My Fair Lady

"My Fair Lady" is often regarded as the most outstanding musical ever written, and certainly the greatest of the 1950s. Based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play "Pygmalion," the story revolves around Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons to pass as a lady. Throughout the narrative, despite his cynical nature and struggle to understand women, Higgins becomes emotionally attached to her.The plot draws inspiration from a Greek myth in which Pygmalion wished for a bride who would be "the living likeness of my ivory girl." When he returned home, he kissed his ivory statue and found that its lips felt warm. The Goddess Aphrodite granted Pygmalion's wish, bringing the ivory sculpture to life as a woman. Similarly, Doolittle undergoes a transformation. This storyline has also influenced other works, including "Pretty Woman," "Pinocchio," and various short stories and operas.The musical features a story (book and lyrics) by Alan Jay Lerner, with music composed by Frederick Loewe. Its score includes some of the most famous songs in American musical theater, such as "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?", "With a Little Bit of Luck," "The Rain in Spain," "I Could Have Danced All Night," and "On the Street Where You Live.This film won eight Academy Awards in 1964, including Best Picture. It stars Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, a spirited, working-class street vendor from London, and Rex Harrison as Professor Higgins, who tries to transform Eliza into a sophisticated lady through his tutoring. One minor criticism is that Hepburn cannot sing, so all her songs are dubbed, except for one brief stanza where she begins to sing quietly. It leaves one to wonder how wonderful the performance would have been if Julie Andrews, the original choice for Eliza, had been cast in the role.It's definitely a great and must-have addition to any home’s music collection.

I enjoyed this movie and am glad that it was rentable. I am not sure I would want to own it, as I do not think I will watch it again, but I did enjoy renting it. A movie like this would never be possible to make today. First, because of the story line and the script would never be approved to be made by any studio. I liked how it told the story though because we can not erase history and it tells what life may have been like at the time it was cast to be in high society. The acting was good and the story line was original, I did not know what was going to happen or where the story was going. It was funny and the cinematography of the way they filmed it was also really neat. The equipment they used to film this had I believe a short window as you see few films this old that are filmed this well and the new equipment can not capture the colors and look that the equipment used to make this movie did for it. That is a art in and of itself. The movie as a whole was like a fairytale or dream in that it captures what takes you to another world, another time or a parallel universe in which a story like this was told. A film like this is rare, very rare. If you take offense to a story line that is politically incorrect you will likely not enjoy this movie and it may trigger you, but if you can watch it from history and observe and not allow another time and another world to trigger you, then this is a wonderful movie. I am not sure I would allow younger kids to watch this though, this is not like Mary Poppins or the Sound of Music, it is for a older audience.

My Fair Lady is my favorite Broadway show. I was happy to get a DVD with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

"THE RAIN IN SPAIN STAYS MAINLY IN THE PLAIN!!" The costumes are awesome! Musical scores are awesome. Audrey and Rex are awesome. Supporting cast is awesome. Well worth the rental on classic movie night. They just don't make them like this anymore! "Aaaaaaa, Aaaaaaa, Aaaaaa!"

So much has been said already about this beloved iconic musical film, so the main point to make here is that the new 2015 restoration available on blu-ray is nothing short of mesmerizing. Oh heck, for the die-hard fans anxious about how it would look after years of teasing and release date delays, it's downright orgasmic. Forget about the reviews of the blu-ray from a few years ago, the 2015 version is at last the real deal!!!From the moment the action began after the title credits, I knew we were in for quite a treat. After managing to pick up my jaw from the floor, I put in the blurry DVD from the late 90's for comparison, and there was none. The 2015 restoration looks and sounds nearly like a new modern film. Robert Harris and his team deserve high praise indeed for this masterpiece of technical and artistic achievement.From a long time avid fan's perspective, I can genuinely and honestly say that seeing this movie again in such crazy good quality literally brought me to tears, it's that satisfying. It's like falling in love with Audrey Hepburn all over again. She looks thoroughly ***STUNNING*** in her many dresses throughout the film. I must have paused the playback a couple dozen times just to stare at the crisp and colorful imagery now available with this new blu-ray.For those with a 4K TV, you're in for a "loverly" bonus as the new version upscales very nicely to reveal details you've never been able to see before.Equipment:Sony XBR-65X900A 4K TVSony BDP-S6200 Blu-ray playerYamaha RX-A3030 AVRB&W Speakers - 600 seriesREL T9 subwooferAudioquest Carbon HDMI cablesAudioquest X2 speaker wireAudioquest NRG-4 power cable for AVRAudioquest NRG-2 power cable for subwooferAudioquest Boxer subwoofer cableWhile you certainly don't need expensive components to appreciate the drastic quality improvement with this restoration, I wanted to share my "entry level audiophile" system specs so that other movie lovers may better appreciate how I saw and heard this new version of the film.I salute and humbly thank everyone who worked on this magnificent restoration and beg of you to share your knowledge so that others may benefit from your mastery. THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!