Peyton
Place
(1957/Fox DVD)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B- Extras: B Film: A-
PLEASE
NOTE:
This film has been issued in a limited edition Blu-ray with upgraded
HD transfer and 5.1 lossless sound. This review was originally
posted early 2004.
The
Fox Studios in the 1950 flourished with its grandiose films that were
awesome large scale production, many of which were shot in
CinemaScope featuring some of the biggest names in all of. The films
were lengthy, but noteworthy. Most of the films were Oscar nominees
if not winners and the epics of this era, while short-lived, are
still sought after years later. DVD has made this all the better!
That
takes us to one of the more recent entries to DVD from Fox, which is
1957's Peyton
Place,
which starred Lana Turner and Lee Philips. Everything seems perfect
in a small New Hampshire town, but things go awry despite the
conservative nature of the parents in the town. Scandals begin to
occur and before too long a murder and trial all become the focus of
what would never have been thought of before. The film is based on
Grace Metalious' best-selling novel, and the film would receive 9
total Oscar nominations.
Looking
back after all these years on this film, we see how it fits into the
overall scheme of the 1950s, which essential echoed the decade prior.
Many of those sweeping melodramas dealt with the ideas and morals of
a small town, which would be compromised from an outside force.
Sometimes it would not always be an outside force, but a quick
observation locates the attempt here to demonstrate what its like to
have conformity attacked. Outsiders are evil, says the film. Even
in the Science Fiction vein, movies like The
Day the Earth Stood Still
(1951) likewise showed a similar event.
Peyton
Place
is staggeringly shot by cinematographer William C. Mellor, who
provided amazing work on one of the finest films, which would be
George Steven's Giant
(1956). He would also be responsible for The
Diary of Anne Frank
(a Fox production from 1959 and a DVD reviewed on this site). This
film runs a full 156 minutes, but is never dull or slow. The pacing
escalates as more of the story is revealed throughout.
Mellor's
camerawork has been restored for this DVD and presented
anamorphically in its original 2.35 X 1 CinemaScope aspect ratio with
DeLuxe color, which demonstrates the beauty of CinemaScope quiet
well. Movies today are not framed in the same way as this because
they are trying to be too TV safe. Notice in certain scenes how
characters carefully hit their marks on the very edges of the screen;
while more important characters at the moment are framed closer to
the camera, those that are side characters are thrown to the outer
stretches of the frame. This also echoes the ideals that are laced
within the films context, which is about social standing and that
'outsiders' to the key points are kept to the outer edges of the
frame. Those with importance are isolated in a different light or
angle. Even their dialogue is subversive at first viewing, but over
time becomes revelatory.
The
audio is a feasible, lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix, which works
for the material quite well. The other audio track is the commentary
by Terry Moore, who plays Betty Anderson in the film as well as Russ
Tamblyn, who played Norman Page. While it would have been nice to
have another commentary track by a historian or film expert, these
two do a good job of highlighting the production from an internal
point of view. Those more interested in the other aspects of the
production will enjoy the episode of AMC
Backstory: Peyton Place.
There is also a selection that takes excerpts from the Photoplay
Magazine Awards, which shows some of the recognition this film
received upon its release.
Peyton
Place
is a film that gets better with age, despite making a sequel called
Return
to Peyton Place;
the film has an established reputation with little fault. Sometimes
it's better to look at a film for its entire context, which would
take many years later. Likewise with some of Douglas Sirk's films
during the '50s and '60s like Written
on the Wind,
All
that Heaven Allows,
and Imitation
of Life,
the total impact of these films and their comments on social problems
and issues was not recognized for it's brilliance until many years
passed. This ranks as one of the Fox's better catalog from that
period with a DVD worth checking into.
For
more on the new limitred edition Blu-ray of Peyton
Place,
try this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14820/Chilly+Scenes+Of+Winter+(1979+aka+Head+Over
-
Nate Goss
