Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Great Ziegfeld Blu-ray Movie Review

The show must go on (and on, and on...)

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 22, 2024

A once-heralded Oscar winner that's the unfortunate victim of its own unbridled ambition, Robert Z. Leonard's The Great Ziegfeld crams the life of famed Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. into a three-hour musical melodrama with mixed results. Though not without its merits, including a handful of memorable song-and-dance performances and a solid cast, the cracks in its foundation begin to show before the one-hour mark. While its grandiose nature somehow fits the celebrated showman, compelling subject and compelling biopic are two completely different things.

Anyway, I'll keep this one short because The Great Ziegfeld sure doesn't. Essentially, it carves a path through the greatest hits in the life of one Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. (William Powell, in a solid performance that would be reprised in MGM's Ziegfeld Follies nine years later), who's first introduced as a struggling barker at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. His main attraction is strongman "The Great Sandow" (Nat Pendleton), but he's continuously one-upped by competing showman Jack Billings (Frank Morgan) in a rivalry that will continue periodically for the next four decades. Ziegfeld's reputation grows once he finds a successful gimmick and, despite a few setbacks, he again gains momentum with the help of beautiful French singer Anna Held (Luise Rainer). Yet his life is presented as a roller coaster during this earlier years, and it's not until his idea for "the Ziegfeld Follies" that he finds major success. This extravagant stage show, loaded with beautiful women and stunning production design, is just too lavish for the public to resist.

There's obviously a lot more to Ziegfeld's story (both professionally and personally) including two wives, the second of which is lovely red-haired Broadway sensation Billie Burke (Myrna Loy, whom Powell was paired with in 12 other films including all five chapters of the Thin Man saga). Not surprisingly the end result can't help but feel episodic as it zips through major and minor events in Ziegfeld's life, often doing so with reckless abandon and questionable authenticity. Powell and several members of the supporting cast -- including Frank Morgan, who's always a welcome presence -- are the glue that barely holds this production together, because the train starts going off the rails after about an hour with two more to go. Despite its ambitious running time, The Great Ziegfeld feels more like a forced epic than a full-bodied portrait of an interesting life, yet was still a box-office success and earned Best Picture honors that year.

Needless to say, The Great Ziegfeld was not one of the strongest Oscar winners of that decade, yet Warner Archive's admirable mission to preserve these early Best Picture recipients, warts and all (see also The Broadway Melody and Cimarron), ensures that it'll live on for a new generation to discover on Blu-ray. It's the kind of film that's more worth watching for its cast and production design than the story, which admittedly has its moments but inevitably crumbles under its own weight. By that extension, it's at least worth a once-over for Golden Age Hollywood fans.

The Great Ziegfeld Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's 1080p transfer of The Great Ziegfeld is a solid effort indeed, one that's reportedly built from a recent 4K scan of best-available preservation elements. I couldn't begin to guess which portions of this three-hour production came from what source, but as a whole it doesn't quite reach the dizzying heights of comparative WAC Blu-ray releases from this era. While it certainly has that unmistakable slivery nitrate shine and a good amount of supportive film grain, softness creeps in during many scenes but not enough to hamper details in its lavish costumes and set designs. It's a generally clean image too... almost pristine, but with a few nagging instances of dirt and debris along the way. Perhaps I'm grading a bit too strict under the circumstances; if this came from virtually any other boutique label, I might have given it more leeway in regards to these mild but nonetheless present drawbacks. Yet on the whole this is a suitably satisfying image and undoubtedly the best that The Great Ziegfeld has looked outside of original theatrical showings, with a overall stable and pleasing appearance that's capably encoded on a dual-layered disc.

The Great Ziegfeld Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Comparatively, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master mix offers equal support for its one-channel source, which has obviously been cleaned of most age-related damage but not at the expense of its original dynamic range or fidelity. Unsurprisingly, this is largely a dialogue-driven affair but one that features no shortage of lively musical breaks; right around intermission time, there's well over a half-dozen performances packed together in near-succession. All sound reasonably crisp and bright under the circumstances and serve as the sonic highlights of this otherwise straightforward mix.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

The Great Ziegfeld Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed artwork and no inserts of any kind. The well-rounded bonus features are, for the most part, carried over from Warner Bros.' 2003 DVD edition.

• Premiere Newsreel (4:04) - This unedited black-and-white clip from The Great Ziegfeld's spring 1936 New York theatrical premiere features a handful of notable celebrity appearances, including Jack Oakie and Harpo Marx. It's pretty interesting from a historical perspective, if obviously a bit light on actual content.

• Ziegfeld on Film (13:24) - This early 2000s TCM mini-documentary, written and directed by an uncredited Peter Fitzgerald, features a then-recent interview with elderly but sharp Luise Rainer (d. 2014) as well as a few relatives of the late Ziegfeld. A few interesting contrasts and corrections are made regarding Ziegfeld's real life as compared to its portrayal on film, but nothing much deeper than a few cursory items.

• Toytown Hal (6:32) - Directed by Friz Freleng, this 1936 Merrie Melodies short concerns a young boy who dreams that his toys come to life and perform a series of songs similar to Fred Allen's then-popular variety show Town Hall Tonight. It's making its Blu-ray debut here and looks to be decently restored.

• Leo is on the Air (14:25) - Another installment of MGM's long-running promotional radio show, this episode focuses on a few songs from The Great Ziegfeld as well as supportive sound bites.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:33) - This appropriately long promotional piece can also be seen here

• Song Selection (17 clips) - Instant access to The Great Ziegfeld's notable music and performance cues, roughly two-thirds of which take place within a one-hour window.

The Great Ziegfeld Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robert Leonard's The Great Ziegfeld is a fairly lukewarm biopic about an ambitious life, one that covers four decades worth of notable achievements -- some sweetened, some fabricated completely -- with mixed results. It also wears out its welcome long before the end credits, slowed down considerably by numerous scenes and montages that could have easily been trimmed or removed without impacting its overall effectiveness. That's two strikes against this Best Picture winner whose only other drawbacks include dated racial stereotypes... but somehow none are enough to sink the ship, as William Powell's titular performance carries enough weight to drag it through most of the rougher patches. Warner Archive's Blu-ray offers a crucial amount of support, including solid A/V merits and several legacy extras... and at its current rock-bottom sale price, The Great Ziegfeld is worth a look for fans and curious newcomers.