Anyone
who knows me, knows that I love old movies. And, the only thing I love
more than old movies is when they look brand new on DVD. I have to praise
Warner Home Video’s efforts on this front, because they have done an
amazing job with a number of classic films, including NORTH BY
NORTHWEST, CITIZEN KANE, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and NOW, VOYAGER, all of which
have looked simply amazing on DVD. The latest film to be given this royal
DVD makeover is the Joan Crawford classic MILDRED PIERCE ($20).
MILDRED
PIERCE is the film that earned Ms. Crawford her Academy Award
statuette for Best Actress, and as I watched this film, yet again, it is
very easy to understand why. As the title character, one can see that MILDRED
PIERCE is perfectly tailored to Crawford’s talents, not to mention
this showcase role allows her to appear in virtually every frame of the
film. Told in flashback, MILDRED PIERCE opens with a murder and a
trip to police headquarters, where we learn that Mildred was a
self-sacrificing middle class woman, whose every decision was motivate by
her blind lover of her children, particularly her daughter Veda (Ann Blyth).
To
give Veda all the best things in life, Mildred becomes a successful
restaurateur the hard way, by starting out as a lowly waitress and then
working almost continuously to better her position in the industry.
Mildred even wrecks her own love life for her daughter’s sake, and only
after doing so does she discover the depth of Veda’s ungratefulness.
While Mildred Pierce is certainly the film's standout role, Ann Blyth
proves to be nearly as memorable as Crawford with her performance as the
spoiled rotten (to the core) Veda. The terrific cast of MILDRED PIERCE
also features Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Bruce Bennett, Lee
Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Marlowe and Butterfly
McQueen.
Warner
Home Video has made MILDRED PIERCE available on DVD in a wonderful
black and white transfer that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1 full
screen aspect ratio. As I mentioned above, Warner has worked their brand
of digital magic to make MILDRED PIERCE look almost like a brand
new movie. This presentation is nearly flawless, with a small scratch
under the special effects of the opening credits serving as the only clue
that MILDRED PIERCE is a couple years shy of its sixtieth
anniversary. The image is stunning and truly shows off the beauty of
Ernest Haller’s black and white cinematography. Everything appears crisp
and wonderfully detailed. Blacks are pure and velvety, while the white are
clean and wholly stable. The grayscale is rich and helps add dimension to
the superb looking picture. Digital compression artifacts are completely
concealed throughout.
MILDRED
PIERCE comes with a fine sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack,
which seems to have been digital cleaned to remove all noticeable traces
of background hiss and surface noise. Fidelity is respectable, especially
when one considered the recording technology of the mid-1940s. Max Steiner’s
appropriately soapy score sound pretty darn good, even when a decent
amount of amplification applied. Dialogue is always crisp and fully
understandable. No other language tracks are provided, but English, French
and Spanish subtitles have been encoded onto the DVD.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a very nice
supplemental section. A Joan Crawford filmography and MILDRED PIERCE
awards listing have been included on the same side of the DVD as the
movie. However, on the flip side of the disc one will find the documentary
Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star. This excellent
eighty-five minute program was produced for Turner Classic Movies, but
there is no better use for it than as a supplement to Crawford’s triumph
MILDRED PIERCE. Featuring interviews with family, friends,
contemporaries and lovers, the documentary paints an interesting portrait
of an actress who loved and respected her fans above all else. The
documentary balances Crawford personal and professional lives, without
dwelling on some of the better publicized negative aspects. However, those
who are interested in Crawford’s Mommie Dearest dark side
will find daughter Christina on hand amongst the interviewees. Trailers
for nine Crawford movies close out side two's supplements.
MILDRED
PIERCE is a film classic that has been given a superb presentation by
the folks at Warner. This DVD truly looks amazing, which really warms the
heart of this movie buff. If you love old movies as much as I do, you will
want to add a copy of MILDRED PIERCE to your DVD collection.
Absolutely recommended.
Anyone
who knows me, knows that I love old movies. And, the only thing I love
more than old movies is when they look brand new on DVD. I have to praise
Warner Home Video’s efforts on this front, because they have done an
amazing job with a number of classic films, including NORTH BY
NORTHWEST, CITIZEN KANE, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and NOW, VOYAGER, all of which
have looked simply amazing on DVD. The latest film to be given this royal
DVD makeover is the Joan Crawford classic MILDRED PIERCE ($20).
MILDRED
PIERCE is the film that earned Ms. Crawford her Academy Award
statuette for Best Actress, and as I watched this film, yet again, it is
very easy to understand why. As the title character, one can see that MILDRED
PIERCE is perfectly tailored to Crawford’s talents, not to mention
this showcase role allows her to appear in virtually every frame of the
film. Told in flashback, MILDRED PIERCE opens with a murder and a
trip to police headquarters, where we learn that Mildred was a
self-sacrificing middle class woman, whose every decision was motivate by
her blind lover of her children, particularly her daughter Veda (Ann Blyth).
To
give Veda all the best things in life, Mildred becomes a successful
restaurateur the hard way, by starting out as a lowly waitress and then
working almost continuously to better her position in the industry.
Mildred even wrecks her own love life for her daughter’s sake, and only
after doing so does she discover the depth of Veda’s ungratefulness.
While Mildred Pierce is certainly the film's standout role, Ann Blyth
proves to be nearly as memorable as Crawford with her performance as the
spoiled rotten (to the core) Veda. The terrific cast of MILDRED PIERCE
also features Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Bruce Bennett, Lee
Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Marlowe and Butterfly
McQueen.
Warner
Home Video has made MILDRED PIERCE available on DVD in a wonderful
black and white transfer that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1 full
screen aspect ratio. As I mentioned above, Warner has worked their brand
of digital magic to make MILDRED PIERCE look almost like a brand
new movie. This presentation is nearly flawless, with a small scratch
under the special effects of the opening credits serving as the only clue
that MILDRED PIERCE is a couple years shy of its sixtieth
anniversary. The image is stunning and truly shows off the beauty of
Ernest Haller’s black and white cinematography. Everything appears crisp
and wonderfully detailed. Blacks are pure and velvety, while the white are
clean and wholly stable. The grayscale is rich and helps add dimension to
the superb looking picture. Digital compression artifacts are completely
concealed throughout.
MILDRED
PIERCE comes with a fine sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack,
which seems to have been digital cleaned to remove all noticeable traces
of background hiss and surface noise. Fidelity is respectable, especially
when one considered the recording technology of the mid-1940s. Max Steiner’s
appropriately soapy score sound pretty darn good, even when a decent
amount of amplification applied. Dialogue is always crisp and fully
understandable. No other language tracks are provided, but English, French
and Spanish subtitles have been encoded onto the DVD.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a very nice
supplemental section. A Joan Crawford filmography and MILDRED PIERCE
awards listing have been included on the same side of the DVD as the
movie. However, on the flip side of the disc one will find the documentary
Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star. This excellent
eighty-five minute program was produced for Turner Classic Movies, but
there is no better use for it than as a supplement to Crawford’s triumph
MILDRED PIERCE. Featuring interviews with family, friends,
contemporaries and lovers, the documentary paints an interesting portrait
of an actress who loved and respected her fans above all else. The
documentary balances Crawford personal and professional lives, without
dwelling on some of the better publicized negative aspects. However, those
who are interested in Crawford’s Mommie Dearest dark side
will find daughter Christina on hand amongst the interviewees. Trailers
for nine Crawford movies close out side two's supplements.
MILDRED
PIERCE is a film classic that has been given a superb presentation by
the folks at Warner. This DVD truly looks amazing, which really warms the
heart of this movie buff. If you love old movies as much as I do, you will
want to add a copy of MILDRED PIERCE to your DVD collection.
Absolutely recommended.