GEORGE GERSHWIN REMEMBERED,(A&E Television Networks, $19.95).
The rise to fame of one of the twentieth century’s most popular composers is chronicled in this video presentation of the life of George Gershwin (1898-1937) from his childhood in Brooklyn, New York, through his rise to dazzling heights in the entertainment world, to his untimely death at the age of 38. The film includes scenes from musicals–Shall We Dance (1937); Lady Be Good (1941); Girl Crazy (1943); and An American in Paris (1951)–that he scored, as well as performances of his more serious compositions, including the jazz-oriented “Rhapsody in Blue” (1924) and the folk opera Porgy and Bess (1935). Also featured are home videos, unpublished photographs from the Gershwin family archives, and interviews with his sister Frances, lyricist Irving Caesar, and conductor Leonard Bernstein.
