The "Busby Berkeley Collection Volume 2” Debuts September 16 - Four Fully Restored Films Are New To DVD From Warner Home Video
(May 19, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – The “Buzz” continues when word gets around that Warner Home Video will debut more musical extravaganzas in the “Busby Berkeley Collection Volume 2” on September 16. The collection features four more Berkeley classics which are not only new-to-DVD titles, but are making their long-awaited home video debut. Included in the collection are “Gold Diggers of 1937,” “Gold Diggers in Paris,” “Hollywood Hotel” and “Varsity Show.” Following in the dancing footsteps of Warner’s successful 2006 collection, this second spectacular volume from one of the greatest motion picture choreographers of all time also includes musical shorts, featurettes and classic cartoons. It’s musical entertainment magic at its toe-tapping, finger-snapping best by the Oscar® nominated master.
The 4-disc giftset will sell for $39.92 SRP and the single titles will be available for $19.97 SRP. Order due date is August 12.
Busby Berkeley
William Berkeley Enos was born in Los Angeles on November 29, 1895. He began his career in the U.S. Army conducting and directing parades and then staging shows for the soldiers. After returning to civilian life, he became a stage actor and assistant director for smaller acting troupes. He found his calling in 1925 when he was forced to take the reins of the Broadway musical “Holka Polka,” and with his talent for staging lavish and complex dance routines he soon became one of Broadway’s top dance directors. Samuel Goldwyn brought him to Hollywood in 1930 to stage the musical numbers for several Eddie Cantor musicals but his contribution raised little awareness with audiences or the industry.
Darryl F. Zanuck, then head of production at Warner Bros., gave “Buzz” his first huge film break -- directing the musical numbers of Warner’s then newest project, “42nd Street.” The studio took a huge gamble on both the property and Berkeley; but a snappy script and a story that has become known as the granddaddy of backstage musicals made the film a massive hit, primarily as a result of the amazing, kaleidoscopic and fascinating choreography Berkeley created for the end of the film. It wasn’t long before he was given a seven-year contract at the studio.
Berkeley went on to work on almost every great Warner musical produced in the ‘30s, receiving three Oscar® nominations for Best Dance Direction. Using only one camera, he was fearless about getting just the right shot, even if it meant drilling holes in roofs and floors to achieve his vision. He dressed his chorus girls in outlandish costumes -- as coins or musical instruments or in nothing but wisps of gauzy material. There was no limit to his imagination.
Many studios tried to copy Berkeley’s style but their efforts were pale imitations. There was only one Busby Berkeley. Although he made his last contribution to cinema more than 40 years ago, Berkeley remains an icon in American culture.
The Films
“Gold Diggers of 1937” (1936)
Dick Powell plays an insurance agent with musical ambitions while Joan Blondell is a showgirl who gives up spangles for a stenographer’s pad. But the plot is secondary as dance creator Busby Berkeley turns a garden party into a tap-happy romp, and Blondell leads leggy soldiers in a banner-waving, precision-formation rendition of “All’s Fair in Love and War” that’s Berkeley spectacle at its showy best. Berkeley received an Academy nod for Best Dance Direction.
DVD Special Features
• 1997 documentary “Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof”
• Technicolor historical short “The Romance of Louisiana”
• Classic cartoons “Plenty of Money” and “You and Speaking of the Weather”
• Two excerpts from 1929’s “Gold Diggers of Broadway”
• Theatrical trailer “Gold Diggers in Paris” (1938) The Gold Diggers are headed for Paris, bringing their feathers, frills, and ballet shoes. A French diplomat has mistaken 43rd Street’s Club Ballé for the American Academy Ballet, and the chorus cuties aren’t going to turn down a free trip to the City of Light over such a tiny misunderstanding. Rudy Vallee stars as the club’s impresario and Busby Berkeley creates and directs the inventive musical numbers, both ‘magnifique’ and loaded with moxie. DVD Special Features • Two Broadway Brevities musical shorts: “The Candid Kid” and “Little Me”
• Classic cartoon “Love and Curses”
• Theatrical trailer “Hollywood Hotel” (1937) The plot about a Hollywood newcomer (Dick Powell) caught between a spoiled star (Lola Lane) and her likeable look-alike (Lola’s look-alike sister Rosemary Lane) is secondary to watching Busby Berkeley’s ace direction – and music, music, music. The film opens with the jubilant debut of Tinseltown’s unofficial anthem “Hooray for Hollywood.” The jaunty “Let That Be a Lesson to You” shows off Berkeley’s mastery of editing and camera angles. And Benny Goodman and his Orchestra -- with Harry James on trumpet and Gene Krupa on drums – swing, swing, swing into “Sing, Sing, Sing.” DVD Special Features • Technicolor® historical short “The Romance of Robert Burns”
• Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy comedy short “Double Talk”
• Classic cartoon “Porky’s Five & Ten”
• Theatrical trailer “Varsity Show” (1937) Broadway impresario Chuck Daly (Dick Powell) leads an A+ cast of coeds and their guys, including film-debuting sisters Priscilla and Rosemary Lane and fluty-voiced comic character star Sterling Holloway, in this exuberant college musical. Oscar nominated for his dance direction in this film, Berkeley creates and directs a rah-rah, football-themed finale featuring high-style overhead shots, kinetic camerawork and hundreds of dancers on a 50 ft. by 60 ft. staircase. DVD Special Features • Musical short “Flowers from the Sky”
• Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy comedy short “A Neckin’ Party”
• Classic cartoon “Have You Got Any Castles”
• Theatrical trailer Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change. With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.# # #
• Technicolor historical short “The Romance of Louisiana”
• Classic cartoons “Plenty of Money” and “You and Speaking of the Weather”
• Two excerpts from 1929’s “Gold Diggers of Broadway”
• Theatrical trailer “Gold Diggers in Paris” (1938) The Gold Diggers are headed for Paris, bringing their feathers, frills, and ballet shoes. A French diplomat has mistaken 43rd Street’s Club Ballé for the American Academy Ballet, and the chorus cuties aren’t going to turn down a free trip to the City of Light over such a tiny misunderstanding. Rudy Vallee stars as the club’s impresario and Busby Berkeley creates and directs the inventive musical numbers, both ‘magnifique’ and loaded with moxie. DVD Special Features • Two Broadway Brevities musical shorts: “The Candid Kid” and “Little Me”
• Classic cartoon “Love and Curses”
• Theatrical trailer “Hollywood Hotel” (1937) The plot about a Hollywood newcomer (Dick Powell) caught between a spoiled star (Lola Lane) and her likeable look-alike (Lola’s look-alike sister Rosemary Lane) is secondary to watching Busby Berkeley’s ace direction – and music, music, music. The film opens with the jubilant debut of Tinseltown’s unofficial anthem “Hooray for Hollywood.” The jaunty “Let That Be a Lesson to You” shows off Berkeley’s mastery of editing and camera angles. And Benny Goodman and his Orchestra -- with Harry James on trumpet and Gene Krupa on drums – swing, swing, swing into “Sing, Sing, Sing.” DVD Special Features • Technicolor® historical short “The Romance of Robert Burns”
• Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy comedy short “Double Talk”
• Classic cartoon “Porky’s Five & Ten”
• Theatrical trailer “Varsity Show” (1937) Broadway impresario Chuck Daly (Dick Powell) leads an A+ cast of coeds and their guys, including film-debuting sisters Priscilla and Rosemary Lane and fluty-voiced comic character star Sterling Holloway, in this exuberant college musical. Oscar nominated for his dance direction in this film, Berkeley creates and directs a rah-rah, football-themed finale featuring high-style overhead shots, kinetic camerawork and hundreds of dancers on a 50 ft. by 60 ft. staircase. DVD Special Features • Musical short “Flowers from the Sky”
• Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy comedy short “A Neckin’ Party”
• Classic cartoon “Have You Got Any Castles”
• Theatrical trailer Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change. With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.