Shall We Dance (DVD)

You can't beat Astaire and Rogers.

Enough said, made me happy

While Top Hat and Swing Time get most of the attention in the Astaire/Rogers canon, Shall We Dance provides some of their best numbers. This is the last of their films with music by the Gershwin brothers as George was already beginning to show signs of the illness that would claim him. In this film we get Astaire's magnificent dance to Slap That Bass with the rhythm and the images of the ships engines behind him, the two of them dancing on roller skates to Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, Astaire singing They Can't Take That Away From Me to Ginger and one of their greatest numbers where Ginger sings They All Laughed as they dance a terrific routine where Astaire finishes by tossing Ginger on to a piano and he joins her there on the last note. Yes the usual basic plot of mistaken identities, used again and again in their movies, looks silly now but you don't watch Fred and Ginger for the plot. You watch for the magnificent singing and dancing. Shall We Dance provides both and should be part of every Astaire and Rogers collection.

Fred and Ginger in the 30's - B/W - - roller skate dance - 150 takes - simply amazing to watch those 2 together.

Watch this film for the dancing and music. It is a true classic. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were at the top of their game. The Gershwin score is wonderful. The plot, not so much. I love classic movies, but had a very difficult time sitting though the corny plot and dialogue. The dancing made it worthwhile.

great dancers. Old movies are usually very good.

This movie features one of the finest scores ever written for a film, by the great George Gershwin, with lyrics for the songs by his brother Ira. George Gershwin was the first to score an entire picture with 'Shall We Dance'; he provided all the background music, ranging from ballet to swing numbers, even a small ensemble piece for walking a dog. Fred Astaire's amazing solos and his pairings with Ginger Rogers are all classic dance numbers. The DVD extras include a delightful documentary on the music for the film, and an informative commentary.

This is a great movie. Lots of laughs and great songs and amazing dance numbers.