A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Collector -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Following the release of Ben-Hur on Blu, this is rather like having a mini William Wyler festival.


But we need far more of this great filmmaker's work on Blu-ray.


If I had to select the work of half a dozen classic filmmakers to keep me company on that proverbial desert island for a couple of years, Mr. Wyler's work would be among them.


Mr. Wyler's career that spanned six decades, going back to 1923 as a asst. director on The Hunchback of Notre Dame as well as on Ben-Hur (1925). It is his feature film work from the 1930s through the '60s that places him among the top filmmakers working in the era.


His work for Samuel Goldwyn is brilliant -- These Three, Dodsworth, Dead End, Wuthering Heights, The Westerner, The Little Foxes, and the brilliant The Best Years of Our Lives. His work for Warner Bros. includes Jezebel and The Letter. For M-G-M, Mrs. Miniver.


The Heiress, Detective Story, Carrie, Roman Holiday and The Desperate Hours for Paramount. Friendly Persuasion for Allied, The Big Country for UA, followed by his final works, Ben-Hur ( M-G-M), The Children's Hour (UA) (a re-make of his own These Three), The Collector (Columbia), How to Steal a Million (Fox), Funny Girl (Columbia), and finally The Liberation of L.B. Jones (Columbia) in 1970.


The pity is that with all of those great films, we had only three titles available on Blu-ray.


I could easily select another dozen that would make Blu-ray a far richer experience.


I've been trying to recall where I saw The Collector. It was either at the Ardmore or the Bryn Mawr, both on the main line of Philadelphia.


But the film has never left me.


It's basically a two character drama, based upon the novel by John Fowles.


As always, I'll not go into the story, but will leave you with two points.


First, it seems an unusual film for Mr. Wyler to select, but I can see why it would have appealed to him. The performances by Mr. Stamp and Ms. Eggar are unbelievably good. Ms. Eggar was nominated for Best Actress. The film also received nominations for Director and Screenplay based upon a book.


As a Blu-ray, The Collector is perfect, but I would presume no less from something coming out of the Columbia vaults.


Its selection by Image Entertainment (released along with The Fisher King) sends a very positive note about the future of the Columbia/Image relationship.


Highly Recommended.


RAH

 

[Charles Smith]

Fantastic!


I treasure memories of where I saw films...not that they're always accurate, but this one is -- It was a late-1970s L.A. Filmex, I think it was included in an all-night marathon, and that one viewing has carried the load all these years. Eventually got the DVD but somehow hadn't quite gotten around to watching it. Moot point now, this is a first day buy.

 

[Robin9]

The performances by Mr. Stamp and Ms. Eggar are unbelievable.

Do you mean literally unbelievable or unbelievably good? One sad aspect of this movie is that Kenneth More's entire perfomance was left on the cutting room floor. I understand he was warned from the outset that this might happen but he was so keen to work with William Wyler that he went ahead anyway.

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Robin9


Do you mean literally unbelievable or unbelievably good?
One sad aspect of this movie is that Kenneth More's entire perfomance was left on the cutting room floor. I understand he was warned from the outset that this might happen but he was so keen to work with William Wyler that he went ahead anyway.

Meant in the positive.


RAH

 

[Robert Harris]

I should have highlighted Maurice Jarre's score, which in many cases takes one to Aurens...


RAH

 

[marsnkc]

Robert, your line, "it seems an unusual film for Mr. Wyler to select" echoes what you said in your Ben Hur review - something along the lines of it not being a movie one would equate with Mr. Wyler. And that's as it should be. As David Lean said at his AFI tribute, quoting Thalberg, "Never come out of the same box twice." Of course, it's impossible to have as long and prolific a career as Mr. Wyler and not come out of the same box twice (studio dictates; the fact that great and varied scripts don't grow on trees or even always available to one...etc.), but no matter the box, it was invariably a beaut! As with any Wyler, The Collector was a first day pre-order, but we all have our especial favorites of his. I already mentioned Roman Holiday in that Ben Hur thread, a movie that literally induces a sort of serenity in me, but I aso have a special fondness for The Letter and The Westerner. I remember calling a friend of mine immediately after seeing the former on tape for the first time, saying that I'd just watched Bette Davis not only chewing the scenery, but spitting it out as well. I said you couldn't get away with that kind of acting 'today', so how to explain being spellbound by it? His response was, "Yes you could, if you had the talent"! Subsequent viewings made me realize that everything about - and everyone in - that gem is wonderful. When that happy condition occurs (with the usual nod to the author and/or scriptwriter) the finger of suspicion points to the man in charge. As with the many editions of Wuthering Heights subsequent to Wyler's, the TV version of The Letter is a pale shadow of its predecessor. And that had Lee Remick, no slouch in the acting department. After watching Huston's Judge Roy Bean, I told that same friend how much I'd enjoyed it and Newman's performance. He told me that if I was impressed with Newman's take on the judge, I should do myself a favor and check out Walter Brennan's in The Westerner. OMG...if ever anyone deserved the Oscar he won for that! (But then, what's new about actors winning Oscars in Wyler movies?) And so it went as I began to catch up on this master's work (I still have a ways to go, I'm glad to say). It took me a while to realize that so many of the movies I relished had one thing in common. As with the time I was catching up with and being bowled over by Brando's many brilliant and varied performances, it was 'deja vu all over again' with respect to the work of the great 'Willie'.

 

[AdrianTurner]

Wyler made The Collector at a time when many major directors were working on British subjects - from Richard Brooks to Otto Preminger, Jean-Luc Godard to Francois Truffaut to Michelangelo Antonioni to Jerzy Skolimowski. This was partly because the Hollywood studios had locked funds in the UK and wanted to spend the money; and there was obviously a fashion, Swinging vibe going on. I really have no idea why Wyler fancied The Collector and, anyway, most of it seems to have been shot in Hollywood, though the eagle-eyed might notice a cinema in Belsize Park showing the great man's Roman epic. The Collector had many problems and there's a lot of stuff out there to research, most notably perhaps is the diary from John Fowles, available here: http://www.fowlesbooks.com/JournalsI.htm It's a fascinating read.

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by marsnkc

Robert, your line, "it seems an unusual film for Mr. Wyler to select" echoes what you said in your Ben Hur review - something along the lines of it not being a movie one would equate with Mr. Wyler. And that's as it should be. As David Lean said at his AFI tribute, quoting Thalberg, "Never come out of the same box twice."
Of course, it's impossible to have as long and prolific a career as Mr. Wyler and not come out of the same box twice (studio dictates; the fact that great and varied scripts don't grow on trees or even always available to one...etc.), but no matter the box, it was invariably a beaut!
As with any Wyler, The Collector was a first day pre-order, but we all have our especial favorites of his. I already mentioned Roman Holiday in that Ben Hur thread, a movie that literally induces a sort of serenity in me, but I aso have a special fondness for The Letter and The Westerner. I remember calling a friend of mine immediately after seeing the former on tape for the first time, saying that I'd just watched Bette Davis not only chewing the scenery, but spitting it out as well. I said you couldn't get away with that kind of acting 'today', so how to explain being spellbound by it? His response was, "Yes you could, if you had the talent"!
Subsequent viewings made me realize that everything about - and everyone in - that gem is wonderful. When that happy condition occurs (with the usual nod to the author and/or scriptwriter) the finger of suspicion points to the man in charge. As with the many editions of Wuthering Heights subsequent to Wyler's, the TV version of The Letter is a pale shadow of its predecessor. And that had Lee Remick, no slouch in the acting department.
After watching Huston's Judge Roy Bean, I told that same friend how much I'd enjoyed it and Newman's performance. He told me that if I was impressed with Newman's take on the judge, I should do myself a favor and check out Walter Brennan's in The Westerner. OMG...if ever anyone deserved the Oscar he won for that! (But then, what's new about actors winning Oscars in Wyler movies?)
And so it went as I began to catch up on this master's work (I still have a ways to go, I'm glad to say). It took me a while to realize that so many of the movies I relished had one thing in common. As with the time I was catching up with and being bowled over by Brando's many brilliant and varied performances, it was 'deja vu all over again' with respect to the work of the great 'Willie'.

As I've noted in the past, David Lean loved Mr. Wyler's work, as he was among his three favored filmmakers here in the Colonies that he referred to as the "three foreigners"


Wyler, Wilder and Zinnemann.


As to the work of Mr. Brennan, a single line comes to mind...


"Ever been bit by a dead bee?"


But then one can't hear that without thinking of Ms. Bacall...


"Why don't you bite them back."


Them's was the days of great scripts, and greater actors.


RAH

 

[Charles Smith]

Finally caught up to watching this tonight. A thing of beauty. Had friends seeing it for their first time so no interruptions or anything, and I was pleased that they were sucked in right from the start -- but so was I, having not seen it in 30+ years.


Caught sight of "Ben Hur". (You really dare not blink.)


The score is top shelf Jarre, with lots of "Zhivago" hints and nuances (same year).

There is even something particularly beautiful about the opening and end titles. Everything is just perfect.

 

[Charles Smith]

I remember always loving that house, though I suppose only the exterior is used.


EDIT:

Google Earth: "gabriels manor, marsh green road, kent, england" (thank you, imdb)

 

[Charles Smith]

Whoa! My next viewing (SOON) is going to be particularly rich, because I've just read that Fowles journal excerpt. Amazing!

 

[Bob Cashill]

Great excerpt. I shudder to think what Fowles might have felt of the film of THE MAGUS...

 

[marsnkc]

Whoa!  My next viewing (SOON) is going to be particularly rich, because I've just read that Fowles journal excerpt.  Amazing!

Thanks for mentioning that article, Charles. I meant to thank Adrian for the link, but life got in the way. Delicious reading! The re-birth of this thread gives me the opportunity to set the record straight about something I wrote in #6. I remembered afterwards that what David Lean was complaining about when he quoted Thalberg's admonition, "Never come out of the same box twice" was the ever-growing trend for sequels, "Parts 1, 2, and 3" (or something to that effect). He wasn't suggesting the near impossible - especially for a studio-employed director - that there should be no similarities between one movie and another, in respect of genre, etc. (though Lean himself very much enjoyed that luxury after Kwai). I hope I'm right about this since (if my memory hasn't failed me again) Mr. Turner helped edit it, but according to Kevin Brownlow's definitive biography of the maestro, that little speech cost Lean his contemporary backing for Nostromo.