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WARNER PRE-CODE GEMS: George Feltenstein – the NBR’s 2005 William K. Everson Film History Award recipient -- and the good folks at Warner Home Video keep movie gluttons satiated with more sensational catalogue releases. As keepers of the Warner Bros., MGM and RKO archives, their vaults are loaded with a treasure trove of Pre-Code wonders, films made between 1929 and 1934 before the studios and the Hays Office put the clamps down on sex, violence, and consequently, reality in Hollywood pictures. WHV follows up last year’s Pre-Code collection of WATERLOO BRIDGE (1931), RED-HEADED WOMAN (1932) and BABY FACE (1933) with the five-title-plus-documentary TCM ARCHIVES: FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD COLLECTION VOLUME TWO, and it’s swell.
Neglected MGM beauty Norma Shearer gets showcased on Disc One with two of her best, Robert Z. Leonard’s THE DIVORCEE (1930), for which she won the Best Actress Oscar, and Clarence Brown’s A FREE SOUL (1931), which earned Lionel Barrymore a Best Actor Oscar. How’s this for a Pre-Code plot – in THE DIVORCEE, Shearer is married to philandering Chester Morris; after she’s had it with his infidelities, she decides to go out and have her own affairs. In A FREE SOUL, Shearer falls for gangster Clark Gable (in a career-starting role) against the advice of lawyer dad Barrymore. Shearer (real-life wife of MGM honcho Irving Thalberg) is radiant in both movies. She’s become best known for her somewhat stodgy post-Code performances in ROMEO AND JULIET (1936), MARIE ANTOINETTE (1938) and THE WOMEN (1939), but in these earlier films she really lets her hair down, and her chemistry with Gable is especially explosive.
Disc Two contains two Warner Brothers delights, Mervyn LeRoy’s THREE ON A MATCH (1932) and FEMALE (1933), credited to Michael Curtiz, but with substantial directorial contributions from William Dieterle and Wild Bill Wellman. Warners was the quintessential Pre-Code studio, with production chief Darryl Zanuck keeping his directors hopping with fast-paced, torn-from-the-headlines melodramas. THREE ON A MATCH is fantastic, and a great intro to Pre-Code movies. Three girlfriends (Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell and a 24-year-old Bette Davis) grow up to take divergent paths; gangsters, kidnapping, drug addiction are just some of the film’s elements. The movie still plays like gangbusters, full of plot turns (and a truly surprising ending) and inventive direction, with an early thug role for Humphrey Bogart a full decade before super stardom, all in a breakneck 64 minutes! Jack Warner knew how to wring every ounce out of his contract players; in 1932, both Davis and Blondell made seven pictures at the studio, with two loanouts each. Dvorak made six, with two loanouts to Howard Hughes (including Hawks’ SCARFACE). Dvorak was a truly great screen presence, all but forgotten today, and THREE ON A MATCH is one of her finest hours (and four minutes). FEMALE turns the tables on a man’s world, with Ruth Chatterton, a huge early talkie star (and apparently something of a diva), in the lead. Here’s an excerpt from my upcoming book on Wellman:
“FEMALE began shooting at First National Studios on July 17, 1933, with William Dieterle directing. According to the daily production reports in the Warners Collection at USC, Dieterle shot for ten days, making scenes in Alison's office, conference room, bedroom, library, and drafting room. Chatterton was late to the set four out of Dieterle's ten days, and on the second day of shooting, hours were spent with Chatterton rewriting the dining room scene. On Thursday, July 23, the studio announced that Dieterle was sick, and the company was dismissed at 9:50 AM. Chatterton was clearly unhappy working with Dieterle, and the picture resumed production on Monday, July 31, under Wellman's direction (eleven days after he completed WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD). Over the course of thirteen days, Wellman filmed seventeen scenes including all the picture's exteriors. The picnic scene was shot at Franklin Canyon; the shooting gallery, dance hall, and hamburger stand on First National's New York Street; the carnival at the Warners Ranch; and scenes in Alison's office, dining room, and terrace swimming pool on First National sound stages. On August 12, 1933, the picture closed. Warners edited the Dieterle/Wellman material but was still unhappy with the film, so on September 3, 1933, Michael Curtiz began directing ten days of retakes, since Wellman had already started COLLEGE COACH. Curtiz re-shot most of Dieterle's work, and added several shots to Wellman's Franklin Lake scene. The final cost on FEMALE was $260,000 ($17,000 under budget).
Though FEMALE is part Wellman, part Curtiz, the picture meshes seamlessly together, a tribute to Warners corporate control. Ruth Chatterton stars as the chief executive of a auto plant, playing the part as a modern-day Catherine the Great. Until the final reel, her character is an independent, strong-willed ultra-feminist, exulting in the role reversal. This image of a female big business executive was obviously too much for the times, and the picture ultimately cops out with Chatterton ready to sacrifice her career for the love of George Brent. Overall, FEMALE is entertaining and, running just over an hour, fast-paced. Warners indulged in some self-promotion in the picture: Ferdinand Gottschalk and Rafaela Ottiano sing tunes from the studio's 42ND STREET and GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933; FOOTLIGHT PARADE’s "Shanghai Lil" serves as Chatterton's seduction music; a detective who's been trailing Brent informs Chatterton that he went to see THE PICTURE SNATCHER starring James Cagney.”
Disc Three features another Wellman, NIGHT NURSE (1931), with Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell and a pre-Metro Clark Gable. More from my Wellman book:
“Wellman was assigned to the picture on December 29, 1930, with the final script dated December 30. After considering Constance Bennett for the lead, Warners borrowed Barbara Stanwyck from Columbia, where she had just starred in Frank Capra's THE MIRACLE WOMAN (1930). Production was originally to commence on February 2, 1931, with a cast including James Cagney as an intern and Clark Gable as Nick the chauffeur. Louise Brooks, Evelyn Brent, Virginia Valli and Mildred Harris were considered for the role of Mrs. Ritchey; it went to Charlotte Merriam. On January 13, 1931, Wellman took over THE PUBLIC ENEMY from Archie Mayo, and NIGHT NURSE was postponed.
Production finally began on April 11, 1931, and was completed on May 6, 1931. Cagney was replaced by Allan Lane, since the intern was a small part and he had just starred in THE PUBLIC ENEMY. Gable was paid $750 per week to play Nick. NIGHT NURSE was filmed at Warners Burbank Studio; Wilshire Boulevard and LaBrea Avenue (travelling shots of Stanwyck and Lyon in car); Warners Sunset Boulevard Studio; the New York Street at First National Studios (at Bronson and Marathon), at a total budget of $139,038. As he had done on THE PUBLIC ENEMY, Wellman kept costs down by usually making only one or two takes. The production reports note various half-hour delays caused by malfunction of the Vitaphone recording equipment; and on April 30, Ben Lyon arrived a half-hour late for his 9:30 AM call when he reported to the First National lot instead of Warners Burbank.
Wellman's "man's man" reputation has obscured his fine work with screen actresses, especially Barbara Stanwyck. Their five pictures together represent some of her best work, and they shared a great personal and professional affection for many years. At Warners, Stanwyck became established as a star, largely due to Wellman's NIGHT NURSE and SO BIG (1932). NIGHT NURSE takes off immediately with a hair-raising subjective point-of-view ambulance ride through crowded city streets, and it never lets up. The heavy of the piece was a young Clark Gable, minus his mustache. Appearing in four scenes, he made a strong impression as the sadistic chauffeur. As he had done with Harlow, Zanuck dropped Gable after NIGHT NURSE (because he thought his ears were too big!), and he was picked up by MGM and groomed for stardom. In NIGHT NURSE, he's dressed in black and beats up women and kindly old doctors, starving the unfortunate tots into anemia. In one scene, Gable punches out Stanwyck, and in a typical Wellman touch, the actual blow happens offscreen, with the camera panning quickly from Gable's face to Stanwyck falling to the floor. Stanwyck gets to show her stuff when she socks a drunken lecher (Walter McGrail), and she and Joan Blondell constantly change in and out of their nurse uniforms to display the latest in 1931 lingerie; sex and violence has always meant big box-office, and NIGHT NURSE became one of Warners' highest grossing films of the year. The sordid proceedings were too much for the Maryland censors, however, and on July 3, 1931, they banned the picture in their state.”
The collection includes a new documentary, THOU SHALT NOT: SEX, SIN AND CENSORSHIP IN PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD (2007), and it’s excellent, though it focuses only the films in the WHV archive (there’s a licensed clip from Mae West’s SHE DONE HIM WRONG, produced at Paramount, though like all 1929-49 Paramounts, owned today by Universal). One major word of caution – do not watch the doc before you watch the features in the collection, since there are major spoilers, particularly for THREE ON A MATCH.
THE DIVORCEE and NIGHT NURSE contain audio commentaries by Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta. WHV has so many great Pre-Codes yet to be released; here’s hoping we’ll get lots more of these sets a few times a year instead of annually.
WARNER BROS. PICTURES GANGSTERS COLLECTION VOL.3 collects four Pre-Codes out of six titles in another essential set. James Cagney was at his best in his early Thirties outings, and four are included here. In Al Green’s SMART MONEY (1931) he supports Edward G. Robinson in a tale of gambling in the Big City; in Lloyd Bacon’s PICTURE SNATCHER (1933) he stars as a reformed mobster who takes a job as a photographer for a tabloid paper; in Roy Del Ruth’s LADY KILLER (1933) he’s a con man turned movie star; and in Archie Mayo’s MAYOR OF HELL (1933) he’s an ex-gangster who reforms a brutal juvenile reformatory. Humphrey Bogart is represented by the compelling BLACK LEGION (1936), as a blue-collar family man brainwashed into joining a KKK-like vigilante group; and Edward G. Robinson has one of his most sympathetic roles in Bacon’s BROTHER ORCHID (1940), as a gangster left for dead by rival Bogart and rescued by monks led by Donald Crisp. Every single title in this collection is highly entertaining and beautifully restored, laden with theatrical trailers, newsreels and vintage cartoons and shorts. Each film also features audio commentaries, that, sad to report, vary widely in quality. Maietta and Vance do an OK job on PICTURE SNATCHER, Drew Casper does a typically dry, academic job on LADY KILLER, and Alain Silver and James Ursini, film noir experts, cover SMART MONEY in an unexpectedly lazy fashion. They neglect to mention that the main titles from SMART MONEY are from a later re-release that misspell cinematographer Robert Kurrle’s name, say that Robinson built his way up to roles like Louis Pasteur (that part was actually played by Paul Muni, not Robinson), and tell us that co-star Boris Karloff made SCARFACE for Universal – he didn’t, it was made for Howard Hughes and United Artists; the film is on DVD today from MCA/Universal. It is incomprehensible to me that many audio commentators don’t consult Warner Brothers primary research material available in Special Collections at USC – it’s especially egregious in Casper’s case since he’s a prominent professor at USC! Fortunately, the commentary for MAYOR OF HELL is in the hands of Greg Mank, who does do his primary research (and hence can tell us that Michael Curtiz directed parts of the movie uncredited, along with lots of production notes), while BLACK LEGION is done by the exceptional Patricia King Hanson and Anthony Slide, and they too have been through the daily production reports in the Warners archive at USC, reporting that the tireless Curtiz also worked uncredited on the movie.
A more recent classic gets the deluxe treatment from WHV with Arthur Penn’s masterpiece BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), the movie that re-defined the gangster genre and helped usher in a new era in filmmaking. Robert Benton and David Newman initially offered their spec screenplay about 30s crime couple Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker to Nouvelle Vague maestro Francois Truffaut, who passed it on to Warren Beatty, who in turn came aboard as producer and star. When Truffaut proved unavailable, Beatty thought of Penn, who had directed him in the little-seen New wave-inspired MICKEY ONE (1965). Penn orchestrated comedy with the violence, as well as the bluegrass music of Flatt and Scruggs, in a dynamic picture that helped break the Production Code once and for all – a clerk is shot in the same frame, for example, a direct violation of the Code. Penn had hitherto had successful careers in live TV and on Broadway, directed Anne Bancroft to an Oscar in THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962), and made two flawed but interesting works, THE LET HANDED GUN (1958) with Paul Newman as Billy the Kid, and THE CHASE (1966), a Southern melodrama starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, and knew a thing or two about acting. Just look at the performances in BONNIE AND CLYDE – Beatty at his best as Clyde, and breakthrough performances for Faye Dunaway as Bonnie, Gene Hackman as Buck Barrow, Estelle Parsons as Blanche, Michael J. Pollard as C.W. Moss, Evans Evans as Velma and Gene Wilder in his screen debut as her boyfriend Eugene Grizzard. This edition contains a History Channel documentary about the real Bonnie and Clyde, additional scenes, Beatty’s wardrobe tests, and one of the best DVD documentaries I’ve ever seen. It features interviews with Beatty, Penn, Dunaway, Hackman, Parsons, Pollard, Evans Evans Frankenheimer (widow of the great director), costume designer Theodora Van Runkle, production designer Gene Tavoularis, editor Dede Allen, press agent Dick Guttman, and Robert Towne, who did a famously uncredited rewrite (as he would a few years later on THE GODFATHER). Morgan Fairchild was Dunaway’s double on the movie, and she’s on hand with her reminiscences, along with Curtis Hanson (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE WONDER BOYS). The documentary reveals that Beatty offered to buy Hanson’s photographs of Dunaway; Hanson asked Beatty if he would instead send him a ticket to watch the shoot in Texas, resulting in an amazing learning experience for the fledgling filmmaker.
The BETTE DAVIS COLLECTION VOLUME THREE is as strong as the first two timeless collections, with some of her finest performances, and each of the six titles use the entertaining Warner Night at the Movies feature with newsreels, shorts, cartoons and coming attractions for that particular year. Edmund Goulding’s THE OLD MAID ( 1939) is prime Davis, based on a Zoe Atkins play and an Edith Wharton novel, about the rivalry between cousins Bette and Miriam Hopkins (reports of on-set conflict between the stars were rife at the time) in post-Civil War America. Goulding’s direction is elegant, his style stately, letting the story’s fierce emotions of simmer under the surface of his volatile actresses. Anatole Litvak’s ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO (1940) is another Davis classic, set in 19th century France and New York, with Davis as a governess to a wealthy nobleman’s family; when he falls in love with her, scandal follows. Charles Boyer co-stars, one of the Golden Age’s most underrated actors (see Jeanine Basinger’s Boyer chapter in her seminal book The Star Machine), with a strong supporting cast including Barbara O’Neil (Scarlett’s mother in GONE WITH THE WIND), Henry Daniell, Harry Davenport, Walter Hampden, Montagu Love, George Couloris and Ann Todd. Mary Astor won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for THE GREAT LIE (1941), again directed by Goulding, a sophisticated melodrama with Davis and Astor deliciously pitted against each other. It’s not as well known as other key Davis films, but certainly deserves to be. The jewel of the set is John Huston’s intense drama IN THIS OUR LIFE (1942), with Bette taking an evil turn as a spoiled rich girl versus good-girl sister Olivia deHavilland … and yes, those are indeed incestuous undertones between Davis and uncle Charles Coburn. The film is also noteworthy for a very early non-racist depiction of a black male (played by Ernest Anderson). Jeanine Basinger provides a riveting audio commentary, revealing that the great Raoul Walsh contributed uncredited direction. Watch closely during the roadhouse scene for unbilled appearances from Huston’s THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) cast, including Walter Huston as the bartender and Bogart, Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Ward Bond, Barton McLane and Elisha Cook, Jr., as customers (use your “freeze” control to try and spot them), a beau geste for Huston on his second directorial feature. WATCH ON THE RHINE (1943), based on Lillian Hellman’s play, scripted by Dashiell Hammett, directed by Herman Shumlin (who staged the original Broadway production), a prestige film with Davis and Best Actor Oscar winner Paul Lukas as a married couple in Washington D.C. during the war, with Lukas tormented by Nazi agents. Eminently worthy author/historian Bernard Dick provides audio commentary. Davis reunited with her NOW, VOYAGER (1942) co-stars Paul Henreid and Claude Rains for Irving Rapper’s DECEPTION (1946), distinguished by Erich Maria Korngold’s score, with Rains as a megalomania maestro seeking vengeance when Davis marries old love Henreid. This is exactly the kind of melodrama that Hollywood used to do so brilliantly, a great example of the “women’s picture,” with wonderful writing, acting, direction and the bonus of Korngold’s music. Foster Hirsch (author of a fabulous recent biography of Otto Preminger) does audio commentary.
CLASSIC MUSICALS FROM THE DREAM FACTORY VOLUME 3 is another sensational set with nine vintage MGM musicals, each making their DVD debuts. The three disc collection spans from the 30s through the 50s, featuring some of the most beloved musical stars of the Golden Age. Roy Rowland’s HIT THE DECK (1955) is a widescreen extravaganza with sailors Tony Martin, Vic Damone and Russ Tamblyn romancing Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds and Ann Miller, singing and dancing to the music of Vincent Youmans. Extras include a Pete Smith short, a Tex Avery cartoon (FIELD AND STREAM), audio-only bonuses and and outtake song. Stanley Donen’s DEEP IN MY HEART (1954) is a musical bio-pic about composer Sigmund Romberg (Jose Ferrer). Merle Oberon plays his wife, Metropolitan Opera legend Helen Traubel makes her screen debut, and there is a rich gallery of guest stars, including Walter Pidgeon, Paul Henreid, Rosemary Clooney, Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Howard Keel, Tony Martin, and Gene Kelly and his brother Fred in their only on-screen performance. Extras include another Tex Avery (FARM OF TOMORROW), a musical short (THE STRAUSS FANTASY), filmed outtake songs and audio-only outtakes. Vincente Minnelli’s KISMET (1955) is a real highlight of this elaborate set, the fifth version of Edward Knoblock’s Arabian Nights fantasia play. Minnelli’s impeccable style is omni-present, with a special emphasis on production design. Howard Keel, Ann Blyth and Vic Damone star; the movie yielded three hit songs – “Stranger in Paradise,” “Baubles, Bangles and Beads,” and “This is My Beloved.” The Oscar-nominated short THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (1955) is included, along with another Tex Avery cartoon (THE FIRST BAD MAN), two excerpts from the MGM PARADE TV series, the complete version of the partially-censored musical number “Rahadlakum,” and an audio-only outtake song. HIT THE DECK, DEEP IN MY HEART and KISMET have all been restored and remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1.
One of the discs includes two features starring the incredible tap-dancer Eleanor Powell. Roy Del Ruth’s BORN TO DANCE (1936), with Cole Porter songs, is utterly captivating, with Powell supported by a young, singing Jimmy Stewart, Virginia Bruce, Una Merkel, Sid Silvers, Frances Langford, Raymond Walburn, Alan Dinehart, and Buddy Ebsen long before his “Jed Clampett” days. Extras include vintage short and cartoon, an audio outtake, and the HOLLYWOOD HOTEL radio program. Norman Z. McLeod’s LADY BE GOOD (1941) has a wonderful cast – Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, John Carroll, Virginia O’Brien, Dan Dailey and Phil Silvers – and songs by Nacio Herb Brown and producer Arthur Freed, George and Ira Gershwin, and Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern (their “The Last Time I Saw Paris” won an Oscar for Best Song). A FitzPatrick Traveltalks short on Florida, a cartoon, audio-only outtakes, and a LEO IS ON THE AIR radio promo are included.
BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936 and BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938, both directed by Roy Del Ruth, are also lots of fun, both starring Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor. The 1936 edition also stars Jack Benny, while the 1938 installment boasts Sophie Tucker, Robert Benchley, Billy Gilbert, Buddy Ebsen and an early key role for 16-year-old Judy Garland; this is the movie where she sings “Dear Mr. Gable” to a fan photo of the King of Hollywood. Both films have special features (shorts, cartoons, radio promos, audio outtakes). Jane Powell gets showcased with two frothy musicals, Robert Z. Leonard’s NANCY GOES TO RIO and Roy Rowland’ TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE (both 1950). The former film places aspiring actress Powell in competition with stage mom Ann Sotherm for the same role: Carmen Miranda’s on hand as well. The latter film takes place in an early 1900s Catskills resort, with dances staged by Busby Berkeley, and the classic “Aba Daba Honeymoon” performed by Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter. Extras include shorts, cartoons, and Robert Osborne’s PRIVATE SCREENINGS WITH JANE POWELL.
DREAMWORKS: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007) and Tim Burton – a perfect match of material and director if ever there was one. Burton pushed his prodigious talents to a new level to bring Stephen Sondheim’s beloved, bloody Broadway musical to the screen. Johnny Depp’s performance in the title role adds another performance of distinction to an already rich history with Burton – EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ED WOOD, SLEEPY HOLLOW, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, THE CORPSE BRIDE. The movie, while capturing the spirit of Sondheim, features Burtonesque trademarks like expressionistic cinematography (Dariusz Wolski) and production design (Dante Ferretti), flawless editing (Chris Lebenzon) and sound design (Steve Boeddeker), and always interesting performances (Depp, Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rifkin as Judge Turpin, and the outstanding Sasha Baron Cohen as Pirelli). The two-disc Special Edition is loading with extras – terrific featurettes on Burton, Depp, and Carter, including rehearsal and recording session footage; the real history of the 19th Century demon barber; “Musical Mayhem: Sondheim’s SWEENEY TODD”; “Sweeney’s London”; the making of the movie; Grand Guignol; designs and effects; and a Moviefone segment with Burton and Depp. SWEENEY TODD is simply brilliant – the NBR named Tim Burton 2007’s Best Director, his award presented by NBR veteran Sondheim himself – and the DVD is one of the year’s best to date.
PARAMOUNT: You have to hand it to writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson for taking an obscure 1927 Upton Sinclair novel (Oil) and turning it into THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), one of the decade’s best – and most quotable (“Why don’t I own this?,” “Give me the blood, Lord!,” “Bastard in a basket!”) -- movies, a compelling epic set in the California oil fields at the turn of the 20th Century. Anderson extracts the utmost out of themes of ego and greed, family and religion, his direction loaded with nuance and style, the film anchored by the bravura Oscar-winning performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as rags-to-riches oil man Daniel Plainview. It’s thrilling that critics and audiences embraced Anderson’s leisurely classical style in this day of blink-and-it’s-gone editing, with a magnificent recreation of the period from Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit and production designer Jack Fisk (a favorite of Terence Malick), set to a dramatic score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. The film also establishes Paul Dano as one of his generation’s finest actors – discovered by New York casting director Judy Henderson for Michael Cuesta’s L.I.E., he’s already distinguished himself in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR and THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE (also with DD-L). Paramount’s two-disc Collectors Edition features two deleted scenes with more wonderful Day-Lewis footage (though at 158 minutes the film didn’t need this footage), a few bloopers, the 1923 silent documentary THE STORY OF PETROLEUM, and best of all, fifteen minutes of vintage research photographs used by Fisk to recreate the era. THERE WILL BE BLOOD is essential viewing, revealing its cinematic wonders the more times you see it. I’ve seen it four times and look forward to number five!
With a $168 million gross on a $25 million budget, Matt Reeves’ CLOVERFIELD (2008) is one of the success stories of the year. Using shaky handheld digital cameras, the viewer is put right into the heart of the action as a Godzilla-like monster destroys New York City in classic fashion (the Statue of Liberty’s head careening down a Manhattan street is already an iconic genre image). The filmmakers, led by producer J. J. Abrams (LOST) succeeded in keeping much of the film’s surprises a secret – and also faced some criticism about the 9/11 parallels. Once you get past that, CLOVERFIELD is a grueling rollercoaster ride of terror and suspense; the fact that there is not a single recognizable actor in the cast gives the movie a versimilitude not seen in a major studio release since UNITED 93. A series of featurettes spill the beans on the green screen technology used to create the remarkable, Oscar-worthy special effects, Reeves gives audio commentary, and there are outtakes, deleted scenes and alternate endings … setting up the sequel currently underway for 2009 release. Just in time for INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL comes INDIANA JONES: THE ADVENTURE COLLECTION, with all three Indy movies in elaborate special editions. Each film has new introductions by creators Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and loads of extras, including featurettes, storyboards and more.
SONY: On a freezing cold afternoon in December 2007 at Manhattan’s Paris Theatre, Francis Coppola and editor/sound designer extraordinaire Walter Murch joined the NBR for a Q-and-A about their new film YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH (2007). I was honored to moderate the session, in which the iconic Coppola made no apologies for his complex, time-hopping adaptation of the work of Mircea Eliade. He was candid about making the movie for himself, his first directorial effort in a dozen years, and thanked everyone who buys his wine, in absentia executive producers of his picture. YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH is indeed a daunting, multi-layered work that befuddled critics and audiences, an unabashed art film that could very well be ahead of its time. It’s also loaded with visual poetry, remarkable and imagery. Tim Roth stars as a linguistics professor in 1938 Romania (the film was shot there); hit by lightning, he makes a miraculous recovery and starts to age backward, gaining a new youth full of revelations. Coppola provides a seductive subtext, aided by excellent performances by Alexandra Maria Lara and Bruno Ganz (both from the brilliant DOWNFALL). Coppola provides audio commentary, and there are featurettes on the production, the music and the makeup.
Guy Ritchie’s REVOLVER (2007) is a fascinating but frustrating crime thriller with an incomprehensible narrative and strong acting from Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Andre Benjamin (lead singer of Outkast) and Vincent Pastore. Hawks’ THE BIG SLEEP (1946) also has a plot that’s impossible to follow too, but Ritchie takes a metaphysical approach that will satisfy only the most adventurous viewer and infuriate the fans who were hoping for a return to the London underworld capers LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH (after his detour with the ill-advised SWEPT AWAY remake) that gained him an international rep as a genre auteur. Although REVOLVER flopped badly at the box office and was reviled by most critics (especially Roger Ebert), there’s a lot of virtuoso filmmaking on display, with a second viewing mandatory to unravel the mise-en-scene. Confusing credits cite Ritchie with screenplay and producer Luc Besson with “adaptation.” (Deleted scenes, director’s commentary, two making-of featurettes).
It’s said that the great David Lean was so distraught by negative critical reaction to his RYANS’ DAUGHTER (1970) that he became gun shy about making another movie. This from the director of IN WHICH WE SERVE (1942), BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945), GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1946), BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI (1957), LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)! It was indeed nearly 15 years before he made his next, and, as it turned out, his last film, the sumptuous drama A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984), based on the E.M. Forster novel about race relations between Brits and Indians during colonial days. It is a sublime film, script (by Lean), direction, performance, cinematography, production design, editing, music (by Lean stalwart Maurice Jarre) all perfection. At awards time, it was overshadowed by AMADEUS and THE KILLING FIELDS; nominated for eleven awards, it won Supporting Actress for Dame Peggy Ashcroft and score for Jarre. For the first and only time in its history, the NBR gave one film its major awards – Best Film, Director, Actress (Ashcroft) and Actor (Victor Banerjee). The entire cast shines – Judy Davis, James Fox, Nigel Havers and Alec Guinness. Sony has newly restored and digitally masterd the movie for a double disc collector’s edition, with commentary by producer Richard Goodwin, wonderful interview materials with David Lean, and featurettes on the production, the casting, Forster and the India locations. A PASSAGE TO INDIA is the elegant work of an old master, one of the most brilliant in his canon.
Also from Sony: Jonathan Demme’s passionately felt documentary JIMMY CARTER: THE MAN FROM PLAINS (2007), in which the filmmaker took his cameras to follow President Carter on a national tour to promote his controversial book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid – extras include bonus scenes and commentary from Demme; a Special Edition of Andrew Niccol’s visionary sci-fi drama GATTACA (1997) starring Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, Jude Law and Alan Arkin, with new and contemporary featurettes and deleted scenes; and a 20th Anniversary edition of Terry Gilliam’s marvelous fantasy adventure THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1988), with John Neville as the eccentric baron, with Eric Idle, Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce, and 11-year-old Sarah Polley. There’s a new documentary, deleted scenes and commentary by Gilliam and co-writer/actor Charles McKeown.
FOX/MGM also has a new BETTE DAVIS COLLECTION; Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s outstanding ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) is the set’s standout, a re-release of the previous Fox Studio Classics release with some additional extras. There’s commentary by Celeste Holm, Mankiewicz biographer Ken Geist and Christopher Mankiewicz; a second commentary track by author Sam Staggs; an isolated music track, featurettes on the director, Fox Movietone news footage, and the AMC BACKSTORY episode on the movie. Jean Negulesco’s PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER (1952) stars Shelley Winters, Davis’ EVE co-star and then-husband Gary Merrill, and Michael Rennie; Davis has essentially an extended cameo in this drama set aboard an airplane in trouble. Davis reprised her role from THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX (1939) as Queen Elizabeth in Henry Koster’s CinemaScope THE VIRGIN QUEEN (1955) with Richard Todd as Sir Walter Raleigh and 22-year-old Joan Collins as alady-in-waiting. Extras include a making-of featurette, a restoration comparison and an isolated music track. Robert Aldrich’s Southern Gothic thriller HUSH … HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (1964), his follow-up to the Davis-Joan Crawford WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (1962), has also been on DVD before; extras on this new edition include a production featurette, co-star Bruce Dern remembering the making of the movie, a vintage promotional short with co-star Joseph Cotton, and an isolated score. Seth Holt’s THE NANNY (1965) is a well-done psychological thriller that provided Davis with one of her best latter-day roles.
We also welcome the release of three exhilarating Yul Brynner historical epics. SOLOMON AND SHEBA (1959) was the last feature from pantheon director King Vidor (THE BIG PARADE, THE CROWD, HALLELUJAH, NORTHWEST PASSAGE, DUEL IN THE SUN, WAR AND PEACE), the sage of two brothers battling for the throne of their late father King David in ancient Israel. When Tyrone Power died of a heart attack at age 44 on the film’s Spanish location, Brynner was brought in to replace him as Solomon; George Sanders and Gina Lollobrigida co-star. J. Lee Thompson’s TARAS BULBA (1962) is another tremendous action saga, based on the Gogol story about Cossacks fighting Poles in medieval Ukraine; Tony Curtis does a remarkably good job as his son, and Dimitri Tiomkin’s score is one of his best. Thompson’s KINGS OF THE SUN (1963) is a neglected classic, a thrilling tale of Mayans and Native Americans in Mesoamerica that surely must have influenced Mel Gibson’s APOCALYPTO.
Fox/MGM also has special editions available of Sidney Lumet’s classic.
TWELVE ANGRY MEN (1957) with Henry Fonda and commentary by Drew Casper, and James Mangold’s Johnny Cash bio-pic WALK THE LINE (2006) with director commentary.
LEGEND FILMS has licensed a versatile crop of Paramount titles for first-time-ever DVD release. George Marshall’s HOUDINI (1953) evokes childhood memories for many Baby Boomers exposed to the title from frequent TV exposure in the 60s and 70s. Real life husband and wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh star as Mr. and Mrs. Houdini, and the story (largely a fabrication of the facts) is propelled by their star quality, charisma, and dazzling good looks. There are many entertaining scenes, ranging from Houdini’s days as a wild man in a side show to his various escape stunts, and even a few chilling moments as the master magician delves into the supernatural. Marshall also directed PAPA’S DELICATE CONDITION (1962), a charming, amiable family film based on a book by silent screen star Corinne Griffith about her childhood. Set at the turn of the 20th century in a small American town, it stars Jackie Gleason as Papa and Glynis Johns as Mama; the film is a real showcase for Gleason, portraying a loving father with a drinking problem (he sings the Oscar-winning song “Call Me Irresponsible”). In 1961-63, Gleason really showed his film acting chops with THE HUSTLER, REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT, GIGOT and SOLDIER IN THE RAIN, and his work in PAPA is admirable indeed.
Freddie Francis’ THE SKULL (1965) is a long sought after horror thriller from Amicus (Milton Subotsky and Max J, Rosenberg), the British company that gave Hammer a run for its money in the 60s and 70s. Horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in a creepy, atmospheric tale of murder from beyond the grave, as they come under the spell of the severed skull of none other than the Marquis de Sade. Perhaps the most desired title for buffs among this batch of releases, THE SKULL holds up as one of the best British horror flicks of the decade.
THE BUSY BODY (1967) gave Sid Caesar a rare starring vehicle after his conquest of television, playing a stooge for mobster Robert Ryan, assigned to recover a stash of cash from a corpse. It’s pretty silly stuff, but the cast is fun, including Ryan, Anne Baxter, Jan Murray, Kay Medford, Arlene Golonka, Ben Blue, George Jessel, Godfrey Cambridge, Bill Dana, Marty Ingels, and, in his screen debut, Richard Pryor. The unlikely director is William Castle, who made his mark with low-budget gimmick horror like HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THE TINGLER and 13 GHOSTS, and he proves to have a pretty heavy hand when it comes to comedy. In his defense, a year after THE BUSY BODY, Castle produced ROSEMARY’S BABY, and had the good sense to give Roman Polanski his creative head. Buzz Kulik’s VILLA RIDES! (1968) is a real treat, an underknown Western with a bewigged and mustachioed Yul Brynner as the Mexican bandit rebel, Robert Mitchum as an American aviator. And Charles Bronson as a Villa lieutenant. Sam Peckinpah originally wrote the script for himself to direct; after the financial and political debacle of his MAJOR DUNDEE (1965), Bloody Sam was forced to sell his script to producer Ted Richmond. Robert Towne (early credit before and THE LAST DETAIL and CHINATOWN) was hired for the rewrites; after creative clashes with Brynner, Peckinpah packed up and saved choice scenes and business for THE WILD BUNCH (1969), his revolutionary smash hit Western. VILLA RIDES! is beautifully shot (Jack Hildyard) and scored (Maurice Jarre), with lots of action, picturesque Spanish locations, Herbert Lom as General Huerta, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST’S Frank Wolff as a brutal Federale officer, and the stunning and mysterious Maria Grazia Buccella (Akim Tamiroff’s sister in DeSica’s 1966 AFTER THE FOX) in one of her few English-language movies.
Waris Hussein’s THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY (1971) is an effective and uncompromising chiller pre-dating THE EXORCIST by several years. Shirley MacLaine plays a wealthy Manhattan divorcee with two children; when her brother (Perry King in his screen debut) becomes possessed by a demonic spirit, she enlists the aid of a Spanish Harlem Santeria cult. Unseen in its uncut form for years, the movie has an especially mind-blowing final reel as disturbing as anything made today. Richard Fleischer’s MANDINGO (1975) caused a sensation upon its first release, and has rarely been seen since, developing a reputation as one of the worst movies of all time. It’s hardly that. It is, however, an over-the-top big budget exploitation film about slaves and masters in the Old South, with graphic sex and brutal violence. Fleischer was a good director (20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, THE VIKINGS, COMPULSION), and he tried to make MANDINGO as realistic as possible. With production design by the great Boris Leven (ON THE WATERFRONT) and cinematography by the equally great Owen Roizman (THE FRENCH CONNECTION), Fleischer succeeded. Perry King, Susan George, Ken Norton and an overwrought James Mason star.
I’ve always had a warm place in my heart for John Sayles’ BABY, IT’S YOU (1982), a studio reward to the writer-director for the success of his landmark indies RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN (1980) and LIANNA (1981). Based on a story by co-producer (with Griffin Dunne) Amy Robinson (“Teresa” in MEAN STREETS), the movie is set in a 1966 Trenton high school where nice Jewish girl Jill Rosen (Rosanna Arquette) falls for Italian heartthrob Sheik (Vincent Spano). The movie follows their relationship as she heads off to an upstate college and he moves to Miami to make it as a singer (he doesn’t get farther than lip-synching Sinatra songs for senior citizens). Sayles keeps his love story truthful and real to the period, emotionally moving but never sentimental, and he chooses all the right songs for a vibrant soundtrack that includes four Bruce Springsteen songs, the first time his music was ever featured on film. Matthew Modine and Tracy Pollan made their screen debuts, Bobby Downey, Jr., has an early role, and there’s an hilarious scene featuring Frank Vincent (RAGING BULL, GOODFELLAS) as third-rate singer “Vinny Franco.” The story goes that the studio took over the editing of the movie, diluting Sayles’ vision (he has said that the studio cut made Sheik look like a boob). It would certainly be great to have his original cut available, but the sheer force of his filmmaking comes through in every frame. If you lived through the late Sixties BABY, IT’S YOU will have special resonance; if you didn’t, it’s still a wonderful viewing experience from one of our best and brightest.
There are no extras on these titles but they’re bargain-priced, and great to have available on DVD. I hope Legend continues to license catalogue titles from studios who lag behind Warner Brothers and Fox/MGM, namely Universal; their vast catalogue of 1929-49 Paramount titles, as well as vintage Universals, remains to be seen on DVD except for a handful of obvious titles, a common complaint of many consumers.
UNIVERSAL: And just when you think Universal has completely forgotten about their library, along comes UNIVERSAL CINEMA CLASSICS: SCREWBALL COMEDIES, four great vintage titles. Lowell Sherman’s SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933) helped spawn the Production Code with its ribald Gay Nineties sex comedy. It’s the ultimate Mae West vehicle, one of her best, co-starring a callow Cary Grant. Mitchell Leisen’s EASY LIVING (1937) was written by Preston Sturges three years before he directed his first movie; it’s a wonderful screwball comedy about a working girl (Jean Arthur) who gets involved with a millionaire (Edward Arnold) and his son (Ray Milland). Leisen’s MIDNIGHT (1939) is another delight, a sophisticated trifle about a down and out showgirl in Paris (Claudette Colbert), who, with the help of the brilliant John Barrymore, poses as a countess in order to marry a millionaire, but falls instead for a poor cabbie (Don Ameche). Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett wrote the sparkling script. The writing team also collaborated on THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (1942), and Wilder made his directing debut in a hilarious tale starring Ginger Rogers as Midwestern girl fed up with the wolves of Manhattan (typified by Robert Benchley, who asks Ginger to slip out of her wet clothes and into a dry martini). Short of train fare back home, she masquerades as a 12-year-old girl to get a reduced rate, and ends up having to maintain the charade as she ends up at an all-boys military school under the protection of Ray Milland. It’s a delightful comedy from the budding genius of Wilder. The four films in the collection include original trailers and introductions by TCM host (and 2007 NBR Everson Film History Award winner) Robert Osborne.
Oscar-nominated ATONEMENT (2007), one of the NBR’s Top Ten for last year, is a beautifully produced and directed (by Joe Wright) love story set against the dark early days of World War Two, based on the award-winning best-seller by Ian McEwan. Brenda Blethyn, Romola Garai, young Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave do stellar work, and the movie is totally worth your while, but I have one major gripe – stars Keira Knightley and James McEvoy simply do not have the passionate chemistry required by their roles. There are featurettes about the production and the adaptation, deleted scenes, and audio commentary by Wright.
MIRAMAX: Julian Schnabel’s THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (2007) is a truly great film, and one of last year’s most honored movies (including the NBR’s Best Foreign-Language Film award). Based on the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, Schnabel’s film of Bauby’s memoir realizes the seemingly impossible, a stunning visual exploration of one man’s consciousness -- a vital and energetic man who is condemned to live a life paralyzed … paralyzed in all but his left eye. Schnabel avoids sentiment in telling his story, focusing on the stubborn resolve of Jean-Dominique (Mathieu Amalric) to live life with enthusiasm … and also with anger, lust and sarcastic humor. The director’s unerring eye for the visual dazzles us with imagery of fantasy and memory, his camera serving as Jean-Dominique’s point-of view. Whether interacting with the women in his life (including his wife, beautifully played by Emmanuelle Seigner) or writing his book by blinking the letters of the alphabet, he is an indomitable force, and Schnabel honors his memory while creating a superlative work of art. Bonus features include director’s commentary, a Charlie Rose interview with Schnabel, and production featurettes.
DISNEY: Two vintage Disney Technicolor animated features are paired in the CLASSIC CABALLEROS COLLECTION – SALUDOS AMIGOS (1942) and THE THREE CABALLEROS (1944), colorful, tuneful travelogues to Latin America. Americans had an obsession with Latin pop culture during the war years, and Disney cashed in with these light-hearted entertainments, essentially an anthology of shorts with Goofy, Donald Duck, Joe Carioca, Panchito and Pedro the Airplane. In fact, Boomers will recognize many of them from their inclusion in various WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY TV shows. They’re decidedly minor Disney, but still fun to have in their original form, perfectly restored. Special features include “Backstage Disney: South of the Border,” excerpts of a CBC interview with Walt Disney, and two bonus shorts, DON DONALD (1937) and CONTRARY CONDOR (1944). I’ve always felt that 101 DALMATIANS (1961) is the best of the classic Disney features, with one of the greatest of Disney’s gallery of villains in the animated person of Cruella DeVil. The two-disc Platinum Edition is beautifully restored for picture and sound, and loaded with extras, included deleted songs and correspondence between Walt Disney and the author of the book. Disney has also released ENCHANTED (2007), Kevin Lima’s charming fairy tale set in modern-day Manhattan, with four Oscar nominated songs by Alan Menkin and Stephen Schwartz, and a lovely performance by Amy Adams. Deleted scenes, bloopers and featurettes are included.
GENIUS: The Weinstein Brother’s second release in their fantastic Miriam Collection (after the Anthony Mann-Samuel Bronston EL CID) is another Mann-Bronston epic, THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964), with an all-star cast that includes Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, John Ireland, Mel Ferrer and Omar Sharif. As he did in EL CID, Mann focuses on the personal story, this time against the vast historical background of Romans vs. Barbarians (if the story seems familiar, it’s because Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR deals with the same subject) . The Limited Collectors Edition includes a reproduction of the original roadshow program, lots of featurettes about the movie and the history, a tribute to composer Dimitri Tiomkin, and commentary from Bill Bronston (son of Sam) and Bronston biographer Mel Martin.
One of the NBR’s Bulgari Freedom of Expression Awards for 2007 went to Denzel Washington’s THE GREAT DEBATERS (2007), the true story of the African-American debating class from Texas’ Wiley College that battled Harvard in the 1935 national finals. Education, integrity and intelligence versus ignorance, intolerance and racism – this is the great dramatic conflict presented by this remarkably inspirational film. Expertly crafted, beautifully acted, exquisitely directed, it also celebrates the power and importance of teaching. Denzel gives a superlative performance under his own direction, and gets wonderful work from Forest Whitaker and the younger players (Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker). The two-disc collector’s edition includes deleted scenes, two music videos, and featurettes on the production, James Newton Howard and Peter Golub’s score, the songs, Forest Whitaker, the young actors, the wardrobe, production design, and the poetry of Melvin B. Tolson, the real-life character played by Denzel Washington with such finesse.
As a hard-core Dylan freak since a way tender age, I loved I’M NOT THERE (2007), one of the best pictures of last year. It’s definitely a love-it-or-hate-it movie, but with wall-to-wall Dylan music, I was completely taken in. Writer-director Todd Haynes cast a variety of actors as Dylan (Christian Bale, Richard Gere and an astonishing, brilliant Cate Blanchett – she’s as truthful as Denzel’s Malcolm X or Jamie Foxx’ Ray Charles.) Haynes style fits the Dylan saga beautifully; I think it’s his best film. The two-disc set has director’s commentary, on-screen song lyrics, deleted scenes, alternate and extended scenes, outtakes, auditions, footage from the premiere and a “Dylanography” with filmography, discography, filmography and bibliography.
Also available is Joby Harold’s flawed thriller AWAKE (2007), with Hayden Christensen. Jessica Alba, Lena Olin and Terrence Howard. Christensen is cast as a man who undergoes open-heart surgery; thought to be unconscious, he actually overhears a plot to kill him. It’s a promising premise, but the result is ultimately disappointing. Extras include director’s commentary, deleted scenes, production featurettes and storyboard-to-film comparison.
LIONSGATE has made a licensing deal with the French company Canal Plus, owner of a vast library of European cinema.The ALAIN DELON 5-FILM COLLECTION gathers a series of films previously unseen in the United States, all highly recommended. Delon -- certainly one of the best looking actors in movie history – became an international sensation in Clement’s PURPLE NOON (1960), Visconti’s ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS (1961) and THE LEOPARD (1963), and Antonioni’s L’ECLISSE (1962), then was recruited for a few forgettable English-language films (THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE, TEXAS ACROSS THE RIVER) before working against his image in superior crime films like Melville’s LE SAMOURAI (1967) and LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970), Verneuil’s THE SICILIAN CLAN (1969), and Deray’s BORSALINO (1970). The movies in this collection come from this period, starting with Julien Duivier’s stylish thriller DIABOLICALLY YOURS/DIABOLIQUEMENT VOTRE (1967), with Delon as a wealthy man suffering from amnesia, the victim of a murder plot by wife Senta Berger. Jacques Deray’s THE SWIMMING POOL/LA PISCINE (1969) is a sensual thriller with a love triangle between Delon, Romy Schneider and Jane Birkin in a sumptuous St. Tropez villa. In Pierre Granier-Deferre’s THE WIDOW COUDERC/LA VEUVE COUDERC (1971), Delon is an escaped convict taken in by widowed farmer Simone Signoret, and in Jose Giovanni’s THE GYPSY/LE GITAN (1975), he’s a gypsy outlaw who repeatedly outfoxes the police. The gem of the collection is OUR STORY/NOTRE HISTOIRE (1984) starring delon and real-life wife Nathalie Baye in a surreal and frequently hilarious story of obsessive love. Lionsgate has already released Canal Plus collections on Godard and Bunuel; Sophia Loren is next.
IMAGE: Alfred Hitchcock was 80 when he directed FAMILY PLOT (1979). At 79, Tay Garnett directed TIMBER TRAMPS (1975) and CHALLENGE TO BE FREE (1975) on rugged Alaska locations. Ingmar Bergman was 85 when he directed the telefilm SARABAND (2003), David Lean was 76 for his masterwork A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984), Jean Renoir directed THE LITTLE THEATRE OF JEAN RENOIR (1970) at 76, Fred Zinnemann was 75 for FIVE DAYS ONE SUMMER (1982), Vincente Minnelli was 73 when he did A MATTER OF TIME (1976), John Ford 71 when he directed SEVEN WOMEN (1966). Mario Monicelli directed THE ROSES OF THE DESERT (2006) not in a studio, but on location in Morocco, at the age of 91, and Michelangelo Antonioni directed documentaries at 92! To this club of veteran auteurs, add the name of Sidney Lumet, who at 83 directed one of his best films in a long career that has included 12 ANGRY MEN (1957), THE PAWNBROKER (1965), SERPICO (1973), DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975), NETWORK (1976) and PRINCE OF THE CITY (1981) among his 43 features. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD (2007) deserves a place alongside Lumet’s best; a dynamic thriller about the consequences of a botched jewelry store heist, written by playwright Kelly Masterson (his debut screenplay), the movie boasts powerhouse performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney, and Rosemary Harris. Shot by Ron Fortunato with the Panavision HD Genesis camera, it’s also one of the best-looking movies to be made in this format, and absolutely looks like 35mm film. Lumet, Hoffman and Hawke provide an informative and entertaining audio commentary and a making-of featurette is included.
SHOUT FACTORY has a treat for Beatles fans, a collection of interviews from Tom Synder’s late lamented NBC interview show. JOHN, PAUL, TOM & RINGO: THE TOMORROW SHOW is a two-disc set with one disc devoted to the John Lennon Tribute Show that originally aired the day after his tragic murder on December 9, 1980, and included his complete interview with Lennon from April 25, 1975. Disc two features a 1979 with Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman and Wings, and a 1981 session with Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach and Angie Dickinson. This is an admirable addition to the Beatles legacy. MPI releases Volume Three of THE COLOR HONEYMOONERS, a three-disc collection from Jackie Gleason’s 1968-69 CBS TV show. As Ralph Kramden, he’s reunited with Art Carney as Ed Norton, with Sheila Macrae as Alice and Jane Kean as Trixie, in a dozen one-hour live musical comedy episodes. The ten hours of collected materials is a must for fans of “The Great One.”
BROADWAY: Lots of great new plays are playing on the Great White Way this spring season, many with some kind of cinema connection. ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S THE 39 STEPS is highly recommended, a hilarious spoof of the Master of Suspense’s 1935 British classic, with most of the dialogue from the film intact, as well as the musical score. Patrick Barlow has written a loving spoof of the film, and Maria Aitken has directed with terrific ingenuity, achieving the miraculous with her simple but clever staging. THE 39 STEPS is a chase movie, and you must see the way these artists re-imagine the Hitchcock mise-en-scene within the confines of the Cort Theatre. Most remarkably, there are only four cast members, headed by Charles Edwards in the Robert Donat role, and Jennifer Ferrin and quick-change wonders Cliff Saunders and Arnie Burton in all the other roles. There are delightful references to NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PSYCHO, and THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, music from PSYCHO and VERTIGO, and a brilliant Hitchcock “cameo.” THE 39 STEPS won London West End’s Olivier Award for Best New Comedy; it’s a Broadway must for film fans.
George Stevens, Jr. (son of the great director of GUNGA DIN, SHANE, A PLACE IN THE SUN, GIANT and DIARY OF ANNE FRANK) has written THURGOOD, based on the life of the Thurgood Marshall, the first African-America Supreme Court Judge, a one-man show at the Booth Theatre with a rich performance by Laurence Fishburne; he commands our attention as he tells Marshall’s life story with grace, gravity and a surprising amount of humor. Fishburne usually plays hard-edged characters; here he is warm and genial, and deserving of some serious Tony consideration. Leonard Foglio’s direction makes good use of a long conference table and effective multi-media resources.
John Waters’ 1990 comedy CRY BABY (starring Johnny Depp) captured the fun of the frivolous Fifties, with preppie squares versus juvenile delinquents in the director’s hometown Baltimore. Waters’ film has been transformed into CRY-BABY THE MUSICAL by the same book writers that re-imagined his HAIRSPRAY, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, with songs by Adam Schlesinger, a member of both Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, and Oscar-nominated author of the title song of Tom Hanks’ memorable THAT THING YOU DO! The songs are catchy, the lyrics hilarious. The lavish production at the Marquis Theatre, directed by Mark Brokaw is a classically entertaining Broadway musical, distinguished by the spectacular choreography of Rob Ashford and the scene-stealing performances of Harriet Harris as an upper-class snob and Alli Mauzey as the crazy girl obsessed with Cry Baby. This is a super-fun show, and a perfect night of musical theatre.
MUSIC: There’s lots of new and noteworthy music for the spring season. LAY DOWN LAW is the new album from SWITCHES, excellent alternate rock. The influential and nearly forgotten band Love, headed by Arthur Lee, produced the seminal album FOREVER CHANGES in 1967; Rhino has released a three-CD set that includes the original album, an alternate mix, and bonus material. It’s one of the best albums from a rich period of progressive rock ‘n roll, featuring the truly great “Alone Again Or” among its many joys. Rhino gives the same treatment to soul man Otis Redding with the restored OTIS BLUE/OTIS REDDING SINGS SOUL, featuring trademark songs like “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” and “Satisfaction.” Another great soul man, Van “The Man” Morrison has one of his finest albums in years with KEEP IT SIMPLE, and sweet-voiced newcomer Sarah Vonderhaar scores with her debut album ARE YOU LISTENING NOW. Also highly recommended is IN THE NAME OF LOVE, a celebration of the music of U2 by African underground musicians; this is really great stuff, with unique covers of many of their best-known songs. And finally, for Sinatra fans everywhere, there’s FRANK SINATRA: SINATRA AT THE MOVIES, with 20 original recordings of Ol’ Blue Eyes performing hits from his films, including “All the Way” and “Chicago” from THE JOKER IS WILD, “The Lady is a Tramp” from PAL JOEY, and “To Love and Be Loved” from SOME CAME RUNNING. SINATRA AT THE MOVIES is one of several high-profile music and DVD releases honoring the Chairman of the Board’s storied career as a pioneering legend of entertainment. Other salutes to Sinatra include a commemorative U.S. postage stamp to enter circulation on May 13 and special TV programming, co-hosted by his children, through the month of May on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), including more than 30 of Sinatra's films and four of his television specials.
JOHN GALLAGHER
jgmovie@gmail.com
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