My Geisha

Please give this movie the DVD treatment!
I know I would give this film an even higher rating if it was ever brought to DVD with a widescreen presentation. There are so many scenes in this film where the actors heads are cut in half(vertically) and so many spectacular shots of Japanese vistas that having this film seen only on VHS(fullscreen) is actually a felony in the history of color filmmaking. That aside, the story is a comedy laced with genuine drama and fantastic character acting from both Shirley MacLaine and Bob Cummings surrounding the filming of "Madame Butterfly" at authentic Japanese locales. Fans of Yves Montand will not be disappointed for he brings a surprising range of emotions from one scene to the next, alternating between witty banter(particularly with Bob Cummings) to gripping heartache near the end of the story. The supporting cast is solid, led by veteran actor Edward G. Robinson in a role that is a far cry from his "Little Caesar" days. One of my few complaints lies in the fact...

East meets West in a sweet comedy
Shirley MacLaine stars as a movie star and Yves Montand plays her director-husband. He wants to film Madame Butterfly in Japan with an all-Japanese cast. She plots (with producer Edward G. Robinson) to disguise herself as a Japanese actress and do the film without telling her husband, to prove she can do a serious role, even though Montand wants to prove he can make an important. She dresses as a geisha, gets the part, and they start shooting, but her co-star, Robert Cummings, starts to fall in love her.

MacLaine is overly-cute and almost annoying, until she redeems herself in the final scene. Yves Montand is very, very attractive, French accent and all. He is good at playing the sensitive man whose pride is crushed by his tricky wife. Robert Cummings is the comedy relief and keeps things lively as the leading man who chases all his leading ladies. Robinson is properly gruff and cranky, as one supposes rich and powerful produces might be. This is a really enjoyable...

Beautiful!
I thought "My Geisha" was an extremely enjoyable film. It really captures the struggle of a foreign woman trying to learn the meaning of becoming a Japanese geisha. I must note that this movie, filmed in the 1960's, was able to show geisha in their prime, which is very pleasant to see in an age where the art of geisha has become to wither. For any geisha fan, this movie is worth watching.

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