Posted

in

by

Tags:


Whit Stillman has made only four films in a twenty-three career. His first three, Metropolitan; Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco were made four years apart in 1990, 1994 and 1998 respectively, with the fourth, Damsels in Distress made thirteen years later in 2011. That title will be released on Blu-ray and standard DVD next month. In the meantime, Criterion has released Blu-ray editions of both Metropolitan and Last Days of Disco and Warner Archive will re-release the out-of-print Barcelona on made-on-demand DVD next week.

Stillmanโ€™s Last Days of Disco is a one-of-a-kind film that improves with age. Set in the late 1980s and released three months before the more heavily publicized 54, Stillmanโ€™s film is the better work covering the same territory.

The disco in Stillmanโ€™s film isnโ€™t officially Studio 54, but it couldnโ€™t be anything else with its scrutiny by law enforcement as it winds down its legendary hold on the New York social scene of the era.

The film focuses on a pair of female book editors fresh out of college, one sweet (Chloe Sevigny) and one not so sweet (Kate Beckinsale). The men in their lives, all of them met at the disco, include Chris Eigeman, with a different name but essentially the same verbose character he played in Stillmanโ€™s first two films; Matt Keeslaar as a conflicted Assistant District Attorney; Robert Sean Leonard, Michael Weatherly and more. Sevigny and Keeslaar are the standouts.

The filmโ€™s soundtrack could be described as an exploration of the greatest hits of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Extras include commentary by Stillman, Sevigny and Eigeman and deleted scenes.

Olive Films continues its release of Republic classics on Blu-ray and standard DVD. This week sees the release of two films noir featuring unforgettable performances by John Garfield.

In 1947โ€™s Body and Soul, for which he received his second and final Oscar nomination, Garfield essays the role of an up from his bootstraps boxer who learns the hard way that money isnโ€™t everything.

Lovely Lilli Palmer co-stars as the woman he loves and Anne Revere is his disapproving mother with Joseph Pevney and Canada Lee as his best friends and William Conrad and Lloyd Gough as the villainous fight promoters, all of whom turn in memorable performances supplemented by Robert Rossenโ€™s strong direction, Abraham Polonksyโ€™s superb screenplay and James Wong Howeโ€™s classic black-and-white cinematography.

Garfield is a heel in Polonksyโ€™s 1948 film, Force of Evil, his directorial debut, and the only film he directed until 1969โ€™s Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, having been blacklisted after the filmโ€™s debut.

The numbers racket supplies the filmโ€™s background as Garfield squares off against his high-strung but morally upright brother. Beatrice Pearson and Marie Windsor are the women in their lives. Polonksyโ€™s dialogue and George Barnesโ€™ cinematography are justly regarded as some of the eraโ€™s best.

Fifty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe continues to captivate people world-wide. In recognition of the half century anniversary of her passing, Fox has released a Blu-ray box set of some of her most famous films.

Forever Marilyn includes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; How to Marry a Millionaire; River of No Return; Thereโ€™s No Business Like Show Business and The Seven Year Itch as well as the previously released Some Like It Hot and The Misfits. Only Bus Stop among Monroeโ€™s major films, is missing. The films are also available as stand-alone Blu-ray releases.

Howard Hawksโ€™ reconstructed 1952 version of the legendary Broadway musical, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, is a favorite of many, but I find Monroeโ€™s dumb blonde routine here a bit much. I like her much better in Jean Negulescoโ€™s 1953 film, How to Marry a Millionaire in which her endearing near-sightedness adds a bit of charm to her gold-digging persona.

The studio star-making machinery was in full force with the marketing of Millionaire, the first film lensed in Cinemascope, but held back from distribution to allow the bigger budgeted The Robe to be the first film released in the new process.

Third billed Lauren Bacall had the biggest role amongst the filmโ€™s three stars, but Foxโ€™s then highest paid star, Betty Grable gets top on-screen billing. However, by the time the film was ready for release, Monroe had become the bigger star and her name is placed ahead of Grableโ€™s on the filmโ€™s various trailers.

Monroeโ€™s saloon singer in Otto Premingerโ€™s 1954 film, River of No Return, is a smarter, tougher cookie than the actress usually got to play. She more than holds her own against Robert Mitchum and has some nice moments with child actor Tommy Rettig as Mitchumโ€™s son.

The ensemble cast of Walter Langโ€™s 1954 tribute to the music of Irving Berlin, Thereโ€™s No Business Like Show Business, boasts the likes of Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O;โ€™Connor, Mitzi Gaynor and Johnnie Ray, but Monroe manages to steal the film from all but Merman. Her sizzling โ€œHeat Waveโ€ is the filmโ€™s standout production number.

Billy Wilderโ€™s toned down 1955 version of the Broadway comedy, The Seven Year Itch, is a matter of taste. Monroe is enchanting as a supposedly naรฏve commercial model, but is she real or is she a figment of downstairs neighbor Tom Ewellโ€™s imagination?

Seen in tandem these films represent the bulk of Monroeโ€™s starring film career which incredibly lasted just ten years in actuality, but sixty years now in legend.

This weekโ€™s new releases include the Blu-ray debuts of two more Republic classics, Rio Grande and Johnny Guitar as well as the Blu-ray release of Clue.

Verified by MonsterInsights