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Movies / On DVD / The Great Ziegfeld
The Great Ziegfeld

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The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

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59 %
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Reviews Counted: 22

Fresh: 13

Rotten:9

Average Rating: 5.9/10

Consensus: This biopic is undeniably stylish, but loses points for excessive length, an overreliance on clichés, and historical inaccuracies.

Runtime: 3 hrs 10 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: This movie still sets the standard for what musicals should be. The larger-than-life career of stage genius Florenz Ziegfeld is aptly celebrated in this marvelous musical biography. As if the big... This movie still sets the standard for what musicals should be. The larger-than-life career of stage genius Florenz Ziegfeld is aptly celebrated in this marvelous musical biography. As if the big story and all-star cast weren't enough, they threw in such unforgettable tunes as "If You Knew Susie," "Shine on Harvest Moon," and "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody." [More]

Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Fanny Brice, Luise Rainer

Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Fanny Brice, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Virginia Bruce, Reginald Owen, Dennis Morgan, Nat Pendleton, Ernest Cossart, Robert Greig, Harriet Hoctor, Gilda Gray, Leon Errol

Director: Robert Z. Leonard

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Producer: Hunt Stromberg
Screenwriter: William Anthony McGuire
Composer: Arthur Lange

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 3, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Great Ziegfeld

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Pretentious, packed with hokum and as richly sentimental as an Irving Ber lin lyric, it is, as such, top-notch entertainment.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/17/09
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This Oscar winner for Best Picture is only great in its tediousness, length and its budget.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/11/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Considering the recent screen standards in book musicals with five numbers for 100 to 110 minutes of running time this Metro Santaclausing of numbers becomes virtually a double-feature filmusical.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/28/08
Abel Green
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As directed by Leonard, this Oscar-winner is weak in every respect, as biopic, as musical (production numbers are mediocre), and as acting vehicle, though viewers in 1936 had good time spotting real-life Ziegfeld stars like Fanny Brice and Ray Bolger.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/18/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

What can you do with a movie like this? Surrender, I guess.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/12/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Mildly entertaining when in biopic mode, The Great Ziegfeld fails to realize that its musical numbers are more a distraction than a beauty.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
10/10/06
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

Contrary to the most famous nugget of showbiz wisdom, the movie leaves us wanting considerably less than we're given.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
08/09/06
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

No review available.

comment Comment
07/07/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
12/21/04
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

The film's music sequences are spectacular

comment Comment
11/06/04
Douglas Pratt
DVDLaser

Unless you were in an air conditioned movie house in Topeka, Kansas in 1936, I can’t see why anyone would want to sit through all three hours of this.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
08/23/04
Jamie Gillies
Apollo Guide

It's huge, overbudget, dazzling, and entertaining, but you'd be hard-pressed to remember more than one or two of the characters or specific events.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
07/25/04
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Like most biopics, the movie isn't entirely factual, but it does hit key points in a wonderfully entertaining manner.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
06/03/04
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Overlong, cliched bio-pic, not really worthy of its best picture Oscar.

comment Comment
02/25/04
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Here's a textbook case of how a film can lose its appeal over the years.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/08/04
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

If the picture overcrowds its screen, at least we must admit it is an impressive kaleidoscope; and probably nothing short of that could reflect the gaudy career of America's foremost showman.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Frank S. Nugent
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Overlong, overblown biopic with a pair of flawless stars.

comment Comment
12/29/02
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
David Poland
Hot Button

A bit overwhelming and overblown, it's one thing to say that this movie is great for historical purposes, but it's hard for me to imagine that anyone likes to sit through a three hour tedious musical like this.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
06/29/02
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com
 
 
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