- Joined
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- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
Week Ending February 6, 2004
What an incredible week I have had discovering
some of the best classic films I have ever seen.
It should come as no surprise that this week's picks
all come from the recent crop of MGM releases through
the Warner Home Video library. Never before in the
history of this format has there been a period as
exhilarating as right now. We are truly seeing the
cream of the classic film library making its debut
on DVD.
This week I picked four films that simply cannot
be ignored by film enthusiasts. Not only did I
have the opportunity to watch two Best Picture
winners here, but along the way I fell in love with
a beautiful, talented actress by the name of
Greer Garson who was discovered in London
by MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer.
Though very hard to put in exact favorite order,
here are the four films I picked this week....
Mrs. Miniver
Slightly edging out my other picks, Mrs. Miniver
takes top honors. A Best Picture Winner of 1942, it
was evident that audiences connected with this story
of a typical English family struggling through the
outbreak of World War II.
Though most have labeled the film as propaganda
to sell Americans into joining the war, you can't
help but to be emotionally moved by many of the
sad events that happen throughout the film. Perhaps
the reason this film is so identifiable is because
of the realism of its characters. I can't remember
any other film I have ever watched where people seem
so true to life as the Kay and Clem Miniver (Greer
Garson and Walter Pidgeon), their son Vin (Richard
Ney) and his bride Carol (Teresa Wright). These
are well-to-do people who suddenly come face-to-face
with extraordinary circumstances. All of it seems
so real and comes across the screen so believably.
Look for one of the cutest performances by child
actor Christopher Severn, who plays the young Toby.
This kid had me laughing aloud several times and is
just priceless to watch.
Of all the films selected here, Mrs. Miniver
had one of the cleanest transfers. Any scratches
or debris were kept minimal and the overall video
quality was quite good.
If you are pondering just one of the classics I
have picked in this week's column, I would put
Mrs. Miniver at the top of the list. It
is a wonderful morale-boosting film for its time
that is certainly not without its share of emotional
moments that will bring tears to the eyes.
Goodbye Mr. Chips
How many times has Hollywood repeated the formula
of a school teacher or good-deeder who reflects upon
his life and the people he touched along the way?
Though it sure seems to have become a popular story
to tell, this is perhaps the film that told it first.
It's a simple story of a simple man named Mr. Chipping
(Robert Donat) who helped mold and inspire the thousands
of students that came in and out of his life during his
60+ years as a teacher at Brookfield, a prestigious
school for teenage boys.
It's fascinating to watch Robert Donat age through
the years. The film opens in present day late 1920s
where we see an energetic 80-year-old Chipping reflecting
upon his arrival in 1870 at the Brookfield Boys School
as a withdrawn, shy 24 year-old newcomer. As years
pass, and a new crop of students arrive at Brookfield
(watch out for those Colley kids), we watch Chipping's
extraordinary story further unfold.
The highlight of this film, is of course, the meeting
of a lively English girl named Katherine Ellis
(Greer Garson) whose passion for life affects the
stick-in-the-mud schoolteacher in ways he never
before imagined.
It's worthy of noting that in one of the toughest
Academy Awards years of all time, Robert Donat
took the Oscar for Best Actor, beating out
Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, James Stewart and
Mickey Rooney.
Transfer quality is a little rough. Many shots
are overly grainy and the print has its shares of
film debris. One must step back, however, and
realize this film is 65 years old and perhaps this
is the very best we can expect from a film this age.
Though the film often borders on being a little too
"shmaltzy," I thoroughly enjoyed the nearly two hours
I spent watching Goodby, Mr. Chips. It just
edged out the competition as being my second favorite
pick of the week.
Mutiny On The Bounty
You know, the first time I became aware of Mutiny
On The Bounty was through a Bugs Bunny cartoon
where Bugs was dressed in Captain Uniform sporting a
stiff upper-lip and barking out orders to "Mr. Christian"
(Yosemite Sam). It wasn't until my first viewing
of the film this week that I realized how well that
cartoon captured the mannerisms of Charles Laughton's
Captain Bligh.
Winner of a Best Picture award in 1935, Mutiny
On The Bounty was perhaps the grandest story
of the sea filmed to that date. Adapted from the
Charles Nordhoff-James Norman Hall 1932 best seller,
the film loosely sticks to historical accuracy in
telling the story of the sailing of the H. M. S.
Bounty in 1787.
Leaving from Portsmouth, England, the Bounty heads
for Tahiti on a mission to transport breadfruit to
the West Indies. Under the strict command of Captain
Bligh (Charles Laughton), the crew is subjected to
inhumane discipline which leads to a mutiny headed
by first officer Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable).
Transfer quality is questionable. I blame the
sheer age of this film which is now nearly 70 years
old. Though I am sure some restoration effort was
done by Warner Bros., the print still looks very
grainy and dirty. Many of the effects shots that
include officers fighting the fiercest weather
elements at sea often look blurred. Still, the
film is quite watchable in its current presentation.
I loved Mutiny On The Bounty just for its
grandness and epic feel. Much of the film was shot
on location in the South Pacific, though sadly, it
is these island scenes that significantly slow the
pacing of the film. Surprisingly, the film still
holds up quite well 70 years later and I think it's
worthy of a purchased addition to anyone's library.
Gaslight
Last, but certainly not least in this week's
picks, Gaslight succeeds more as a
mildly suspenseful yarn with outstanding performances
than anything that could be considered plausible.
It's the story of Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman)
falls in love with Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer).
The relationship starts out normal enough with two
people seemingly in love with each other. However,
things soon change once they move into a London house
where Paula lived as a child before her Aunt was
mysteriously murdered there.
Through clever manipulation we watch as Mr. Anton
slowly chips away at Paula's sanity. But what are
his reasons for doing this and what secrets lurk in
within this London home?
Though its amazing to watch Boyer's performance as
the cool, calculating Hungarian -- it is actually
Bergman that shines with a memorable performance
that won her first Best Actress Oscar in 1944. It
also should be noted that this was the film debut
of another soon-to-be-famous actress by the name
of Angela Lansbury.
The transfer seems to handle the film's many dark
scenes quite well despite the fact that it seems
many of Cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg's shots
of Thornton Square were vaseline covered for effect.
Print dirt and scratches are nominal which makes the
overall presentation quality quite good.
If you are looking for a fairly decent psychological
thriller from the heyday of Hollywood, you can't go
wrong curling up to Boyer, Bergman and Gaslight.
That's it for this week. See you next week!