The
Best Of Everything
(1959/Fox/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Count
Your Blessings
(1959/MGM/Warner Archive DVD)/Red
Knot (2014/KimStim/Icarus
DVD)
Picture:
B-/C+/C+ Sound: B-/C/C+ Extras: B-/C-/C Films: B-/C/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Best Of Everything
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is
limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies last,
while Count
Your Blessings
is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive
series. All can be ordered from the links below.
Here's
three mixed portraits of romance, two from the past (and same year
from the same director!), one
from now...
Jean
Negulesco's The
Best Of Everything
(1959) is a Fox melodrama familiar to us. We have covered the film
on DVD and a CD soundtrack from the Film Score Monthly FSM label when
they were still doing soundtracks. You can read more about both at
these links...
DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2294/The+Best+Of+Everything+(1959/Fox+DVD-Video
Limited
Edition CD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1019/Best+Of+Everything+(Limited+CD
Still
an interesting film, we now look at it post-Mad
Men
in a new Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray that offers the best
of both pervious releases and upgrades them. I think the film holds
up well, if not perfectly, its cast and the money and look Fox gave
it helps. This was the decline of such films (melodramas in big
scope productions thanks to the arrival of TV) but Hope Lange, Diane
Baker (Silence
Of The Lambs),
Suzy Parker (also now known for horror thrillers), Joan Crawford
(whose career was revived by them), Martha Hyer, Louis Jordan (the
recently passed-away romantic lead also known as the villain in the
1983 Bond film Octopussy), Brian Aherne and future film producing
mogul Robert Evans (with all of his stories) make this time capsule
look at the publishing industry more of a curio than ever.
Extras
include another nicely illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text and an essay by Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray
repeats the great feature length audio commentary track by historian
Sylvia Stoddard & Rona Jaffe, Original Theatrical Trailer and Fox
Movietone Newsreel. The other new extra is
the Isolated Music Score track.
Negulesco's
Count
Your Blessings
(1959) is a more problematic, dysfunctional tale about a woman
(Deborah Kerr at her box office peak) getting quickly married to a
French solider (Rossano Brazzi) who goes away to war and despite them
having a son, does not come back for 9 years! Then the film wants to
be an apologist tale for the husband/father who has been sleeping
around on her and totally neglecting his fatherly duties. Then we
get Maurice Chevalier as Brazzi's uncle trying to explain why this is
'normal' behavior.
As
a distraction, the child is demonized as wanting the be the center of
things as if he is a bad person, when he is a child and they cannot
act like adults for the most part. Made by MGM, this is surprisingly
sexist, obnoxious and worse saying (brainwashing us?) to accept any
such behavior just to keep a family unit together. It was phony then
and rings false now, even after the 1980s brought this kind of sick
thinking back. The actors are wasted and this is a comedy? I never
laughed once. It is a lame melodrama and I can see why it is lucky
to get a Warner Archive release. Kerr is the only reason I got
through this one.
An
Original Theatrical Trailer is the only extra.
Scott
Cohen's Red
Knot
(2014) proves that 55 years later, such misery endures, but now it is
with less money, sets and dialogue that is mumblecore flat. The
appealing Olivia Thurby is married to seemingly good guy Vincent
Kartheiser and they go out on a boat trip all the way to the
Antarctic quickly after a New york marriage. Unfortunately, they are
not ready for any of this as their relationship is quickly challenged
by their own dysfunction, his dishonesty, her insecurity and an
inability to communicate.
However,
I did not buy this, the acting is badly directed and gutted out
oddly, the early sex scene is shot out of focus as if this film is
afraid to be honest about male/female relationships early on and then
the mumble often as the motives, psychology and entire interaction
never render honest or true. Billy Campbell is also here, but he
does not to much, but here, who does?
We're
left wondering how these people ever got married and the ending tries
to be profound, but seems as desperate as everything else with the
Cohen saying things only he apparently knows the meaning of and
tripping up almost every step of the way. 55 years later, more bad
behavior we are supposed to accept as acceptable and just as phony.
One wishes the Abominable Snowman had shown up just to perk things
up, especially as he might have had better ideas about romance!
A
paper foldout with an essay and some illustrations, plus an Original
Theatrical Trailer and four behind the scenes interview featurettes
on the DVD are the extras.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Best
can show the age of the materials used despite being a new transfer
master, but it is a little on the bluish side which we figure might
come in part from the DeLuxe Color aging a bit. Still, this is
better than the DVD transfer (which was good, but old) and the 35mm
CinemaScope image is the best on the list.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Count
was shot in the same exact format, but used MetroColor instead, which
also has its agedness and limits, with neither format holding up as
well as three-strip Technicolor. However, this looks decent on DVD
and holds its own against the newly digitally shot, anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on Knot
is no better with its shooting limits and some style choices that do
not help it.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Best
is a well mixed and presented upgrade of the original 4-track
magnetic stereo off of the original 35mm prints as well as the lossy
Dolby Digital 5.1 form the DVD, besting the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0
Mono on Count
which is a little on the weak side (be careful of volume switching
and high playback levels) and lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on Knot
with its inconsistent soundfield, quiet and weak moments.
To
order The
Best Of Everything
limited edition Blu-ray, buy it and many more exclusives while
supplies last at these links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
… and
to order the Count
Your Blessings
Warner Archive DVD, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.warnerarchive.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo