Product: The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection (Babes in Arms / Babes on Broadway / Girl Crazy / Strike Up the Band) (2007)
Rating: 5.0
Judy & Mickey light up the screen!!!
What a great job Warner Bros. has done with the 4-film Mickey/Judy retrospective. Yes, the plots tend to run together and yes, some of it is charmingly old-fashioned by today's standards. But, these films were for their times what "High School Musical" is today. And never were there two better performers than Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. It's almost astonishing when you think about the talent that went into these films and how it was all in one place -- MGM -- in the 30s and 40s and how they were able to create such magic.Cream always rises to the top and it's no accident that it's still evident what monumental talent they had -- even 60 years after the fact. Mickey's innate showmanship and verve, coupled with Judy's fresh faced, incandescent charm and appeal made for an incredibly potent one-two punch. They complemented each other beautifully and it's nice to know that they held each other in such high esteem for the rest of their lives. They were having fun here and that fun is infectious and a joy to behold.Other reviewers have reeled off the highlights -- suffice it to say that their treatment of the songs and the production numbers are without equal. And, yes, the minstrel shows seen in today's light are eye popping in that they even considered doing that -- let alone having filmed them! You simply can't believe they did that. Many of the people associated with these films -- not just Mickey and Judy -- fancied themselves as enlightened, progressive liberals and I think that in retrospect, I'm sure if they could speak today to those sequences, they would apologize for what they've come to represent. But, that said, I'm grateful they're included because that's what they did and that's how they did it and there's no point in re-writing history or trying to cover it all up.All of the extras are terrific. I'm grateful that Mickey Rooney has lived long enough to see this work so lovingly restored and released so beautifully. Obviously, his experience here is completely personal, but I hope he enjoys looking back at this treasure trove of material in the same way we fans do. One wishes that Judy could see this too -- to know that her memory lives on and that her work still shines just as brightly as it did when these films were new.