MovieChat Forums > My Fair Lady (1964) Discussion > Great musical BUT...

Great musical BUT...

posted 11 years ago by Pogo_76
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....not as powerful as the 1938 classic Pygmalion.

If you watch Pygmalion which has almost the exact same dialogue based on the Shaw play, you'll notice a much more powerful performance by the lead actors. My Fair Lady is overall a colorful and entertaining experience being a musical and having Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison in the lead which obviously makes it a great movie. Pygmalion is stripped of color and songs and instead the pure story.

I realized that if you watch Pygmalion, it kind of ruins My Fair Lady for you because the first is so much more powerful.

[–] mr_peabody_70 11 years ago

I don't think watching Pygmalion ruins My Fair Lady. I saw it some time back and I find it a little slow and the acting somewhat flat. It must have been brilliant in its time, but after so many decades the acting seems aged. I prefer the more powerful acting of Rex and Audrey, although some youths today also find MFL somewhat slow and too long.