Title: The Great Ziegfeld
Tear: 1936
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Country: US
Language: English
The Great Ziegfeld is not a film that is mentioned nowadays, even when the subject of Best Picture Winners comes up. I went into the film with little expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by how lavish and spectacular the entire show was. Considering this was in theatres during the Depsression era- 30's there's no wonder as to why it was so financially successful at the time.
This picture depicts the ups-and-downs of the legendary showman Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
Clocking in at 3 hours long, The Great Ziegfeld is not a breezy film to get through,, but it does provide a welcome escapism through fantastic and gorgeous musical numbers that are exquisitely produced. The costume design, editing, directing, score and acting are remarkable.
The Dazzling sets show the best of what Golden Hollywood - and by extension MGM- had to offer. It's unfortunate that the rest of the script is a bit clunky and doesn't offer any meaninful character development. We are shown how "great" Ziegfeld's artistic endeavors are, but as a person he comes off as a pompous jerk and doesn't have any arc.
2001: A Space Odyssey is an easier watch than The Great Ziegfeld. in terms of how long the movie feels. Instead of watching the entire movie, I'd recommend viewing clips of the most outrageous sets (such as the big cake number) on Youtube.
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