Gigi learns proper etiquette and charm, but disdains the trivial love between a man and his mistress. Gigi's mother (a singer who is heard but never seen onscreen) leaves her care mostly to Madame Alvarez.įollowing the "family tradition", Madame Alvarez regularly sends Gigi to her sister, Gigi's Great-Aunt Alicia to be groomed as a courtesan, a kept mistress of wealthy men. Gaston does enjoy spending time with Madame Alvarez and her granddaughter, precocious, carefree Gilberte, affectionately known as Gigi. ![]() While in Bois de Boulogne, Honoré Lachaille remarks that in Paris, marriage is not the sole option for wealthy young bon vivants like his nephew Gaston, who is bored with life. The film is set during the Belle Époque at the turn of the 20th century. The film is considered the last great Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical and the final great achievement of the Freed Unit, headed by producer Arthur Freed. The American Film Institute ranked it number 35 in AFI's 100 Years.100 Passions. ![]() In 1991, Gigi was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It held the record for the highest clean sweep of nominations (later shared with The Last Emperor) until The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won all eleven of its nominations at the 76th Academy Awards in 2004. Costume design was done by Cecil Beaton (hats by Madame Paulette).Īt the 31st Academy Awards, the film won all nine of its nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Minnelli. The film features songs with lyrics by Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, arranged and conducted by André Previn. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette. ![]() This movie is beautiful to watch and tasty as eye and ear candy.Gigi ( French pronunciation: ) is a 1958 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli and processed using Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Eastmancolor film process Metrocolor. Maurice Chevalier also won a special Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.Īt the Golden Globes, Hermione Gingold won Best Supporting Actress, Leslie Caron won Best Actress, Louis Jourdan won Best Actor as did Maurice Chevalier. The movie won Best Song "Gigi", Best Musical Score by Lerner and Lowe, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing. None of the actors were nominated, but Vincente Minnelli won as Best Director, and the picture was Best Picture. This movie is compared to "My Fair Lady" and won 9 Academy Awards in every category that it was nominated in. And eventually, Gaston offers Gigi all the things that she would have as a courtesan. After a wonderful time there with chaperone Mamita, Gaston is amazed that Gigi is growing older, and she surprises him one day all dressed up like a grown woman. Gaston is basically bored with dating and as the movie progresses he loses a card game to Gigi with the bet being a trip to the seashore. Honore believes in having lots of women, and even at his advanced age is chasing skirts. He brings Gigi candy and champagne for Mamita.īut Gaston is dating other women and is being guided by his uncle Honore Lachaille (Maurice Chevalier)to become what we would call a gigolo. He is just a young man in Paris who visits her and enjoys playing cards with her granddaughter and eating Mamita's home-cooked meals. Mamita has a young grown male friend who happens to be rich-Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jordan), but she has no intention of forcing Gigi on him. Since a young girl's future is limited in 1900's Paris, Gigi is being raised to become a future courtesan-a mistress to some rich man who will give her a mansion, jewels, and all the other extras that a woman could want. Leslie Caron plays the title character-a young orphan being raised by her grandmother Mamita (Hermione Gingold). ![]() The Last Great MGM Musical by Vincente MinnelliĪ non-singing Broadway play brought brilliantly to the screen by Vincente Minnelli in 1958, "Gigi" is a delightful Best Picture winner.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |