Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

MarkJGarcia This is a great documentary that takes viewers back to a time when the musical was popular in cinema. With different hosts in the film you get a chance to go back in time and look at Hollywood's Gold Age and the stars that made some of the most highly regarded films ever. They don't make them like this anymore thats for sure. There is one part in the film where Frank Sinatra is talking about the dance performances of yester-year and he says you can wait forever but you will never see performances ever again like these, and with that the film cuts to a dance routine by Fred Astaire that has to be one of the greatest dance routines I've ever seen. When you think of all the planning that went into these routines it is just mind-boggling. The steps we see in this film seem to be so perfectly choreographed. An amazing film about an amazing time in Hollywood history.

eplromeo8 It's bad enough that Reel 13 feels the need to air these compilation films at all in place of an actual classic, let alone airing them in reverse order. In my blog from May about THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT PART II, I suggested that film suffered because it was an afterthought and focused on the leftover clips from the first one. Well, in rewatching THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT last night, my theory was confirmed. That's Entertainment is significantly more, well, entertaining, largely because it features all the big guns in the MGM library like SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, AN American IN Paris, THE BANDWAGON, the Mickey and Judy movies, etc. It is more comprehensive, more interesting, more educational, more star-studded (the second only features Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire as hosts – here we have those guys plus Sinatra, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Bing Crosby and more) and more impactful.It did start to drag a little toward the end, but I think much of that had to do with having seen the sequel so recently. I had my fill of scenes from MGM musicals for one summer, but that aside, I feel pretty confident that THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT stands on its own as both a fun trip back in time as well as a thorough and reverent celebration of one particular era in the history of cinema.

ackstasis How times change! Just last year, I declared with complete resolution the utter pointlessness of the movie musical. I considered myself immune to the charms of the genre, lest I have to admit to my friends that my weekend involved watching two skilled performers dancing across a stage. 'Singin' in the Rain (1952)' was the first picture to chip away at my cocoon of ignorance, and the farcical comedic trappings of 'Top Hat (1935)' sealed the deal. It was only then that I rediscovered the delights of childhood favourites 'Mary Poppins (1964)' and 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971),' and I've since enjoyed the glamour and spectacle of three more Astaire/Rogers pairings, George Cukor's 'My Fair Lady (1964)' and the unspectacular but solid 'An American in Paris (1951)' and 'High Society (1956).' Throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, one studio stood above all others when it came to producing musicals, and, even today, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) continues to be identified with the glossy Technicolor masterpieces remembered so fondly by film-goers.'That's Entertainment! (1974)' is the first in a trilogy of documentaries tracing the history of MGM as a producer of musicals, telling the story through the compilation of classic musical numbers. What might have been a simple, inconsequential clip-show is offered a vital touch of class through the participation of some of cinema's most beloved stars, including Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Mickey Rooney, Jimmy Stewart, Bing Crosby, Peter Lawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Liza Minnelli (representing her mother, Judy Garland, who prematurely passed away in 1969), and also some guy named Frank Sinatra. As temporary co-host, each performer offers a carefully-scripted running commentary on the sequences being shown to us, on occasion tossing in details of their own experience. Particularly fascinating is a clip of the 1936 musical 'Born to Dance,' in which Jimmy Stewart demonstrates, for the first and only time, what happens when he is forced into performing a musical number – but at least it's not quite as embarrassing as Clarke Gable's cheesy rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz!"The most memorable feature of this documentary is how it includes not only the classic musical moments that we all remember, but also a variety of selections that were, as a newcomer, completely unknown to me. I've already developed a list of movie moments that I must experience in their unabridged versions, including Gene Kelly's duet with Jerry Mouse in 'Anchors Aweigh (1945)' and Fred Astaire's mind-boggling waltz across the ceiling in 'Royal Wedding (1951),' which employed a rotating set that inspired a similar sequence in Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).' The actors' introductions, filmed on the soon-to-be-demolished MGM back-lots, are informative and entertaining, though it's rather saddening to see their weathered faces and to know that their glory days were, even then, lost in the past. But perhaps "lost" is the wrong word, because each of these magical musical moments linger in both our memories, and, even when these fail us, in the magnificence of celluloid. Entertainment doesn't get much better than this.

Scaramouche2004 In 1974, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayor released That's Entertainment, a collection of clips from what are considered to be their greatest achievement in their long and illustrious history, the movie musical.As co-presenter and M-G-M alumni Frank Sinatra mentions in the first segment of the picture, "When it came to musicals, M-G-M, they were the champions" This is far from just a hollow boast when you consider the wealth of unquestionable evidence which is then provided to substantiate his claim.Sinatra shares the limelight with fellow M-G-M greats such as Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Lawford, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Conner, Debbie Reynolds, Fred Astaire, Liza Minelli and a visiting dignitary from Paramount, Bing Crosby as they all present mini segments of the picture explaining just how and why M-G-M musicals had qualities their rivals could only ever dream of emulating.James Stewart's segment is fascinating to watch as he presents some long forgotten clips of well known dramatic actors (including himself) who were press-ganged into musicals, some with surprisingly good results. Robert Taylor, Robert Montgomery, Cary Grant and Clark Gable are all put through their musical paces for our viewing pleasure, and what a pleasure to watch it is.Mickey Rooney, follows up with a tribute to his close friend and frequent co-star Judy Garland and his tenure of the movie is crammed with clips from their many movies together including one or two Andy Hardy gems. This tribute to Garland is later fortified by her daughter Liza Minnelli as she offers her own personal and moving tribute.In my opinion however the highlight of the movies has to be Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, who in effect, do a mutual 'back scratch' as each fill their own segments with statements and clips which modestly declare the other dancer the 'best in the business' Whether or not this was a reflection of their own true feeling's or just Hollywood cheesing it up is immaterial. It does nothing to detract from the pure genius both dancers poured onto the screen throughout their careers only a sample of which are presented to us here.Bing Crosby who spent most of M-G-M's golden age across the street at Paramount, all but rounds off the movie with various clips including a couple from his only two movies in the M-G-M's musical back catalogue before he hands the reins back to Sinatra for the final epilogue.These clips represent an era long since passed and it is indeed touching to see these screen giants of yesteryear gather together for the last time in what amounts to their final roar. This is made even more touching by the fact that so many of them have since passed on.We are indeed lucky to have their testament left behind on film, so that future generations like my own children who were born long after these gifted and talented performers had either died or retired, can look upon and aspire to their genius.Whether it is in black and white or colour, whether you're 8 or 80 you will find these clips as entertaining and as fresh today as they must have seemed at the time.Never has the title to a film been more appropriate and what's more you would be hard pushed to find anyone who would dispute it.