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Staring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan, Fanny Brice
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
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Product Details
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
EAN: 9780790745190
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
ISBN: 0790745194
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2004-02-03
Running Time: 176
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1936-04-08

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Editorial Review
Description
Flo Ziegfeld's midway attraction isn't drawing flies. "How's business, Ziggy?" a rival taunts. This winner of 3 Academy Awards(R) including Best Picture provides the career-chronicling answer. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.'s business was good (with Broadway's legendary Follies and more), bad (including times the showman could scarcely rub two nickels together) and rarely lacking optimistic excess. Year: 1936 Director: Robert Z. Leonard Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer

Amazon.com
Winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Great Ziegfeld stars William Powell in a biopic "suggested by romances and incidents in the life of America's greatest showman, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr." With admirable accuracy, the film follows Ziegfeld's career from small-time sideshow barker to creator of the famous Ziegfeld Follies, the collection of singing, dancing, and comedy vaudeville acts that launched the careers of such luminaries as Fanny Brice, Ray Bolger, and Harriet Hoctor, all of whom play themselves in the film. In the title role, Powell offers a believable combination of ambition and hucksterism, and his Thin Man costar Myrna Loy makes a late appearance as his second wife, but it's large-eyed Luise Rainer who has the showier role (and won an Oscar) as Ziegfeld's first big star and first wife. The musical numbers, however, don't hold up quite as well as the plot, and the film is overlong at 185 minutes. It's fascinating, though, to see the vintage stars performing, and the eight-minute spectacle "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" is an eye-popper, with an elaborate revolving set supporting a large cast singing and dancing to the Irving Berlin tune while throwing in some Puccini, Strauss, Leoncavallo, and Gershwin for good measure. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

The Good & The Bad Of 'The Great Ziegfeld', 2009-02-18
I almost gave up on this three-hour film around the 45-minute mark because of Luise Ranier's shrill and annoying character, plus there hadn't been much in the way of music which is what I wanted in this film in the first lace.

However, after the first hour the story picks up considerably with the music numbers and some nice-looking and interesting women. I liked Myrna Loy playing Billie Burke. In fact, I like Loy a lot more than Burke in everything! This was my first look at Fanny Price, who reminded me of Barbra Streisand with her looks and Brooklyn accent.

William Powell, playing Flo Ziegfeld, was, of course, the undisputed star of the film. He was terrific, too, start-to-finish. Powell had great screen presence and was a good choice for this role. Frank Morgan played his normal role with that stupid laugh of his, but he was good as Ziegfeld's generous friend. Another famous name of the day, Myrna Loy, gets good billing in here but not much of a role.

Some of the sets on the Ziegfeld Follies are amazing Busby Berkely-type extravaganzas that certainly mark the 1920s and '30s. The line, "They don't make 'em like that anymore" certainly rings true. It's also true they look corny today, but they're still fascinating to watch.

If I was older and had lived through some of this time period, I would really feel nostalgic watching this film, sad for an era now long gone.

The Great Zeigfeld, 2009-04-22
I was Nine years old when this Movie came out.My Mother took me along with her Girl Freinds to see it.I Enjoyed it then as I do each time I have seen it thru the Years.Now my Grandkids can enjoy it with me -They love gramps"Great Old Movies",especially the Musicals - Like I do.

Thank You

MGM at its most extravagant and dull, 2009-03-12
"The Great Ziegfield" was a mammoth box office hit for MGM in 1936 and it is a stupefying and interminable bore today, with the exception of a few tremendous musical numbers. It may be the very best example why so many of the films of MGM, the Tiffany of its day, have not stood the test of time. MGM spent truck loads of money and mounted the biggest show in the cinema but in doing so, they removed almost all vestiges of vitality and wit. At least the over-the-top no expense spared approach mirrored Ziegfield himself and it should be noted that the screenplay is a reasonably accurate depiction of his life and times. The art direction, costuming and sense of period, also, are lush and accurate. William Powell is good casting as Ziegfield but Myrna Loy has little to do as Billie Burke. Luise Rainer won a famous Oscar for her smiling through tears phone scene but this was the year Greta Garbo was up for "Camille". Are you kidding? Fanny Brice ("Funny Girl") appears too and every moment is solid gold but it is a tragedy that her version of "My Man" is truncated.

The DVD print of the film is only OK which is disappointing. There is a short film about the making of the film and this is invaluable because appearances are made by Ziegfield's daughter and Luise Rainer herself. In fact the whole DVD is worth viewing just to hear Rainer tell how she walked out on Louis B. Mayer "...to save herself and here I am an old lady and I saved myself" delivered with a radiant smile and a look of triumph which strips away the years. The theatrical trailer is included too.

A glimpse at Hollywood's glamorous past., 2009-02-24
In the course of my reading I have come across a great many references to Florenz Ziegfeld and his legendary "Ziegfeld Follies". But I knew precious little about them. It seems that for three decades between 1907 and 1936 Flo Ziegfeld's lavish productions were all the rage on Broadway. And why wouldn't they be? The list of stars who performed in these shows reads like a "who's who" of show business during this period. Recently, I came across a VHS copy of the epic three hour 1936 film "The Great Ziegfeld" at my local library. It turns out that "The Great Ziegfeld" is not only a biography of this show business icon but the film also offers you an incredible opportunity to relax in your living room and sample the best of the what the Follies had to offer all those years ago. What you will discover is that these extravaganzas were postively "stunning". There has never been anything else quite like the "Follies" before or since.
For me, what was really neat about watching "The Great Ziegfeld" was the opporunity to partake of actual performances by such legendary figures as Al Jolson, Will Rogers, Fanny Brice and the song and dance man Ray Bolger (later the 'Tin Man' in the "Wizard of Oz"). It easy to see why these folks were such crowd pleasers in their day. But it was not just the so-called "stars" that made "Ziegfeld Follies" so special. It was was the lavish sets and the cadre of beautiful girls who would appear in each show. Literally hundreds of beautiful girls! These shows truly were spectacular in every way! And although this film was made more than 70 years ago I was glued to my TV the entire time.
As I mentioned earlier, the film also doubles as a biography of Flo Ziegfeld....well, sort of. The producers take liberal amounts of literary license with his life story. We do learn that Flo will spare no expense to make sure that his shows are the most ostentatious productions on Broadway. This penchant for lavish spending will land Flo in the poor house on more than one occasion. "The Great Ziegfeld" also focuses on Flo's personal life including his long-time common-law marriage to the Polish born performer Anna Held (played by Luise Rainer) and his subsequent marriage to actress Billie Burke (played by Myrna Loy). Indeed, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the outstanding music in this film by Walter Donaldson and the great Irving Berlin.
"The Great Zeigfeld" won three Academy Awards in 1936 and was nominated for four more. Kudos to William Powell for a splendid performance as Flo Ziegfeld. I found this to be an outstanding film on so many levels. It is a movie that I could watch again and again. Highly recommended!

A movie that deserved an Oscar!, 2009-05-07
If you like musicals, you will love watching "The Great Ziegfeld". This movie has everything and it is awe inspiring to watch. William Powell plays Ziegfeld and he gives the showman a great tribute. Fannie Brice has a small part but it shows her as her silly self. The music in this movie, the Overture and the Intermission and throughout the film is wonderful and exciting. Frank Morgan (the Wizard of Oz), does a fantastic supporting role. Luise Rainer has many special qualities about her as an actress, and she won an Oscar for her performance. There are many inspiring showpieces in this movie. One of the best is a spiral cake with girls dressed in long flowing gowns and men dressed in tuxedos. As the camera rises to the top of the cake there is a beautiful girl who looks like a queen with stars in the background. A fashion show with girls dressed in rich apparel with extravagant designed hats and one girl with a white cottonball-like plume taller than she is on her side. Ray Bolger sings and walks across small steps at a high level with girls all around him. Will Rogers and Eddie Cantor have bit parts. One awesome scene begins with balloons on ribbons which come out into the audience. Another fantastic scene is a row of various kinds of dogs on the stage and girls dance around them. One scene is of the inside of homes and these homes are on rolling platforms, 5 of them in a row. Girls asleep in beds wake up and make their beds and then the camera shows them dancing on these platforms as they move in and out, seperately, from one another. Fantastic! The end of the movie is sad as the Stock Market crash of 1929 has come and Ziegfeld loses all his stocks and is broke. He has 4 shows that he has ready but they have to be shut down because of a lack of money. Ziegfeld misses Louise Rainer alot, which adds to his depression. When he hears that he has lost all of his stocks and money it is the final blow. Before he dies he sees the shows that he has made as they come to his remembrance. He then looks up and says words about steps, and he says, "I must go higher. Higher." Then he passes away, thus ending the movie. This film shows Hollywood at it's finest. It is a film that you HAVE to buy and see it for yourself. You'll be glad you did!

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