Obviously this includes material not seen in part one, with maybe a few tiny overlaps. As Donald O'Connor, pointed out, (in the first film) "MGM went around picking up movie stars like you and I would go around collecting paper clips". It's not exactly second-rate material. Not at all. Still missing are many items: Leslie Caron sings the Oscar-Winning "Song of Love" from "Lilli" yet her dancing finale which gives homage to "The Wizard of Oz" isn't here. Why? Also, nothing from "Brigadoon". You no doubt will find other still forgotten clips missing here as well. The new sequences with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly are good and, for the most part, help bind the material together. There is another outstanding clip from, I believe, "Bathing Beauties" which shows what an amazingly athletic stunt-woman Esther Williams truly was. Water skiing at top speed thru exploding water cannons and being handed off from a powerboat to a helicopter and soaring very high in the air, then power-diving. Once again, film finales abound, most noticeably the ending of "Annie Get Your Gun" which finally became available on DVD after years of litigation. Almost better than part 2 (this film) are the 2004 Turner extras of the intro by Robert Osbourne and a 30+ minute "making of" featurette. Worth owning, but be forewarned, they did use most of the best material in the first part. Originally released by UA not MGM, which was sort of "out-of business" during that time. Even today, MGM remains more of a trademark than a filmmaker.

Following the tremendous success of "That's Entertainment", MGM created a second compilation film for theaters--"That's Entertainment, Part II". Unlike "That's Entertainment!", this followup film is a bit different because it's not just about MGM's singing and dancing but the full range of films--with clips from comedies, westerns and dramas as well--but still the lion's share (so to speak) were of musicals. For me, this was a problem because the range was TOO broad and the rest of the films got the short end of it. In other words, you can't sum up ALL of MGM's classic films (including travelogues and comedy shorts) in only about two hours. Another problem with the film is that instead of the classic actors introducing the clips like they did in "That's Entertainment!", this time they try to entertain as well--such as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly doing a song and dance number near the beginning of the film and some new cartoon bits later in the film. While the pair danced well for old men (Astaire was nearing 80), it also felt a bit creepy and sad--especially when Kelly tried to sing and roller skate in Paris. It took up time they could have been showing other clips plus I wanted to see more MGM stars than just these two fine dancers (and in the previous film it was narrated by several classic actors, not just two). Had the film just been a retrospective of the films of Kelly and Astaire, however, this material would have worked a lot better.It helped that I saw this film only a few days after I saw the other--so it's very clear in my head that there were problems in addition to the narration. For the most part, the dance numbers not as good in "That's Entertainment, Part II" and I assume it's because they'd put the best stuff in the first one--as they didn't realize there's be a second film. Now this isn't to say the dance clips are bad--they're just not quite as good. Oddly, however, the clips from the non-musicals also were occasionally disappointing. There weren't enough of them and represented too few films. To me, put simply, it looked a bit rushed--like they threw clips together without as much thought as in the first film or as much of a theme. Overall, worth seeing if you are a fan of Hollywood's golden age, but I think the first film AND the later documentary "MGM: When the Lion Roared" are a lot better.

This compilation isn't as good as the original, but it's still fantastic.One of my favorite things about this movie is the hosts: Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. I'm a fan of both of them and seeing them together is so rare that I had a huge smile on my face every time they shared the screen. Throw in some short dances by them together and that alone makes this worth watching.This movie corrected two oversights from the first movie: we get to see Cyd Charisse's Singin' In The Rain dance (in the green dress) and Kelly's dance on roller skates from It's Always Fair Weather.I did enjoy the non-musical clips in this movie, although I thought there were some omissions. The most glaring was the absence of a clip from Woman of the Year (the movie that brought Tracy and Hepburn together both on screen and off).I was also disappointed that when musical clips were shown, the movie they were from was not always identified. I knew most of them, but there are one or two that I didn't know and wish that I did.Bobby Van's bunny hop dance was odd and at first I didn't like it. But, as it went on, I was amazed at how long and intricate that dance was. Yes, it looked simple, but I suspect it was actually very difficult.This movie stands on its own, but I think it's best watched along with the original.

Compilation movies usually get right up my nose, as you submerge yourself in the scene you are watching only to have some guy (or gal) talk over it minutes later and then link to another scene where the circle starts again. This is where, That's Entertainment II is different. It is just as enjoyable as the first installment if not better. The formula has been messed about with in as much as the first That's Entertainmentfocused solely on the musicals that made MGM the top dogs of the genre in the 1940's & 1950's whilst this episode casts the net a little wider and includes features on other styles of films such as comedy (The Marx Brothers/Laurel & Hardy/Abbott & Costello), Melodramas (Garbo) and movie teams Hepburn/Tracey. But the majority of the movie is still concentrating on the song & dance aspect and back in those days there were two types of musical. The run of the mill and instantly forgettable Musical,and an MGM Musical (a league of their own).What also makes this episode stand out is that Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire share the stage and dance their way through some newly created sequences performed gracefully by the two aged hoofers replacing the inevitable unwelcome links between segments found in all compilation movies. This gives the movie a refreshing change. Another change is that this time Astaire & Kelly introduce the entire feature alone as opposed to having many guest presenters as in the 1st film.Highlights are the aforementioned new sequences by Astaire & Kelly, The fantastic Frank Sinatra feature, Gene Kelly's Roller skating dance from 'It's Always Fair Weather' and Fred Astaire and Judy Garland's 'Couple of Swells' sequence from 'Easter Parade' Low Points, I have to go with the majority of posters and say Bobby Van's Ants in Pants jumping dance, and the boooooooring French segment of Kelly's.But those low points aside, this is a treat for all fans of that long defunct yet much missed genre, The MGM Musical.