THE
BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL ($20) is probably one of the best movies about
Hollywood produced during the golden days of the studio system. Thanks
to director Vincente Minnelli, cinematographer Robert Surtees and the
production values of MGM, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL has the high
gloss quality of a major studio production, but the movie never glosses
over the seamier side of Hollywood and moviemaking. This high caliber
film is not only thoroughly entertaining; it also took home an Academy
Awards for Best Screenplay, as well as being recognized by the Academy
for its technical achievements in black and white cinematography, art
direction and costume design.
In
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, Kirk Douglas portrays ruthless movie
producer Jonathan Shields, whose career is traced in flashback, from the
perspective of three of the people that Shields stepped on, on his way
up the ladder of Hollywood success. Barry Sullivan portrays prominent
director Fred Amiel, who started out in the business alongside Shields
in Hollywood’s poverty row, only to have the rug pulled out from under
him by Shields, when the producer claims Amiel’s project for his own.
Lana Turner portrays Georgia Lorrison, the alcoholic daughter of a famous
actor, whom Shields transforms into a star before breaking her heart.
Dick Powell plays James Lee Bartlow, a novelist that Shields brings to
Hollywood to turn into a screenwriter- at the expense of the woman he
loves. Much of the success of THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL can be
traced to the film’s uniformly first-rate performances. It is interesting
to note, that although Douglas and Turner certainly do some of their finest
work of their careers in THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, the Academy
chose to honor actress Gloria Grahame with an Oscar for Best Supporting
Actress for her brief, but compelling, performance. The supporting cast
of THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL includes Walter Pidgeon, Gilbert Roland,
Leo G. Carroll, Vanessa Brown, Paul Stewart, Sammy White, Elaine Stewart
and Ivan Triesault.
Warner
Home Video has made THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL available on DVD
in a glorious looking black and white transfer that frames the film in
its proper full screen aspect ratio. The rich, glossy and finely detailed
image truly shows off the beauty of Robert Surtees’ Academy Award winning
cinematography, as well as the intricacies of the film’s production and
costume designs. Blacks have a wonderfully velvet like quality and the
whites are flawlessly reproduced. Contrast is truly excellent and the
picture displays a marvelous grayscale. The image on the DVD has tremendous
depth and serves as a reminder of why black and white cinematography could
be so completely captivating. Of course, there are a few blemishes on
the film element to remind one that THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is
half a century old, but there is nothing to distract the viewer from the
intensity this finely polished gem. Digital compression artifacts are
well disguise throughout the course of the movie.
THE
BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is presented
on DVD with a good sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Whatever
frequency limitations there are in these fifty-year-old recordings, do
not render the sound harsh or tinny. Additionally, neither background
hiss nor audible distortions became apparent when a respectable amount
of amplification was applied to the soundtrack. Dialogue is always crisp
and completely understandable, plus David Raksin’s marvelous score always
sounded quite pleasant. A French monaural soundtrack is also encoded onto
the DVD, as are English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean,
and Thai subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the standard
scene selection and set up features as well as the instructions to flip
the DVD over for the supplemental materials. Coming as a nice surprise
on the second side of the DVD is the ninety-minute documentary entitled
Lana Turner… A Daughter’s Memoir, which originally aired
on the Turner Classic Movie channel. Narrated by Robert Wagner, the documentary
traces Lana Turner’s career in the movies, starting at age sixteen, as
well as her turbulent private life. Extensive scoring session cues, which
allow one to appreciate the beauty of the film’s superb score, have also
been provided on the DVD. Other supplements include a theatrical trailer
for THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, a trailer for the film’s "quasi-sequel"
TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, a brief credits listing and a list of
the film’s Academy Awards.
THE
BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is a Hollywood
classic about the golden days Hollywood that removes all the tinsel from
Tinseltown. This motion picture belongs in every film’s buffs collection
and Warner’s fine presentation makes this a DVD truly worth owning. Personally,
I hope Warner follows this release with even more classics from director
Vincente Minnelli. I know I’d love to own THE BAND WAGON, MEET
ME IN ST. LOUIS, SOME CAME RUNNING, HOME FROM THE HILL,
LUST FOR LIFE, THE COBWEB and TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER
on DVD, not to mention a remastered, 16:9 enhanced collector's edition
of BRIGADOON.
THE
BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL ($20) is probably one of the best movies about
Hollywood produced during the golden days of the studio system. Thanks
to director Vincente Minnelli, cinematographer Robert Surtees and the
production values of MGM, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL has the high
gloss quality of a major studio production, but the movie never glosses
over the seamier side of Hollywood and moviemaking. This high caliber
film is not only thoroughly entertaining; it also took home an Academy
Awards for Best Screenplay, as well as being recognized by the Academy
for its technical achievements in black and white cinematography, art
direction and costume design.
In
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, Kirk Douglas portrays ruthless movie
producer Jonathan Shields, whose career is traced in flashback, from the
perspective of three of the people that Shields stepped on, on his way
up the ladder of Hollywood success. Barry Sullivan portrays prominent
director Fred Amiel, who started out in the business alongside Shields
in Hollywood’s poverty row, only to have the rug pulled out from under
him by Shields, when the producer claims Amiel’s project for his own.
Lana Turner portrays Georgia Lorrison, the alcoholic daughter of a famous
actor, whom Shields transforms into a star before breaking her heart.
Dick Powell plays James Lee Bartlow, a novelist that Shields brings to
Hollywood to turn into a screenwriter- at the expense of the woman he
loves. Much of the success of THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL can be
traced to the film’s uniformly first-rate performances. It is interesting
to note, that although Douglas and Turner certainly do some of their finest
work of their careers in THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, the Academy
chose to honor actress Gloria Grahame with an Oscar for Best Supporting
Actress for her brief, but compelling, performance. The supporting cast
of THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL includes Walter Pidgeon, Gilbert Roland,
Leo G. Carroll, Vanessa Brown, Paul Stewart, Sammy White, Elaine Stewart
and Ivan Triesault.
Warner
Home Video has made THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL available on DVD
in a glorious looking black and white transfer that frames the film in
its proper full screen aspect ratio. The rich, glossy and finely detailed
image truly shows off the beauty of Robert Surtees’ Academy Award winning
cinematography, as well as the intricacies of the film’s production and
costume designs. Blacks have a wonderfully velvet like quality and the
whites are flawlessly reproduced. Contrast is truly excellent and the
picture displays a marvelous grayscale. The image on the DVD has tremendous
depth and serves as a reminder of why black and white cinematography could
be so completely captivating. Of course, there are a few blemishes on
the film element to remind one that THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is
half a century old, but there is nothing to distract the viewer from the
intensity this finely polished gem. Digital compression artifacts are
well disguise throughout the course of the movie.
THE
BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is presented
on DVD with a good sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Whatever
frequency limitations there are in these fifty-year-old recordings, do
not render the sound harsh or tinny. Additionally, neither background
hiss nor audible distortions became apparent when a respectable amount
of amplification was applied to the soundtrack. Dialogue is always crisp
and completely understandable, plus David Raksin’s marvelous score always
sounded quite pleasant. A French monaural soundtrack is also encoded onto
the DVD, as are English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean,
and Thai subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the standard
scene selection and set up features as well as the instructions to flip
the DVD over for the supplemental materials. Coming as a nice surprise
on the second side of the DVD is the ninety-minute documentary entitled
Lana Turner… A Daughter’s Memoir, which originally aired
on the Turner Classic Movie channel. Narrated by Robert Wagner, the documentary
traces Lana Turner’s career in the movies, starting at age sixteen, as
well as her turbulent private life. Extensive scoring session cues, which
allow one to appreciate the beauty of the film’s superb score, have also
been provided on the DVD. Other supplements include a theatrical trailer
for THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, a trailer for the film’s "quasi-sequel"
TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, a brief credits listing and a list of
the film’s Academy Awards.
THE
BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is a Hollywood
classic about the golden days Hollywood that removes all the tinsel from
Tinseltown. This motion picture belongs in every film’s buffs collection
and Warner’s fine presentation makes this a DVD truly worth owning. Personally,
I hope Warner follows this release with even more classics from director
Vincente Minnelli. I know I’d love to own THE BAND WAGON, MEET
ME IN ST. LOUIS, SOME CAME RUNNING, HOME FROM THE HILL,
LUST FOR LIFE, THE COBWEB and TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER
on DVD, not to mention a remastered, 16:9 enhanced collector's edition
of BRIGADOON.