My Fair Lady1964My Fair Lady
1964
In Edwardian London, phonetics professor Henry Higgins bets Colonel Pickering that he can turn Cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle into a lady who could pass at an embassy ball. Months of drilling remake her speech, but it is Eliza's dignity that finally forces Higgins to face how he has treated her.
For children old enough to talk it through: sustained intensity, or language or sexual content that Common Sense Media rates 7–9.
Why it’s here
Lerner and Loewe's great score and a story of transformation: Eliza's hard work and self-respect win out, and Higgins's arrogance is exposed and humbled. The film lets his flaws stand in full so that his comeuppance and change mean something.
Context notes
For parents, before you press play.
Higgins insults Eliza throughout and jokes about beating her; the film plays him as a boor whom Eliza, Pickering, and his own mother call out, and by "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" he is humbled. Eliza's father Alfred is a cheerful drunkard who, with a knowing wink, asks to be paid for his daughter, and he celebrates a last spree before his wedding in "Get Me to the Church on Time." There's one prominent "ass" and a few "damns"; parents can ask what Eliza teaches Higgins about how a person should be treated.
My Fair Lady (1964)
Discussion questions
When the credits end, go around the room. Each person gives the film a score out of ten and says why.
- How does Eliza change, and how does Higgins change?
- Eliza says the difference between a lady and a flower girl is how she's treated. What does she mean?
- Was Higgins right to treat Eliza the way he did? What does the ending suggest?
- Which song was your favorite?
Content advisory
Common Sense Media 8+: constant verbal abuse and comic references to beating a woman; a pantomimed firing-squad fantasy; Eliza forcibly bathed (played for comedy); one prominent "ass" and a few "damns"; Eliza's father a heavy drinker and a whiskey-and-beer pub sing-along; indirect talk of sex work, and a father who assumes with a wink that his daughter is a kept woman and asks to be paid for her.
Trailer
Best edition
The disc comes first.
My Fair Lady 4K Blu-ray (Special Features on Blu-ray)
4K · May 25, 2021
Edition link coming soon.
Listing on Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)Coming later
Where to stream
Streaming services are not listed yet. When they are, this note stays secondary to the disc.