MovieChat Forums > An American in Paris (1951) Discussion > How long is the ballet sequence?

How long is the ballet sequence?

posted 12 years ago by FredAndGingerMad
7 replies | jump to latest

In the trivia for the film it says the ballet sequence is 17 minutes, yet in the trivia for 'Gay Divorcee' it says the ballet sequence was 18 1/2 minutes, so which one is right?

i only ask (i've not seen the movie) because i got it wrong in a quiz earliar (the answer in the quiz was 17 minutes, but i always thought it was longer than The Continental which was 17 1/2 minutes) annoyed a few people getting it wrong lol

I've danced with you, I'm never gonna dance again - Lucky to Penny in Swingtime, 1936

[–] Tashtago 12 years ago

Too long.

[–] cowgoesmoo 12 years ago

There's a lot of inaccuracies in the imdb trivia sections, so I'd take whatever you find with a grain of salt. Probably the best thing to do is rent it on Netflix and just time it.

[–] movibuf1962 12 years ago

It's not quite 17 minutes- more like 16:49, FWIW. I have it on DVD and just timed it as I watched. It also depends on where you start timing- I begin with the fade-in to him walking into the scene, whereas someone else may time it a few seconds later from the monment the "American in Paris" suite actually begins.

[–] ang-son 11 years ago

I read 17 minutes somewhere, but it was waaay too long.

Just saw this movie today and I was disappointed, to say the least...

Couldn't understand why it was necessary for this "time filler" but I guess dancing was a big thing back then. I was immensely bored by the whole scene.

[–] spookyrat1 11 years ago

I'll put my hand up for 18 minutes.

I'm not a dancing aficionado but I found it hard not to be impressed by the Gershwin inspired American in Paris Suite or whatever they call it.

Kelly did choreograph it all himself, utilises different dance forms and styles and then stages everything against backdrop sets in the style of French artists, most notably Toulouse Lautrec. All this plus the innovative use of colour does create a fairly dazzling climax to the film. Watching this it's not that hard for me to understand why the Academy gave him an honorary Oscar for his collective work in music and dance.

It behoves me to drag out the old cliché..."They don't make 'em like that anymore.

[–] roboh-1 10 years ago

I just finished watching this movie for the first time. I was so turned off by the minimal story and objectionable characters. The only thing that got me through it were a few of the earlier dance routines.

I was thinking of turning it off, but the story seemed to be drawing to a conclusion, so held on for the last few minutes. Then they stuck in that seemingly endless, totally unrelated, dance routine. Absolutely killed any enjoyment that I got from the film.

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The main reason that Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live

[–] Dunewalker-620-44376 9 years ago

Reading these remarks, one could draw the conclusion that the commenters appear to think the music for the final dance number was written for the dance number. The dance number is only as long as it takes to accompany the music Gershwin wrote years before.