My Fair Lady: 50th Anniversary Edition does restoration right

My Fair Lady isn’t the type of movie that I normally watch. It’s from an era that I’m not too familiar with, doesn’t have any ninjas, people flying or cars crashing. In my heart though, I am a fan of movies. While I may not see some quality cinema for fun in my spare time I want to see it, just so I know hallmarks or special accomplishments in film. My Fair Lady: 50^th Anniversary Edition has just been released and I wanted to see it from the perspective of a film preservationist and to view what many say is the best musical every made.

First off it’s hard to believe that My Fair Lady is 50. Next thing you know Planet of the Apes and Animal House will be 50, however I suspect those prints are being protected better than this original print was.  Imagine a massive vault where the original print of every movie ever made is stored. That’s what is going on at the major motion picture studios.

In the documentary that comes with My Fair Lady we learn that the original print was fading, starting to curve and yellowing on parts of the negative.  This documentary is just under an hour and goes into great detail about the production of the film, controversy that surrounded it, the history of the cast and its story and the people who restored it for the 50^th anniversary.

I watched this first because I wanted to see the history of the film, before I saw it. Seeing a classic movie like My Fair Lady isn’t something you do because you’re unaware of the plot. You see a movie like this to say that you’ve seen it. That, plus you’ll discover where a couple timeless catch phrases came from and see the musical numbers that you never knew that you knew.

Even from the first scene you realize that this is a beautiful movie. The colors pop, you can see individual folds in the leather chairs and the audio crackles; from the foley artists to the musicians and singers that made this the pinnacle of musicals for many. For those that haven’t seen My Fair Lady it feels like you’re watching a Broadway musical from the first row.

It seems silly to say that. But modern moviegoers (like me) are used to seeing musicals that gloss over details and have the screen filled with manic movement. Every scene in My Fair Lady has details and feels deep enough to walk through. It was created with such love and care that it shows up on screen and is something that must be appreciated.

Be warned, My Fair Lady is also long. At just under three hours it’s an experience that, if you’re going to watch the entire thing, must be planned for. Some of the scenes in the film might be hokey for adult audiences but it’s important to remember that this is rate G and is 50 years old. Certain cultural references stand out, miss their mark (for modern audiences) or simply seem quant. But it’s amazing.

My Fair Lady: 50^th Anniversary Edition is how a major re-release of a classic movie should be done.  It comes with a Blu-ray, DVD and extra DVD that consists of the making-of, trailers, award footage and lots more. For us, it’s the extra DVD that made us want to watch the film and then we really enjoyed it. For fans of the film they’ll watch the new restoration of the film and then see the featurettes that they’ll enjoy even more.