My Fair Lady

Ah, it's lu-ver-ly - Lu-ver-ly - Lovely!


Great Chemistry.   January 8, 2007
Steve Guardala (?????)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

First, I fully admit that I have seldom been a fan of musicals. This changed my mind. Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison truly had perfect chemistry. Stanley Holloway was also excellent as A.P. Doolittle. It won 8 Oscars for a reason. This is a richly layered story. One of this quality that you are unlikely to see again. Humor , music & the angst of human foibles are finely meshed into an improbable story. Centered around Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl who wishes for a better life with all its finery. In front of a theater she hears someone mimicking her every word.


The man, professor Higgins{Rex Harrison} claims he can make a lady of her if she wants to try. She shows up at his doorstep & the comedic soap opera begins. The journey is a sparkler. Liza discovers she is becoming a lady, & starts falling in love with the patronizing professor. The feeling is mutual, but prof. Higgins fights it all the way. On the outside Liza appears to become a new person, but inside she is the same. Struggling to find her place in the world while feeling lost between the old & the new. Where will she fit in? Watch & find out. The music flows through the movie like a cool breeze. This was three hours well spent.


A flower girl blossoms into an exquisite woman   February 7, 2001
Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
58 out of 69 found this review helpful

The opening scenes of the rain-drenched cobblestone roads and theatrical backdrop lend a stage feel to a film adaptation of the Lerner & Loewe musical. Since it was based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play "Pygmalion", you won't mind the occasional "stage" echoes. In fact, that adds to the appeal.

We find Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) selling flowers and spewing out the most dreadful words in a Cockney accent. It is really almost unbearable, but don't turn the movie off as it doesn't last too long. Audrey Hepburn is perhaps the most beautiful actress to ever grace the screen in my humble opinion. Here, she shines and is only a wall flower for the first part of the movie. Later she blossoms into an exquisite woman who could win the heart of any man. It is truly her best acting.

Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) and Colonel Pickering discover her selling flowers and after Professor Higgins throws money into her flower basket we expect the two will never meet again. Eliza has other ideas and proudly marches up to the professor's home and demands to be taught to speak like a lady.

Colonel Pickering then makes a bet with Professor Higgins and says that if he can turn this uncultured "gutter snipe" with a "simply ghastly" accent into a sophisticated, elegant duchess, he will pay for all the expenses. (Reminiscent of "Trading Places" to give a modern example) It is just irresistible to the professor and so he takes on a challenge for six months.

Higgins arrogant attitude will make you laugh. He is humerously as unaware of other's feelings as he is of his own. He is at first very unlikeable, yet made me laugh through the whole movie. You will enjoy his eccentric view of life and cunning attitude as he tempts Eliza with chocolates.

When you hear "I Could Have Danced All Night," you will know why this will become one of your favorite musicals. "On the Street Where You Live" always makes me cry. The script is superb and humorous in so many places. you will find yourself crying, laughing, and becoming increasingly enchanted as the movie progresses. I love this line:

"The great secret in life is not a question of good manners or bad manners, or any particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls." -Professor Higgins

Higgins and Eliza have quite a few passionate verbal exchanges which are quite amusing. Eliza says: "I want a little Kindness" and we immediately know that love is the only aspect missing from this relationship. Higgins has to learn to love and that to me is the undercurrent in this movie. While Eliza learns to speak well, Higgins learns to love well.

This unlikely romance is food for the soul. The ending is unpredictable and cute. The movie is sumptuously filmed and it is undeniable witty and sophisticated. The costumes and hair styles are the most elegant I have ever seen. If you enjoy ironic, intellectual comedy, be prepared to also fall in love with the most irresistible songs of all time. This enduring classic could not have been pulled off without Audrey Hepburn. No one could have played Henry Higgins like Rex Harrison!

There is a beauty about this movie which is just as eternal as love. You will want to own your own copy so you can watch it again and again. It has never lost its charm for me.

~The Rebecca Review


A musical masterpiece   December 16, 2001
Susan Fong (Las Vegas, NV USA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

"My Fair Lady" is the legendary director George Cukor's crowning achievement. Every element of this movie works, from its sumptuous photography by veteran cameraman Harry Stradling, to the glorious costumes and sets created by Cecil Beaton. The music is incomparable. Frederick Loewe's melodies are lovely and infectious and Alan Jay Lerner's lyrics are every bit as witty and touching as the dialogue originally written by playwright George Bernard Shaw for "Pygmalion". "My Fair Lady" is the musical version of "Pygmalion".

The transformation of the illiterate, unwashed Eliza Doolittle into the breathtaking "Fair Lady" of the film's title is inspiring to see. This is one of Audrey Hepburn's best roles, and she is perfection as Eliza Doolittle. She is thoroughly convincing as the Cockney flower girl who transcends her humble roots to end up dancing with a prince at an embassy ball. Hepburn expertly translates Eliza's tenacity, vulnerbility, intelligence, and grace into a beautiful and timeless performance.

Yes, it's true that Julie Andrews (who created the original Eliza on Broadway) was bypassed for this role. However, this was purely a business decision made by studio head Jack Warner. He did not want to risk such a lavish, expensive production on a relative newcomer such as Andrews was at the time. So he went with the safe bet, Hepburn, as Eliza Doolittle. Audrey was an established star with a great track record.

But Andrews soon recovered from this disappointment to make two blockbusters of her own, "Mary Poppins" and "Sound of Music". Not a bad trade-off I'd say.

Anyway, I enthusiastically recommend that you buy "My Fair Lady" on DVD or VHS. It is one of the best musicals ever written for stage or screen. You'll see what I mean.


IT DOESN'T GET MORE "LOVERLY" THAN THIS!   January 31, 2004
Nix Pix (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

By the time "My Fair Lady" made it to the big screen, going to see the movie wasn't so much a night's entertainment as it became a near religeous experience. Jack L. Warner wanted Cary Grant as Prof. Henry Higgins but Grant declined, giving the studio boss no choice but to cast Rex Harrison in the lead - an inspired choice since Rex had already made the part his own on Broadway. The unfortunate oversight is that Jack Warner couldn't see Julie Andrews true potential beneath her common frumpery of the cockney flower girl. So in stepped Audrey Hepburn - delightful, charming, outstanding...alas, she couldn't sing! Her vocals - dubbed by Marni Nixon, became the subject of controversy that cost Audrey her Best Actress Oscar nomination. That went to Julie Andrews for "Mary Poppins". So did the win!
The plot: Two stuffy academics decide to overhaul a flower girl into a grand duchess. With a little bit of luck and a lot of comical training the job gets done and the result is a truly charming story elevated by exceptional production values and a thoroughly engaging musical score!
TRANSFER: OUTSTANDING!!! Colors are rich, vibrant and solid. Black and contrast levels are perfect. There are NO age related artifacts and NO digital anomalies for a picture that is, quite simply - PERFECT. The audio has been remixed to 5.1 and is brilliant, robust and thoroughly engaging for a film of this vintage.
EXTRAS: By george, I think they've got it! The original 1994 documentary which illustrates the film's near destruction and its breathtaking restoration is included for the first time on DVD, as well as a host of other extras including an audio commentary, multiple featurettes, snippets from the Oscar cerimony, theatrical trailers, a stills gallery and some commentaries by noted film makers and historians. Outstanding!!!
BOTTOM LINE: It isn't often that I can make the argument that nothing more could be asked for or expected of a classic movie's treatment on DVD. "My Fair Lady" is one of those 2 disc miracles of 'loverlieness' that has been timelessly and completely realized for the home theater film buff!