The Original Broadway Play of “My Fair Lady” 1956 ran until 1962 closing at The Broadway Theater on September 19, 1962. It was a smash hit with 2,717 performances. Rex Harrison played the role of Professor Henry Higgins and Stanley Holloway as Alfred P. Doolittle were on stage the first year of opening. In 1964 the two actors took on the roles for the movie version and were joined by Audrey Hepburn as Liza Doolittle. The film went on to receive 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor Rex Harrison, Best Supporting Actor Stanley Holloway and Best Director George Cukor. The musical comedy grossed $72.5 million during its movie run and in my book the film still reigns high for the genre.
The opening scene of My Fair Lady is vibrant and proves to be so compelling that it carries through to the rousing finally. The story begins at the end of a play at the London Opera House with many of the patrons including Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) gathered on the steps. They are all a buzz about the performances when a local flower girl, Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), selling her bouquets of violets.
Her cockney accent is very apparent and one of the other local women notices a man taking down information on a note pad. Telling Liza she makes a scene that attracts many of the cockney Londoners. Professor Higgins (Rex Harrison), a noted phonetics teacher comes forward to calm down the young woman and Pickering author of Spoken Sanscrit introduces himself to Higgins. A couple of scenes later the two linguists take on bet made by Higgins that he can “cure” Doolittle of her speech impediment and pass her of as a Duchess.
After a lot of haranguing and doubt, Liza allows Higgins and Pickering to help her become a lady. Director George Cukor delivers his film much like a stage play including some amazing costumes and sets that depict the era. Allowing his cast to develop their characters, the movie becomes an extravaganza of comedy and song.
EXTRAS AND FEATURES:
4K Ultra HD Disc
“Feature film in 4K Ultra HD”
Blu-ray Disc™
“More Loverly Than Ever: The Making of My Fair Lady Then & Now” Includes the 1963 Production Kick-Off Dinner, Los Angeles Premiere 10/28/1964, British Premiere, George Cukor Directs Baroness Bina Rothschild, Rex Harrison Radio Interview, and Production Tests.
“Lighting”
“Wilfred Hyde White make-up”
“Rain/set”
“Covent Garden lighting test”
“Alt. Higgins/Pickering screen test and Alternate Audrey Hepburn Vocals”
“Show Me”
“Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” Includes galleries and Comments on a Lady
“Andrew Lloyd Webber”
“Martin Scorsese” Theatrical Featurettes, Story of a Lady, Design for a Lady, The Fairest Fair Lady
“Trailers”
“Theatrical Reissue:” includes Poster Illustration, Theatrical Reissue: Poster Illustration Reserved Seats Trailer, Theatrical Reissue: Poster Illustration Awards, Theatrical Reissue Awards
“Rex Harrison BFI Honor”
“Rex Harrison Golden Globe Acceptance Speech”
“Academy Awards Ceremony Highlights April 5, 1965”
The 4K Ultra HD is stunning and when played on the 4k system it really pops. So much clearer, the 4K upgrade is worth owning. My Fair Lady comes with the feature film in 4k UHD and a second disk in Blu-ray with all the special features. It also has a Digital HD code for your Paramount Home Entertainment cloud so you can see it again anywhere.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Theodore Bikel
Directed by: George Cukor
Written by: George Bernard Shaw, Alan Jay Lerner
Genre: Musical, Drama
MPAA Rating: G
Running Time: 2 hrs. 50 min.
Video Release Date: May 25, 2021
Original Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 1964
Language: English
Reviewed Format: 4K
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, and more
Number of Discs: 2 Discs, Digital Code
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
Released on: 4K Ultra HD with Blu-ray bonus Features
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
