Kiss Me, Kate Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

Kiss Me, Kate Blu-ray Movie Review

Brush Up Your Porter

Reviewed by Michael Reuben July 9, 2017

Shout! Factory has expanded the still-too-small library of musical theater on Blu-ray with a superb production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate. First shown on PBS in 2003 as part of the Great Performances series, this acclaimed revival originated on Broadway in 1999, winning five Tony awards, including one for director Michael Blakemore (who managed the neat trick of picking up two directing Tonies in the same year, one for Kate and one for Best Play winner Copenhagen). By the time Kate reached the West End's Victoria Palace Theatre, where it was taped for Great Performances, nearly all of the cast had changed, but the play's overall presentation remained just as polished, with its evocative sets, lush costumes and inventive choreography by Kathleen Marshall (younger sister of Chicago's director, Rob). Directed for television by Chris Hunt, a veteran of numerous televised musicals, Kate offers the viewer a front-row seat to a first-rate staging of one of the grandest jewels in musical theater's crown.

My thoughts on Kiss Me, Kate can be found in my review of the 1953 filmed version directed by George Sydney. This stage revival hews closely to the original book by Sam and Bella Spewack, in which the action is confined to the Baltimore theater where a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew is suffering through out-of-town previews, with complications galore from romantic intrigue, creative differences and gambling debts. The performance opens with the classic show business anthem, "Another Op'nin', Another Show", which was cut from the film, and the second act opener, "Too Darn Hot", has been restored to its original function as a production number performed by the company at large. The famous eleven o'clock number, "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", retains its original spot near the end.

Brent Barrett takes on the leading role of Fred Graham, who not only stars in the show-within-a-show, but has also conceived, delivered and directed the production, as the promotional legend on the curtain loudly proclaims. Barrett effectively captures Fred's preening egotism and manipulative scheming, and his rich baritone is both authoritative for serious songs like "So in Love" and lightly playful for his numbers in character as Petruchio (he's especially good with the newly married fortune hunter's lament for his bachelor days, "Where is the Life That Late I Led?"). Fred's leading lady and ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi, is played by Rachel York, who imbues Lilli's every gesture with the edgy neediness of an actress whose career has fallen on hard times (she left Fred for a Hollywood career that fizzled).

Despite still being in love with Lilli, Fred remains an incorrigible womanizer, who has been romancing the show's chief supporting actress, Lois Lane (Nancy Kathryn Anderson). Lois, in turn, is a pragmatic flirt, who may stray far and wide but whose true affection remains firmly fixed to her co-star, Bill Calhoun (Michael Berresse, the only holdover from Broadway). If only Lois could get Bill to quit gambling. His latest losses have imperiled the show, as two mobsters arrive to collect on the debt. The pair, played by Teddy Kempner and Jack Chissick, might be described as straight from central casting, except for their passionate and unexpected devotion to Shakespeare.

The best taped versions of stage productions use closeups sparingly, and this Kate is no exception, preferring long and medium shots that allow the performances to breathe while showcasing the production design and the extended dance sequences. Kate is as much a valentine to the theater as it is a sharply drawn satire of the egomaniacs who populate it, and this version preserves the theatricality of the play and its performances while effectively translating them to a filmed (or, in this case, videotaped) medium. Even if you never make it to the box office, Shout!'s Blu-ray re-creates the theatrical experience of Kate as closely as television possibly can.

Kiss Me, Kate Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Both the end credits of Kiss Me, Kate and the texture of the image make it apparent that this performance was captured on hi-definition video, but HD cameras in 2003 were not nearly as refined as even the less costly options available to filmmakers today. The image on Shout! Factory's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray has the sharpness and detail that is typical of digitally originated products, but the image isn't quite as stable as one might expect from a contemporary project. A thin but noticeable layer of chroma noise overlays much of the image, and it appears to be baked into the source. While I didn't find it distracting, eyes accustomed to the smoothly homogenized digital imagery of current films may be caught unawares. Leaving this flaw aside, Shout!'s Blu-ray has the varied and saturated palette required to show off the production's lavish costumes and inventive set design, which effectively distinguishes backstage areas from those in front of the curtain. The generous average bitrate of 32.27 Mbps helps ensure that the shortcomings of the source are not exacerbated by the encode. I have given Kate a higher video score than if it had been a recent production, in recognition of the source's limitations.

Kiss Me, Kate Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like many live productions, Kate was recorded in stereo, which has been encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. It's a well-mixed track that aptly prioritizes the vocal performances while providing an effectively broad soundstage for the orchestra playing in the pit below. If your viewing system has a good surround decoder, it should expand the orchestra into the rear speakers, along with the limited audience reaction. (British audiences are noted for being less effusive than their American counterparts, who applaud loudly after every musical selection.) While a 5.1 mix might have been preferable, the 2.0 track effectively brings the sounds of Kate into the home theater.

Kiss Me, Kate Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No extras are included.

Kiss Me, Kate Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's never a bad time to brush up your Shakespeare, and Shout!'s presentation of Kiss Me, Kate does so in style. It's faithful to the original book, contains all of Cole Porter's score and features performances that are consistently excellent. If you only know Kate through its 3D filmed adaptation, I highly recommend this Blu-ray as a companion piece. And if you don't know Kate and don't have access to a good live performance, Shout!'s disc offers a worthy introduction.