The film is set during the Belle Époque at the turn of the 20th century. The film is considered the last great Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical and the final great achievement of the Freed Unit, headed by producer Arthur Freed. The American Film Institute ranked it number 35 in AFI's 100 Years.100 Passions. In 1991, Gigi was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'. It held the record for the highest clean sweep of nominations (later shared with The Last Emperor) until The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won all eleven of its nominations at the 76th Academy Awards in 2004. Costume design was done by Cecil Beaton (hats by Madame Paulette).Īt the 31st Academy Awards, the film won all nine of its nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Minnelli. The film features songs with lyrics by Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, arranged and conducted by André Previn. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette. Gigi ( French pronunciation: ) is a 1958 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli and processed using Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Eastmancolor film process Metrocolor.