MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992)

For the first time viewer who enjoys anything historical, "When the Lion Roars" is a superb documentary about the growth of Hollywood as an entertainment capital, through the eyes of its largest movie maker, Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Actor, Patrick Stewart hosts and narrates the rise of the MGM lion in one lavish costume after another with an overly lavish set that is supposed to project the glittering image of the movies as a growth industry. His commanding baritone does the rest.MGM becomes a reality in 1924 after a merger with Loew, a theater owner, and the hire of a genius who would be dubbed the Boy Wonder--Irving Thalberg--a sickly fellow who suffers his first heart attack at 26. This was the age of the silent film and the story dutifully records the demise of stars whose voices did not meet audience expectations, and measures the rise of new ones under films that debuted at the rate of one per week with Thalberg as producer who was known for his ability to select topics and genre that would become box office successes.Like the baseball player who could be traded, the stars of the day were under contract to Louis B. Mayer making appearances where required and receiving weekly paychecks. Patrick Stewart takes us through many stars, their temperment and pecadillos that were a rage on screen and off. By the second disk in this set, the glory of MGM starts to go downhill with the advent of television, the death of its foremost producer, divestiture of movie theaters by consent decree, corporate in-fighting and a more finicky post-war audience. This was the most difficult one to watch because it goes into detail about the end of an era.As noted in earlier reviews, clips of Fred Astaire were deleted, but so were nude and sexually provocative scenes that led to the Legion of Decency. (I'm a very visual person)! And I felt that too much time was spent on Judy Garland. Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn how one actress detested the love scenes with her leading man, and was rumored to chew on a piece of garlic before every one of them. Interviews with actors and actresses are excellent.This is a worthwhile experience to learn about the studio that had more stars than where in the heavens. It is also entertaining and informative. It is about a studio that made movies for profit but also as Ars Gratia, Artis--art for art's sake.You should at least see it before it's gone with the wind.

Indeed MGM was the Tiffany's of the old classic movies studios of Hollywood. The studio was known for it's superb craftsmanship in creating films for the masses that were jewels of popular entertainment. Other studios in town each had their specialties, Universal had its monster movies, and Warmer's had the gritty hardboiled edge with its gangster films and social epics. Twentieth Century Fox had musicals mixed in with its films that dealt with social problems; Paramount had C.B. DeMille and glittering comedies. What set MGM apart was its Stars; more than there are in the heavens. MGM more than any other studio was responsible for Hollywood glamour of the Golden Age, for great musicals that no other studio could match. Family films and adventures with great heroes like Gable and Tracy. Epics like nothing we will ever see again and wonderful dramas from Broadway brought to the screen in the 50's and 60's. MGM was all of this and much more. It was the stuff of our collective dreams. This documentary covers the glittering history of the studio with tons of great clips and behind the scene footage. And many of the stars of its golden age share their reminiscences ranging from wistfully sweet to the bitter and amusing. Patrick Stewart is a fine host who guides us through the decades. This is a must have for any fan of movies, film buffs will love it, and for anyone just discovering the history of Hollywood with will open doors you never even dreamed existed to a world of astonishing entertainment. No there will never be a studio like MGM again, nor the stars it created. It is only a golden dream now, a dream that is gone with the wind.

This documentary is the jewel in my movie collection. M-G-M was the greatest movie studio of all time. It will never be forgotten. The studio itself may be gone, but the name will live on forever.

This documentary was made back in 1992, and does a very good job of detailing the history of MGM. Part one starts in 1924 with the opening of the studio in 1924 and and ends with the death of wonder boy Irving G. Thalberg in 1936. Part two concentrates on what are considered "the golden years" from 1936 to 1946. Part three is about the decline of the studio after 1946. Patrick Stewart narrates, and there are some particularly interesting although not surprising revelations, such as Helen Hayes describing studio head Louis B. as a gentle yet evil person.I guess I enjoyed part one the most because I really disagree about 1936-1946 being MGM's peak years. I think they were at their best from 1924 up to shortly after the death of Irving Thalberg. His foresight and creativity are what fueled the silent film and early sound projects that really put the studio on the map. At any rate, if you enjoyed the much shorter "Universal Horror" documentary on the Carl Laemmle years of Universal Studios, you'll enjoy this one too. Highly recommended.

If you have an interest in old Hollywood, movies, movie stars and how things were done during the golden age of film 1924-1950, then this DVD set is for you. Very informative, educational, and flat-out entertaining. MGM was the biggest and best studio in Hollywood in those days. Nothing like it before ever existed and certainly nothing since. Imagine making a picture a week - 52 per year at the studio's height of production. MGM was the best studio to work for back then, all held together by L B Mayer, the major domo, the boss of bosses. Patrick Stewart is the narrator and does an absolutely wonderful job on this MGM story. Highly, highly recommended.

Picked up where that's entertainment left ok. All the movies and all the reasons. And throw in some business dramatics. Thoroughly enjoyed

Exactly as advertised. Amazon had ALWAYS been 100% perfect to me here in Australia

This disc is region free. The opening sequence is of the faces of film stars floating across a starry galaxy, against the background sound of the overture of `Somewhere Over the Rainbow' the camera comes to rest on Patrick Stewart looking through a telescope, he is our host for the next six hours in this three part epic story. Dressed in various thirties style outfits, he wanders almost invisible to his surroundings through 1930's type film sets. He delivers his eloquent narration directly to the camera, he is never boring, you cant help thinking that it is as if he had just beamed down from the Starship Enterprise; the date is Stardate 1924, his mission is to investigate and report back to you the audience, on the rise and fall of MGM, the Dream Factory. You cant help feeling that Spok of the wrong generation ought to be presents to advise us on this strange earth phenomenon of human entertainment in the early 20th Century! This is not another version of `That's Entertainment' though some of the same film clips are used, but a complementary one; it is a fascinating study of the golden age of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that covers the glittering history and the bitter power battles within the Studio. The six hours are filled with plenty of great clips and behind the scenes footage. Many of the stars, directors and others share their memories of the period by way of fascinating interviews and voice-overs. Patrick Stewart is a fine host who holds the epic together, he transports us effortlessly through film sets, which set the scene for the decades and miles of film.Part One; `The Lion's Roar' starts with the founding of the studio in 1924. We learn of the inception of MGM and the silent days of thrills and laughter. We learn of the merger of Metro Studios with Sam Goldwyn Studios and L.B. Mayer Pictures. Next comes the end of the silent days and the problems some stars experienced with the coming of sound is covered in depth. We are treated to a selection of risqué scenes such as those of Jane in a very skimpy thigh revealing costume frolicking with Tarzan, to make it worse he rips her clothes off and they dive into and skinny-dip in a jungle pool! No doubt Spok would have commented that in the 21st century such bare faced human cheek only just merited a 12 certificate; however in 1932 such outrageous behaviour resulted in the Hayes Censorship Regime. This section ends and some say it is the end of `the golden age' of MGM in 1936 with the tragic untimely death of the very talented Irving Thalberg.Part Two; `The Lion Reigns Supreme' concentrates on what many others considerer 'the golden years', from 1936 to 1946 .The 1940's are the war years when L.B. Mayer decrees that alongside the obvious war propaganda films the ethic of the studio should be family-oriented films. A lot of MGM's male stars such as Clark Gable and James Stewart enlist and fight in the war; this loss to the Studio annoys Mayer. The child stars are shown, Mickey Rooney talks in depth of Judy Garland, her problems and his brotherly love for her. The stars such as- Hedy Lamarr, June Allyson, Greer Garson, Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn, Van Johnson, James Stewart, Clark Gable to name but a few are also featured.Part Three; `The Lion in Winter' is about the decline of the studio after 1946 and the emergence of the dreaded television. MGM's legendary musicals make up a significant part of part three; the musical clips are mostly the well-known films, such of some of those already seen in the series `That's Entertainment'. In the 1950's L.B Mayer's twenty-year feud with Schenck ends in a coup and he is ousted from his studio that he had built and dominated for so long. Schary replaces him and puts an end to sugary all family orientated films and turns to hard-hitting dramas with a message, such as the unexpected hit `The Dirty Dozen'. The ownership of the studio changes hands several times in the next dozen or so years, it is not a happy time, the dream factory is more or less at an end. In 1974 Kirk Kerkorian changes the company ethos and turns to the project of the MGM Grand Hotel. Perhaps the saddest sequence is the nostalgic look at and the wanton destruction of the back lot sold for not a lot in today's money to a property Developer. All the studio props including Judy Garland's famous red shoes are sold at auction. Dear charming Debbie Reynolds tells us, how she and other stars tried in vain to prevent this vandalism, proposing instead that the lot is converted to Disney /Universal type theme park. In 1986 we see the sad tragic ending, the MGM sign is removed and replaced by Lorimar. Who? A US TV Company. Fortunately for us all the vast film archive was acquired and managed by film loving Jim Turner, whose Company Turner Entertainment in conjunction with Warner Bros have made this documentary and many others available. Before he finally beams up Patrick Stewart speculates on the many possible causes of MGM's downfall, or perhaps; "Was it just of another age"?This fabulous made for TV series was originally made in 1992 and shown on British TV in 1992/3. I still treasure my VHS recordings and I occasionally switch on my VHS recorder to watch the magic again. On a trawl through Amazons vast selection of DVD's I was delighted to discover that it was now available on disc. I ordered it via Caiman USA/Amazon UK and it arrived in six days. Sadly subsequent to the original production, Fred Astaire`s wife demanded, all the Astaire sequences were either cut or replaced with other material, unfortunately this is the edited version that has now been released, apparently the laser disc release was the original version. Perhaps after all my VHS tapes will be spared from ending up in the bin! The overall quality of picture and sound looked and sounded very good projected on by my Panasonic 2000 projector on a 7ft screen using the up scaling Panasonic BD30 Blu-ray player. There are no extras other than chapters. Typical of most recent WB release it is very sensibly region free, a superb two disc set that will stand many repeat viewings, it is well worth buying/trading up to from VHS or Laser Disc. I would draw your attention to these other excellent story of a studio DVD's that I have and are still available from Amazon: - `20th Century Fox The First 50 Years', `The Golden Gong' (Rank) and `Goldwyn The Man and His Movies'. Unfortunately the DVD, which I have of `Jack L. Warner The Last Mogul', does not appear to be still available on Amazon UK, but is available on Amazon USA.

Ce document très complet fait un merveilleux portrait d’une époque qui nous semble désormais très loin de nous. Pour nostalgique et curieux qui veulent connaître les hauts et les bas d’un monde qui est devenu un véritable mythe.

Brilliant documentary in three programme parts focusing on the History of the most influential Film Studio of all time Metro Goldwyn Mayer.Just a note that this DVD is sold as Region 1 but I can assure you it plays absolutely fine on my Region 2 Playstation 3.Presented by Patrick Stewart and containing interviews from many of the actors and filmmakers it takes a chronological study of the studios birth, peak of its power in the 1930' and 1940's to its demise in the late 1960's and eary 1970's.It contains clip after clip of most of the studio's films and is n excellent companion piece to the earlier 'That's Entertainment' films which focused primarily on the MGM Musicals.Excellent for Film Lovers and also a fantastic visual History of one the 20th Centuries greatest artistic creations: Cinema.