Fairest Of Them All
Last updated: 03/08/2006 - 14:02
That magical musical My Fair Lady is an incredible 40 years old this year - and you can celebrate with a brand new special edition DVD.
My Fair Lady 40th Anniversary Special Edition
Audrey Hepburn, darling of the silver screen and instantly recognisable style icon since her rise to stardom in the 1950s is set to light up homes across the UK when Warner Home Video release My Fair Lady - 40th Anniversary Special Edition on DVD.
Accompanied by an abundance of 'loverly' extras, this sumptuous two-disc Special Edition is worthy of a place in any DVD collection.
"Ah ain't dirty! Ah washed ma face an' 'ands before ah come, ah did!"
Academy Awards
The winner of eight Academy Awards from twelve nominations in 1965 - 'Best Picture', 'Best Director', 'Best Actor', 'Best Music', 'Best Sound', 'Best Costume Design', 'Best Set Design' and 'Best Cinematography', My Fair Lady has held a unique place in the Hollywood musical genre ever since.
The musical's enduring appeal is demonstrated by the success of the recent stage production in London's West End - originally starring Jonathan Price and Martine McCutcheon - and now touring the UK, while the National Film Theatre just ran a season of Audrey Hepburn films, including - of course - My Fair Lady.
Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady was originally a 1956 Broadway musical hit with a score by the popular songwriting duo Alan Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Director George Cukor (Little Women, The Philadelphia Story) spent $17 million transferring this success to the big screen, ensuring musical numbers The Rain In Spain, Wouldn't It Be Loverly, Get Me To The Church On Time and Why Can't A Woman Be More Like A Man would never be forgotten.
"And remember, that's your handkerchief and that's your sleeve. And don't confuse the one with the other if you want to become a lady!"
You've memorised the words to On The Street Where You Live and waltzed around your living room to I Could Have Danced All Night Well there's something new for even the most devoted fans of the magical Audrey Hepburn and the Oscar-winning Rex Harrison on this extras-laden DVD set.
Extras include:
Screen icon and Oscar winner Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday, Breakfast At Tiffany's) stars as Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flowergirl in Victorian London whom snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison: Cleopatra, The Agony And The Ecstasy) is challenged to transform into a sophisticated lady convincing enough to fool a smart society gathering.
Jeremy Brett
As their two cultures collide there are inevitably clashes - straightforward Eliza doesn't understand the Professor's reserved, rude manner, while he sees her more as a project than a person. But the Professor's experiment almost works too well when the reformed Eliza attracts the romantic attention of charming aristocrat Freddie Eynsford-Hill - played by a youthful Jeremy Brett, who would go on to play arguablt the greatest incarnation of Conan Doyles' master detective in Granada TV's seminal Sherlock Holmes series. Can Professor Higgins meet this challenge and overcome his stuffy bachelor manner to express his love for the former flowergirl before he loses her to another suitor?
Enchanting
This enchanting story of how love can overcome even the deep-seated class barriers of Nineteenth Century English society is not only a musical treat, the film's stage roots are clear in the lavish sets and sumptuous costume designs of Cecil Beaton, whose work was recognised with two Oscars.
My Fair Lady: 40th Anniversary Special Edition is available now, as a 2-Disc Digi Pack, with a running time of 166 minutes approx. (£19.99 RRP), from Warner Home Video, certificate U.
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