That was entertainment for that period. I'm glad to have a chance to save it to DVD.
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Under 50? I must be an old soul. I saw theis movie for the first time when I was in my 20's. I'm 36 now and have seen it many time and, in fact, own a copy on DVD.
"All you need to start an Asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people"-(My Man Godfrey)
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Yes. I'm an old soul too. Music from that time period was wonderful. Read my statement a few columns up and the one on the other page I mention in my statement above. I knew there were still a few people left today that shared my passions
shareThat one musical number, and you know which one, really dragged the movie down. No need for this to be three hours.
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