My Man Godfrey - Criterion Collection Reviews

• Thank You Criterion!

  
  By ARA48345JZPZR on 2001-08-03
  At last, a good clean copy of this wonderful screwball romantic comedy! Much superior to the Hollywood Classics DVD which was washed-out and missing a key scene.

  Well, this is just one of the best of the half-dozen or so top screwball comedies of the 30's. A dream cast plays it light and loose, with the real world of Depression-era America as a backdrop to a love story and a light lesson in responsibility, both to one's friends & family, to one's society, and to one's better nature.

  And what a cast. William Powell is the epitome of debonair (what a quaint term: NO ONE is debonair anymore, alas)with one of the best comedic touches and timing in the business. Opposite Powell is Carole Lombard, young, adorable, beautiful and screwy and a perfect foil for Powell's smooth decorum. The supporting cast is first rate: Eugene Pallete the long-suffering businessman/husband; Gail Patrick, the beautiful but bitchy Cornelia; Mischa Auer's deadbeat Carlo; Alice Brady's clueless mother; Jean Dixon's wisecracking maid & Alan Mowbry as the rich & useless but decent Tommy Gray.

  Enjoy comedy played by pros to a fare-thee-well. It's all attitude and delivery and body english and it is great! They can't make them like this anymore. Style and class.

  The extras are quite good with a nice commentary track by Bob Gilpin and some hysterical outtakes (yes, they cussed back then too!). The print is pretty much clean and a vast improvement over previous editions.
  
  

• GREAT FILM, BUT HORRENDOUS TRANSFER TO DVD

  
  By A3LFJZ9LXN2VWQ on 1999-10-27
  "My Man Godfrey" is one of the best of the 1930's Screwball comedies, hence the high rating. It would have gotten five stars, but the DVD is taken from an incomplete dupe. The results are, to say the least, virtually unwatchable. Hope is on the horizon; Universal has struck new 35mm prints from the original negative, and it's playing right here in Philly. Hopefully, after the cinema reissue, Universal Studios wil finally do right by this movie and release a pristine DVD(and VHS for those who still only have that).
  
  

• Which Version

  
  By A2N1YP1DVVM44G on 2001-04-03
  For those of you lucky enough to know, or who propose to get to know, this flick, you've come to the right place. Amazon sells two DVD versions of My Man Godfrey. I've seen both, as well as the VHS, and this one, the least expensive, from a company called Platinum, is by far the best quality. The other DVD, by Madacy Entertainment, is a fiasco based on a terrible print that happens to also be missing a crucial scene. Why Amazon continues to sell it, I don't know.
  
  

• Great Movie, DVD Does It Little Justice

  
  By A2CUVE2OVDUT9X on 2000-03-02
  I had hoped for a better transfer, but no such luck. Quality is not markedly better than my old VHS version, and it is *missing a scene* which is in the VHS version (where Powell kicks Lombard out of his room, telling her that as his "sponsor" it will reflect badly on her, and thus on him...). This is particularly annoying bacause the later interchange between Lombard's character and Molly (the cook) makes reference to Powell's action, which on the DVD version now has no context. Very disappointing, since this is such a wonderful movie.
  
  

• one of the first "screwball" comedies

  
  By AI0OAQ6E2O8VF on 2004-07-20
  This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
  
  "My Man Godfrey" remains one of the most famous and most popular "screwball" comedy. In this film, a woman on a scavenger hunt meets a homeless man in the city dump. She recruits him to be the "forgotten man" the scavenger hunt calls for and subsequently hires him as a butler. The newly hired butler, Godfrey Smith brings help for the family and later falls in love with one of the daughters. The film has some risque moments and I am surprised that the censors of the time let them pass.
  
  The film is very dated as well since it was both made and takes place during recovery from the Great Depression. The acting is also very good too.
  
  The Criterion DVD has many bonus features including the theatrical trailer, production stills, a blooper reel, and audio commentary by film historian, Bob Gilpin, who also has taught courses on this very film.
  
  There is also the Lux Radio Theater adaptation of the film is also a special feature.
  
  This DVD is one that fans of 1930's comedies will love!
  
  
• A great movie, well presented
  By A1JS302JFHH9DJ on 2001-08-01
  The Criterion Collection DVD of this, one of the greatest comedies of all time (and one of my ten favorite movies), is a long-awaited and vast improvement over the previously available DVD version of the film. The sound is far clearer, and the picture is crisp and sharp. It is nice to be able to enjoy the movie without having to forgive hisses, pops, and picture skips.

  DVD extras in the Criterion edition are fairly extensive -- a radio version of the show, a short but good-natured blooper reel, the theatrical trailer (which was not restored to the pristine picture and sound of the movie), and an unintentionally amusing commentary in which a film scholar laboriously explains every joke as though his mission was to drive a stake through the heart of the movie. The movie is more than good enough to survive its mind-cudgeling analysis, but the commentary is eminently skippable.

  No matter, though. The extras are not the reason to buy the Criterion edition of My Man Godfrey anyway -- it is the stellar quality of the movie itself, finally presented the way it ought to be seen.
  
  

• Great Movie - Wait for the Criterion Disc
  By AADPCBCQTRZWZ on 2001-04-02
  Yes, this is one of the best screwball comedies ever made and it is a shame that Madacy has released such a bad version on DVD. The Madacy version has an important scene missing and a bad video transfer. I look forward to the Criterion edition, reportedly in the works for 2001.
  
  
• WEAK LOOKING PRINT AN IMPROVEMENT!
  By A1M9DQDGE07Q0U on 2003-04-23
  Considering how truly awful this movie has looked in the past, Criterion's edition of "My Man Godfrey" must be commended for its ressurection of an almost dead cinematic masterpiece. William Powell stars as Godfrey - a bum and forgotten man transformed at the insistance of a madcap heiress (Carole Lombard) into the perfect penguine - her smart-witted butler!
  Previously issued, bootlegged VHS tapes, as well as late night viewings of this movie on television have been painful to watch. Criterion's restoration efforts are a subtle step in the right direction. However, I would be interested in learning how much more can be done with the original film elements.
  For the record, "My Man Godfrey" still exhibits a soft picture with low contrast levels and an excessive amount of film grain. Blacks and shadow levels are very weak and there are certain scenes where the gray scale is reduced to either pure black or white visual representation, with an understandable loss of fine detail and over all image clarity. Still, the many rips, chips, tears and water damage, that one was used to seeing before, have all been tempered or all-together eliminated from this print. Many scenes on this transfer exhibit image quality that is quite satisfactory. The audio on this disc is mono but nicely restored. There are several glaring examples of pops and crackles that can be heard, as well as a persistant strident characteristic throughout. But believe me when I say that "My Man Godfrey" - save its premiere, has never looked or sounded better for the home video market.
  EXTRAS: Criterion can't convince me of their hefty price tag for a petty audio commentary and inclusion of the Lux Radio Broadcast of this movie included herein. If the price of this disc dropped to around the twenty dollar level I'd be recommending it wholly for your consumption. As it stands, only a die hard fan of this legendary screwball comedy would invest in this disc - there's still much restoration work that needs to be done and the extras, quite frankly, are not worth the price!
  
  
• Classic Hollywood
  By A2MJHJ3VYTS7V8 on 2002-09-04
  William Powell is down on his luck. A "forgotten man" in the '30s, what we'd call a homeless man today.
  
  He then has the good luck and bad fortune to be rescued, in a zany scavenger hunt, by the even zanier family of the truly zany Carole Lombard.

  From forgotten man to manservant to man about town, all in 90 unforgettably funny -- and touching -- minutes.
  
  William Powell has never been more charming, and Carole Lombard has never been so desirable. In addition to the lively script and great acting, wait until you see the Art Deco sets. Pure eye candy, even in black & white.

  And about that black & white picture -- Criterion must have spent a small fortune restoring this movie. The picture looks better than it has in two generations. This is as fine a print as any moviegoer saw when the film was first released. My old cheapie DVD copy was so washed out that some scenes were almost unwatchable. The sound is plain old mono, but it's much more crisp than before, and totally lacking in all the scratch and hiss.

  A perfect movie, perfectly reproduced.
  
  

• No sense in struggling with a thing when it has got you...
  By A2NJO6YE954DBH on 2004-01-14
  "My Man Godfrey" is one of the best Capracorn movies that was not directed by Frank Capra, the 1936 classic film being the project of director Gregory La Cava ("She Married Her Boss," "Stage Door"), who shot the film "off the cuff." Set in the Depression "My Man Godfrey" begins in the Hooverville in the dump down by the river in New York City, where spoiled rich girl Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick) arrives on a scavenger hunting offering $5 to Godfrey (William Powell) to accompany her back to the party where she can present him as a "forgotten man" and claim the prize. The well-spoken but scruffy-looking Godfrey takes umbrage at her request and sends Cornelia and her date packing, but the idea of putting her in her place persuades Godfrey to allow Cornelia's sister, Irene (Carole Lombard), to claim the prize. The next thing we know the mysterious Godfrey, who has more class than the entire Bullock family put together, if persuaded by the scatter-brained Irene to become the family's butler.

  In addition to Godfrey saving the Bullocks from themselves, there is the romance between Godfrey and Irene, which in terms of the screwball comedy genre may well be the greatest example of the opposites attract school of romance since Powell's character never loses his dignity throughout the entire proceedings (compare with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in "Bringing Up Baby") while Lombard practically glows throughout the film while babbling and dancing around the room. The chemistry between the two is evident, but still interesting, seeing as how Powell and Lombard had been married briefly a few years earlier. In addition to the screwball comedy elements, there is also some serious social commentary involved as well, reminding not only the high society of the film but the viewing audience that millions were out of work in 1936. Screwball comedies are supposed to deal with the eccentric and the whimsical, relying on sophisticated dialogue delivered at high speed and showing irreverence for situations that are usually serious, but "My Man Godfrey" keeps reminding us that there are homeless people are there starving to death, and somebody should be doing something about it. Still, the film delivers on the requisite romantic comedy, which is clearly what matters the most to audiences today.

  As you would expect, this Criterion Collection edition of "My Man Godfrey" is loaded with extras that will enthrall a dedicated fan of the cinema. Film historian Bob Gilipin provides the insightful commentary track, which even has chapter titles (e.g., "Two Worlds Juxtaposed," "'Screwball Beguiles Rational Man'") as it looks at the film in the context of the entire screwball genre as well as the careers of the two stars and the director. The "Lux Raio Theater" broadcast of the film is provided as well, with Powell, Lombard, and Patrick reprising their film roles. We also find the trailer, a stills gallery, archival newsreel footage regarding the "forgotten man" and the Depression, and some outtake footage of the cast messing up lines and cursing (certainly a rare treat). "My Man Godfrey" received Oscar nominations for director La Cava, screenwriters Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind, Powell for Best Actor, Lombard for Best Actress, Mischa Auer (Carlo the freeloader) for Supporting Actor, and Alice Brady (Mrs. Bullock) for Supporting Actress. Powell won the Oscar that year, but for "The Great Ziegfeld" and not this film, although certainly it added momentum to his victory. One of the most successful screwball comedies of all time, "My Man Godfrey" was added to the National Film Registry in 1999.
  
  

• Colorized and Black&White
  By AP6L54VTCJKCQ on 2005-04-21
  Good Black&White edition and surprisingly good 2005 Color edition. Although I'm no fan of colorized movies in general, this edition has some very pleasant and natural looking colors (we're living in the digital age after all and colorizing images has not been overdone like the tendency in the past). No subtitles are available, both movies are on the same side of the DVD. No special features other than scene selections and original Trailer. A bargain compared to the Criterion edition. Key Video is supposed to be a subsidiary of Fox.
  
  
• Great movie, lousy transfer
  By on 2000-02-02
  I have had a VHS version of this movie for some time that looks just fine. It appears that the DVD makers found the worst film print available to transfer for this DVD version. It is such a disappointment. Buy the VHS or wait for the DVD makers to do a proper transfer.
  
  
• Magical Lombard Plus Dapper Powell Sparkle in Comedy Classic
  By A13E0ARAXI6KJW on 2005-05-03
  During Hollywood's golden era, Carole Lombard was probably the most strikingly beautiful actress of her generation and arguably the most talented comedienne. She managed to be both hilariously free-wheeling and uninhibitedly down-to-earth, even as she plays the flightiest of madcap heiresses. One can only speculate what brilliant career lay ahead of her had she not died tragically early in a 1942 plane crash. Fortunately, we have this 1936 screwball classic, likely her most famous film, as a reminder of her beauty, charisma and sheer likeability. Her character Irene Bullock feels like a first cousin to Katharine Hepburn's Susan Vance in "Bringing Up Baby", a scatterbrained, motor-mouthed, persistent-beyond-reason socialite living with her equally eccentric family on Park Avenue. If not for Lombard, this character would try anyone's patience with her impetuous behavior and the childish competitiveness she displays with her sister.
  
  What makes this movie different though is its social consciousness about the thoughtless rich and the put-upon downtrodden, the contrast of which made this particularly apt during the Great Depression. But the grand statements one would expect from a Capra never seem leaden in this comedy as directed by the underrated Gregory LaCava. Instead, they are fully integrated into a story that starts with a society "scavenger hunt" for a "forgotten man". In the city dump, the Bullock daughters find one in the form of Godfrey, portrayed with typically dapper élan by William Powell. Godfrey is an erudite hobo with whom Irene becomes quickly enamored, and in short order, she convinces him to become the family butler. As it turns out, of course, he turns out to be the scion of a wealthy Boston family who decided to shuck it all once he was betrayed by love. He becomes the catalyst for improving the lives and characters of the Bullocks, all the while ensuring he takes care of his hobo friends on the riverfront. Only Powell could play a character that moves so fluidly between bum and butler, though he does falter slightly in his drunken scenes which seem really to come out of nowhere to move the plot along. Powell and Lombard were previously married and divorced prior to this film, and there is a subtle familiarity in their burgeoning relationship that makes their rapport sparkle (ironically, off-screen, he was in love with Jean Harlow at the time, she just beginning with Gable).
  
  The supporting cast is impeccable in characteristic roles for the actors - Eugene Palette in typical comic, fog-horned bluster as the frustrated patriarch (though actually more restrained here than his other similar roles of the period); Alice Brady in full daffy flightiness as the arts-loving mother with her own live-in protégé in Mischa Auer, who plays Carlo as the high-maintenance leech he is (his chimpanzee impersonation scene is priceless thanks to his manic agility); Jean Dixon as the smart-mouthed maid Molly who develops her own crush on Godfrey (though the script gives her short shrift in this development); and best of all, Gail Patrick, who epitomizes the upper-crust bitch-princess as the talon-bearing sister Cornelia (of course, she and Lombard do not look remotely like sisters). It all wraps up nicely though rather fancifully, for instance, Cornelia does an about-face only a Hollywood producer would find credible. And one could argue that the portrayal of Godfrey's hobo brethren is on the sanctimonious side. But it doesn't matter, as the movie glides over the heavier implications of wealth, class distinctions and social injustice with a velvet glove. A true and deserved classic.
  
  I am generally not a fan of colorization, though I have to admit the digital technology seems to be improving as the new discount-priced DVD provides a surprisingly nice transfer with soft, pastel colors except for some of the more elaborate evening gowns at the beginning. The package includes the original black-and-white version for purists and a colorized trailer as well. This is a good alternative to the Criterion Collection DVD priced at nearly four times the price (granted with additional features).
  
  
• Very funny screwball comedy
  By A3H6MNSBAZDRJF on 2006-01-04
  The screwball comedy was borne out of the Great Depression. When one out of every four Americans was out of work, movie audiences took great comfort in seeing the rich and spoiled taken down a notch by the "normal" man. My Man Godfrey is perhaps one of the best of the genre.
  
  It starts in the city slums, where the filthy rich Bullock family find a "forgotten man"(bum) named Godfrey (William Powell). Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick), the older, more glamorous sister, immediately snatches up Godfrey for the "scavenger hunt". A scavenger hunt is a cruel game a society ball plays in which members are asked to find something "no one wants," as Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) puts it. Irene is the younger, blond, dizzier sister, and she and Cornelia battle it out for this bum. Irene wins, and brings her "forgotten man" to the society ball. Then she asks him in one of the movie's funniest lines, "Can you butle?" She explains that the Bullock butler has quit (once again) and she hires Godfrey as the new butler.
  
  One Godfrey gets settled into the Bullock household (mother Angelica, sisters Cornelia and Irene, and father Alexander), he finds that Irene;s motivations are bizarre, to put it mildly. She is determined to make Godfrey her "protege" to compete with her mother's (Alice Brady) protege, an Italian hanger-on named Carlo, whose only talent is warbling Otchi tchornia on the piano and imitating a gorilla. She's also determined to romance Godfrey, partly because her big sis Cornelia always gets the boys. But Godfrey has a secret of his own as well. Soon everyone's motivations and secrets are tangled up, and it makes for hilarious comedy.
  
  Carole Lombard is absolutely wonderful as the ditzy Irene. Like most natural comedians she's not afraid to look silly -- when she's happy she jumps up and down like a child, when she's upset she throws huge, tearful temper tantrums (or, as Cornelia puts it, "Oh... I do remember that pose from Dramatics School. Number 8 wasn't it?" Yet Lombard makes Irene absolutely lovable, an insecure chatterbox. She says all her lines without a trace of self-consciousness, my favorite being: "You have a wonderful sense of humor. I wish I had a sense of humor, but I can never think of the right thing to say until everybody's gone home." William Powell generally plays the straight man to the Bullock antics, but he also gives Godfrey a mysterious, slightly sinister personality. Gail Patrick is also wonderful as the ice queen Cornelia.
  
  If I have one quibble with My Man Godfrey, it's that I think it almost complete sacrifices romance for social satire. Irene's obviously smitten with Godfrey, but Godfrey never seems very interested in Irene, so the crackling sexual tension (It Happened One Night, His Girl Friday) that is in some screwball comedies is absent here. But I suppose that's the very point -- My Man Godfrey doesn't go "soft" -- it remains cynical and sarcastic throughout.
  
  The Criterion Collection has a commentary track, as well as a series of blooper outtakes. It's very funny to see actors swearing after a flubbed line. There's also a radio broadcast with Powell and Lombard. As for the commentary, Bob Gilpin basically just describes what's happening onscreen, and didn't really provide the kind of "behind the scenes story" or critical commentary that the best of these tracks can provide.
  
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Great movie, terrible transfer to DVD
  By on 1999-08-26
  A brilliant movie with great perfomances but spoiled by at least one major missing scene and numerous washouts (almost going to full-screen white). I would love to purchase a decent transfer of this movie so I hope someone takes the trouble to find a decent original next time. They are out there because public television shows them occasionally
  
  
• The Bottom Line
  By A2N1YP1DVVM44G on 2001-03-28
  As a previous customer-reviewer noted, the Madacy Entertainment DVD release of My Man Godfrey is flawed. Overall quality is not much better than the VHS version, and several scenes are so washed out as to be practically unwatchable. What's worse is an entire missing scene. Didn't anybody *look* at the master? Doesn't anybody give a damn? Perhaps this is the wave of the future, companies like Madacy Entertainment, engaged in a business about which they know little and care less. A disgrace.
  
  
• This is the one!
  By A167CL1OHIBCNR on 2001-08-12
  This is THE edition of this classic, quintessential screwball comedy, no question about it. Previously it's only been available in duped, "public domain" prints that are washed out, hard to see and with muffled sound quality-but the movie is so charming, funny and delightful that it was still worth sitting through, even in that sorry condition. No more! This new Criterion edition is just unbelievably sharp, and the sound is fantastic. As for the film itself- Carole Lombard was never better(and I'm a big Lombard fan), and the rest of the cast follows suit. Direction, lighting, writing, design-all of its virtues highlight the studio system at their peak. As a bonus, this edition includes some choice outtakes which prove Lombard's reputation as handy with profanity(although even swearing, she's funny). This is a great investment-you'll pull it out to watch when you get "that foolish feeling", to quote William Powell(Godfrey). Buy it and enjoy!
  
  
• Powell & Lombard personify the "SCREWBALL COMEDIES"
  By AW003H7Z3OCHA on 2001-10-26
  With digitally restored picture and sound release of "My Man Godfrey" (Criterian Collection) DVD gives us the cleanest most comphrensive "Screwball Comedy" presentation ever!!! Full Screen and flawless Black & White picture with clear sound allows into this world to enjoy. The extras share more background information regarding the "Screwball Comedy".

  A Brief explanation regarding "SCREWBALL COMEDY". This style was apated during the depression era when the world Dark (alternate & original name given to the Screwball Comedy) and cynical world. Simply put, a comedy to which we have zany and dizzy story lines which for some reason strike our funny bones and cause us to laugh uncontrolablly. Many Dark and Negative stories take on a satarical form. We poke fun at the absurd learn to look for the "sliver lining" the opermistic side of the story/situation.
  In Summary: We find ourselves immersed in the depression years at the New York City dump with the rich heirs and heiresses involved in a scavenger hunt (looking for the "Forgotten Man") and the poor destitute living amongst this rubble. A zany young heiress Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) finds a "Forgotten Man" Godfrey (William Powell). His attraction to this girl & curiosity satisfied returns to the scavenger hunt headquarters so Irene can win the hunt.
  Irene admires Godfrey and hires him on the spot to be the family butler and her protege' or "My Man Godfrey".
  This is one of the all time classic Screwball comedies and Carole Lombard with William Powell give us a great performance.
  We need to see this movie and listen to the commentary to remember and understand the 1930's the depresssion and how the world coped and survived to give us the "GREATEST GENERATION".
  "OUR MAN GODFREY" delivers.
  
  

• Stunning! Just be sure to buy the Criterion Edition...
  By ATM6MKYA63RDS on 2002-03-07
  This is one of my 5 favorite films, and is my favorite comedy of all time. To my mind, the world of cinema suffered its greatest tragedy with the untimely death of the great Carole Lombard in a plane crash during a War Bonds tour of the country. After I saw My Man Godfrey for the first time as a child, I sought information about this wonderful actress. When I read the account of her death, I cried so hard, even though the event had happened many years earlier. I find her performances so extraordinary that I still experience sadness when I think about how much enjoyment she gave and still gives others through her film legacy, yet her own happiness was cut woefully short. I feel that this is her finest film. The script is delightful, and the rest of the cast performs flawlessly! I could watch this film once a week and never tire of it.

  The Criterion Edition DVD is superb. The image is excellent for such an old film, and the sound quality is quite good (unlike the other DVD's and VHS editions of this movie, which are terrible transfers). The commentary track is a little dry and on the scholarly side, but quite informative. The best extras on this DVD are the brief outtakes that they unearthed from the vaults (hilarious, with some profanity from the cast) and the terrific radio broadcast version of My Man Godfrey with Carole Lombard and William Powell. The outtakes are in rather bad shape, but it is amazing that they survived at all. The sound quality of the radio play is crystal clear.

  Rush out and buy this before it goes out of print!
  
  

• Criterion DVD an overpriced disappointment
  By A2MR44CIZR1IJ8 on 2003-07-10
  Unfortunately Criterion has (again) cornered the market on a classic film and no other DVD of reasonable quality exists. This DVD, overpriced as all Criterion entries are, is a disappointment. The restoration is not particularly good, with fuzzy resolution and distortion around the edges in many scenes. The sound quality, too, is well below par for a premium-priced DVD. Compare this disk with the superb DVDs of "Sunset Boulevard" (Paramount) and "All About Eve" (20th Century Fox). On both of these disks, the picture and sound restoration, as well as the bonus features, far surpass Criterion's "Godfrey" at a far, far lower price.
  
  
• My Man Godfrey (colorized)
  By AL9QH3LASSN4K on 2005-08-04
  Like some of the reviewers, I to was a bit afraid of the colorized version. I've seen the black and white version (VHS and the DVD) at least 15 times. To see Alice Brady walk into the hotel with her goat, her tan evening dress, and all the various colors (never noticed some of the items due to drabness of black and white)...I really think that the color enhances this film...but never gets in the way of the story line, or the great perfomances of the players. If you're a William Powell or Carol Lumbard fan and haven't seen this movie (let alone in color), I think you'll have to have it in your collection.
  
  
• Great Price - Great Black and White Print - Legend
  By A2NSEHGMUSE2U2 on 2008-03-28
  If you're reading this review, you know that this is one of the greatest screwball comedies ever to come out of Hollywood, so we'll concentrate on the bargain price of the Legend Films release of this wonderful movie.
  
  Since the beginning of DVDs, the only copy worth owning of My Man Godfrey was the very pricey Criterion copy. Not all movie-loving folks can feel comfortable divying up 35 bucks and more for their favorite films. So like myself, they were disappointed time-and-again by spending hard-earned cash on washed out, horrible public domain DVD prints, all the while wanting to own a nice, clean, audible copy of My Man Godfrey.
  
  Over the past few years, Legend Films has been releasing classic black-and-white films in colorized versions (this will always gall movie purists; I too have always sworn off colorized black-and-white films).
  
  On the flip side of the coin, Legend Films deserves a huge thumbs-up! for releasing BOTH the original Black-and-White version, as well as the Colorized print, of these classic movies. And Legend Films is not just Colorizing films, they are restoring them, as well. What this means for movie hungry fans like you and I, is that we are given a beautiful, almost pristine Black-and White print of some of our favorite movies at very reasonable prices, often much less than even the Hollywood studio companies are releasing on DVD. I've seen the Criterion version of My Man Godfrey, and yes, it is beautiful - I even own several Criterion films that I felt I couldn't live without - and I have to say that I see no real difference in the quality of the Black-and-White print included on the Legend Films version, versus the Criterion print. What is the difference, then, between a 35 dollar DVD from Criterion, and a $9.99 DVD from Legend Films?
  
  What it comes down to, are the extras, as well as the time and effort that Criterion put into their own restoration of this important example of 1930's screwball comedy. And they did it first, releasing it at a time when no one else was taking the time and effort to restore and provide this wonderful film to the general public. So it comes down to choice; if you can afford the extra change, and you like all the wonderful extras (which I did!) on the Criterion release of My Man Godfrey, then that should be your choice. But if you are on a budget that doesn't allow you to spend that kind of change, you can't do any better at this time than the Legend Films BW/Colorized release.
  
  And, if you're wondering, yes, I did take a peak at the colorized version. I watched about five minutes, then went back to the black-and-white version (which I'd already watched one time through). Not because it wasn't well done, but because that just isn't my taste. Anymore than watching a colorized version of Citizen Kane, or The Maltese Falcon, would be. If you want to watch the colorized version, do so. And thank Legend Films that you have both options.My Man Godfrey (Colorized / Black and White)
  
  
• Great movie, but a disappointing copy
  By on 1999-05-17
  My Man Godfrey is a witty screwball comedy with some of the snappiest dialogue of the genre. It is unique in that it is humorous while including some 1930's Depression era social commentary. It compares favorably with "Bringing Up Baby" in terms of script and cast quality. The problem with this copy of the movie (hence the 3 star rating) is that a crucial scene is omitted, and, as a result, Carole Lombard's actions for the final 2/3 of the film make no sense. Wait for Public Television or American Movie Classics to run it, their copies are usually complete.
  
  
• Screwball Classic
  By A2F7XTL4KHDZME on 2004-03-22
  Carole Lombard received her only Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her role as madcap heiress Irene Bullock. Lombard runs into Godfrey (William Powell) at the city dump looking for a forgotten man to help her win a society scavenger hunt. In appreciation for his help in winning the hunt, Lombard convinces Powell to join her family's household as the family butler. Unknown to Lombard, Powell isn't as down on his luck as she assumed. Powell, on the other hand, couldn't have landed with a nuttier bunch. Lombard's older sister Cornelia (the delightfully evil Gail Patrick) is determined to find out Godfrey's secret even if it means ruining his reputation. Godfrey is such a good butler and a decent chap to boot, that Irene can't help herself from falling in love with him. Godfrey still smarting from a past romance gone sour ignores Irene's advances. Instead of turning her away, her feelings for him only increase. Gregory La Cava ably directed this film and set the standard for the screwball comedy genre. The performances of Lombard and Powell are perfect, as are those of the supporting cast, including Alice Brady as the more than slightly daft Bullock family matriarch, Eugene Paulette as the exasperated father (a role he would practically trademark in future comedies), and Jean Dixon as the sharp-tongued maid Molly. A wonderful comedy featuring classic performances by screen legends Lombard and Powell.
  
  
• A lousy DVD copy of a FANTASTIC movie
  By AU2DAD4WD5Z0C on 2004-05-16
  I was so disappointed in the DVD! A scene is missing, hence some retarded editing. The look itself is pretty bad--the whites are almost blinding in a couple of scenes. Aside from really bad cropping (missing heads) the worst is the horrible sound. The sound is no better and perhaps worse than the VHS copy. Thankfully I got a good price on this DVD--thanks Amazon for putting it on sale because I would be really irritated had I paid full price for it.

  Advice to potential buyers: get this cheap if you get it at all because you will be disappointed in the quality.
  
  

• The Gold Standard for DVDs
  By A1GEOW1N1G4OFI on 2004-05-27
  My Man Godfrey, for me, represents all that's admirable about the DVD format. Visually, it sparkles, literally so in the opening credits. My 15-year-old VHS copy is good, but pales next to the DVD transfer. The inclusion of a vintage trailer from so old a movie was a welcome surprise. The newsreel footage gave historical context. The radio broadcast was icing, just lain fun. The commentary is urbane and inciteful. Yes, I listened to it all. A word of advice about commentaries: Self-described historians do the best. Their commentaries are like fine classroom lectures on your favorite subject. Directors seem to ad lib haltingly, as if they'd rather be somewhere else but can't pass up the dough. If picking a movie for it's commentary, make sure the director is dead. That goes for actors and crew also.
  
  
• Love the Color!
  By A2AKL7ETCXYEED on 2005-08-04
  I was not expecting much from the colorized version, but I have to admit I was delighted! The colorization was done very well. There are no garish colors and it would appear to anyone seeing it that this is the way it was intended. When I watched it in comparison to the b/w version (also included on this disc)the color version is brighter and seems much clearer. I loved seeing the beautiful costumes in those blues, greens & golds. I would recommend this DVD to any movie buff!
  
  
• Nice transfer, includes the B&W version....
  By A1SQGPYETMXK8B on 2006-02-23
  To purists I would say, don't be put off by the colorization that is a feature of this particular DVD. It's a good transfer of a very clean print, and looks great in the black and white version also provided. The colorization is subdued and tasteful, though I still prefer the original B&W version. This film has been in the public domain at least since the beginning of the home video era, and the quality of some budget editions of "Godfrey" are truly dreadful. This seems to be a Fox product, and they've done their usual excellent job with this DVD. It's not much for extra features (just the theatrical trailer), but production stills and cast biographies are easy enough to find on the web anyway. For the price, it's a great deal.
  
  
• My Man Godfrey
  By AVWXKSF3550U1 on 2006-08-14
  I first watched this movie on TV on the Turner Broadcasting Network. I love old movies, and when I watch this one, I really enjoyed it. The story, actors, romance and particular era that was involved were great. Then I wanted to know if it was available on DVD. Naturally, I went to Amazon.com. If they don't have it, then nobody does. When the movie arrived in the mail, I watched it that evening, and the quality (especially the color) was exceptional. Better than the one I watched on TBN. Thanks, Amazon.
  
  
• I LOVE GODFREY!!!
  By A3PXYK4MQQO3EO on 2000-08-11
  I absolutely love this movie and have watched it numerous times, the first when I was a teenager. William Powell, one of the screen's all time greats, is superb as Godfrey Park, a "forgotten man" who tries to stay removed from the wackiness of the Bullock family, but eventually succumbs to that "foolish feeling" for Irene ("yah, yah, yah"), played by the fabulously funny Carole Lombard, who's conviced Godfrey loves her when he puts her in the shower. I've shown this film to many of my friends (who couldn't believe they'd never seen it!), and they too have fallen in love with Godfrey, Irene and the rest of the Bullock clan (even Cornelia). It will leave you "leffing" hysterically, trust me.
  
  

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