An American in Paris

BFI Film Classics

by Sue Harris

An American in Paris (1951) was a landmark film in the careers of Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. A joyous celebration of George Gershwin's music, French art, the beauty of dance and the fabled City of Light, the film was heralded as a rare example of entertainment 'for mass and class alike'. Choreographed by Kelly at the height of his career, it gave new stature to the Hollywood musical, and showcased as never before the artistic ambition, technical skills, creative imagination and collaborative ethos of MGM's pioneering Arthur Freed Unit.

Sue Harris draws on archival material to trace the film's development from conception to screen. Offering new insights into the design process in particular, she shows how An American in Paris established the cinematic template for a city with which Hollywood would become increasingly infatuated in the decades to follow.

Genres: Film

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2015

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Reviews

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book in a series that might be called the movie equivalent to the 33 1/3 music series, this one shares a problem with many similar attempts: it reads less like a full book than like an extended version of an essay you might include in a deluxe dvd release. If you want to know how An American In Paris was made, this book will answer most of your questions. If you want incisive analysis of the film or its creators, look elsewhere.
That said, there is a place for books like this; sometimes one does just want the facts, and this is sightly better for your eyes than squinting at the Wikipedia entry.