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Driving Miss Daisy
Special Edition
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 1989
Rated: PG
Film Length: 99 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.85:1)
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish
Since the beginning of cinema, there have been many
odd couples portrayed in film. Movie-goers no doubt
enjoy watching characters at opposite sides of the
spectrum as they try to cope with one another, while
finding mutual friendship in the process. Perhaps no
film has more poetically brought two opposites together
than Driving Miss Daisy, a tender film that
portrays the delicate friendship that grows over
years between two people forced to endure each
other's grievances.
As the film opens, the year is 1948. Daisy (Jessica
Tandy), an elderly, rich, Jewish lady is putting on
her best hat and setting off to go shopping in her
brand-new Packard. When Miss Daisy gets in her car,
she backs out so fast that she drives into a pit in
the back yard. Her son, Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) tells
her that she's a terrible risk, citing that "cars
don't behave-they're behaved upon."
Boolie owns a huge manufacturing business and it
is there that he meets Hoke (Morgan Freeman), a
kindly black gentleman who is a little younger than
Miss Daisy. Hoke offers his services as a chauffeur,
and Boolie immediately hires him to drive around
his aging mother, though warns him that she's a
little high-strung.
When Hoke and Miss Daisy meet, sparks begin to fly.
Daisy refuses to hand over her independence and does
everything she can to test Hoke's patience. Over the
next 25 years, the pair become the become the most
intimate of friends without breaking the social
barriers that divide them.
What more can be said about a film that brings
together such a magnificent screenplay and superb
performances by its cast. Jessica Tandy is
inspiring as Miss Daisy, and Morgan Freeman truly
shows that he is one of the greatest and most
underrated actors of our time. Driving Miss
Daisy became the most celebrated film of the
1990 Oscars, with 9 Academy nominations. The film
won Best Picture as well as a deserving Best Actress
award for Jessica Tandy.
How is the transfer?
It took many of us a long time to realize this,
but perhaps back in 1997 DVD wasn't all that it was
touted to be. Sure, DVD was a format that provided
superior image quality. However, looking back at
that time, I realize that none of the studios really
put any concern into the quality of the transfers
they were releasing to the format. Dazzled by the
clarity the format offered, we didn't realize it
as much then, but the studios were releasing one
dirty scratchy transfer after another.
This all-new digital transfer of Driving Miss
Daisy is leaps ahead of its original DVD debut.
The most obvious improvements are its first-time
anamorphic presentation and picture that is void of
all the video noise that plagued the original release.
Some may find it hard to believe that this film has
been improved upon judging by its mostly soft and
hazy image that lacks a bit of sharpness and detail.
Fact of the matter is, this is the way the film looked
theatrically. What has improved is overall color
stability with more accurate flesh tone colors and
less smearing. The greens of Daisy Werthan's property
have never looked more vivid. Though picture is
still very soft, there is far more detail here than
the original release. The original DVD release also
had an awful amount of blemish and video noise that
has been greatly calmed here. I noticed only but
a few minor imperfections in the print.
Though I never considered sound to be the most
important element to this film, the Dolby
Surround mix provides some nice ambient weather
effects throughout the movie. Most enjoyable
here is the intimate, heartfelt score of Hans
Zimmer (a huge leap away from his thunderous
action efforts) that play with abundant detail and
clarity across the front and rear channels. Since
this is not a true 5.1 mix, there is dialogue
bleeding from the center channel to the front.
Special Features
Warner Bros. was well aware that sooner or later
Daisy was due for a total makeover. I am
happy to see that not only did the studio make this
title a priority, but decided to include two brand-new
retrospective featurettes as well as an original
promotional featurette from that time period.
What a more fitting way to introduce the viewer
to this brand new Special Edition than the DVD's
Main Menu which is simplisticly wonderful. Two
picture frames display separate portraits of Daisy
and Hoke. These portraits suddenly come alive
showing various clips from the film. The menu
selections are located within the borders of the
picture frames themselves.
First, however, I must talk about the full-length
commentary by director Bruce Beresford,
screenwriter Alfred Uhry and producer Lili Fini
Zanuck. Unfortunately, none of the participants
were in the same room together at the time of the
recording though for once I can't see how having
everyone together would make much of a difference.
Writer Alfred Uhry begins by talking about how
the story of this film is based upon the life of
his Grandmother (who he knew at a young age) and
her black chauffeur. It was also a recreation of
his childhood. Lili Zanuck talks about the financial
struggles of the film and the difficulties that
she and her husband Richard had launching the
project. Bruce Beseford talks about the casting
of the film. While everyone agreed Morgan Freeman
was the perfect choice, Bruce was unsure about
Jessica Tandy, that is, until he met her in person
and decided right there and then that she was
perfect for the part. It's interesting to hear
Lili Zanuck talk about the relationship of Daisy
and Hoke and how that relationship succeeds for the
fact that both of them are noble characters. The
studios lack of understanding of the relationship
between these characters was the reason why it
became so difficult to get financing for the film.
For this reason, the filmmakers were limited to
shooting in Atlanta which became difficult at first
since the area looked so modernized. Fortunately,
a small farming community 40 miles outside of the
city provided a nice backdrop for the film. Throughout
this commentary the three principals intercut with
one another providing nice background information
on a particular scene -- whether it be about the
important changes made to the foliage during the
change of seasons or the way Zanuck brought the
film in on budget or how some of the little stories
about Alfred's Grandmother were recreated for
the film -- this commentary always remains lively
and interesting throughout.
Jessica Tandy: Theatre Legend to screen star
is an enchanting look at the woman with a big smile
from some of the people that knew her best including
Jon Avenet (director Fried Green Tomatoes), actress
Frances Sternhagen, director Bruce Beresford and
writer Alfred Uhry (of Driving Miss Daisy). All of
these individuals have such vivid memories of
Jessica's warm personality and the fact that she was
such a professional in her craft. Starting with
Broadway, we learn of one her most memorable roles
as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar named Desire.
Frances Sternhagen emotionally recalls Jessica's
short speech after winning the Tony award for Gin
Game. In fact, this entire featurette becomes
an emotional experience not only for its participants
but the viewer as well, as we realize how much we
miss Jessica Tandy.
(length: approx. 6 minutes)
Miss Daisy's journey from stage to screen
began with a simple short story by writer Alfred
Uhry based on his real-life Grandmother and her
black chauffeur. The short story became a Pulitzer
Prize-winning play, whose rights were purchased by
Richard Zanuck and his wife. In an interview,
Zanuck talks about the off-Broadway play he and
his wife fell in love with. He also admits that
this was one of the toughest films to make with
its rather large budget and shooting schedule.
Though director Brice Beresford never knew much
about Jessica Tandy before considering her for his
film, he was enamored by her subtle approach and
extreme professionalism. One of the coolest
stories told here is how Dan Aykroyd landed the
role of Boolie. The role became Aykroyd's most
memorable effort. Make-up artist Lynn Barber
gives us an overview of the realistic aging process
that was applied to the actors. Director Beresford
talks about Daisy's home -- an actual house that
was rented from an elderly lady where all the scenes
were filmed (as opposed to using sets). He also
talks about how the photographic style of the film
changed over the course of its nearly 30 year span.
How did composer Hans Zimmer create such Daisy's
memorable theme? Simply by watching the actress
walk down the street. It was her body language
that dictated the flow of the music. This is
a terrific featurette for the fact that it shows
how a project like this almost seemed impossible to
make from its early beginnings, but yet with all
the care and love that went into the project, it
ended up winning the Best Picture of that year.
(length: approx. 18 minutes)
After watching the two brand-new featurettes, you
will no doubt enjoy going back in time to see the
original 1989 making-of featurette. In fact,
this featurette is the best of the lot considering
the fact that it contains some very personal
moments with actress Jessica Tandy, including a
celebration of her 80th birthday. Jessica reflects
upon the many flaws of her character, but admires
the way Daisy treated Hoke, always supporting him
rather than being degrading.
(length: approx. 6 minutes)
A Cast and Crew filmography is rather
limited (with some films omitted from bios),
and multiple Awards pages list the huge
amount of honors the film received. Finally,
the film's original theatrical trailer
is included.
Final Thoughts
Driving Miss Daisy is a picture snapshot of
one of those rare cinematic moments that barely gets
repeated. It's a beautifully made masterpiece that
serves as a reminder of how powerful an art form
film is.
Be certain to make this new Special Edition a
permanent part of your DVD library, for without
it, your collection is truly incomplete.
Release Date: February 4, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality
