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Fox Studio Classics on DVDFasten Your Seatbelts...How Green Was My Valley If you want to catch some of Hollywood's finest old flicks, Fox's "Studio Classics" series isn't a bad place to start. Each of the titles we've received so far is a "Best Picture" winner from its year, restored for this new DVD release, and with a good set of special features added to make your trip down movie memory lane even more enjoyable or educational. The initial crop of titles includes the Best Pictures of 1947, "Gentleman's Agreement," 1941's "How Green Was My Valley," and 1950's "All About Eve." The films are very different from each other, but each is a genuine classic that deserves to be seen. John Ford's "How Green Was My Valley" tells the sad story of the beginning of the end of an era in a small Welsh coal mining town. Told through the eyes (and narration) of young Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall), the plot focuses on his family, a decent, strong, closely-knit and hardworking clan who, at the film's beginning live together under one roof. Every morning, the men trudge up the hill to the colliery to work underground mining coal, and every evening they trudge back down again. The Morgans love life, and each other, and one of the sons loves to sing and has assembled a Welsh choir around him that regales the town with song as the workers make their daily way from work. In all, it's a satisfying life for the townspeople and the Morgans, but we wouldn't have much of a movie if it stayed that way, would we? So the mining company starts messing with the workers' wages, causing the workers to flirt with unionism. This causes a rift not only between workers and management, but between members of the Morgan family themselves as patriarch Donald Crisp (who won a well-deserved "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar for his portrayal) fights the creeping socialism infecting his sons. Eventually the workers strike and it's a long, cold, and bitter winter. Even when it's settled, there isn't as much work, and some of the sons decide to make a bid for the green hills of America. Meanwhile, young Huw goes to school and it turns out to be a very humbling experience, while his sister enters a loveless marriage and - well, you get the picture. Unfortunately, this description of the plot borders on trivialization and doesn't come close to doing "How Green Was My Valley" justice. It's a powerful, unique film that is, on the whole, quite depressing, though it keeps you rooting for the Morgans despite all that unfolds. This is ultimately a movie about life and dreams, and the struggles they bring on. Walter Pidgeon gets top billing (though his part isn't really any bigger than Crisp's) as the minister whose unrequited love for the Morgans' daughter (Maureen O'Hara) causes both of them no end of trouble. The other cast members (this is far more of an ensemble piece than a "star" and "supporting actor" film) include Sara Allgood, Anna Lee and John Loder. The DVD is in fullscreen, naturally, and the black and white picture looks very good (though because of the B&W film you can never tell exactly how green the valley was…). Audio is Dolby Digital mono, and its quality is okay considering the age and genesis of the source material. Extras include a running commentary by Anna Lee Nathan and Film Historian Joseph McBride, an AMC Backstory on the film, still photo gallery, and the theatrical trailer. How Green Was
My Valley, from 20th Century Fox Home Video Gentleman's Agreement starts off slowly, but turns into a powerful tale about tolerance set against a climate of anti-Semitism during the 1940's US. It's not only a good story but a wake up call about the classic liberal theme (which today would be considered a classic conservative theme) of tolerance - much as "To Kill a Mockingbird" tackled discrimination against black people. Gregory Peck is Philip Schuyler Green, a magazine writer assigned to cover the topic of anti-Semitism. Searching for an angle that will make his piece unique, he decides to pretend to be Jewish for the duration of the assignment, and actually live the Jewish experience as much as possible. This turns out to be a real eye-opener for him as people he thought he knew - and people who didn't seem to have an anti-Semitic bone in their bodies, displayed deeply ingrained prejudice against Jews. From Restricted institutions to Jewish people who hid who they really were in order to more easily get along in life - to the way his young son (Dean Stockwell) is harassed, "pseudo-Jew" Green learns that there was a lot more to his subject matter than he'd originally guessed. It sickens him, and changes him so much that he begins questioning his own relationships and even the woman he loves (Dorothy McGuire). And he learns from his best friend (John Garfield) that Jewish people are used to living under such circumstances until they've been forced to develop a psychological scar tissue that lets them keep functioning in a gentile, not gentle, world. This description doesn't really do the story justice. For one thing, Gentleman's Agreement isn't preachy; it's more matter-of-fact as the audience learns the truth along with the hero. And there are "religion blind" people, too, people to whom a person's religion is as irrelevant as their skin color - people who, to paraphrase Martin Luther King, judge others only on the content of their character. Gentleman's Agreement apparently caused quite a stir when it premiered, and we can understand why. It would undoubtedly have been controversial at the time (1947), and it also puts a spotlight onto an issue that still remains a sore point of humanity today: the treatment of the Jewish People. While Western civilization appears to have made progress by leaps and bounds in the treatment of the Jews , there's obviously still a long way to go in other parts of the world. Anyway, Gentleman's Agreement won three Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Role (Celeste Holm) and Best Director (Elia Kazan), and was nominated for several others. It's an excellent film - and the DVD does it justice. The DVD is presented in the original 4x3 "fullscreen" aspect ratio, which means that owners of 16x9 televisions will have to stretch and/or zoom it to fill their widescreen TV's, but that's better than having widescreen movies shown in Pan&Scan. The picture quality is very good, with a sharp image and good black and white contrast. Audio is, not surprisingly, only adequate - as is most audio from "the old days." The extras are good, though. First up is a running commentary by Celeste Holm, June Havoc, and film critic Richard Schickel. There's also an interesting "AMC Backstory Episode on the film's genesis, 2 Fox Movietone News featurettes, a gallery of still pictures and the theatrical trailer. Gentleman's Agreement, from 20th Century Fox Home Video All About Eve took home the Best Picture Oscar for 1950 and, unlike the films mentioned above, isn't concerned with the lives of ordinary people. Rather, it's another fictional look behind the scenes at showbiz, this time eh Great White Way of Broadway. Margo Channing (Bette Davis, in one of her signature performances) is a fading Broadway, well, broad, who makes the mistake of helping to mentor up and comer Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), despite being worried about losing her man (Gary Merrill), her parts, and even her life as a whole - and with good reason. Eve means to do just that, though initially we're more inclined to think Margo's just being paranoid, but this conniving creature gets her comeuppance in the end as what goes around comes around, much to the audience's delight. All About Eve was nominated for an unprecedented (until Titanic) 14 Oscars and won six, including Best Picture, Supporting Actor (George Sanders), Director and Screenplay (both went to Joseph L. Mankiewicz), Sound Recording, Costume Design (Black and White). It's obviously one of the all time greats. The DVD's no slouch, either. The full frame (not 16x9 TV compatible) black and white picture is sharp and bright and clean, though as expected the Dolby Digital mono audio is unremarkable. For extras, we get a running commentary by Celeste Holm, Christopher Mankiewicz and biographer Kenneth Geist, as well as a second commentary track by Sam Staggs, author of "All About 'All About Eve'". There's also an AMC Backstory episode on the movie, original interviews with Bette Davis and Anne Baxter, four Fox Movietone News reels, a comparison showing the new restoration, and the trailer. All About Eve, from 20th Century Fox Home Video 
If you saw “Sleepless in Seattle,” you’ve been introduced to the mystique of this Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr/Leo McCarey classic. It’s kind of a split-personality movie, with the first half being an enjoyable romantic comedy and the second half being a weep out loud tear jerker. It’s also a remake of McCarey’s own 1939 “Love Affair” (with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer) and was remade again in 1994 as “Love Affair” with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. But this is supposedly the definitive version, and it’s a good one, especially if you like tear jerkers. Cary Grant is Nicky Ferrante, a charming and well-known playboy engaged to a rich woman. He meets Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr), who’s likewise involved though not yet engaged, on board a cruise ship headed back to America. They strike up a friendship that blossoms into much more than a mere shipboard romance. This is where the movie is at its most charming, witty, and entertaining. And while Grant is typically Grant (he’s excellent in the part, but we see Cary Grant rather than Nicky), Kerr is outstanding. She positively lights up the screen with her luminous and intelligent Terry as she wriggles her way into Nicky’s, and his family's, hearts. And their attempts to hide what started as a fairly innocent friendship from their shipmates is very funny. Upon arrival in New York, they agree to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months - and then they both go back to their lives, though lives much different than they had anticipated before the voyage. Terry goes back to singing, rather than simply marrying her beau, while Nicky breaks off the engagement and decides to work for a living - as a painter. The movie changes on the day they’re to meet again. We won’t spoil the rest of the movie for you, but it’s an emotional profile in both love and stubbornness - and duty, and this is the part where you’ll want to keep the hankies handy. The DVD, part of Fox’s Studio Classics series, is good. The picture is presented in anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, but it would have benefited from a nice remastering job. It’s at times grainy and at times kind of muddy, though it doesn’t really spoil the enjoyment of the movie for anyone but a video snob like this reviewer. Audio is Dolby Digital stereo and is okay. Extras include a running commentary by “backup singer” Marni Nixon (who made a career out of singing for others) and film historian Joseph McBride. You also get a pretty good AMC Backstory episode on the film, its stars, and the behind the scenes gossip that accompanied them, as well as a short Fox Movietone Newsreel of the film’s shipboard premiere. There’s also a still gallery and the theatrical trailer. The Kimberly Clark company will undoubtedly be glad to see this DVD release because of the Kleenex sales it’s sure to spark… An Affair to Remember, from 20th Century Fox Home Video 
One of the best and most intelligent SF movies of the 1950's, Robert Wise's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" helped kick off 50's alien invasion movies on a high note. Michael Rennie is Klaatu, an alien emissary from a kind of interplanetary United Nations, sent to Earth with an ultimatum for mankind. He's shot and wounded when he first steps out of his flying saucer, however, which really sets the tone for most of the humans in this cold war-era tale of suspicion and futility. But not all the humans are idiots. After slipping out of the hospital where the military had him penned, Klaatu takes a room at a Washington, DC, area boarding house so he can study the human condition the way Jane Goodall studies chimpanzees. Here he meets Helen Benson (marvelously played by Patricia Neal) and Bobby (Billy Gray), a widow and her oh-so precocious son, who hit it off with Klaatu (masquerading as a Mr. Carpenter) right away - she because she needs a convenient baby-sitter and he because Carpenter has plenty of interesting and wild tales about science and nifty kid stuff like that. While Bobby's showing Klaatu the sights of the US capital, they try to visit "the smartest man in the world" (Sam Jaffe) where Klaatu leaves a calling card guaranteed to pique the interest of the difficult-to-meet scientist. Jaffe's Professor Barnard agrees to host a meeting of the world's most influential people (other than politicians) and it looks as if Klaatu may finally get the world wide forum for his message that he insists is the only way he'll impart his words of wisdom. But the military, aided by Helen's fiance (Hugh Marlowe), who are justifiably freaked out by a powerful demonstration Klaatu has given (at Barnard's suggestion) track down Klaatu and once again gun him down. But you can't keep a good alien down and Klaatu's remains are rescued by his powerful robot Gort (with Helen's help) and he's resuscitated long enough to deliver his message - an ultimatum that mankind had better learn to live together or face extermination at the hands of the more civilized members of the galactic brotherhood (hmmm, could there be an analogy for the 2003 Iraq/US situation here, with the US representing the galactic brotherhood?). Michael Rennie is very good as Klaatu. He's warm and wryly amused by the foibles of the humans he finds around him. In fact, there isn't a bad performance here, but it's Edmund North's screenplay (based on the story "Farewell to the Master") that's the real star. It's intelligent, funny, and sobering all at the same time. The THX-certified DVD is also very good. Fox has restored the film and it shows - though we aren't sure which restoration they're talking about because the supplementary materials include a restoration comparison that shows a film and a laserdisc restoration. The laserdisc one actually looks better, and we assume that's the one used here. Anyway, the video quality is very good, with nice and sharp black and white images and good contrast. The aspect ratio is the film's original 4x3 "full screen" which is as it should be. Unfortunately, this means owners of 16x9 TV's will have to stretch and/or zoom the picture to fill their screens or risk burn-in, but what can you do? Besides, the picture quality is good enough that it still looks good so treated. The picture is so good that you can easily see the wires holding up Patricia Neal when Gort "picks her up" and carries her to Klaatu's ship. We had never seen the wires before when we watched the movie on VHS and laserdisc. Audio is Dolby Digital mono, though it comes from all three front channels and this means that, depending where you sit in the room, the sounds may not appear to be coming from the TV. Extras abound, too, including an interesting 70 minute feature on the making of this science fiction classic. There's also a running commentary featuring directors Robert Wise and Nicholas Meyer (of "Star Trek II and VI" and "Time After Time" fame), a Movietone newsreel, the above mentioned restoration comparison, the full shooting script, 5 still galleries, and the trailer for this movie and a couple of other Fox SF outings. So if you're a fan of "The Day the Earth Stood Still," this is the one to buy! The Day the Earth Stood Still, from 20th Century Fox Home
Video Sunrise, a silent film that won Oscars for "Most Unique and Artistic Production" (the only film to be so honored), Best Actress (Janet Gaynor) and best Cinematography. Here's how the box describes it: "A farmer (George O'Brien) intends to drown his wife (Janet Gaynor) so he can be with a seductive city woman (Margaret Livingston). But althrough he considers carrying out the hideous crime, the farmer is unable to go through with it. Then, as husband and wife encouter a life-threatening rainstorm, their love and loyalty and put to the ultimate test." It's a story of betrayal and redemption and a fine one at that. Some consider this to be one of the best movies ever made and, while we might not go that far, it's certainly a keeper - and Fox is giving it away for free if you buy three other "Studio Classics" titles. Shouldn't be hard to find three of them that are worth ponying up the cash for. Anyway, the movie has been restored and is presented in its original (not 16x9 TV compatible) 1.20:1 aspect ratio. Audio choices include the original Movietone score in mono, with sound effects, and an alternate Olympic Chamber Orchestra version in stereo, without sound effects. While we preferred the audio quality of the stereo version, we also liked the sound effects (even though this is a silent movie!), so were really torn about which one we liked better. In the end we opted for the stereo, merely because we're audio snobs with a kick-ass home theater. The DVD is full of bonus material including an audio commentary by ASC cinematographer John Bailey. There's also a set of outtakes with optional commentary, the original scenario by Carl Mayer, with annotations by director F.W. Murnau - and Murnau's "lost" film Four Devils. You also get two screenplays, one for Sunrise and the other for Four Devils, and there's the theatrical trailer. Sunrise, from 20th Century Fox Home Video Spook of the Devil! This Joseph L. Mankiewicz romantic comedy is a real charmer, pitting spunky widow Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) against the world, aided by the man who’d be her one true love, if only he had lived to meet her in the flesh. That person is the ghost, of course, wonderfully played by Rex Harrison. He is, or was, a crusty and cantankerous sea captain who died accidentally in his seaside home. Lucy, looking for a major life change after her husband’s demise (and wanting to get away from her well-meaning but really annoying in-laws), rents this house over the objections of the real estate agent who believes that it’s haunted. And he’s right, of course. Otherwise the movie would be titled “Mrs. Muir!” Captain Daniel Gregg isn’t thrilled to have Lucy and her young daughter (Natalie Wood) invading his house, and gruffly tries to get rid of her. But she’s more than his match, and he ends up allowing them to stay, under certain conditions. Over time, they being to fall in love, in spite of themselves but, since Lucy needs some kind of income, she may have to leave to find work or give up the house they both love. So Captain Gregg convinces her to “ghost write” (is that where the term came from?) his life’s story and sell it as her own novel. They can’t really have a romance, can they? After all, he's dead and she's extremely alive. And then, at her publisher’s, Lucy meets an already-famous author (George Sanders) and begins to fall in love with him. He has some ugly secrets, though, which end up hitting Lucy in her pretty face, leaving her all alone again, even ghostless now, living out the rest of her life in the seaside home she loves so much. We were ambivalent about watching this film when it arrived, though not for any particular reason. But it quickly won us over and we really enjoyed it. Tierney is classy and sexy as the spunky young widow, and Harrison is delightful as the salty old tar who learns to “live” again thanks to his relationship with Lucy. Natalie Wood isn’t around a lot and is mostly wasted here, but what can you do? The writing is sweetly intelligent and the Oscar-winning cinematography is first rate; we can see why this would be considered one of Fox’s Studio Classics and are glad we sat down to see it. The black and white picture on the DVD is crisp and sharp, with good contrast, though since it’s the original full frame aspect ratio owners of 16x9 TV’s will have to stretch and/or zoom it to fill their wide screens. We were fortunate to see it on an LCD front projector, and it looked great. Audio, naturally, is unremarkable Dolby Digital mono. Extras include a running commentary as well as a nice documentary: “Rex Harrison, the Man Who Would Be King.” You also get a gallery of stills, and the trailer. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, from 20th Century Fox Home Video Ingrid Bergman gives a hauntingly memorable performances as a woman unsure of her past who’s chosen to pretend to be the title character in this Fox Classic. While it’s different in many ways from Fox’s animated version (for one thing, it isn’t a musical), this may be the definitive version of the classic story. Anastasia was the long-rumored missing survivor of Czar Nicolas II, murdered in 1918 during a Bolshevik attack on the family. If she could be found, she’d be the heir to the estate, which makes her quite the find. The story is set in 1928, and sees a White Russian general (Yul Brynner) recruit Bergman’s character to play the part of Anastasia, because he wants to get his hands on as much loot as possible. But Bergman learns the part so well that she manages to convince nearly everyone that runs into her that she really is the missing and presumed dead princess. She’s so good she even starts to convince Brynner that she’s the real, well, “McCoy.” But the big test is the Dowager Empress (Helen Hayes, in a wonderful performance). She knew Anastasia and isn’t about to let an imposter take the throne. And she doesn’t believe this new Anastasia for a minute - though the more she sees her the more she begins to waver. So has the real Anastasia been found? Yeah, like we’re going to tell you! This 1956 film deserves to be included in Fox’s Studio Classics series (and it is!), and the studio has done a nice job of bringing the movie to DVD. Presented in anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, the quality of the restored video is very good, with vibrant color and a nice, sharp image. Audio is Dolby Digital 4.0 surround, though there isn’t a lot of surround, and the audio quality is okay - up to the standards of the era. And there are plenty of extras, too, including a running commentary by John Burlingame, Arthur Laurents (screenwriter), James MacArthur (Helen Hayes’ son) and Sylvia Stoddard. You also get an A&E Biography thingy “Anastasia: Her True Story,” and some Movietone Newsreels. And don’t forget to check out the comparison between the unrestored and restored versions of the film; it’s always interesting to see how they’ve given new life to old movies. Sometimes the restoration can amount to more of a rescusitation or reincarnation than a mere "freshening." You also get a selection of trailers. Anastasia, from 20th Century Fox Home Video Henry Fonda is Wyatt Earp in this version of the legend of the shootout at the OK Corral. It’s a pretty good version, too, especially since 20th Century Fox has given us a “restored” “director’s cut” that supposedly fits in more with John Ford’s original vision. The movie, according to the supplementary materials, was pretty much snatched from Ford’s hands, then partially re-shot and re-edited. This version claims to be as close to Ford’s original edit as possible. Well, we never saw the theatrical version, so this was our first experience with Clementine – and it’s a very good flick indeed. Fonda is excellent as Earp, the stoic and serious man thrust by circumstance and against his will into a position of responsibility. Walter Brennan is also excellent as the Clanton patriarch, as is Victor Mature as a Doc Holliday haunted by ghosts he doesn’t want to get into when a blast from his past shows up in Tombstone. Shot against the magnificent Monument Valley, My Darling Clementine follows Wyatt and his brothers from cattle drive to the OK Corral shootout and beyond. The Earps are driving a herd of cattle across Arizona when they come across the Clantons. It seems an innocuous enough meeting, until youngest brother James is murdered – shot in the back – and their cattle are rustled. Wyatt decides to take the town of Tombstone up on the offer it had just made him to be their marshal so he can track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice. So he and his surviving brothers become lawmen, and Wyatt is brought into contact with the mysterious Holliday – a gambler and gunfighter whose health is failing him. They’re very different from each other, but find a common bond through mutual respect. Things get a bit strained, however, when Clementine (Cathy Downs) shows up in Tombstone. She’s Doc’s old girlfriend and has searched far and wide to find him. But he’s now an item with Chihuahua (Linda Darnell), local saloon singer and whore, and has no interest in his old life. Wyatt has interest in Clementine, though, but his attention is focused on finding his brother’s killer – who as everyone knows turns out to be a Clanton. It’s an intelligent movie with very human characters and even some surprising touches of humor (Wyatt’s aftershave lotion is good for a couple of chuckles near movie’s end, even as the tension is building around him). We don’t think it’s as good as the Burt Lancaster/Kirk Douglas Gunfight at the OK Corral, but it’s still a darn fine film. The DVD is presented in its original full frame aspect ratio, which isn’t 16x9 TV compatible so owners of widescreen TV’s will want to stretch/zoom it to avoid burn in of their expensive TV’s. The restored picture quality is generally very good, though there are some obvious flaws that present themselves over the course of the film. Still, it’s very watchable. Audio, naturally, is Dolby Digital mono and like most soundtracks of this vintage it’s unremarkable. You get some interesting extras, though: a running commentary by Wyatt Earp III and a behind the scenes featurette concerning this version of “Clementine.” My Darling Clementine, from 20th Century Fox Home
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The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Anastasia on DVD
My Darling Clementine on
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