Product Description

Sophisticated romantic comedy achieved its pinnacle in this timeless classic voted one of the Top 100 American Films of all time by the American Film Institute. Katharine Hepburn Cary Grant and Best Actor Academy Award winner James Stewart star in the masterful comedy (directed by George Cukor) about a faultfinding bride-to-be socialite who gets her come-uppance. (Writer Donald Ogden Stewart won the film's second Oscar for adapting Philip Barry's play.)Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 012569699021

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17586 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2005-03-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Re-creating the role she originated in Philip Barry's wickedly witty Broadway play, Katharine Hepburn stars as the spoiled and snobby socialite Tracy Lord in this sparkling 1940 screen adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, one of the great romantic comedies from the golden age of MGM studios. Applying her impossibly high ideals to everyone but herself, Tracy is about to marry a stuffy executive when her congenial ex-husband (Cary Grant), arrives to protect his former father-in-law from a potentially scandalous tabloid exposé. In an Oscar-winning role, James Stewart is the scandal reporter who falls for Tracy as her wedding day arrives, throwing her into a dizzying state of premarital jitters. Who will join Tracy at the altar? Snappy dialogue flows like sparkling wine under the sophisticated direction of George Cukor in this film that turned the tide of Hepburn's career from "box-office poison" to glamorous Hollywood star. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Features
The two-disc edition of the classic comedy The Philadelphia Story provides a welcome look at the leading lady and the director in the two substantial documentaries anchoring the second disc. All About Me is pretty much what the title says: a 1993 feature written and narrated by Katharine Hepburn herself discussing her film career and private life with such famous paramours as Howard Hughes and Spencer Tracy. The George Cukor installment of The Men Who Made the Movies gives an hourlong overview of the director's work (but not his life) with generous clips. The first disc is accompanied by a commentary track by film historian Jeanine Basinger, who has a lot of information at her fingertips but is a little dry. The new transfer has removed most of the lines and damage from the picture compared to the original DVD release and is noticeably crisper. Last but not least, the two-disc edition comes in a standard amaray keepcase rather than the much-maligned cardboard snap case. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

The Philadelphia Story
Just an old fashioned love story... coming down in multi-harmony. Cary Grant & Katherine Hepburn are the stars but the winner of the Academy Award is James (Jimmy) Stewart (Best Actor). The movie opens with Tracy Lord (Haven at the time)(Kate Hepburn) throwing her husband out of house & home. When she breaks a golf club over her knee, C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) can't take it anymore. He wants to hit her but gives her the 'pie-face', instead!

Tracy Lord is such a snob she can only see the faults in everyone else, not herself. She's set to remarry, this time to to George Kittredge (John Howard). On the eve of the marriage the editor of Spy Magazine, Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), sends a reporter, Macauley Connor (James Stewart), & photographer, Liz Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) to do an expose on Tracy's cheating father, Seth Lord (John Halliday).

The dialog is fast & there's quite a few zingers along the way. In the end Tracy gets her comeuppance & gets the man she's always wanted. This film saved the career of Hepburn, made Stewart a star & Grant would still be big.

The course of true love... ...gathers no moss.
Perhaps not my favorite classic, but The Philadelphia Story is a great adaptation of the play with some of the greatest actors of their day.

Now I am only twenty so this was out far before my years, but it certainly kept my attention and will sit high in my list of favorite films.

Macaulay Connor(James Stewart) stumbling around with Tracy Lord(Katharine Hepburn) drunk on champagne, and previously meeting with C.K. Dexter Haven(Cary Grant) in my mere opinion is oscar worthy in itself.

" Well, this is where Cinderella gets off, now you hurry back to the ball before you turn into a pumpkin and six white mice, goodbye. "

Not to mention I adore anything where Katharine Hepburn plays a cold, but misunderstood woman of privilege. Oh wait...

It is a film I will truly treasure in my collection.

Top ten movies of all time!
The Philadelphia Story
This is one of the top ten greatest films ever made. You won't be disappointed with your purchase and it makes a great gift. If you like Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn try 'HOLIDAY'. The cast is fantastic and the writing is excellent! It is now available in Cary Grants box set or individually. Happy viewing.