I’m
glad to see that the new cinematic version of the Oscar Wilde play has
brought about a DVD release of the 1952 film version of THE IMPORTANCE
OF BEING EARNEST ($30). Although I hadn’t seen THE IMPORTANCE OF
BEING EARNEST in a great many years, the Criterion Collection DVD
served to remind me of the delights of the film and Oscar Wilde’s work.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is a comedy of manners that makes
light of the 19th century British social strata, as well as being a much
like a Shakespeare comedy in which the characters feign different guises
in the pursuit of love.
Michael
Redgrave stars as Jack Worthing, who uses a nonexistent brother named
Earnest as an excuse to scamper back and forth between his homes in London
and in the country. Jack, utilizing his nonexistent brother’s identity
in London, becomes engaged as Earnest to the very beautiful Gwendolyn
Fairfax (Joan Greenwood). Unfortunately "Earnest" discovers
his name and the very proper Lady Bracknell (Edith Evans) to be among
the many hurdles that our hero has to overcome on the road of love.
Matters
become further complicated when Gwendolyn’s cousin Algernon (Michael Denison)
uncovers the truth of Jack’s dual identity, and decides to pay a surprise
visit to Jack’s country home under the guise of "Earnest," the
no good younger brother that everyone has heard about, yet no one has
ever met. Upon his arrival, "Earnest" falls madly in love with
Jack’s young ward Cecily Cardew (Dorothy Tutin), who has had an imagined
love affair and engagement to Jack’s scoundrel of a brother. Of course
the entire house of cards comes collapsing down with the surprise arrival
of Gwendolyn, which makes both women acutely aware that they both engaged
to a man who does not exist. The wonderful cast of THE IMPORTANCE OF
BEING EARNEST also includes Margaret Rutherford and Miles Malleson.
The
Criterion Collection has made THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST available
on DVD in its proper 1.33:1 aspect ratio. A new 35mm composite print was
created for the transfer, and while it all looks very nice, the DVD is
not quite demonstration quality. Film grain is quite noticeable throughout
the presentation, which may be off-putting to some, but it renders THE
IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST much more like a movie and less like a
video. The image is sharp and well defined, which brings out the details
in the sets and period costumes. Colors are generally vibrant and give
a good impression of what a British Technicolor print might have looked
like. There is some minor fading in places, as well as some other color
anomalies, but for the most part the colors are satisfying. Flesh tones
are not wholly natural, taking on a decidedly "made up" appearance.
Blacks are accurately rendered, whites are reasonably stable and contrast
is pretty smooth. There are no dark scenes, so shadow detail is impossible
to judge. Digital compression artifacts are not readily detectable on
the DVD.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is
offered with a decent sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that
has been digitally cleaned to remove most of the noticeable background
hiss and surface noise. Fidelity is fairly limited, which is pretty much
expected from any half-century-old soundtrack, so the music tends to be
a bit tinny. Still, the dialogue remains crisp and completely intelligible,
so one isn’t going to miss a single bit of Oscar Wilde’s witty discourse.
One should note that this is the original British soundtrack and not the
Americanized version that substituted baby carriage for the "oh so
British" word perambulator. Subtitles have been provided on the DVD
in English. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide
access to the standard scene selection and set up features as well as
a theatrical trailer plus extensive biographical information for director
Anthony Asquith and the cast- highlighted by numerous production photos.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is
a genuine delight of a movie and something that film buffs and fans of
the works of Oscar Wilde will most assuredly want to own. The Criterion
Collection has done a very nice job with the presentation, making the
film look better than the beaten up version that plays on many a local
public television station.
I’m
glad to see that the new cinematic version of the Oscar Wilde play has
brought about a DVD release of the 1952 film version of THE IMPORTANCE
OF BEING EARNEST ($30). Although I hadn’t seen THE IMPORTANCE OF
BEING EARNEST in a great many years, the Criterion Collection DVD
served to remind me of the delights of the film and Oscar Wilde’s work.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is a comedy of manners that makes
light of the 19th century British social strata, as well as being a much
like a Shakespeare comedy in which the characters feign different guises
in the pursuit of love.
Michael
Redgrave stars as Jack Worthing, who uses a nonexistent brother named
Earnest as an excuse to scamper back and forth between his homes in London
and in the country. Jack, utilizing his nonexistent brother’s identity
in London, becomes engaged as Earnest to the very beautiful Gwendolyn
Fairfax (Joan Greenwood). Unfortunately "Earnest" discovers
his name and the very proper Lady Bracknell (Edith Evans) to be among
the many hurdles that our hero has to overcome on the road of love.
Matters
become further complicated when Gwendolyn’s cousin Algernon (Michael Denison)
uncovers the truth of Jack’s dual identity, and decides to pay a surprise
visit to Jack’s country home under the guise of "Earnest," the
no good younger brother that everyone has heard about, yet no one has
ever met. Upon his arrival, "Earnest" falls madly in love with
Jack’s young ward Cecily Cardew (Dorothy Tutin), who has had an imagined
love affair and engagement to Jack’s scoundrel of a brother. Of course
the entire house of cards comes collapsing down with the surprise arrival
of Gwendolyn, which makes both women acutely aware that they both engaged
to a man who does not exist. The wonderful cast of THE IMPORTANCE OF
BEING EARNEST also includes Margaret Rutherford and Miles Malleson.
The
Criterion Collection has made THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST available
on DVD in its proper 1.33:1 aspect ratio. A new 35mm composite print was
created for the transfer, and while it all looks very nice, the DVD is
not quite demonstration quality. Film grain is quite noticeable throughout
the presentation, which may be off-putting to some, but it renders THE
IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST much more like a movie and less like a
video. The image is sharp and well defined, which brings out the details
in the sets and period costumes. Colors are generally vibrant and give
a good impression of what a British Technicolor print might have looked
like. There is some minor fading in places, as well as some other color
anomalies, but for the most part the colors are satisfying. Flesh tones
are not wholly natural, taking on a decidedly "made up" appearance.
Blacks are accurately rendered, whites are reasonably stable and contrast
is pretty smooth. There are no dark scenes, so shadow detail is impossible
to judge. Digital compression artifacts are not readily detectable on
the DVD.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is
offered with a decent sounding Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that
has been digitally cleaned to remove most of the noticeable background
hiss and surface noise. Fidelity is fairly limited, which is pretty much
expected from any half-century-old soundtrack, so the music tends to be
a bit tinny. Still, the dialogue remains crisp and completely intelligible,
so one isn’t going to miss a single bit of Oscar Wilde’s witty discourse.
One should note that this is the original British soundtrack and not the
Americanized version that substituted baby carriage for the "oh so
British" word perambulator. Subtitles have been provided on the DVD
in English. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide
access to the standard scene selection and set up features as well as
a theatrical trailer plus extensive biographical information for director
Anthony Asquith and the cast- highlighted by numerous production photos.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is
a genuine delight of a movie and something that film buffs and fans of
the works of Oscar Wilde will most assuredly want to own. The Criterion
Collection has done a very nice job with the presentation, making the
film look better than the beaten up version that plays on many a local
public television station.