Disc Details
Special Features:	Commentary by Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Cyd Charisse, Rita Moreno, and screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green Theatrical trailer(s) "What a Glorious Feeling": a new 30-minute documentary about the making and impact of Singin' in the Rain Musicals Great Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM, a 96-minute documentary about the career of producer-songwriter Arthur Freed Excerpts of movies in which Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown songs originated Outtake musical number: "You Are My Lucky Star" Stills gallery Scoring stage sessions "Reel Sound" Singin' Inspirations: Hidden footage accessable during film playback Full-screen format Number of discs: 2
Video Format:	Full Frame (1.33:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles:	English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Thai, Bahasa
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	2-Disc Fold-out Case

Perhaps the greatest testament to the film is that half a century after its release, it still stands the test of time. If the western stood for American courage, the musical represented America’s passion for life. It saw us through WWII and beyond, offering audiences a wonderful way to escape. And after all, isn’t that what movies are supposed to do?

In a light-hearted insider spoof of the film industry’s conversion to “the Talkie,” Gene Kelly plays dashing and debonair Don Lockwood, a silent film icon who, along with his screechy-voiced leading lady Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), are thrown head-first into the era of sound. For the indescribably beautiful Jean Hagen, one of Hollywood’s most respected and serious actresses, her performance as the exasperating Lina is one of the most remarkable comedic performances in history (and got her a well-deserved Oscar nod). Donald O’Connor won a Golden Globe for his turn as Kelly’s dancing sidekick Cosmo Brown, while 18-year-old Debbie Reynolds astonishingly held her own among the acting heavyweights.

O’Connor’s performance in “Make ‘Em Laugh” is without a doubt the most fantastic musical acrobatics number ever, while that charming “little” Kelly bit -- featuring simply a man singing and dancing in a puddle-laden set with an umbrella and lamppost – could make even Stephen King smile with pure joy. And that magic, quite simply, is what movies are all about.

Picture Quality: 10/10
"Singin' in the Rain" was originally released as a bare-bones MGM release and then re-packaged and released, bare-bones, by Warner Bros. as well. Now that Warner has officially acquired the rights to a vast majority of MGM's older titles, they've digitally remastered virtually everything about the film. Comparisons between the older DVD releases and this 50th Anniversary release are simply astonishing (Matt Brighton at DVDAuthority.com did a side-by-side comparison you can take a look at). The picture is remarkably crisper than before, and the colors literally jump out of the screen (the "Broadway Melody" number near the end of the film is a perfect example).

Sound Quality: 8/10
The soundtrack has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, though the source is still optical mono sound, meaning don't get too excited about the new transfer. Warner has done an excellent job cleaning up the sound transfer, and the balance especially among the three front-channels are well done. Excellent work.

Menu: 8/10
The menu system is easy to navigate and pleasing to the eyes (the title score also plays in the background), but take note: on the first disc's special features, there's a feature called "Reel Sound." Clicking on the posters to the right of the annotations allows you to access old footage from the film industry's more famous films from the silent era, though it's hard to tell you've activated it unless you click around. It's not really an easter egg, but is still worth mentioning.

Extra Features: 10/10
Of all the special feature discs released recently, most contain 90% fluff and 10% true goodies. Well, such is definitely not the case for "Singin' In the Rain," as Warner Bros. has included a host of fascinating extras that will keep you busy for hours.

Disc 1
The first disc contains a feature-length commentary track by Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse, Kathleen Freeman, Stanley Donen (Co-Director, Gene Kelly was the other), Betty Comden and Adolph Green (Screenwriters), Rudy Behlmer (Film Historian) and Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge"). The tracks are recorded separately and each segment is introduced by moderator Debbie Reynolds (who sounds just a tad bit too showy). The actors' tracks are essentially that of the shoot, how long it took and the dance numbers. Luhrmann's is interesting as he has a great appreciation and knowledge of Hollywood musicals (his "Moulin Rouge" is essentially a tribute to them). A great commentary track worth your time. In addition to the commentary track, there are two addition features and a theatrical trailer. "Reel Sound" highlights the other silent films of the era (1925-28) and aside from a text-based description, you can click on the posters to the right to view short clips from the respective films. "Singin' Inspirations" essentially allows you to playback the entire movie in much the same fashion as Newline's Infinifilm works. When a little highlight reel that can be selected with your remote control (or mouse) appears, clicking on it gives you some additional information about the movie and it returns once the supplement is over. Lastly (on the first disc), are the "Awards" section, which has a few text-based screens of the various awards that the film has garnered over the years and some very brief cast and crew bios are shown as well. The original theatrical trailer is included as well.

Disc 2
The high point of the second (supplementals only) disc is the newly created documentary, "Musicals Great Musicals" (MGM...clever ;). The documentary mainly discusses the great Arthur Freed's contributions to not only MGM, but the entire film world. Freed is essentially the most prolific producer of American musicals, responsible for some of the greatest musicals ever known (including Kelly's "An American in Paris," "Meet Me in St. Louis," "The Wizard of Oz," and "Annie Get Your Gun"). "What a Glorious Feeling" is a new extended featurette hosted by Debbie Reynolds, that concentrates solely on the production of "Singin' in the Rain." Everything from the script to behind the scenes antics are covered. I learned some pretty interesting facts about the production, like the fact that the film's title number wasn't even in the first draft of the script. In fact, most of the numbers in the film were taken from songs intended for (and sometimes included in) older MGM films. There's also an outtake of a song that was cut from the film entitled "You are my Lucky Star," sung by Debbie Reynolds. Those good old deleted scenes coming back again! A gallery of 20 production photos are also included, as well as the feature "Scoring Stage Sessions." It allows you to listen to and select a number of songs (complete with mess ups).

The Final Word:
The greatest American musical of all-time is now one of the best DVDs ever published. Do yourself a favor and run to the store to pick up a copy for yourself!

Stephen Wong