uncut Gene Kelly

I got excited after getting home and checking my mail because the DVD I ordered came in. A few days ago I had spent way too much time on the internets trying to locate an uncut version of “Death Wish II”.

I knew from past research that the edited version clocked in at ninety minutes and the uncut version came in at around ninety-eight. And on Amazon of all places I found what I thought to be an uncut version, so I ordered it.

After throwing it into the computer I have to say that my disappointment was endless due to this being the edited version.

So I spent the rest of the evening consoling myself by watching “Gene Kelly, Anatomy of a dancer”. This was a film by Robert Trachtenberg that followed Gene’s career and life as a dancer.

I found the film to very insightful as it featured interviews with many of Gene’s peers and coworkers and spent a great deal of time breaking down his style of dance.

A few things came out like Gene was kind of a control freak and if you couldn’t cut his style of mustard then he showed you the fuckin door. But of course Gene walked the walk and was more then capable of backing his shit up.

Also Gene Kelly choreographed and starred in the 1948 musical “The Pirates” which featured at his insistence a dance number featuring a couple of black dancers, the Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold.

This dance sequence was omitted when shown in some cities in the South, such as Memphis, because it featured blacks and the bigots of the day weren’t having it.

The coolest thing I thought was how everybody stressed that it was Gene who made that type of dancing cool and opened the door to new generations of male dancers.

Yeah, without resorting to using the terms fey, or gay or foppish, the film said that Gene changed the face of American dance. Meaning that it was ok to be a tough guy and still dance.

And that makes sense since all those guys like Gene Kelly or Frank Sinatra or even Fred Astaire all portrayed tough or manly guys who just happened to break into a song and dance whenever they could.

"and the monkey flipped the switch"