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VICTOR FLEMING: He was one of the greatest directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age: THE VIRGINIAN (1929) with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston, RED DUST (1932) with Gable and Harlow, THE WHITE SISTER (1933) with Gable and Helen Hayes, BOMBSHELL (1933) with Harlow, TREASURE ISLAND (1934) with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper, CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS (1937) with Spencer Tracy, TEST PILOT (1938) with Gable, Tracy and Loy, DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1941) with Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner, TORTILLA FLAT (1942) with Tracy, John Garfield and Hedy Lamarr, A GUY NAMED JOE (1943) with Tracy and Irene Dunne, and JOAN OF ARC (1948) with Bergman. In an effort unparalleled until Steven Spielberg’s 1993 JURASSIC PARK and SCHINDLER’S LIST, Fleming was the director of record on THE WIZARD OF OZ and GONE WITH THE WIND, both 1939. Yet incredibly, Victor Fleming has been one of our most neglected major filmmakers … until now.
Michael Sragow’s Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master (Pantheon) restores the director to his rightful place in film history and popular culture. It’s a fantastic read, assiduously researched, using primary archival resources and a full complement of remembrances from Fleming’s family and colleagues. Considering that Victor Fleming died sixty years ago (on January 6, 1949, a month shy of his 60th birthday), and, unlike his longer-live contemporaries Ford, Wellman, Vidor, Walsh and best friend Howard Hawks, never gave a comprehensive career interview, Sragow’s work is all the more remarkable. He brings to life Fleming’s days as a cameraman (and eventually director) for Douglas Fairbanks, and his important lost silents THE ROUGH RIDERS (1927) and THE WAY OF ALL FLESH (1927). He examines the Fleming films that helped make superstars out of Clara Bow (MANTRAP), Gary Cooper (THE VIRGINIAN), Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy, and especially Clark Gable, who Fleming’s assistant director-turned-director Henry Hathaway maintained patterned his entire screen persona on his pal. Perhaps most importantly, Sragow breaks down Fleming’s contributions to THE WIZARD OF OZ and GONE WITH THE WIND. Fleming followed Richard Thorpe on WIZARD, and was replaced by King Vidor for the Kansas scenes when he took over on GWTW, yet clearly was the guiding light on the fantasy classic, and fully responsible for Judy Garland’s performance. Producer David O. Selznick has always overshadowed Fleming as the auteur of GWTW; George Cukor prepped and started the picture before Fleming took over, and Sam Wood followed Fleming briefly when he had a physical breakdown, and stayed on to helm an additional unit when Fleming returned. Sragow clearly delineates Fleming’s input, particularly in getting the sprawling script into shape.
I must confess that I happily gave Mike Sragow all the research I had accumulated for my 1983 monograph on Fleming, including videos, articles, etc., and was ecstatic to learn that a writer of his caliber was doing a comprehensive study (you’ve read Mike’s work in The New Yorker, New York Times, Salon, Atlantic Monthly, and Rolling Stone, among others; he’s also the movie critic for The Baltimore Sun). The reviews for the book have been consistently wonderful, and it is undoubtedly one of the greatest director biographies ever written, right up there with the Todd McCarthy book on Hawks, the Joseph McBride and Scott Eyman books on Ford, and Jeanine Basinger’s study of Anthony Mann. Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master is absolutely essential reading, and will surely be tough to beat as the best film book of 2009.
PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT: Saul Dibb’s THE DUCHESS (2008) is an extravagant true romance with lavishly appointed costumes and sets and compelling performances by the always reliable Ralph Fiennes and Charlotte Rampling. Your opinion of Ms. Knightley’s work in the title role will depend entirely on your personal opinion of her acting abilities, though there can certainly be no argument about how much the camera loves her. Dominic Cooper, Haley Atwall, and Simon McBurney contribute solid support. Special features include “How Far She Went…Making THE DUCHESS,” “Georgiana In Her Own Words,” and “Costume Diary.” D.J. Caruso’s EAGLE EYE (2008) is available on a two-disc special edition. It’s a race-against-time thriller with a high tech, high concept plot, executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Needless to say this big budget, popcorn movie delivers state of the art special effects and CGI, with a cast headed by Shia LeBouf and the fetching Michelle Monaghan with a strong supporting cast including Billy Bob Thorton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis and Anthony Mackie. Disc one contains deleted scenes and a featurette with the cast and crew on location in Washington D.C. Disc two has an alternate ending, four featurettes, a photo gallery and a gag reel. The NBR named AMERICAN TEEN (2008) one of the top five documentaries of the year; Nanette Burstein’s feature follows five disparate high school seniors through 12th grade in their small Indiana town, painting deeply etched portraits of each archetype – the prom Queen, the Heartthrob, the Jock, the Rebel and the Geek. By turns painful and poignant, funny and frustrating, AMERICAN TEEN makes us truly care about each one as they go through their twelve month coming of age (Burstein won a directing award at last year’s Sundance). It’s a fascinating document about the teens of today, and certainly make interesting viewing as a time capsule in years to come. Special features include deleted scenes, and cast interviews that bring us up to date with the kids.
PHE continues it Centennial Collection with two Audrey Hepburn favorites – Stanley Donen’s FUNNY FACE (1957) and Blake Edwards’ BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961), both in double-disc editions. The Donen picture is one of the last entries in an incredibly rich decade for musicals, with Audrey as a Greenwich Village bookshop clerk discovered by fashion photographer Fred Astaire and turned into a superstar model in Paris. With Hepburn and Astaire, songs by George and Ira Gershwin, Astaire/Eugene Loring choreography, Paris locations and vibrant Technicolor cinematography by the great Ray June, FUNNY FACE is a delight. Highlights include the Fred-and-Audrey performance of “He Loves and She Loves” and “S’Wonderful,” and strong support by Broadway musical comedy star Kay Thompson as a fashion editor. Extras include featurettes on Thompson, fashion photographers, widescreen VistaVision, “Parisian Dreams,” and Paramount in the 50s, plus the original trailer and photo galleries. Truman Capote’s novella served as the basis for BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, providing Hepburn with her signature role as Holly Golightly. It’s still a lovely film, with a cast including George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen (the year before he became Jed Clampett), Martin Balsam and an incredibly un-PC Mickey Rooney. Henry Mancini’s score (including the Oscar-winning song “Moon River”, co-written by Johnny Mercer) contributes mightily to the atmosphere. Producer Richard Shepherd provides audio commentary, and there are nine featurettes, including pieces on Mancini and an Asian perspective on Rooney’s “Mr. Yunioshi” characterization.
UNIVERSAL: BURN AFTER READING (2008) is minor Coen Bros., but even minor Coen is better than most movies. It’s certainly one of the funniest films of last year, and made the NBR Top Ten list. The boys assembled their usual stellar cast, including Fran McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and in a genius performance as a complete moron, Brad Pitt. This time the Coens turn the CIA upside down with biting satire, with an in-house crisis of national security brought about by a fitness instructor’s (McDormand) desire for liposuction and a complete physical makeover! Extras include featurettes on the production, Washington, D.C., and Clooney.
SONY: The Film Foundation follows last year’s sensational Budd Boetticher set with THE FILMS OF MICHAEL POWELL, featuring a stunning restoration of the Powell-Emeric Pressburger. A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) and Powell’s little-seen AGE OF CONSENT (1969). The first film is one of the greatest romantic fantasies ever made, as RAF pilot David Niven goes on trial in heaven to determine if he can return to earth after a celestial mixup when he’s “killed” in a plane crash. The directors utilize the richest of Technicolor during the earthbound scenes, resorting to black-and-white for the scenes in heaven, with unerring composition and dazzling production design. AGE OF CONSENT is less accomplished but still worthwhile, with painter James Mason obsessed with a young, beautiful (and often disrobed) Helen Mirren in her first major screen role. In his last feature film, Powell exploits the New South Wales, Australia locations Powell champion Martin Scorsese introduces both films, and historian Ian Christie does the compelling audio commentary on A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. Helen Mirren reminisces about AGE OF CONSENT, there’s a making-of featurette, a piece on underwater photographers Ron and Valerie Taylor, and incisive audio commentary by Kent Jones. It’s a joy to have both films finally available for the first time for the home market.
Jonathan Levine made a distinguished debut as writer-director of THE WACKNESS (2008), winner of last year’s Audience Award at Sundance. One of the best coming-of-age comedies in a long time, it’s set on the streets of New York during the summer of 1994, as recent high school grad Luke (Josh Peck) tries to figure out life, the future and girls while selling weed from an ice cream cart and groovin’ on the latest hip hop from De la Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. He bonds with his pot-smoking shrink (Sir Ben Kingsley), who’s going through his own catharsis, for a summer to remember. This is an entirely entertaining perfectly rendered picture, heralding the arrival of a smart new cinematic voice in Levine. Bonus features include commentary with Peck and his director, deleted scenes, a day in the life of the director as he travels the festival circuit, a making-of-featurette, and two hilarious episodes of the faux public access cable program “Luke Shapiro’s Dope Show.” Highly recommended, and I do mean highly.
David Koepp’s GHOST TOWN (2008) provides Ricky Gervais (THE OFFICE, EXTRAS) with his first starring vehicle, a romantic comedy about a loner dentist in Manhattan, who, due to a near-death experience, can see and interact with some really demanding dead people. Gervais is more than capable of carrying a picture, and he’s well supported by Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear, but the movie has a one-joke premise that’s funny for a while, but loses steam when the film turns sentimental as it deals with questions of mortality. There are three production featurettes and commentary by Gervais and director/co-writer Koepp. Also from Sony comes Alex Kendrick’s faith-based FIREPROOF (2008), starring Kirk Cameron as a firefighter living through personal turmoil. This inspirational movie, largely ignored by the mass media, grossed over $30 million in theatrical release, and will no doubt do sensational business on DVD. There are deleted scenes, filmmakers’ commentary, bloopers and production featurettes.
David Koepp’s GHOST TOWN (2008) provides Ricky Gervais (THE OFFICE, EXTRAS) with his first starring vehicle, a romantic comedy about a loner dentist in Manhattan, who, due to a near-death experience, can see and interact with some really demanding dead people. Gervais is more than capable of carrying a picture, and he’s well supported by Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear, but the movie has a one-joke premise that’s funny for a while, but loses steam when the film turns sentimental as it deals with questions of mortality. There are three production featurettes and commentary by Gervais and director/co-writer Koepp. Also from Sony comes Alex Kendrick’s faith-based FIREPROOF (2008), starring Kirk Cameron as a firefighter living through personal turmoil. This inspirational movie, largely ignored by the mass media, grossed over $30 million in theatrical release, and will no doubt do sensational business on DVD. There are deleted scenes, filmmakers’ commentary, bloopers and production featurettes.
GENIUS: Penelope Cruz won the NBR Best Supporting Actress Award for her fiery performance in Woody Allen’s brilliant VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (2008); with MATCHPOINT, it’s one of Woody’s best in years. Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson shine as two young American women visiting Spain; they take up with a charismatic artist (Javier Bardem) who succeeds in seducing Scarlet. She moves in with him and meets the tornado that is his ex-wife (Cruz). The movie is witty, sexy fun, with the added bonus of Catalonian locations. There are no extras but it’s a guaranteed good time. Dragon Dynasty gives the special edition treatment to a Jackie Chan action classic SUPERCOP (aka POLICE STORY 3) from 1993, directed by Stanley Tong and co-starring the extraordinary Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung. Chan and Yeoh perform all their own stunts, of course, as they battle drug lords and their minions. This double-disc is a must for fans of Hong Kong cinema, with commentary by HK expert Bey Logan, interviews with Chan, Yeoh, Tong and Chan bodyguard/training partner/co-star Ken Lo.
JOHN GALLAGHER
jgmovie@aol.com
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