what make for best picture material . the oscar have come in for a lot of stick for reward overblown spectacle that have age poorly and and ignore the auteur who would be deify in decade to come . it wasn not because hollywood be against art or creativity . the academy award be the selection make by the industry itself and and that be why and at least in the classic era and they tend to reward the great collaboration and the most sensational meeting of creative mind . the arthur freed unit at mgm have be bind for oscar win glory for several year by this point while it be only a matter of time before freed and aid by his strong director vincente minnelli and some the fine musical star in the business and would land a best picture . freed have arguably do more to raise the status of the musical than anyone else and craft picture which weave story and song together without lose the dynamic spectacle of the 30 musical . the point about free musical and be that the lyric of the song and unlike those of hammerstein or lerner and do not have to tell or even relate to the story . what important be that the tone of the song and the way it be present fit into the structure of the film . an american in paris be the first of three freed musical ( the other two be singin in the rain and the band wagon ) which take exist classic number out of their original context and make them work in a completely unrelated story . the word do not fit the plot and but the routine fit the show . so and when gene kelly sing i get rhythm and he hasn not even get a girl yet and but the way it do with the french kid join in be a great bit of characterisation and and the upbeat tune and dance give the movie the little lift it need at this point . an american in paris also use the rule break allow in the genre to add little unconventional flight of fancy to tell the story and such a the series of dance which accompany the description of leslie caron character . and what good director for this project than minnelli and himself a painter and a pianist . at this time there wasn not really anyone who have a good feel for technicolor . while some director would saturate each scene in one colour or fill the screen with clash shade and minnelli colour scheme be tightly control but never look force . in the opening scenes the tone be fairly mute and but not drab and and in particular there be an absence of red . during oscar levant and george guetary meeting in the café and a few more vibrant shade be introduce . then and during the first musical number and by strauss minnelli gradually bring in splash of red a table cloth and a bunch of rose until it eventually dominate and a if the song have awake the picture colour scheme . for most of the song and the colour be choreograph as intricately a the people . however and in some number and such a tra la la he keep the shade the same and instead open out the space a the song swell up and the character become more animated . the achilles heel of an american in paris be it story . i personally find the romantic angle particularly unpalatable and play a it do like a last hurrah for the misogynistic love story that reign supreme in the 30 while the headstrong and independent woman get reject while the meek and delicate girl be harass into love the hero . even if you do not mind that and it be difficult to connect emotionally with the story because it be constantly overshadow by the song and dance . compare this to singin in the rain and which doesn not really have a many great routine or memorable set piece a an american in paris and but it have a winning storyline . singin in the rain be overlook at the 1952 oscar and yet it be regard a a classic of the genre today . but i think people sometimes forget that cinema be an all encompassing form of visual entertainment and not just a mean of tell a story . an american in paris be not deep or engage or tear jerking but and like a certain demille picture that win the top award the following year and it certainly be a great show .