Recommended: That’s Entertainment! Trilogy Gift Set on Blu-ray
December 29, 2014

Warner Home Video; three discs; $32.49

Available for digital download via WBULTRA; $9.99 each

In 1974, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. celebrated its 50th birthday with the release of That’s Entertainment!, a compilation of MGM’s best musical numbers—hosted by the stars who appear in them, like Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. The film was so successful that MGM quickly followed with a sequel (That’s Entertainment Part II, 1976) and eventually a second sequel (That’s Entertainment III, 1994). Now available as a boxed set on Blu-ray, these three movies are a time capsule of old-school dance glamour, from tap dances in a downpour (Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain) to a soft-shoe on the ceiling (Astaire in Royal Wedding) to a synchronized swimming number (Esther Williams in Bathing Beauty). It’s pure nostalgia, sure, but it’s also superb dancing that still impresses 50 years later. Don’t own a Blu-ray player? You can download each volume of That’s Entertainment! via WBUltra, Warner Brothers’ digital collection, and bulk up your virtual movie-musical library.

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