3-D Classics on Blu Ray: Kiss Me Kate (1953)

Let me say precisely what I mean to say: Kiss Me Kate is one of the greatest 3D movies ever made. Ever. The list of 3D movies as good or better than it is practically non-existent. Maybe you can make an argument for Hugo or Dial M For Murder or House of Wax but that's about it. This is it, baby--The 3D movie of all time.

What makes KMK so great? How about everything. Start off with a terrific score by Cole Porter, toss in two of the best musical stars of the 50s (Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson), mix in incredible dance routines by the likes of Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, and Bob Fosse, add some great comedy by Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore and top it all off with one of the best uses of the process you'll ever see.



Hammy actor Fred Graham (Keel) plans to win back ex-wife Lilli Vanessi (Grayson) by starring opposite her in a musical version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. But she's engaged to be married to a cattle baron. Adding to his troubles are free-spirited and flirtatious actress Lois Lane (Miller) whose boyfriend (Rall) forged Graham's signature on an IOU to a gangster. Two of his thugs (Wynn and Whitmore) show up to collect on the "debt of honor". The onstage battles mirror the backstage chaos, all set to one of the best scores in a musical.

Porter's score is quite possibly the best non-songbook score of the decade in terms of movies. Starting with the wonderful So in Love and ending pretty much with the hilarious Brush Up Your Shakespeare, every song is fantastic. Some say KMK was Porter's crowning achievement and that doesn't seem to be an understatement. In fact, if there is a complaint against the movie, its the fact that 50s sensibilities forced so many of the songs to be cleaned up. That said, there are a few raunchy lines that slipped past the censors. I dare you to not take the line "a Dick, a Dick" in Tom, Dick, and Harry dirty.

Then there's From This Moment On. While Hermes Pan choreographed the rest of the numbers, he gave the dancers free reign to do whatever they wanted. The result is pure movie magic with a 66 second steamy routine from Bob Fosse and Carol Haney. It's that routine that made critics take notice of Fosse.

It helps that the cast is one of the best assembled for a 50s musical. Keel and Grayson have great voices for the numbers, even if they weren't dancers. This was their second movie together, after Show Boat (1951). But it's Wynn, Whitmore, and Miller that own this movie. Miller was one of the top female tap dancers and even if she seems a little old for the part of Lane/Bianca, she sells it. Her tap routine during Too Darn Hot is exactly that. As for Wynn and Whitmore, they knew they weren't song and dance men so they didn't even bother to rehearse their big number. As such, they tend to bumble through it in a way that actually works to the movie's advantage. They steal every scene they're in. Oh, and serial fans will get a kick out of Dave O'Brien as Keel's stage manager.

KMK is a great example on how to do a gimmicky 3D movie, too. There's over 20 gimmick shots in it. But, unlike the 80s films that lost their mind with gimmick shots, it's not as obvious. The majority of the gimmick shots are incorporated into the musical numbers (Those Redheads From Seattle does the same trick). This makes them less blatant than the yo-yos and popcorn in Friday the 13th Part 3. There's only one 40 second segment at the beginning of the play within the movie with a bunch of gimmicks there just for the sake of being there and that's only in the 3D version. But even more than the gimmick shots is the other ways the movie uses 3D. There's lots of shots from various parts of the theater that gives the illusion that one is actually watching these antics live. It is hands down the most brilliant use of the process you'll ever see. Especially look for one shot at the end of Where is the Life That Late I Led that means nothing in 2D but is one of the craziest shots in 3D.

Warner Home Video has released Kiss Me Kate in an amazing 3D Blu Ray that is a must own. This is the first time KMK has been released in its original 3D widescreen format with the added bonus of having the original stereo soundtrack. KMK is one of only two 3D movies from the 50s to still have its stereo soundtrack and its a treat to not only see but hear the movie as it was intended. I may have said this before about other movies, but you really do need this 3D Blu Ray. If you only ever see one 3D movie in your life, make it Kiss Me Kate.