Classic musical shines on Blu-ray

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Movies Editor

More classic films from the past century continue to be restored and released to Blu-ray in editions that make them sparkle as they did when they were brand new. A film that belongs in the collection of every movie enthusiast came out too late last December to make my top ten list.

One of the most entertaining movies ever made and arguably the best of Judy Garland’s career, as well as director Vincent Minnelli’s, is MGM’s “Meet Me In St. Louis” (1944). This nostalgic musical piece of Americana is set in 1903-04 middle America, and its very slight plot is little more than a gentle domestic situation comedy with a touch or romance. As the new World’s Fair is being constructed, a middle-class father announces to his family that he’s been offered a promotion and they’ll all be moving to New York, upsetting the rest of the family who would rather stay in St. Louis. Especially devastated are the teenage daughters who don’t want to leave their new boyfriends behind, but the two youngest daughters are just as traumatized at the thought of leaving the only home they’ve ever known.

The earnest sincerity of the cast, the lush details of the costumes and setting, some witty dialogue, along with the wonderful songs skillfully incorporated into the story, all combine to make this simple story into a vivid recreation of the era and a timeless portrait of family life. Little Margaret O’Brien (who got a special miniature Oscar for her performance) steals every scene she’s in, but Judy Garland really carries the film in this major transitional role as she was shifting from her status as a popular child actress to mature adult characters.

Made during World War II, there’s also the strong undercurrent of home-front support for the family values that the far-away loved ones were fighting for. The wistful “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is especially poignant in light of the film’s wartime release. A more obvious sign of the more hip and modern 1940s rather than the quaint, long-ago era of the 1900s is the bit of swing music finding its way into the old standards sung during the party scene. The bouncy “Trolly Song” earned an Academy Award nomination, and the film got additional nominations for its music score, screenplay, and Technicolor cinematography.

The film is interesting as both a record of its own time and its representation of an earlier way of life that was still within the memory of many. As it does today, the period dramatized in “Meet Me In St. Louis” already seemed like the distant past when the film was made, a safer, innocent bygone age. Significant political, social, and technological changes happening so rapidly throughout the previous 40 years made the world depicted nearly as foreign then as it is to us in the 21st century.

To put it in perspective, a modern film of today set 40 years in the past would be dealing with 1972, an era much like today in many ways. In 2012, a 1972 automobile is just an old car and many are still on the road, but in 1944, a 1904 car was an archaic museum piece. In 1903-04, movies were black-and-white silent curiosities that ran a few minutes each and television was an inventor’s dream, whereas in 1944 sound film was the norm, color was common, and TV was broadcasting in New York. Forty years ago in 1972 we were already seeing the growth of multiplex cinemas, R-rated movies, and cable TV. The only truly major changes we’ve seen since then are the proliferation of cell phones, home computers, and the Internet (all developments of previously existing technology). Human nature, on the other hand, remains unchanged.

Picture quality on Warner Home Video’s Blu-ray is excellent, with a few very minor digital artifacts barely noticeable amidst its crisp, film-like high-definition image and rich Technicolor hues. It looks nearly as good as Warners’ superb Blu-ray of “An American in Paris” (1951). The audio has been tastefully remixed to stereo surround and the lossless DTS-HD track reproduces an amazingly full range for a recording made nearly 70 years ago, sounding substantially better than the track on “An American in Paris.”

The illustrated “digibook” has brief write-ups on the major actors and director, with lyrics to the songs as well as an enclosed CD with four of the soundtrack’s hit songs. Bonus items on the Blu-ray include a nice heartfelt introduction by Liza Minnelli, a very good commentary incorporating audio clips from interviews with people who worked on the film, an isolated music score, and an audio recording of a radio dramatization of the story (also with Garland and O’Brien).

Those are the only special features listed on the box cover, but there are many more bonuses actually crammed onto the disc: a half-hour documentary on the making of the film made for its 50th anniversary and narrated by Roddy McDowell, an early 1970s hour-long TV special about MGM called “Hollywood: the Dream Factory” narrated by Dick Cavett, a TCM “Becoming Attractions: Judy Garland” selection of movie trailers hosted by Robert Osborne, a half-hour 1966 TV pilot for a sitcom version of “Meet Me in St. Louis,” a 1930 musical short with a very young Judy Garland, a 1941 music video of the same “Skip to My Lou” swing arrangement later used in the movie, a reissue trailer, and an audio-only recording of Judy Garland’s deleted song “Boys and Girls Like You and Me” (which ironically had been bought for the film after it was deleted from the stage production of “Oklahoma!”) Bonus features are unfortunately all standard-definition, but there is a generous selection of material that helps justify the premium price (typically selling for around $25).

“MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS” on Blu-ray—Movie: A+ / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: A

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