Studio Classics – Best Picture Collection (Sunrise / How Green Was My Valley / Gentleman’s Agreement / All About Eve)

Put simply there is no better deal in all of DVD-dom than this 4-disc box set from 20th Century Fox. What you get is 3 masterpieces and one good film all restored to pristine visual and audio quality as well as a ton of extras in a nice keepsake box.

SUNRISE – 1927; Directed by F.W. Murnau

EXTRAS:
-Audio Commentary by John Bailey (ASC Cinematographer)
-Outtakes with Optional John Bailey Commentary
-Original scenario by Carl Mayer with annotations by Murnau
-Murnau’s Lost film: Four Devils
-Original Four Devils Screenplay
-Original Sunrise Screenplay
-Theatrical Trailer
-Aspect Ration 1.20:1
-Original movietone score (Mono)
-Alternate Olympic Chamber Orchestra score (Stereo)

REVIEW:

One of the most influential films of all time, Sunrise is perhaps master director Murnau’s most enduring masterpiece. Filmed in the last year of silent film it remains one of the pinnacles of that lost art. It is undoubtedly one of the most poetically beautiful films ever shot. The stunning visuals reveal the lack of modern films’ visual substance. Cold CGI can hold nothing to the organic purity of Sunrise and many other unforgettable silent films. The story is simple enough; a man from the country is tempted by a woman from the city to drown his wife and come away with her (there are no names given to characters in the film). The man struggles with the thought and the action of doing so while Murnau expresses his inner conflict with visuals that would come to be termed German Expressionism and would later serve as the visual basis for film noir.

This is a case where what is said isn’t nearly as important as how it’s said. The acting is melodramatic, indicative of the classical silent era. The story is so simple that it requires almost no discussion. But Murnau’s visuals express everything that is unsaid louder than 1000 pages of dialogue ever could. Yes, watching this film is like watching a moving painting. It is indeed closer to classical visual arts than narrative driven films. It’s because of this that it lingers in the memory long after viewing it. It’s simply as beautiful, poignant, poetic, and haunting a film as you’ll ever see and it deserves a high place on any list of the greatest films ever made.

The extras are plentiful and all very welcomed. Four Devils, however, is not an actual film, but rather a kind of recreation using the art designs and screenplay. The commentary has wonderful insights to Murnau’s visual techniques. The screenplays are excellent to those wondering how a masterpiece begins its life.

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY – 1941; Directed by John Ford

EXTRAS:
-Audio Commentary by Anna Lee Nathan and film Historian Joseph McBride
-AMC Backstory Episode; “How Green Was My Valley”
-Still Gallery
-Theatrical Trailor
-Full Frame Format (Aspect Ratio 1.33:1)
-Audio: English Stereo, English Mono, French Mono, Spanish Mono
-Subtitles: English, Spanish

REVIEW:

This infamous film is perhaps best known as the movie that beat Citizen Kane for Best Picture in 1941. But seeing as how Welles was a huge fan of Ford and revered him as THE film master, it’s appropriate that this film more than any other should’ve bested the film widely considered best ever. Ford also took home best director and Donald Crisp best supporting actor. Valley was often cited as Ford’s favorite film, and it’s not difficult to see why. It’s a beautiful and sentimental film about a Welsh family of coal miner’s struggling in their small town. The cast is uniformly superb, including a young Roddy McDowall in one of the finest child acting performances ever. But more than anything, it’s Ford’s traditionally and consistently wondrous visuals that perfectly create a sense of environment and the vivid people in it. The characters are all superbly conceived and each brings the story of their various struggles to life. Whether it’s Mr. Morgan (Crisp) trying to hold his family together in the face of socialist union uprising, Huw (McDowall) growing up and dealing with sickness as well as other childhood problems, the unrequited romance of Angharad (Maureen O’Hara) and Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon), or Mrs. Morgan’s (Sara Algood’s) ability to be the vocal and strong cornerstone.

It’s difficult to lend much insight into the poetic and, at times, spiritual tone that Ford exhibits and maintains in the film. It’s really something that simply must be seen to be appreciated, and it’s often the details (such as his carefully timed moving camera, or his ability to know when and when not to cut to close up) that give the film that extra something. The music is among the best ever used in a Ford film and together with the visuals, story, and characters creates a marriage that’s entirely poignant. The ending (without giving too much away) is quite sad. But Ford elevates the film above maudlin sentimentalism with both the lyrical images and the heartfelt final speech. It’s heartbreaking but also spiritually refreshing.

Since its release people have disagreed just where Valley ranks among the other masterpieces in Ford’s oeuvre. Some think it’s one of his weakest “great” films, while others think it’s among his best. For me, it’s a notch below the absolute classics (Searchers, Clementine, Grapes) and falls somewhere in the second tier of masterpieces along with Stagecoach and Liberty Valance. Valley is a film that can put you off for a number of reasons such as the stilted romance or the obvious sentimentality. It’s also not as complex as Ford’s later films. But it’s one that is full of possible poignancy, and if it happens to hit you then it might just become a favorite.

The extras are nice, but not as robust as with Sunrise. The commentary is very good as is the AMC backstory episode.

GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT – 1947; Directed by Elia Kazan

EXTRAS:
-Audio Commentary by Celeste Holm, June Havoc, and film Critic Richard Schickel
-AMC Backstory Episode: “Gentleman’s Agreement”
-2 Fox Movietone Newsreels
-Stills Gallery
-Theatrical Trailer
-Full Frame Format (Aspect Ratio 1.33:1)
-Audio: English Stereo, English Mono, French Mono, Spanish Mono
-Subtitles: English, Spanish

REVIEW:

This is easily the least substantial film of the 4 in this set. This 1947 film was full of zeitgeist, dealing with anti-Semitism and bigotry directly. It’s the story of a journalist, played by Gregory Peck in an Oscar nominated role, assigned to write an article on the subject. Needing an angle, he poses as a Jew and begins to experience intolerance first hand. Dorothy McGuire plays his romantic interest, and Dean Stockwell his son. Even though this film handles an important subject with the seriousness it deserves, the problem is mostly not with the message but the delivery. The audience is essentially allowed passage into the subject through the son, and treated with as much respect. This film really seems shallow and naïve today. Its lack of a visual voice doesn’t give it the aesthetic pleasures of the two above films, and its often awkward dialogue makes it pale in comparison to Eve. That said, the film is still good if taken on its own. It’s perhaps one of the best films about bigotry. Its unadorned style allows for nothing to get in the way of the ideas. Gregory Peck also does as well as could be in the role, and makes even the most cringe worthy parts watchable.

The extras are plentiful, though due to my lack of interest I haven’t viewed either the documentary or the commentary.

ALL ABOUT EVE – 1950; Written and Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

EXTRAS:
-Audio Commentary by Celeste Holm, Christopher Mankiewicz, and Kenneth Geist (Author of “Pictures Will Talk: The Life and Films of Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
-Audio Commentary by Sam Staggs (Author of “All About `All About Eve'”)
-AMC Backstory Episode: “All About Eve”
-Original Interviews with Bette Davis and Ann Baxter
-4 Movietone Newsreels (Movie Premiere and Award Shows)
-Restoration Comparison
-Theatrical Trailer
-Full Frame Format (Aspect Ratio 1.33:1)
-Audio: English Stereo, English Mono, French Mono, Spanish Mono
-Subtitles: English, Spanish

REVIEW:

Widely considered the best screenplay ever written, Joseph L. Mankeiwicz incomparable masterpiece is one of the few `talky’ films ever to win over cinephiles as much as audiences. It’s not difficult to see why; the dialogue is endlessly witty and sharp, but the delivery by the cast – truly one of the best ensembles ever – makes everything work with a razor sharp precision. This may be Bette Davis’s best performance, the role that resurrected her career and seemed to have her written all over it. She is riveting as the aging Broadway actress/diva Margo Channing. The titular Eve, played by Ann Baxter is her seemingly charming and naïve but actually devious successor that seeks to usurp Margo’s place. In a way, Baxter had a much tougher role to play in the film, needing the audience to fall in love with her early – echoing Margo and her group’s acceptance – and slowly realize her conniving ways. The supporting cast including Celeste Holm as Karen Richards (in perhaps her best performance), Gary Merill as Bill Simpson, Hugh Marlowe as Lloyd Richards, and George Sanders as Addison DeWitt are all outstanding as well.

For many this film will be the centerpiece of this collection, and not unjustifiably so. Its story is as timeless as theater itself, and its themes speak on everything that deals with the nature of fictional theater in all its inner workings and parts, and its relationship with reality. It is simply the most intelligently written film about an age-old subject. It’s equally cynical as it is funny, as biting as it is charming, as enjoyable as it is artful, and it is undoubtedly one of the finest films cinema has ever produced.

The extras are, again, plentiful and all welcomed. The two commentaries are a bit overkill, as most everything of note is given in one of them (ether, really). The backstory episode is very nice and the rest of the extras provide nice looks at the film for its fans.

CONCLUSION:

Overall, this set may be the best ever produced of its kind. I’ll just repeat the title and say that every film-lover should own this. At this price, I may buy two just to protect my invaluable copy of Sunrise.

We have watched a couple of DVD’s. excellent old movies.

This was a good collection of movies that I had seen long ago but wanted to see again, some of them more than once.

Fox is partially redeemed by this set for not making Sunrise available by itself. Being the only way that Sunrise is available on DVD, this package is an amazing deal. For the price that one could very well pay for Sunrise alone, you can get All About Eve, Gentleman’s Agreement, and How Green Was My Valley included. Actually, this would even be a fair price for any 2 of those movies, so to get all 4 of these is incredible.

Since this isn’t a very common box set to see, i was especially curious about what it would look like, since Amazon didn’t show an image at the time. I was really impressed by the packaging, which is the standard slip case, only it has an interesting see-through slide-on case to hold the DVD’s in. So in the above picture, the gold trim and logo are on the transparent outer case, and the faded images are on the actual case. It really looks great in my collection (Although i’ll admit i initially had difficulty figuring out how to get the DVD’s out of the case).

No further comment on the individual movies is necessary. This set is comparable to the Warner Best Picture collection with Ben Hur, Casablanca, and Gone with the Wind, only it costs nearly half as much, and has an additional movie. But there’s no reason any set of Best Pictures shouldn’t be in your collection–these are the ones you absolutely cannot go wrong with!