Kiss me Kate - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Kiss Me Kate

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Shout Factory closes out the month of May with the THIRD of its musical stage releases (the first being Man of La Mancha followed by Oklahoma) with one of my favorite Broadway plays too date. Kiss Me Kate was one of the better plays of the 50s, and holds a special place in my heart as it was always playing in my household due to it being my mother’s favorite play (my mother was ironically also named Kate). ALSO a 1999 reimagining, this remake of the classic 1953 musical was not AS perfect as the original, but still a solid entry that was elevated due to the flawless performance of Rachel York, who rivals Kathryn Grayson’s stunning performance almost half a century earlier. It’s charming, witty, a near word for word copy of the original, and something every ”Tom, Dick or Harry” will love.

Cole Porter crafted the music for the plays, and it is a WONDERFUL film in many respects, with the same masterful songs and incredibly detailed nuances that made the original so wonderful. The basic premise of the play is that it is a “play within a play”. Fred Graham (Brent Barrett) and Lilli Vanesi (Rachel York) were once a happily married couple, but they got a divorce, only to be reunited as actor and actress in a stage production of William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. A production that Fred is starring and directing alongside his ex. The two aren’t exactly on the best of terms as it is, but a mix-up that kindles passion in Lilli’s heart once more turns into bitter rage when she finds out that her ex-husband’s affections are for someone else. A rage that she funnels into her character of Kate in the stage production that she and Fred are currently in.

Sparks fly, tears come, and love abounds once more, but The Taming of the Shrew is more than just a story about a headstrong woman and a doltish noble. It’s now an all out bloody war between a ticked off and jilted wife and her husband who has his head so firmly implanted in the clouds that he can’t see that they really are spitting images of the two characters they’re trying to portray on stage. And this is EXACTLY what makes the play so fun. There are two simultaneous stories going at once, one with Fred and Lilli, the other with the characters they’re playing in their own play, but each story is really a mirror of the other, with the characters and their performances melding so uniquely together that you really can’t see where their world ends, and the fantasy world begins.

With a film (and play) so highly regarded and legendary as Kiss me Kate there’s bound to be comparisons between this 1999 production and the 1953 musical of the same name. The 1999 Broadway show IS a solid remake, but the characters and actors chosen for the 1953 film are so emblazoned in my mind and so incredibly well done that I can’t help but feel a little bit of inferiority going on here. Don’t get me wrong. The stage choices are solid, and there’s some great (and I mean GREAT) singing going on, but if you’re looking from one to the other I would take the 1953 film any day of the week.

Brent Barrett does a great job as Fred, and makes a memorable performance, but the girl they chose for Lois Lane (yes, but don’t worry, Superman doesn’t appear here) was a bit too whiny and pales in comparison to the lovely Ann Miller (although, few people can stand up to the sultry and stylish Ann Miller). The same goes the two gangsters. They pull their parts off quite well, but Keenan Wynn so thoroughly embodied the role of Lippy that I can’t see anyone else playing it just that way. HOWEVER, there was one performance that stood out as absolutely incredible. A performance that was pretty much perfection. That would be Miss Rachel York, who made the role of Kate/Lilli her own to the point where I was actually having a hard time choosing between her and Kathryn Grayson. “I Hate Men” was so much different than the original, but so thoroughly enjoyable and unique that I couldn’t help but cheer her on. The same can be said for the rest of the movie as her fire and ice routine is so infectious and hilariously biting that I have to stand up and give her a round of applause. Without her the movie would have been just plain “good”, but with it elevated the film to near greatness.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Much like Oklahoma, Kiss me Kate is a stage production filmed with actual film stock and given a slightly stylized look. There’s a distinct softness to the image, but that is indicative of shooting against a back lit stage, with lights and audiences and differing moments of shadow that can’t be controlled like your standard feature film. Colors are warm and cheery, with the gay colors of the period piece play intermingled with more bland backdrops of the actors and their dressing rooms. Faces can be a bit pale depending on the lighting, but also ruddy and full of color as well. Blacks are ok, but brightly lit sequences look the best, with sharp details and wonderful color saturation. It’s not a perfect looking image, but one that does faithfully replicate the look of an actual stage play down to the letter.






Audio:

Even though it is a 2.0 affair, Kiss me Kate’s 2.0 DTS-HD MA track is more than capable of delivering a great sounding audio mix that feel very “concertish” in nature. The booming voice of Brent Barrett and the lovely tones of Rachel York’s silken voice are replicated perfectly without any sounds of distortion besides the standard tones of being mic’d in vs. on a sound stage. Songs are robust and full of pep and energy, with some decent bass in the 2.0 track, I might add. It’s a simple track, but one that does everything extremely well and really allows the music to envelope you (despite the 2 channel limitations).
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Extras:

• Musical Numbers

Final Score: ​

While I still prefer the 1953 musical of the same name, this rendition of Kiss Me Kate is a great time and filled with some truly great performances (especially Rachel York’s). Shout has done a bang-up job of getting this disc off the ground as I don’t think it’s had a release since the 2003 DVD, and was a film that I had completely forgotten about after renting the disc some years ago. Audio and video are very impressive, but the only things that I can complain about are the anemic extras (only one simple extra that allows you to jump to all the songs in the movie and skip the plot), and the VERY simplistic menu (there’s no scene selections even). Otherwise, a great release from Shout. Definitely recommended.
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Technical Specifications:

Starring: Rachel York, Brent Barrett, Kaye Brown
Directed by: Chris Hunt, Michael Blakemore
Written by: Sam Spewack, Bella Spewack, Michael Blakemore, William Shakespear (Taming of the Shrew)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 151 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 30th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Recommended