A Few Words About A few words about...™ Gilda -- in Blu-ray

Wonderful. I'm buying

I'm sure Rita must have been amazing to see in person!

 

I've not got around to purchasing the German BD. If it's the same transfer (and with Sony's reputation for supplying good masters, I would imagine it is) I would opt to import it from Germany just to save a few bucks.

 

yeah, Rita Hayworth... The greatest girl of old Hollywood... She was a walking charisma. And to think that Jennifer Lawrence is also called a star - hahahahahahahaha...

 

And in 50 years, people are going to be saying "The people today aren't stars. Jennifer Lawrence was a star."

 

That's highly doubtful. Of course, people will continue to say that the actors of today aren't "stars", but with the way that the media landscape is changing, I would be stunned to hear "Jennifer Lawrence was a star" uttered by anyone 60-70 years from today,

 

Since I have no way to see the future, I suppose that's possible but my point was more that the complaint stays the same and only the names change. When the now legendary Rita Hayworth was in Gilda, I'm sure there were people saying how she was nothing compared to Gloria Swanson or Clara Bow or Lillian Gish.

 

hayworth IS a goddess, and the stars of classic hollywood were larger than life STARS.

now all we have are working actors

 

RAH, in that 4th paragraph of your original post, did you mean to say:

"At one point he became quiet, and then recalled how he discovered what sexy meant."

(Bolding added to emphasize word)

If so, you might want to edit your post and add a y to the word!

Otherwise, it sounds like Jeffrey Selznick watched Wells and Hayworth having sex.

Mark

 

This was a blind buy for me, though I had never seen the film before. As with Veronica Lake, seeing a new Criterion Blu-ray touting Rita Hayworth provoked an instant "Sold!" response.

Now I understand why she was a top pin-up girl during World War II, along with Betty Grable. "Who, me?"

This movie was a revelation. Deliciously subversive, loads of censor-baiting subtext that flew right past their noses, and a riveting performance by Rita (and everyone else). The film is very nearly a noir, stunningly shot without being heavy-handed, and breezes by so entertainingly that you never want to see The End.

And oh, the irony. Rita, half Spanish in reality but her heritage disguised for the part of Gilda, being cautioned about the Latin men in the area taking her sexy come-ons seriously.

You could peel this thing apart like an onion and still never reach the center. I loved it.

 

I've got the Italian BD, which is the same as the German BD.
I doubt that the Criterion is far better than the European BD from Sony, as the PQ of the Sony is excellent IMHO.

 

I like Jennifer Lawrence,
but no actress of today that I can think of has the charisma of Rita or Gloria or Katharine or Greta or ...
With the actors of today only George Clooney pops to my mind in case of such charisma.

 

Quality is virtually identical, but Criterion has a much heftier supplemental package. I'll wait until summer and pick this up at the Barnes & Noble Criterion sale. With a coupon, I'll end up paying $15. More than cheap enough for me for a classic of this magnitude and an array of illuminating extras.

 

Different era but I think Jessica Chastain has it!

 

The thing to remember too is that stars back then weren't on talk shows, news shows, web sites, and social media. Heck, there wasn't even home video. If you wanted to see Rita Hayworth you waited until a film she did came out then you went to see it on the big screen, probably only once.

 

very few stars are showcased in a film as beautifully as Rita was in GILDA.

she is pure cinema magic in this film.

a perfect example of why we love classic movies.

 

Good point. I had no opinion about Jennifer Lawrence until I saw her on the Graham Norton chat show here in the UK. Very unimpressive and very scruffy.