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Movies / On DVD / An American in Paris
An American in Paris

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An American in Paris (1951)

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Reviews Counted:47

Fresh:46

Rotten:1

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: The plot may be problematic, but such concerns are rendered superfluous by Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron's star power, the Gershwins' classic songs, and Vincente Minnelli's colorful, sympathetic direction.

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Synopsis: One of the greatest of 1950s screen musicals is a happy collaboration between the grace and athleticism of Gene Kelly and the colorful palette of director Vincente Minnelli. An American G.I.... One of the greatest of 1950s screen musicals is a happy collaboration between the grace and athleticism of Gene Kelly and the colorful palette of director Vincente Minnelli. An American G.I. lingers in Paris after the war to study painting and soon falls in love with Leslie Caron, an engaged demoiselle, much to the chagrin of his romance-minded benefactress. This classic musical boasts a 17-minute avant-garde ballet choreographed by Kelly to George Gershwin's unbeatable music. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS garnered eight Academy Award nominations and six wins, including Best Picture and Best Story and Screenplay. Kelly won a special Oscar for his inimitable achievements. [More]

Starring: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary

Starring: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, Nina Foch

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Director: Vincente Minnelli
Producer: Arthur Freed
Composer: Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 27, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for An American in Paris

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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The balance, otherwise seen as the song and dance, manage to come along at the most inopportune times, and wear out their welcome at an excessively rapid rate.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 1 Comment
08/26/02
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

The plot was showing signs of age far earlier than 1951, but everything else about An American in Paris more than compensates.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An extravagant charmer.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/08
Empire Magazine

A grand show -- a brilliant combination of Hollywood's opulence and technical wizardry with the kind of taste and creativeness that most high-budgeted musicals notoriously lack.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/18/09
TIME Magazine

Every five or ten minutes the audience is treated to a riveting dance number set to some of the greatest tunes of George and Ira Gershwin.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
12/05/01
Ben Stephens
Ben Stephens
culturevulture.net

One of the great musicals; fantastic Gershwin music, and the ballet is a triumph. One of Vincente Minnelli's finest works.

comment Comment
03/18/04
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

...the picture takes on its glow of magic when Miss Caron is on the screen. When she isn't, it bumps along slowly as a patched-up, conventional musical show.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times

The combination of Kelly’s dance and charisma, Gershwin’s music and Minneli’s direction makes this a movie that’s hugely enjoyable, even for those who don’t generally look for movies that are packed with dancing.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
10/03/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

George Guetary's singing scenes should have been left on the cutting room floor, but Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron are mesmerizing, and Oscar Levant is amusing as Jerry's piano playing buddy.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/10/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/08/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

It is both comfortable entertainment and eye-popping cinema, with its dream ballet acting as a showcase for what the movie musical can really do.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/23/05
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

The dazzling French fried musical is Hollywood's homage to Paris's joie de vivre.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/04/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

While not nearly the musical it's cracked up to be, this 1951 film is absolutely required viewing for anyone who wants to see the studio system (MGM style) at its gaudiest, most Byzantine height.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/12/06
Don Druker
Don Druker
Chicago Reader

A francophile and frustrated painter, Minnelli identifies completely with Kelly's American painter Jerry. Arguably no Hollywood director was as knowledgeable of French art as Minnelli, whose work evokes the light and color of his cherished painters.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/16/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

t's a simple love story, but also a celebration of dance, music and art, embodied in the somewhat synthetic notion of Paris as the spiritual home of the arts, and the painterly aesthetic of the film as a whole.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/19/08
Fran Hortop
Fran Hortop
Channel 4 Film

A musical both ludicrously overpraised (especially in Hollywood) and underrated.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

A resplendent motion picture.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
George Morris
George Morris
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
07/01/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

The An American in Paris ballet is a work of delirious filmmaking, jumping and dissolving from space to space, swirling around an area, dancers entering and leaving the frame in surprising ways.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
 
 
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