The ever-loverly Audrey Hepburn is back as Eliza Doolittle in the latest release of My Fair Lady on DVD. I wasn't sure why — it had to have been put out on DVD at least once before. In fact, it was released by Warner Bros. in 1998 and then again as a "Two-Disc Special Edition" in 2004. Paramount obtained the rights last year and put out a new edition earlier this month, complete with its own set of special features.
My Fair Lady, the musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, follows Ms. Doolittle, a poor flower girl with a strong Cockney accent which, due to the time period and setting, puts her at a strong social and vocational disadvantage. Looking to better her situation, she approaches Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), a phonetics expert, about speech lessons. Higgins, intrigued, bets his friend Colonel Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) that he can pass her off as a duchess to London's high society.
She's a good girl, she is. She'd have to be — Eliza puts up with a lot from Professor Higgins, whose arrogance and rudeness make him a wholly unlikable character. Eliza herself is somewhat annoying to begin with, the Cockney accent accounts for much of this, but the overall volume of her voice is as much to blame. The supporting characters (Pickering, Mrs. Pearce, and Eliza's dad) really do only that: support Eliza and Higgins.
A lavish, beautiful production, My Fair Lady has been a classic since its 1964 debut. Musicals tend to be big and flashy, cinematic even, and this one is no exception. The costumes, the sets — it's like watching a very well-filmed onstage play. It'll be interesting to see what the 2000s bring to the tale.
That's right, My Fair Lady is up for a remake. Due out next year, the revamp is rumored to star Keira Knightley as the fair lady herself, and Daniel Day-Lewis as the abominable Mr. Higgins. Knightley already hit it big with a period remake in 2005's Pride and Prejudice, and chances are that yet another update of Eliza Doolittle's tale, with this day and age's advantages, will bring in a hefty crowd and following. Even loyalists of the original will want to see what spin hits story. I'd personally like to see if Knightley can really sing, or if Eliza's ditties will be overdubbed by a Brit-pop princess.
DVD Bonus Features:
The special features on this disc are pretty extensive. There are the typical trailers and an audio commentary with Gene Allen, Marni Nixon, Robert A. Harris, and James C. Katz.
“Vintage Featurettes, Footage & Audio” features a fairly lengthy video of the 1963 Production Kick-Off Dinner and pretty hilarious audio of director George Cukor trying to coax acting skills out of Baroness Bina Rothschild. Also included are The Fairest Fair Lady, a short documentary about the film, video footage of the film's premiere in L.A., Rex Harrison's Golden Globe acceptance speech, and highlights from the Academy Awards.
We also get to hear Audrey Hepburn's original vocals (Marni Nixon overdubbed for the songs) for “Show Me” and “Wouldn't It Be Loverly.” I personally don't think her voice is that bad, but I suppose this was an age before Auto-Tune.
There's a Rex Harrison radio interview dubbed over some posters and lobby cards, and “Comments on a Lady,” featuring an interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber about lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, and one with Martin Scorsese about the Film Foundation.
"My Fair Lady" is on sale October 6, 2009 and is rated G. Musical. Directed by George Cukor. Written by George Bernard Shaw and Alan Jay Lerner. Starring Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde White.
