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NEW YORK RETROSPECTIVES: It’s a great time for cineastes in the Big Apple. The Museum of Modern Art’s Roberto Rossellini (1900-1977) retrospective runs through December 22, one of the most extensive presentations of the great Italian master’s work. From his essential neo-realist classics OPEN CITY (1945) and PAISAN (1946), through his Ingrid Bergman masterpieces STROMBOLI (1949), EUROPA ’51 (1951), VOYAGE IN ITALY (1953), FEAR (1954) and JOAN OF ARC AT THE STAKE (1954) to his World War Two dramas GENERAL DELLA ROVERE (1959) and VANINA VANINI (1961) to his late career historical TV epics THE RISE OF LOUIS XIV (1966) and THE AGE OF THE MEDICI (1972), all of the key works are here, many nearly impossible to see outside of Italian and French archives. Among the rarest Rossellinis being shown are VIVA L’ITALIA (1960), his Garibaldi epic, and THE MESSIAH (1975), a three-hour TV drama about Christ. THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS (1951), perhaps his most sublime film (released this year in a perfect Criterion DVD edition), is also on the schedule. The retro organizers have assembled a staggering lobby tribute that will run through April 7, 2007 called ROSSELLINI ON PAPER, consisting of posters, photos and letters from the collections of MOMA’s film department, Wesleyan University, and Martin Scorsese, who cites Rossellini as one of his greatest influences. Go to www.moma.org for more info.
If you’re in New York in December you must check out the Film Forum’s “Fox: Before the Code” series, presenting 45 impossible-to-see movies from Fox Films and Darryl Zanuck’s fledgling Twentieth Century Pictures made before the Production Code castrated the industry’s penchant for sex and violence. This is a real feast – Clara Bow’s outrageous last two films CALL HER SAVAGE (1932) and HOOPLA (1933), Victor Fleming’s rare soap opera COMMON CLAY (1930), William Cameron Menzies’ imaginative CHANDU THE MAGICIAN (1932) and THE SPIDER (1931), Eric von Stroheim’s final film, the bowdlerized but still bawdy HELLO, SISTER! (1933), Rowland Brown’s gangster gems QUICK MILLIONS (1931) and BLOOD MONEY (1933), and three early Loretta Youngs: the dazzling fantasy ZOO IN BUDAPEST (1933), the Ronald Colman vehicle BULLDOG DRUMMOND STRIKES BACK (1934) and a rare “bad girl” role, opposite Cary Grant, in BORN TO BE BAD (1934).
There are some of my favorite (and lustiest) Raoul Walsh movies – THE YELLOW TICKET (1931), ME AND MY GAL (1932), SAILOR’S LUCK (1933) and especially THE BOWERY (1933), all highly recommended and crucially important to the director’s oeuvre – and Fritz Lang’s only French film, LILIOM (1934), made after he fled Nazi Germany, released in this country by Fox. Before he went to MGM in 1935 for his best known roles, Spencer Tracy was a Fox star, and the Film Forum is screening eight little seen Tracys – GOLDIE (1931) with Jean Harlow, QUICK MILLIONS (1931), SHE WANTED A MILLIONAIRE (1932), THE PAINTED WOMAN (1932), ME AND MY GAL (1932), NOW I’LL TELL (1934), BOTTOMS UP (1934) and William Wellman’s LOOKING FOR TROUBLE (1934). Many of the films in this series have never been shown on television, and many are being presented in new 35mm prints. For full schedules and descriptions, head to www.filmforum.org.
UNIVERSAL: As I’ve mentioned in these pages many times, Universal owns more unreleased vintage films than any other company, due not only to their own library, but to their huge pre-1949 Paramount collection. Over the past year, they’ve slowly started releasing some of these treats, most recently with CARY GRANT: SCREEN LEGEND COLLECTION, BING CROSBY: SCREEN LEGEND COLLECTION and ROCK HUDSON: SCREEN LEGEND COLLECTION – following up their Dietrich, Lombard, Mae West and Gary Cooper sets – and PRESTON STURGES: THE FILMMAKER COLLECTION. Cary Grant started his career at Paramount in the early Thirties, and many of these early titles have been unseen for years. The new Grant collection presents five forgotten pictures: in THIRTY DAY PRINCESS (1934) he is teamed with Sylvia Sidney in a frothy Lubitsch-syle confection, written by Preston Sturges; KISS AND MAKE-UP (1934) is also inspired by Lubitsch, with Cary as a plastic surgeon nipping and tucking at a bevy of Parisian Paramount beauties; WINGS IN THE DARK (1935), a drama with Cary as a blinded flier in love with Myrna Loy (on loan from MGM); and two comedies co-starring Joan Bennett, WEDDING PRESENT (1936) and Raoul Walsh’s BIG BROWN EYES (1936). Amazing to find these obscure titles actually available on DVD – somebody at Universal knows what they’re doing, and hopefully will give us more surprises (how about more Cary Grants and Gary Coopers, and sets on Miriam Hopkins, Sylvia Sidney and Fredric March, or a Pre-Code set?).
The Bing Crosby set includes some rarities – or at least movies that haven’t been on TV for 30 years: WAIKIKI WEDDING (1937) and DOUBLE OR NOTHING (1937), hugely entertaining Paramount musical comedies co-starring comedienne Martha Raye; two little-seen Universal musical dramas, EAST SIDE OF HEAVEN (1939) and IF I HAD MY WAY (1940) exploiting Bing’s success with kids that had started with his hit 1936 drama PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1936); and the boisterous WWII propaganda musical HERE COME THE WAVES (1944), co-starring Betty Hutton. The Rock Hudson collection is a really diverse group of titles from the Universal catalogue: a cute 1920’s period comedy-with-music, HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL? (1952), directed by a pre-fame Douglas Sirk, pairing Rock with Piper Laurie and featuring a bit part by James Dean; THE GOLDEN BLADE (1953), a rollicking Arabian Nights programmer, again with Piper Laurie; Robert Aldrich’s psychological “adult” Western, THE LAST SUNSET (1961), the key title in this collection, with a great Aldrich cast including Kirk Douglas, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Malone, Neville Brand, Carol Lynley and Jack Elam; the clunky soap opera THE SPIRAL ROAD (1962), unbelievable directed by a misguided Robert Mulligan the same year he made TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD – its only redeeming feature is a gorgeous Gena Rowlands; and A VERY SPECIAL FAVOR (1965), a faux-Euro romantic comedy with Rock romancing Leslie Caron at the behest of her father Charles Boyer. All these sets are bargain-priced; pick ‘em up so Universal will keep them coming!
The same goes for PRESTON STURGES: THE FILMMAKER COLLECTION, a fabulous box set of seven ground-breaking comedies from maverick writer-director Sturges. THE GREAT McGINTY (1940), which won Sturges a writing Oscar, features Brian Donlevy in a rags-to-riches-rags story as a corrupt politico who tries to go straight; in a cynical saga that presages Billy Wilder’s films. CHRISTMAS IN JULY (1940) stars Dick Powell and Ellen Drew in a charming comedy with Powell spending contest prize money he hasn’t won. With THE LADY EVE (1941), Sturges really hit his stride, with one of the American cinema’s funniest, best loved romantic comedies, pairing an irresistible Barbara Stanwyck with a befuddled Henry Fonda. SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS (1942) is considered by many to be Sturges’ masterpiece, a comedy-drama with Joel McCrea as a successful movie director who wants to make a “serious” drama called O, BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (this is where the Coens got their title and at least one key scene), only to learn the importance of the gift of laughter. THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942) is Sturges’ most overtly screwball comedy, with McCrea chasing runaway wife Claudette Colbert to Florida and oddballs Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor. Sturges stumbled with THE GREAT MOMENT (1944), a biopic about the 19th Century dentist who developed anesthesia, played again by McCrea (Sturges was a dedicated inventor himself), but HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO (1944) is one of his best, with Eddie Bracken as misfit who is turned into a fake hero for propaganda purposes. Bracken and Sturges reteamed for THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK (1944), a stunning culmination to this remarkable string of films; it’s not included in this set since the rights remained with Paramount when MCA Universal acquired the pre-1950 Paramount catalogue but is available from Paramount Home Entertainment. THE LADY EVE and SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS are available in Criterion editions, and Universal has already released THE PALM BEACH STORY, but THE GREAT McGINTY, CHRISTMAS IN JULY, THE GREAT MOMENT and HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO are new to DVD, and it’s great to have the best films of this comic genius in one collection. One of the best things about them is the presence of the Sturges stock company in most of these movies – William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Eric Blore, Eugene Palette, Al Bridge, Frank Moran, Jimmy Conlin and many more.
How about some more Filmmaker Collections from Universal? How about William Wellman (MEN WITH WINGS, BEAU GESTE, THE LIGHT THAT FAILED, REACHING FOR THE SUN), Mitchell Leisen (THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK, MURDER AT THE VANITIES, MIDNIGHT, I WANTED WINGS, HOLD BACK THE DAWN), Ernst Lubitsch (THE LOVE PARADE, MONTE CARLO, THE MAN I KILLED, ANGEL, BLUEBEARD’S EIGHTH WIFE) … I could go on and on.
Here’s a spectacular holiday gift from Universal Home Entertainment – SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (1975-76). Every episode is here, complete and uncut from its original 90-minute running time, not the under-60 minute shows that air in syndication. This is the group that started the SNL phenomenon – Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman. Guest hosts this first season included Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Buck Henry, Kris Kristofferson, Madeline Kahn, Dyan cannon, Raquel Welch, Jill Clayburgh, Desi Arnaz, Anthony Perkins, Peter Boyle, Dick Cavett, Paul Simon, Robert Klein, Rob Reiner, Candice Bergen, Elliott Gould and Lily Tomlin, while musical director Paul Shaffer was joined by Simon and Garfunkel, Jimmy Cliff, Carly Simon, Leon Russell, Gordon Lightfoot, Randy Newman, Martha Reeves and the Stylistics, Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Withers, Al Jarreau, ABBA, and Joe Cocker (performing with doppelganger John Belushi). There are 26 hours and 33 minutes of entertainment in this lavish box set, which includes original screen tests, a 1975 cast interview, and a collectors booklet with some absolutely wonderful photographs.
SONY: Dan Brown's novel THE DA VINCI CODE is probably the best selling novel of all time. Ron Howard's film version is one of the highest grossing movies of 2006, with a $218 million boxoffice in the U.S. alone). A murder in the Louvre, clues in DaVinci's Mona Lisa, a secret Catholic society protecting a mystery that would rock Christianity -- these are the elements that have made the story so popular. Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who previously collaborated on CINDERELLA MAN and A BEAUTIFUL MIND, have been completely faithful to the book. loading it with intrigue and chases, and most impressively, a high octane international cast including Tom Hanks, Audrey Tatou, Jean Reno, Sir Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina and Jurgen Prochnow. Bettany in particular scores as a self-flagellating Opus Dei disciple but I didn't quite buy Hanks in the part of the superstar linguist. NATIONAL TREASURE stole a little of THE DA VINCI CODE's thunder a couple of years ago, but Ron Howard's movie has clearly attracted a huge world-wide audience by wisely keeping the whole thing as entertaining as possible. Sony has put together a outstanding two-disc special edition with ten featurettes and a DVD-ROM puzzle game. Howard and Goldsman are preparing to film Brown's follow-up novel, ANGELS AND DEMONS, for 2008 release.
SEINFELD: SEASON 7: I'm trying not to let Michael Richards' recent racist rant ruin my enjoyment of one of the funniest TV shows ever made. Sony has been doing a super job with the DVD presentation, and SEINFELD: SEASON 7 is no exception. This was the 1995-96 edition, the one that started with George's engagement to Susan (Heid Swenberg) in episode #1 ("The Invitation") and ended 22 shows later with "The Invitation," in which Susan dies from licking cheap wedding invitation envelopes purchased by George. This season also saw Elaine dating "The Maestro" (Mark Metcalf) and gave us four of the all-time best Seinfelds -- "The Friar's Club," "The Sponge," "The Calzone," and of course, "The Soup Nazi." There are blooper reels, deleted scenes, selected audio commentary, featurettes, and "Notes on Nothing."
THE PREMIERE FRANK CAPRA COLLECTION is another great set, packaging Capra’s rare AMERICAN MADNESS (1932), perhaps the first Hollywood film to deal frankly with the Depression, as banker Walter Huston fights to keep his bank afloat; and four quintessential Capra favorites -- IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (1936) with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur; YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938) and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), both with James Stewart and Jean Arthur. The documentary FRANK CAPRA’S AMERICAN DREAM, hosted by Ron Howard, rounds out this highly recommended set.
Dino fans have to grab DEAN MARTIN DOUBLE FEATURE for two of his best comedies. He co-stars with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in George Sidney’s WHO WAS THAT LADY? (1960), scripted by Norman Krasna from his play; he and Tony pose as FBI agents only to find themselves embroiled with the KGB and the real FBI. Fielder Cook’s HOW TO SAVE A MARRIAGE (AND RUIN YOUR LIFE) made seven years later, was cutting edge sex comedy at the time, and is still fun. Stella Stevens, Eli Wallach and his real-life wife Anne Jackson co-star. Vintage fans will want to pick up George Cukor’s sophisticated drawing room comedy-drama HOLIDAY (1938), featuring key performances by Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, based on the play by Philip Barry (THE PHILADELPHIA STORY). There’s a featurette called “Cary at Columbia” and stills from deleted scenes. BUGSY: EXTENDED CUT (1990) makes Barry Levinson’s gangster classic even better. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, the film has a terrific cast headlined by Warren Beatty as star-struck mobster Bugsy Siegel, Annette Bening as starlet moll Virginia Hill, and Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley and Joe Mantegna. Ennio Morricone’s score, Allen Daviau’s cinematography, and James Toback’s screenplay make this one of the best Hollywood films of the past 20 years.
PARAMOUNT steps up with two of the most stunning and long-awaited releases of the year – two imperishable classics by Bernardo Bertolucci. THE CONFORMIST (1970), adapted from the Alberto Moravia novel, is a ravishing drama about a Fascist assassin (Jean-Louis Trintignant) during the Mussolini regime, torn between his middle class wife (Stefania Sandrelli) and his mistress (Dominique Sanda). Sandrelli and Sanda are exquisite, the Vittorio Storaro cinematography is nothing short of dazzling in what is most certainly one of the most influential films of the last 35 years. Shot after shot invokes memories of later work by Coppola, Scorsese, Schrader, DePalma and many others. There are excellent documentary interviews with Bertolucci and Storaro. THIS IS ESSENTIAL VIEWING!
After their smash hit LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1973), Bertolucci and Storario re-teamed for 1900 (1976) is the five-hour-fifteen-minute epic spanning 45 years in the parallel lives of the son of privilege (Robert DeNiro) and a son of a peasant (Gerard Depardieu. Rarely shown in its complete form since it’s initial release, 1900 is a rich and rewarding masterwork, with great performances from DeNiro, Depardieu, Burt Lancaster, Donald Sutherland, Sterling Hayden, Alida Valli and, again, the ravishing Stefania Sandrelli. Along with Visconti’s THE LEOPARD (1963), also with Lancaster, this is one of the great epics of Italian cinema – don’t let the length scare you, it flies by. Bertolucci and Storaro share their memories about the making of the film in two documentaries.
Another epic photographed by Vittorio Storaro, Warren Beatty’s REDS (1981), comes to us in a two-disc special collector’s edition. Beatty plays American Communist John Reed in a biopic set against nineteen-teens Greenwich Village bohemia and the 1917 Russian Revolution, with Diane Keaton as Louise Bryant and Jack Nicholson as Eugene O’Neill, and a supporting cast including Paul Sorvino, Maureen Stapleton, Jerzy Kosinski and Edward Herrmann. The film earned twelve Oscar nominations and won awards for Beatty’s direction, Storaro’s cinematography and Stapleton as Best Supporting Actress. The set includes seven new documentaries.
Paramount has also released a gift for the holidays, Frank Capra’s perennial IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), looking better than it ever has in glorious black-and-white. This is the definitive DVD edition, and includes a making-of documentary, the original trailer, and an introduction by Frank Capra, Jr.
WARNER BOX SETS: In time for the holiday season, Warner Home Video keeps its staggering series of box sets rolling out, once again cementing their position as the Number One DVD distributor of vintage fare:
The six-disc GARY COOPER: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION presents a range of Coop’s pictures, beginning with a double disc special edition of Howard Hawks’ SERGEANT YORK (1941). Playing World War One soldier Alvin York, the Tennessee pacifist who became a war hero, Cooper won his first Best Actor Oscar (the other came in 1952 for HIGH NOON), and the picture earned 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Hawks’ direction is unerring in presenting York’s crisis of faith, and the conflict of patriotism and religious pacifism. NBR Board member Jeannine Basinger (one of our finest historians) provides her usual compelling commentary, and we are further treated to a new making-of featurette, the TNT feature-length documentary GARY COOPER: AMERICAN LIFE, AMERICAN LEGEND, the vintage short LIONS FOR SALE and the classic Looney Tunes cartoon PORKY’S PREVIEW. King Vidor directed the acclaimed version of Ayn Rand’s novel THE FOUNTAINHEAD (1949) from a screenplay by the author, with Cooper cast as idealistic architect Howard Roark and Patricia Neal as the woman who desired him. A new featurette is included. DALLAS (1950) is an OK Western, directed by Stuart Heisler (who had teamed with the actor for 1945’s delightful comedy horse opera ALONG CAME JONES), with not much going for it besides Coop and two outlaw brothers played by Steve Cochran and Raymond Massey. SPRINGFIELD RIFLE (1952), directed by auteur Andre DeToth, has garnered a cult following in recent years and it is indeed one of Coop’s most unusual Westerns. He plays a U.S. Army major who poses as a Confederate sympathizer to entrap a group of horse rustlers. There’s lots of action, beautiful Technicolor location camerawork, and a great “heavy” performance from Lon Chaney, Jr. Alfred Hitchcock prepared THE WRECK OF THE MARY DEARE (1959) from an Eric Ambler novel, a nautical adventure mystery with a courtroom drama finale, but opted to do NORTH BY NORTHWEST instead, leaving the directing reins to Michael Anderson (AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, LOGAN’S RUN). Cooper teams with Charlton Heston, and the color cinematography is impressive, but the film is a little tedious. The presence of the SERGEANT YORK special edition makes this set worthwhile, and hopefully Warners will follow up with another Cooper collection – Frank Capra’s MEET JOHN DOE (1941), Sam Wood’s SARATOGA TRUNK (1945), Fritz Lang’s CLOAK AND DAGGER (1946), Mark Robson’s RETURN TO PARADISE (1953), and Coop’s final film, Anderson’s excellent thriller THE NAKED EDGE (1961) – would make a good set.
Every title is a winner on HUMPHREY BOGART: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION. The centerpiece is a newly remastered version of John Huston’s directorial debut THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), the crime classic that still plays like it was made yesterday. Huston’s masterpiece, based on the Dashiell Hammett novel, casts Bogie as Sam Spade, and supports him with Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Elish Cook, Jr., and in an unbilled cameo as the dying ship captain, the director’s father Walter Huston. WHV has outdone itself on this title, with a three-disc special edition. We get the fascinating 1931 version starring Ricardo Cortez, Thelma Todd and Dwight Frye, which foreshadows the Huston film almost scene-for-scene; the 1936 comedic version with Bette Davis and Warren William, entitled SATAN MET A LADY; commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax; and a WARNERS NIGHT AT THE MOVIES 1941 short subjects gallery consisting of vintage newsreel, Oscar-nominated short THE GAY PARISIAN, Oscar-nominated cartoon HIAWATHA’S RABBIT HUNT, and trailers for THE MALTESE FALCON and SERGEANT YORK. Disc Three includes a brand-new documentary; THE TRAILERS OF HUMPHREY BOGART; a priceless Warners blooper reel from 1941; and the audio-only bonus of three radio adaptations featuring the original stars, plus one starring Edward G. Robinson! This incredible treatment follows for each of the other titles in the collection. ACROSS THE PACIFIC (1942), reuniting Huston, Bogart, Astor, Lorre and Greenstreet in a wartime thriller, includes a new featurette, vintage newsreel, the WWII Technicolor short MEN OF THE SKY; the classic cartoon THE DRAFT HORSE; and trailers for ACROSS THE PACIFIC and CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS. Lloyd Bacon’s ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC (1943) is another outstanding Warners contribution to the war effort, with Bogie and Raymond Massey fighting U-boats and the Luftwaffe. This film (with some uncredited direction from Raoul Walsh) actually was used as a Merchant Marine training film. Again we get new featurette, cartoon (GREETINGS BAIT), a short (CAVALCADE OF DANCE), newsreel, and trailers (ACTION and Walsh’s NORTHERN PURSUIT). PASSAGE TO MARSEILLE (1944) was an attempt to recreate the success of the previous year’s CASABLANCA, reunited director Michael Curtiz with Bogart, Lorre, Greenstreet and Claude Rains. It’s an exciting adventure with Bogie as a French patriot who escapes from Devil’s Island to become a gunner in the Free French Air Corps. This time there are two vintage shorts, the Oscar-winning I WON’T PLAY and the Oscar-nominated JAMMIN’ THE BLUES (a wonderful expressionistic jazz piece from director Jean Negulesco), vintage newsreel, the cartoon THE WEAKLY REPORTER, trailer for PASSAGE and Walsh’s UNCERTAIN GLORY, a new featurette on the Free French, and another great studio blooper reel. THE MALTESE FALCON notwithstanding, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (1942) has always been one of my all-time favorite flicks and I’m thrilled to find it here. Bogie is Gloves Donahue, a gangster/gambler in a Damon Runyonesque Broadway populated by William Demarest, Phil Silvers and a very young Jackie Gleason. When the kindly old German baker of his favorite cheesecake turns up dead, Bogie promises mom Jane Darwell he’ll look into it … and uncovers a nest of Nazi Fifth Columnists led by Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre and Judith Anderson. The movie is a wonderful blend of comedy and mystery, just a super-fun entertainment, made more enjoyable by commentary from Eric Lax and the late director Vincent Sherman, vintage newsreel, Joe McDoakes comedy short SO YOU WANT TO GIVE UP SMOKING, the classic cartoon LIGHTS FANTASTIC, trailers for this movie and Walsh’s GENTLEMAN JIM, and a new featurette on character actors, fitting for a movie loaded with them.
THE PAUL NEWMAN COLLECTION gathers seven of the actor’s films never before available on DVD, a gift set that highlights his prolific and versatile career – and there’s not a lemon in the bunch. Robert Wise’s SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME (1956), the hit bio-pic about boxing champ Rocky Graziano, was Newman’s breakthrough performance, in a role inherited from the late James Dean. Steve McQueen and Robert Loggia made their screen debuts in the picture, the movie earned two Oscar nominations (Black-and-White Cinematography and Black-and-White Art Direction) and the whole effort is enhanced by location filming on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. There’s a terrific commentary track from Newman, Loggia, Wise, Richard Schickel, and Martin Scorsese (who grew up near the film’s locations). Arthur Penn (BONNIE AND CLYDE, LITTLE BIG MAN) made his screen debut directing Newman as Billy the Kid in THE LEFT HANDED GUN (1958); the star gives a brooding performance in an adult, psychological Western that the studio dumped, sending Penn packing back to Broadway. It’s a key genre film, absolutely ahead of its time, anticipating the Newman style that would make him a superstar in THE HUSTLER (1961), HUD (1963) and COOL HAND LUKE (1967). Arthur Penn provides a welcome and candid audio commentary. The late director Vincent Sherman and historian Drew Casper handle the commentary for THE YOUNG PHILADELPHIANS (1959), a slick soap opera set on Philadelphia’s Main Line, with Newman as an ambitious young lawyer, headlining a cast that includes Barbara Rush, Brian Keith, Alexis Smith, Billie Burke and Robert Vaughn in a performance that earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Jack Smight’s HARPER (1966) was a big film in the Newman canon, smash hit that cast him as private dick Lew Harper, based on Ross MacDonald’s The Moving Target. There’s a lot to recommend in HARPER – great mid-Sixties ambiance, a fabulous cast (Lauren Bacall, Shelley Winters, Robert Wagner, Pamela Tiffin, Janet Leigh, Julie Harris, Strother Martin, Robert Webber), a terrific Johnny Mandel score, and L.A. location cinematography by Conrad Hall (a good year for him – he also shot THE PROFESSIONALS and IN COLD BLOOD in ‘66). Screenwriter William Goldman does the audio commentary on this one. The Newman Collection also includes another Harper thriller, Stuart Rosenberg’s THE DROWNING POOL (1975) with Joanne Woodward (Mrs. Newman) co-starring, and 16-year-old Melanie Griffith as her daughter. Rosenberg’s POCKET MONEY (1972) is an engaging entertainment, teaming Newman with Lee Marvin in a picaresque tale of two horse buyers in contemporary Mexico. Not much in the way of plot here, but the charisma and chemistry of the two stars keep us interested. Newman’s characterization is at odds with his usual persona as he plays a kind of bumbling loser in a part that surely was originally intended for Steve McQueen; at times it seems like Newman is actually impersonating him. THE MACKINTOSH MAN (1973) is a taut spy thriller, set in England, directed by John Huston, and written by Walter Hill (later responsible for a range of great genre pieces from 48 HRS. to ALIENS to DEADWOOD). There’s another great cast in this one – James Mason, Dominique Sanda, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen – and a vintage featurette on Huston. THE PAUL NEWMAN COLLECTION is an essential buy for Newman fans … and there’s a lot of you out there.
THE MARLON BRANDO COLLECTION includes five Brando pictures – JULIUS CAESAR, TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE, and THE FORMULA – which pretty much makes the majority of Brando titles available on DVD … except a good quality print of Brando’s only directorial effort, ONE EYED JACKS (1961), from Paramount. Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s literate adaptation of Shakespeare’s JULIUS CAESAR (1953) casts Brando as Marc Antony, James Mason as Brutus, John Gielgud as Cassius, and Louis Calhern as Caesar; it is easily the best Shakespeare film ever made in the United States. Miklos Rosza contributes one of his finest scores, and the picture was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. An introduction by TCM host Robert Osborne and a new featurette are included on the disc. Brando actually gets away with playing a Japanese interpreter in Daniel Mann’s version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy play TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON (1956), set during the post-war military occupation of Japan. It’s a fascinating portrayal in one of the most popular of Fifties films. A vintage featurette is included. The collection includes a two-disc special edition of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1962), a sumptuous adventure epic gorgeously restored to its original roadshow glory. Brando’s foppish Fletcher Christian is quite different from Clark Gable’s portrayal in the 1935 original, yet still quite effective, as is Trevor Howard, following in Charles Laughton’s footsteps as Captain Bligh. Carol Reed was the original director, but difficult location filming and an uncooperative Brando resulted in his dismissal; Hollywood veteran Lewis Milestone signed the film. Brando’s temperament was blamed for the movie’s failure, and resulted in a career decline that would only be remedied ten years later with THE GODFATHER. This MUTINY has been unfairly condemned over the years, and is actually quite a strong piece of work. There are a series of featurettes, old and new, detailing the building of H.M.S. Bounty, the original Overture, Intermission, Entr’Acte and Exit Music, and alternate prologue and epilogue scenes that were never shown theatrically, only on a network television presentation. WHV has also restored REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE (1967) to John Huston’s original vision, desaturating the color in this provocative Southern Gothic melodrama based on the Carson McCuller’s novel. Brando, Elizabeth Taylor and a young Robert Forster form an intricate triangle in this dark and perverse film, co-starring Brian Keith and Julie Harris; it’s probably the best of Brando’s Sixties performances. Finally, the set includes THE FORMULA (1980), a so-so thriller starring George C. Scott and Marthe Keller, with Brando in a supporting role. Director John G. Avildsen and screenwriter Steve Shagan contribute a self-congratulatory commentary.
MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECES is one of the best DVD releases of the year, and a fantastic holiday gift. Five classics are collected, some of the greatest films of Hollywood’s Golden Age, all lavishly produced by MGM. Victor Fleming’s beloved TREASURE ISLAND (1934), based on the Robert Louis Stevenson tale, is one of the greatest adventure movies of all time, with Wallace Beery as the pirate Long John Silver, Jackie Cooper as Jim Hawkins and Lionel Barrymore as Captain Billy Bones. It’s a gem for young and old, as is David O. Selznick’s production of Charles Dickens’ DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935), directed by George Cukor. There’s an even more amazing cast in this one, each one perfect – Freddie Bartholomew in the titular role, Basil Rathbone, Edna May Oliver, Lionel Barrymore, Elsa Lanchester, Lewis Stone, Roland Young and especially W.C. Fields as the unforgettable Mr. Micawber (replacing Charles Laughton, who was originally cast). Selznick did equal justice to Dickens’ French Revolution drama A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935), directed by Jack Conway, with Ronald Colman superlative as Sydney Carton. Woody Van Dyke’s MARIE ANTOINETTE (1938) is also set during the French Revolution, with Norma Shearer as Marie, Tyrone Power as her lover, John Barrymore as Louis XV and Robert Morley as Louis XVI. It’s an opulent production utilizing all of Metro’s considerable production resources. Jane Austen’s comedy of manners PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940) benefits from Robert Z. Leonard’s caring direction and a cast including Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver and Maureen O’Sullivan. All of the titles in this box set include vintage shorts and trailers.
Last year WHV gave us the first collection of Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals; the ASTAIRE-ROGERS COLLECTION VOLUME TWO is now available, with FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933), THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934), ROBERTA (1935) – for years the hardest one to see because of rights issues – CAREFREE (1938) and THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE (1939), all with shorts, cartoons and trailers from the year of release. It’s a simply magical collection.
The first FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD COLLECTION is a great stocking stuffer for movie buffs. Mae Clarke (FRANKENSTEIN, THE PUBLIC ENEMY) stars in the very rare original version of Robert Sherwood’s WATERLOO BRIDGE (1931), the tragic World War One love story, here stylishly directed by James Whale nine years before the Vivien Leigh-Robert Taylor version. Mae’s performance is really outstanding, leading one to believe that there are probably other lost gems in her early ‘30s filmography. Jack Conway’s RED-HEADED WOMAN (1932) helped make Jean Harlow a huge star; it’s dazzling social comedy with a scrumptious Harlow sleeping her way to riches. Barbara Stanwyck takes that concept to dizzyingly slutty heights in Al Green’s BABY FACE (1933), featuring a very young John Wayne as one of her office conquests. It’s one of the movies, along with the Mae West pictures, the lost CONVENTION CITY (1933) and the gangster films that led to the creation of the Production Code. It’s also a whole helluva lotta fun. The film was heavily censored before its release, but even so, it was a provocative piece of sexual politics. Last year the original pre-release version was discovered, and it’s included in this collection along with the BABY FACE we’ve had all these years. There are dozens of sensational MGM, WB and RKO pre-Code pictures in the WHV library and hopefully the FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD releases will be multi-annual.
For adventure fans, there’s THE TARZAN COLLECTION VOLUME TWO. When MGM failed to renew their contract with Ape Man creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, producer Sol Lesser bought them up, recruited Johnny Weismuller and made a deal with RKO. The six Lesser Tarzans are included here – TARZAN TRIUMPHS (1943) and TARZAN’S DESERT MYSTERY (1943), with Tarzan battling Nazis; TARZAN AND THE AMAZONS (1945), TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD WOMAN (1946), TARZAN AND THE HUNTRESS (1947) and TARZAN AND THE MERMAIDS (1948). Johnny Sheffield appears in all but the last as Tarzan’s son “Boy,” while Brenda Joyce inherits the role of “Jane” from Maureen O’Sullivan for the last four titles (in the first two, the story explains that Jane is visiting England).
The CLASSIC COMEDY TEAMS COLLECTION cobbles together three double-feature discs with The Three Stooges – GOLD RAIDERS (1951) and MEET THE BARON (1933) – Laurel and Hardy – AIR RAID WARDENS (1943) and NOTHING BUT TROUBLE (1944), and Abbott and Costello – LOST IN A HAREM (1944) and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD (1945). The Stooges disc has them as supporting players in MEET THE BARON, prior to their move to Columbia, while GOLD RAIDERS has Curly replaced by Shemp in what is basically an expansion of one of their shorts. The Laurel and Hardy selections present the Boys during the tired latter stage of their careers -- you’re better off with the wonderful TCM Archive set released earlier this year -- but the Abbott and Costello selections are two of their funniest, with the team in their absolute prime.
Warner Home Video’s THE EXORCIST: THE COMPLETE ANTHOLOGY is another great holiday gift idea. William Friedkin’s original 1973 film, THE EXORCIST, based on William Peter Blatty’s best seller, is not only the most famous and most commercially horror film (debatable only if one considers JAWS a horror movie), based on tickets sold and international revenue, but a brilliant, harrowing descent into evil. I have a vivid high school memory of taking my girlfriend to see it on Friday opening night; after the first thirty minutes, I was taking her home, looking back at the screen over my shoulder. The next night, I was back with the guys, and we had the bejesus scared out of us, and not just because we were raised in the Catholic Church. As he had done with his previous masterwork, THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971), Friedkin knew how to keep it real, knew how to keep the narrative (and the pea soup) flowing, and how to impeccably cast such actors as Max Von Sydow (already an international legend for his Fifties and Sixties Bergman films, with the added connection of playing Christ Himself in 1966’s THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD), Ellen Burstyn (best known at that point for Bogdanovich’s THE LAST PICTURE SHOW), the personally and professionally tortured Jason Miller as Father Karras, veteran actor Lee J. Cobb bridging the generations as the grizzled D.C. detective, and of course young Linda Blair as the pudgy-cheeked little girl possessed by the ancient Sumerian demon Pazuzu. This definitive DVD version includes a Friedkin audio commentary, a separate track by Blatty, a documentary, special effects tests, storyboards, production sketches, a slew of trailers, and the original ending.
When I saw the movie revived and billed as THE EXORCIST: THE VERSION YOU’VE NEVER SEEN sometime in the late 90’s, things had changed. The audience screamed with laughter, not terror. Years of Jason and Freddy and dozens of gore flicks had made Friedkin’s frightfest a ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW theatrical experience. That version is included in this set as well, also with Friedkin’s audio commentary.
In 1977, auteur director John Boorman (POINT BLANK, DELIVERANCE, EXCALIBUR) was enlisted to make the inevitable sequel, EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC. Linda Blair returned, but the absence of movie star mom Ellen Burstyn was explained away as by her being on location; the now nubile 17-year-old teen is under the care of progressive psychotherapist Louise Fletcher. Enter Richard Burton as this film’s priest-questioning-his-faith to fully dispose of the demon within Linda. Upon its release, Boorman’s film was universally reviled, yet 30 years and dozens of crap horror movies later, it emerges as a distinctly original and compelling film, blessed with an incredibly exquisite theme by Ennio Morricone, stunning William Fraker photography, and Richard Burton’s repeated pronunciation of “E-Ville.” The DVD includes an alternate opening that simply recapped the original movie in a series of stills.
In 1990, author Blatty adapted his sequel novel Legion for the screen and directed THE EXORCIST III: LEGION, this time with George C. Scott inheriting the Lee J. Cobb role. It’s actually quite boring, although it does contain one of the most impressively directed sequences in modern horror – the nighttime hospital scene, in which the night nurse has the killer unknowingly pursue her in, not a gory closeup, but in a long shot that zooms into a medium shot as nurse and killer move horizontally across the frame. It shocked the hell out of the theatre audience, and still does it on DVD.
The franchise remained dormant until Morgan Creek hired Paul Schrader (writer of TAXI DRIVER. RAGING BULL and LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, director of LIGHT SLEEPER, MISHIMA and CAT PEOPLE) to make a prequel based on a William Wisher-Caleb Carr script. Stellan Skarsgard was perfectly cast as young Father Merrin (the original Von Sydow role), and master cinematographer Vittorio Storaro shot incredible visuals on location in Morocco and at Cinecitta Studios in Rome. The result, DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST (2004) is an excellent, adult, thinking man’s horror film, and one of the most maligned films in cinema history. Morgan Creek was upset with the result and hired Hollywood journeyman (some say “hack”) Renny Harlin (CLIFFHANGER, CUTTHROAT ISLAND) to make an entirely new version with the same star, script, sets and cinematographer – EXORCIST III: THE BEGINNING (2004), which has much more effects, lots less smarts, and completely runs out of gas before the third act can even get underway. This is the version that was initially released, but after a European film festival resurrected Schrader’s version to great acclaim, his film was afforded a release that earned greater praise and profits than the Harlin version. Both films are included here, with commentaries by their respective directors, a fascinating way to look at the same story through the eyes of two quite dissimilar filmmakers. Hands down, Schrader’s film is the superior viewing experience. Damn, that’s a lot of demons in one handy collection.
The current state of the horror movie is perfectly summed up in WHV’s REST STOP (2006). Nudity, gore, and most distressingly, torture (a la SAW, HOSTEL and WOLF CREEK) abound, in the first of a series of horror flicks from X FILES alumni called Raw Nerve. Less discriminating terroristas will approve.
This has been the Year of Superman at Warners, and they pull out all the stops this holiday season. There’s a two-disc Special Edition of SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006), directed by Bryan Singer, a long-anticipated revival of the franchise, very well-done, with Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, ably supported in his villainy by a delicious Parker Posey. There’s nearly three hours of extras and ten additional scenes. A FOUR-disc Special Edition of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978) comes to us as one of the most spectacular sets of the year. The Christopher Reeve classic has a Dolby Digital 5.1 Remastered Soundtrack (including the famous John Williams score) with commentary by producers Pierre Spengler and Ilya Salkind. Disc Two contains the expanded 2000 edition with commentary by direcor Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz. Disc Three presents three documentaries, restored scenes, screen tests and additional music cues, while Disc Four has a vintage TV special, the 1951 SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE-MEN starring George Reeves, and nine superbly restored Fleischer SUPERMAN cartoons from the 1940s. Phew, what a set! Right behind that is a two-disc SUPERMAN II (1980) set, with commentary by Spengler and Salkind, a deleted scene, remastered soundtrack, vintage featurettes, a new documentary about the brilliant Max Fleischer cartoons, and another eight restored Forties Fleischers.
As if that wasn’t enough, Warners has released “An Originally Conceived and Intended SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT The Version You Have Never Seen.” Donner was fired from the film and replaced by Richard Lester. His considerable clout as director the LETHAL WEAPON franchise, THE GOONIES, MAVERICK etc. is no doubt responsible for his ability toresuscitate his version of the movie, which features a different beginning and end, primarily. There is no question about it – Donner’s version is superior to the film as released in 1980. The disc has an introduction by Donner, commentary by Donner and Mankiewcz, deleted scenes, and a new featurette. But wait, there’s more! SUPERGIRL (1984) starring the gorgeous Helen Slater in the title role, with Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow and Peter O’Toole. It’s pure unadulterated camp. There’s also the European theatrical version with an addition 10 minutes of footage not seen in North American theatres and commentary by director Jeannot Szwarc and film historian Scott Bosco.
Also recommended from WHV: ELIZABETH TAYLOR/RICHARD BURTON: THE FILM COLLECTION; with the exception of Mike Nichol’s stunning debut WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966), included here in a two-disc 4oth anniversary special edition, Taylor and Burton’s tabloid life was more interesting than the films they made together. The Burton-Taylor movies were almost always disappointing, watchable primarily for the stars’ charisma. This set includes THE V.I.P.’s (1963) co-starring Maggie Smith, Orson Welles and Margaret Rutherford in an Oscar-winning role; Vincente Minnelli’s THE SANDPIPER (1965), with Eva Marie Saint and the Oscar-winning song “The Shadow of Your Smile”, and THE COMEDIANS (1967), based on the Graham Greene novel and co-starring Alec Guinness and Peter Ustinov.
FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956) is available in a 50th Annivesary double-disc set, with the landmark sci-film perfectly restored. There are deleted scenes and lost footage, two follow-up vehicles starring Robby the Robot (the 1957 feature THE INVISIBLE BOY and an episode of the TV series THE THIN MAN), three documentaries, among other surprises. And there’s a new special edition of Lawrence Kasdan’s BODY HEAT (1983) has a new digital transfer, lifted scenes, three new featurettes and vintage interviews with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.
DISNEY: Scott Marshall (son of Garry) directs KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS (2006), a charming, recommended comedy with a wonderful cast including Jami Gertz, Darryl Hannah, Jeremy Piven (ENTOURAGE’s Ari), Garry Marshall, Doris Roberts, Larry Miller, Richard Benjamin and Cheryl Hines (Larry David’s wife on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM). The dysfunctional humor kicks in when the family’s ex-hippie patriarch (Marshall) arrives on the eve of his grand-son’s bar mitzvah. There are deletd scenes, a featurette, commentary with Scott Marshall and writer-producer Mark Zakarin, and “father and son” commentary with Scott and Garry Marshall. Disney also has SCRUBS: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON, which shows the steady comedic development of this outstanding network TV show. Zach Braff heads a great regular series cast; guest stars this season included Matthew Perry, Tom Cavanagh and Molly Shannon. All of Disney’s SCRUBS DVDs are chockfull of extras, audio commentaries and bloopers.
GENIUS ENTERTAINMENT: A huge hats off to the folks at Legend Films, releasing through Genius, who have released Laurel and Hardy's perennial holiday classic MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS a.k.a. BABES IN TOYLAND (1934). The amazing news is that they have unearthed a beautiful 35mm print -- remastered in high definition -- of the original version, including MGM logo, and original credits under the origiinal title, BABES IN TOYLAND. WPIX-TV in New York used to show this every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and here we have a version unseen since it's theatrical debut nearly 75 years ago. Hal Roach Studios outdid themselves with spectacular sets of Toyland and Bogeyland, Stan and Ollie are delightful, and the Bogeymen can still scare the hell out of little kids the way it did this writer umpteen years ago. It is quite remarkable to realize that the actor playing the villainous Barnaby, Henry Kleinbach, is the same guy who would play Chief Scar 22 years later in John Ford's classic THE SEARCHERS (under a new name, Henry Brandon, coined when the U.S. went to war with Germany). Laurel and Hardy's only color film, TREE IN A TEST TUBE (1944), a government educational film, is included, along with classic toy commercials, the animated RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, and a slew of vintage Christmas cartoons and shorts. Both the original black-and-white version and a newly colorized version of BABES IN TOYLAND are included. This is one great holiday gift!
John Gallagher
jgmovie@gmail.com
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