Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Kismet Blu-ray Movie Review

Ill-Fated

Reviewed by Michael Reuben July 12, 2014

"Kismet" means "fate" or "destiny", and Kismet began life as a 1911 play by American-born British playwright Edward Knobloch. The play was successful enough both in London and on Broadway that it was filmed four times (in 1914, 1920, 1930 and 1940), but its best-known version is the musical adaptation first staged in New York in 1953, where it won the Tony Award for Best Musical. MGM, still renowned as Hollywood's "Dream Machine" for musicals, scooped up the property immediately, then persuaded a reluctant Vincente Minnelli to work his magic by promising to greenlight his passion project, Lust for Life, if he'd also direct Kismet. Alas, Minnelli had no enthusiasm for the material, and the public had no love for the finished product. Kismet lost money for MGM, and the critics were unkind, but the film has retained a devoted cult following ever since its release, probably because of the charming score derived mostly from the melodies of Russian composer Alexander Borodin.

Kismet is set in a fairy tale version of ancient Mesoptamia (or what we now know as Iraq) that bears about as much resemblance to reality as did Camelot to Europe's Middle Ages. It requires the kind of overtly theatrical, exaggerated style of performance that assists the audience in suspending disbelief at the absurd events comprising the plot—a requirement that is even more important today, when the city of Baghdad, where most of the film's action is set, raises very different connotations than in 1955. Unfortunately, director Minnelli, who was reportedly distracted by preparations for his next film, let Kismet's tone wander so that it never finds its balance. Sometimes, the film seems to be thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, while at other moments we are presented with a tale of mismatched, star-crossed lovers whose tribulations we're meant to take with utter seriousness. Because these two strands of Kismet never weave together successfully, the story and the film end up in tatters.

Kismet is the story of a penniless Poet (Howard Keel, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) and his daughter, Marsinah (Ann Blyth, Mildred Pierce), and one eventful day in Baghdad where they travel so that the Poet can sell his rhymes to buy food. Having lived by his wits all his life, the Poet has become a small-time cheat and a con man, but he considers his swindles to be minor offenses for which he will someday make amends.

Kismet relies on classic comic devices such as mistaken identity, characters in disguise and sudden reversals of fortune. The confusion begins when the Poet sets up shop in a spot normally used by a man named Hajj. Mistaking him for Hajj, minions of a famous thief, Jawan (Jay C. Flippen), kidnap the Poet and bring him to Jawan's tent. It seems that the real Hajj put a curse on Jawan that he would never find his missing son, and Jawan demands that "Hajj" lift the curse. The Poet, who will be known as "Hajj" from this point forward, makes a grand display of removing the curse from Jawan but only in exchange for one hundred pieces of gold. (Throughout this section, the song "Fate" is performed several times.) The Poet returns to Baghdad a wealthy man and takes up residence in a fine house with his daughter ("Baubles, Bangles and Beads"). And to the Poet's astonishment, by the end of the film, his pretend act of magic actually works, after a fashion.

In the garden of their new residence, the lovely Marsinah encounters a man she believes to be a gardener. In fact, he is the Caliph (Vic Damone), ruler of Mesopotamia, traveling in disguise, who has come to Baghdad to choose a bride. Many seekers of the Caliph's hand have converged on the city ("Not Since Nineveh"), but the King of Ababu has promised the city's governor, the Wazir (Sebastian Cabot), a desperately needed loan if the Wazir can ensure that the Caliph will choose one of the King's daughters. Alas for the Wazir, the Caliph and Marsinah fall instantly in love and promise to meet in the garden later that night ("Stranger in Paradise").

Meanwhile, the Poet/Hajj has been arrested by the Wazir's guard, who have noticed that the purse in which he carries his gold bears the crest of a wealthy family that was robbed by Jawan. The Poet is condemned by the Wazir but rescued by his bored and beautiful wife, Lalume (Dolores Gray), who finds the Poet entertaining ("Gesticulate"). She convinces the Wazir that the Poet is a master wizard who should be enlisted in his effort to marry the Caliph to a princess of Ababu and rewarded for such efforts ("Rahadlakum"). Little does the Poet suspect that, if he succeeds in aiding the Wazir, he will be destroying his own daughter's happiness. Much misunderstanding and confusion ensues, accompanied by singing and dancing in colorful costumes and elaborate sets, before Kismet reaches its inevitable happy conclusion ("Sands of Time"). The Poet tries to keep one step ahead of his own schemes; Marsinah wonders why her new-found love never returned to the garden as he promised ("And This Is My Beloved"); the Wazir worries that his conspiracies will be discovered; and Lalume enjoys every moment, because she hasn't had so much excitement in years ("Bored").

The best parts of Kismet are those featuring the Poet and Lalume, because both Howard Keel and Dolores Gray understand that they are playing theatrical constructs whose purpose is to tell a tall tale. As Marsinah and the Caliph, Ann Blyth and Vic Damone attempt (or were wrongly directed) to play real people, which is an impossible task in a Baghdad made of glitz and tinsel, where the only thing vaguely Arabic is the occasional extra like the Lebanese-descended Jamie Farr, the future Corporal Klinger on TV's M*A*S*H, who appears in a single scene as an orange seller.

Kismet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Four-time Oscar winner Joseph Ruttenberg (Gigi, Mrs. Miniver) shot Kismet in CinemaScope's then-standard 2.55:1 aspect ratio, which proved to be ideal for Kismet's expansive choreography and giant sets filled with extras. The technical crew at Warner Archive Collection have done their usual creditable job at bringing the film to Blu-ray in a film-like transfer that reproduces Ruttenberg's bright colors, deep blacks and fine detail, even when actors are not close to the camera (as they rarely are; Kismet is a film composed of medium and long shots). The colors may not "pop" in the way that modern cinematography often prefers, but I suspect that simply attests to the transfer's accuracy. Given the sheer variety of the palette, any attempt to intensify one color over another would represent the kind of revisionism that has prompted so much debate with other films of this vintage.

As per their usual practice, WAC has encoded Kismet at a much higher bitrate than one sees on discs released by WAC's affiliate, Warner Home Video. At an average rate of 34.97 Mbps, the crowded frame is accurately reproduced in all its complexity without artifacts of any kind and at a high level of quality.

Kismet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kismet was originally released in mono and, according to IMDb, stereo. The Blu-ray's track contains a 5.1 remix encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA. The remix is front-oriented with no independent rear channel activity but excellent fidelity and stereo separation in the musical numbers. The vocal reproductions are also superior, as is the dialogue.

Kismet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The extras have been ported over from Warner's previously released DVD of Kismet.

• The Battle of Gettysburg (480i; 2.35:1, non-enhanced; 29:37): This short documentary, narrated by none other than Leslie Nielsen, recounts the history of the famous Civil War battle against a background of contemporary footage shot at the Gettysburg National Military Park with its numerous statutes and green fields. The only connection to Kismet appears to be that it was released by MGM in the same year.



• The First Bad Man (480i; 1.33:1; 6:35): Tex Avery gives the Western a Flintstones-style makeover, as he tells the saga of the first outlaw ever to become the scourge of old Texas. Here again, the connection to Kismet is the year of release.



• MGM Parade #12 with George Murphy (480i; 1.33:1; 3:32): In this promotional short, host Murphy allegedly visits the set of Kismet for a filming of Howard Keel and Dolores Gray performing "Rahadlakum".



• MGM Parade #14 with George Murphy (480i; 1.33:1; 6:08): The host interviews Keel in the "MGM Trophy Room" about his career, including Show Boat, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Kismet. They play the "Gesticulate" number from the film.



• Rahadlakum Partially Deleted Outake (480i; 2.55:1, non-enhanced; 2:21): In black-and-white, this is a deleted introduction to the suggestive duet between the Poet and Lalume in the Wazir's harem.



• Rhymes Have I/Outake (Audio Only) (3:24).



• Theatrical Trailer (480i; 2.55:1, non-enhanced; 4:24): Narrated by Howard Keel, this trailer is at least as entertaining as the film.



• Kismet (1944) Trailer (480i; 1.33:1; 2:56): Starring Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich, this earlier version of Kismet was adapted from the same play from which the Broadway musical was adapted.

Kismet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It should go without saying that Kismet is strictly for fans of musicals who can overlook its flaws and enjoy it for individual performances and production numbers. It is certainly no classic, but it does belong to the roster of lavish MGM musical films that comprise the history of the Dream Machine. WAC has given it a fine presentation on Blu-ray. Recommended on its technical merits. The film itself is a personal choice.