The DVD version of "That's Entertainment, Part II" includes an introduction by TCM host Robert Osborne, who says that this compilation takes a different, "stream-of-consciousness" approach to the material compared to its more organized predecessor. He's right: this film's randomness - you never know who or what is going to pop up next (Abbott and Costello? Greta Garbo? Tarzan?) - gives it a trippy, occasionally surreal quality. It has more variety and more scope than the first film, and contains more obscure gems (like Gene Kelly's "cartoon" dance from "Invitation To The Dance"), but there is nothing here to top Kelly's title number from "Singin' In The Rain" or Fred Astaire's dance on the ceiling from "Royal Wedding". Astaire and Kelly also do some "new" dancing, showing that despite their age they hadn't missed a step. But I have one complaint about their hosting: they sometimes don't mention the name of the movie a clip is from (for example, one of the most powerful moments comes from "A Tale Of Two Cities" - but I only found that out later when I searched for those lines of dialogue online). As a director (he supervised the new sequences), Kelly has a lot of crazy and creative ideas. And Saul Bass designed a truly magnificent title sequence - a work of art. *** out of 4.
Review of That's Entertainment, Part II
