Selznick on DVD and Blu-ray (Continued)

The following table summarizes the above information. Of the 68 films produced by David Selznick, about half of them are available on DVD and/or Blu-ray in Region 1 with three others on DVD only outside the Region. Of the major producers of Hollywood's Golden Age, David Selznick is probably the one best represented on DVD and increasingly Blu-ray to date.

Film Title	Year	Company	BD/DVD Comments
Roulette	1924	Aetna	Status unknown
Spoilers of the West	1928	MGM	Rights held by WB
Wyoming	1928	MGM	Rights held by WB
Forgotten Faces	1928	Paramount	Rights held by Paramount
Chinatown Nights	1928	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
The Man I Love	1929	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
The Four Feathers	1929	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
The Dance of Life	1929	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
Street of Chance	1929	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
Sarah and Son	1930	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
Honey	1930	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
The Texan	1930	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
For the Defense	1930	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
Manslaughter	1930	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
Laughter	1930	Paramount	Rights held by Universal
The Lost Squadron	1930	RKO	Rights held by WB. Previously on laserdisc.
Symphony of Six Million	1932	RKO	MOD DVD from WB Archive. Not viewed.
State's Attorney	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB
Westward Passage	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB
What Price Hollywood?	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB. Previously on laserdisc.
Roar of the Dragon	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB
Age of Consent	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB
Bird of Paradise	1932	RKO	Blu-ray and DVD versions from Kino, due May 1st, 2012
A Bill of Divorcement	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB. Previously on laserdisc.
The Conquerors	1932	RKO	MOD DVD from WB Archive
Rockabye	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB
The Animal Kingdom	1932	RKO	DVD from Alpha. Not viewed.
The Half-Naked Truth	1932	RKO	Rights held by WB
Topaze	1933	RKO	Rights held by WB. Previously on laserdisc.
The Great Jasper	1933	RKO	Rights held by WB
Our Betters	1933	RKO	Rights held by WB
King Kong	1933	RKO	Both BD and DVD versions are available from WB. Very highly recommended.
Christopher Strong	1933	RKO	MOD DVD from WB Archive. Not viewed.
Sweepings	1933	RKO	Rights held by WB
The Monkey's Paw	1933	RKO	Rights held by WB
Dinner at Eight	1933	MGM	DVD from WB recommended.
Night Flight	1933	MGM	DVD from WB (after having been long unavailable due to legal issues) recommended.
Meet the Baron	1933	MGM	DVD from WB. Not viewed.
Dancing Lady	1933	MGM	DVD from WB recommended.
Viva Villa!	1934	MGM	Rights held by WB. Previously on laserdisc.
Manhattan Melodrama	1934	MGM	DVD from WB recommended.
David Copperfield	1935	MGM	DVD from WB recommended.
Vanessa: Her Love Story	1935	MGM	Rights held by WB
Reckless	1935	MGM	MOD DVD from WB Archive
Anna Karenina	1935	MGM	DVD from WB recommended.
A Tale of Two Cities	1935	MGM	DVD from WB recommended.
Little Lord Fauntleroy	1936	Selznick International (released by UA)	DVD from Anchor Bay now OOP and recommended. Kino will release the title on Blu-ray and DVD on June 26th, 2012
The Garden of Allah	1936	Selznick International (UA)	DVD from MGM and previously Anchor Bay. Both are recommended.
A Star Is Born	1937	Selznick International (UA)	BD from Kino. Highly recommended. Kino DVD also available.
The Prisoner of Zenda	1937	Selznick International (UA)	DVD from WB recommended.
Nothing Sacred	1937	Selznick International (UA)	BD from Kino. Highly recommended. Kino DVD also available.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer	1938	Selznick International (UA)	Region 2 DVD from Prism Leisure Corporation. Not viewed.
The Young in Heart	1938	Selznick International (UA)	DVD from MGM. Recommended.
Made for Each Other	1939	Selznick International (UA)	DVD from many sources, but MGM release is recommended.
Intermezzo: A Love Story	1939	Selznick International (UA)	DVD from MGM. Highly recommended.
Gone with the Wind	1939	Selznick International (MGM)	BD and DVD from WB. Very highly recommended.
Rebecca	1940	Selznick International (UA)	BD from MGM recommended.
Since You Went Away	1944	David O. Selznick Productions (UA)	DVD from MGM. Recommended.
I'll Be Seeing You	1944	DOS Prod (UA)	DVD from MGM. Recommended.
Spellbound	1945	DOS Prod (UA)	BD from MGM and previous DVD from Criterion recommended.
Duel in the Sun	1946	Selznick Releasing Organization	DVD from MGM. Previous DVD from Anchor Bay (road show version) OOP. Both are recommended.
The Paradine Case	1947	Selznick Rel.	DVD from MGM. Previous DVD from Anchor Bay now OOP. Both are recommended.
Portrait of Jennie	1948	Selznick Rel.	DVD from MGM and Anchor Bay (now OOP). Both are recommended.
The Third Man	1949	British Lion/London Films	BD and DVD from Criterion. Highly recommended.
Gone to Earth (re-edited as The Wild Heart)	1950	London Films (RKO)	Region 2 DVD from Freemantle Home Entertainment. Not viewed.
Stazione Termini (re-edited as Indiscretion of an American Wife)	1953	Italy (Columbia)	DVD from Criterion and highly recommended. Indiscretion of an American Wife version also available from several other sources.
Light's Diamond Jubilee	1954	U.S. Television	Status unknown.
A Farewell to Arms	1957	20th Century Fox	DVD from Fox recommended.

Classic Selznick Blu-ray Reviews

When I was a young and budding film buff, the 1937 version of A Star Is Born was one of my holy grails. I'd heard so much about it, but never had an opportunity to see it.



Then a local Toronto film society offered a screening and I eagerly made my way far across the city to an obscure high school auditorium to see it. I was not disappointed. The 16mm print was in colour, but it was a colour whose fidelity compared to the Technicolor original was shaky indeed. Produced by Selznick International Pictures with some good use of actual Hollywood locations and released through United Artists, A Star Is Born tells the story of newly-minted Hollywood starlet Esther Blodgett (Janet Gaynor) whose rise to stardom parallels the fall of her actor husband Norman Maine (Fredric March). In real life 1937, both Gaynor and March were stars, but Gaynor's popularity was on the wane while March's was still near his peak and would remain so for some years yet. The basic tale is compelling throughout, briskly directed by William Wellman with both stars in fine form. There's a terrific supporting cast featuring the likes of Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Edgar Kennedy, Guinn Williams, Clara Blandick, Lionel Stander, Franklin Pangborn, and on and on. The popularity of the plot (inspired by What Price Hollywood?, 1932) has resulted a couple of remakes starring the combinations of Judy Garland and James Mason (A Star Is Born, 1954) and Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson (A Star Is Born, 1976), with another in the works for 2013 potentially. A Star Is Born (1937) has been made available on Blu-ray by Kino , mastered in HD from an original 35mm Technicolor print preserved by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department and authorized by the estate of David O. Selznick. The film was previously available on a fairly workable DVD from Image, but Kino's HD efforts best it significantly. The Blu-ray image is quite sharp and does a fine job in reproducing the film's Technicolor look. There's a touch of inconsistency, but for the most part the colours look bright and vibrant. Black levels are fairly deep and grain is pleasingly evident. The LPCM mono track delivers clear dialogue and reproduction of Max Steiner's fine score with notable presence. There's some occasional background hiss, but its impact is not distracting. There are no subtitles. Supplements include the theatrical trailer, a wardrobe test, and a stills and posters gallery. Highly recommended.

A Farewell to Arms (1932) was a Paramount production directed by Frank Borzage. It had no David O. Selznick involvement in its production as he had left Paramount just as plans for the film were developing.



But when Selznick wanted to mount a remake in 1957, he acquired the rights to do so and control of the 1932 film as part of a package deal with Warner Bros. who had acquired the film when they had previously taken control of the rights. The 1932 film is being covered in this Selznick column only because of Selznick's mid-1950s acquisition of it and its recent inclusion in Kino's Selznick Collection Blu-ray releases. The entrancing Ernest Hemingway World War I novel is given a sympathetic and richly romantic though hardly faithful screen adaptation under the sure directorial hand of Frank Borzage. The story is that of a doomed relationship between an American soldier (Gary Cooper) and English nurse (Helen Hayes), and both stars buy into it strongly, delivering convincing performances. Though perhaps more melodramatic than his usual film projects, Borzage draws us in by creating the sort of ethereal mood around real-world reality that was typical for him (ably abetted by Charles Lang's Oscar-winning cinematography). Wartime action sequences and montages are well balanced with the story of the star-crossed lovers. Kino's 1.37:1 Blu-ray release, mastered from an original nitrate 35mm print preserved by the George Eastman House (and an authorized edition by the David O. Selznick estate) , is reasonably sharp and clean looking. There's some minor speckling and debris still evident, but nothing of consequence. Blacks are very deep and whites are bright and clean. Modest grain is evident. The LPCM mono sound, other than some minor evidence of hiss, offers clear dialogue and an effective reproduction of the sounds of warfare (reflecting the film's Oscar for Best Sound recording). There are no subtitles. The supplements consist of the theatrical trailer and a short stills gallery. Highly recommended.

Nothing Sacred (1937) is one of the early screwball comedies and one of the best. Screwball comedy genre icon, Carole Lombard, is gloriously present as a young woman understood to be dying from radium poisoning.



She's not really, but she can't pass up the idea of a free trip to New York with all the trimmings, offered by newspaper reporter Fredric March. March demonstrates his comedy capabilities ably too, illustrating how versatile a performer he was. The film owes the majority of its appeal, however, to its sharply satirical screenplay filmed with knowing one-liners and a clear reading of the true nature of the scandal seeking public, all penned by Ben Hecht. Director William Wellman keeps things moving briskly and with plenty of very familiar and at times scene-stealing supporting faces such as Margaret Hamilton, Walter Connolly, Hattie McDaniel, and Charles Winninger, the film is a continuous delight. Mastered in HD from an original 35mm nitrate print preserved by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department, Kino's 1.37:1 Blu-ray presentation of Nothing Sacred is very clear and quite sharp. Originally made in Technicolor, the HD disc's reproduction of same is admirable. Colours look natural and reasonably consistent with the exception of the odd shift in skin tones. There is no indication of unnatural digital manipulation and a modest level of grain is quite apparent. The result is definitely the best the film has ever looked on home video. The LPCM mono sound provides clear dialogue with hiss and other audio debris at a very minimum. There are no subtitles and the only supplement is the theatrical trailer. Recommended.

David Selznick's involvement with Alfred Hitchcock yielded three films - Selznick's own productions of the 1940 Best Picture that was Rebecca and 1945's Spellbound plus 1946's Notorious for which Selznick made Hitchcock and Ingrid Bergman available, both being under contract to him.



The three films are distinctly different. Rebecca is one of the finest examples of the gothic mystery with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine in top form as a couple whose new marriage and life at the mysterious Manderley estate becomes increasingly compromised by the past death of the Olivier character's first wife, Rebecca. Judith Anderson (in a Best Supporting Actress turn) provides a deliciously dark and nasty portrayal of a family retainer and the whole thing is buttressed by as good a collection of Hollywood British supporting players as one is likely to find in a Golden Age film (Gladys Cooper, Melville Cooper, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Denny, Nigel Bruce, George Sanders, Leo G. Carroll). As a Typical Hitchcockian film with shock value and impressive set pieces, Rebecca fails to come through (unless you include the razing of Manderley), but despite that the film has undeniable power as impressively suspenseful entertainment only weakened somewhat by an excessive 131-minute length. Hitchcock and Selznick clashed over the latter's interference and desire to get the entire Daphne Du Maurier novel on film, as well as the strictures of a Production Code that compromised that desire. MGM has brought Rebecca to Blu-ray with a full frame image that reflects the original theatrical aspect ratio and is basically very impressive looking. There's good sharpness and a clean source element that results in only some minor speckling and a few isolated scratches. The film's varied gray scale is nicely replicated and shadow detail is very good. A modest level of grain is apparent and the transfer shows no evidence of untoward digital manipulation. The mono DTS-HD Master audio is virtually free of hiss, demonstrates reasonable presence in some of the sound effects sequences (fire and sea), and delivers clear dialogue. Franz Waxman's haunting score is well conveyed. English SDH subtitling is provided. The best of the supplements is a very chatty audio commentary from the reliable Richard Schickel. Other offerings are a good making-of documentary, a featurette profiling Daphne Du Maurier, an isolated sound track, archival Hitchcock interviews by Peter Bogdanovich and Francois Truffaut, several radio play versions, screen tests, and the original theatrical trailer. As a typical Hitchcock entertainment, Notorious is more like it. The spy story in which the deliciously romantic couple of American agent Cary Grant and willing seductress Ingrid Bergman attempts to outwit Nazi kingpin Claude Rains in Rio De Janeiro gives full rein to Hitchcock's delight in placing beautiful people in jeopardy. Notorious is unfailingly suspenseful and replete with the master's fondness for foreshadowing. He draws an impressive trifecta of performances by his three stars with Rains' effort perhaps the most beguiling of all. MGM's Blu-ray presentation is another winner, delivering a clean sharp full frame image with excellent shadow detail. Close-ups demonstrate impressive detail with backgrounds being almost as good. Moderate grain is quite pleasingly evident. The DTS-HD Master audio mono track provides a spryness that is mercifully free of hiss or any age-related scratchiness or crackle. There is an even some noticeable presence that reflects the story's atmospheric air well. The supplements from the previous DVD version have been retained for the Blu-ray release. They're highlighted by two audio commentaries (by USC professors Rick Jewell and Drew Casper) and a very good making-of documentary. Also present are featurettes on Hitchcock's spy films and on his AFI Career tribute, an isolated track, the theatrical trailer, a 1948 radio version, Hitchcock interviews, and a restoration comparison. Spellbinding is a good description of the impact of 1945's Spellbound. In it Hitchcock weaves a Salvador Dali dream sequence and an Academy Award winning score by Miklos Rozsa into a psychological tale of romance and suspense involving psychiatrist Ingrid Bergman's efforts to illuminate the reality of the character played by Gregory Peck who may or may not be the amnesiac he appears not to mention a cold-blooded murderer. One tends to forget Gregory Peck as a Hitchcock protagonist, but Spellbound is an apt reminder of how powerful and beguiling a performance he could give. It's somewhat surprising that he didn't work with Hitchcock more often like Grant and Stewart, but perhaps the appropriate vehicles and schedule timings just didn't work out. MGM's full frame Blu-ray presentation is very good. The image displays impressive contrast with black levels deep and whites clean and bright indeed. Sharpness and image detail are both notably good. Those familiar with the film will be looking for one burst of colour and won't be disappointed. The DTS-HD Master audio mono track delivers clear dialogue with but the odd noticeable whisper of hiss. Rosza's score, with theremin music, offers a good degree of presence throughout. English SDH subtitling is provided. The supplement package again ports over pretty well everything that appeared on the previous DVD release. There's a middling audio commentary by film historians Thomas Schatz and Charles Ramirez Berg, and fairly meaty featurettes on the Hitchcock-Dali connection, Spellbound's place in the world of early psychoanalytical films, and supporting star Rhonda Fleming. Also included are several archival Hitchcock interviews, a 1948 radio play of the film, and the original theatrical trailer. All three MGM Blu-ray releases are highly recommended.


Other Classic Reviews

It's a pleasure to report on a Blu-ray version of Frank Capra's 1933 film Lady for a Day that's just been released by B2MP Inc., a new small independent company whose efforts are distributed by Inception Media Group.



Lady for a Day was Capra's last film before his breakout production, 1934's It Happened One Night. Yet it has much of the characteristic comedy ethos of his best work - the selection of thoughtful source material, the care for the common man, the judicious use of numerous familiar character actors, the meticulous construction of gently comic setpieces, and the eliciting of superior performances from his main players. The story concerns Apple Annie (Mae Robson) who has a daughter Louise (Jean Parker) who has been raised in a Spanish convent and believes her mother to be a society matron who lives in a fashionable New York hotel. When Louise writes to her mother informing her that she is coming to America to introduce her fiance Carlos and his father (Walter Connolly), a count intent on seeing that his son is marrying into the right kind of family, Apple Annie's friends attempt to transform her from the poor street peddler she is into the elegant sophisticate that Louise will expect. Among those friends are gangster Dave the Dude (Warren William), pool-playing Judge Henry D. Blake (Guy Kibbee), gravel-voiced Happy McGuire (Ned Sparks), Dave's go-fer Shakespeare (Nat Pendleton), and wisecracking Missouri Martin (Glenda Farrell). With those character names, you will not be surprised to learn that the plot is based on a Damon Runyon short story, in this case "Madame La Gimp", adapted for the screen by frequent Capra collaborator Robert Riskin. Warren William and May Robson have seldom been better on film than they are in Lady for a Day. The story typically strains credulity, but Capra invests it with such sincerity and so many vignettes of comedic business that it is constantly appealing. Capra obviously enjoyed the experience, for he chose to remake the film for his final feature film effort, 1961's Pocketful of Miracles. Lady for a Day garnered four Academy Award nominations, for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Writing, and Best Direction, but did not win in any category. The film was previously available on DVD from Image, but looked rather ragged and lacked 4½ minutes of footage. B2MP's Blu-ray release (via Inception Media Group) is a very substantial improvement indeed (as evidenced by a restoration comparison included on the disc). As the original film elements were lost over half a century ago, the source material used for B2MP's edition was a 35mm duplicate negative that Frank Capra had made in 1977 from his personal print. The 1.37:1 Blu-ray image is bright and sharp with solid blacks and clean whites. Overall image detail is also very appealing. There's a modest sheen of film grain and the removal of numerous speckles, scratches, and debris is particularly welcome. The missing minutes of footage (the ending of the library scene between Carlos and his father, and the scene in which Dave, Happy, and the Judge decide how to mount a reception) have been happily reintroduced. The LPCM mono sound is in pretty good shape although some hiss and muffling is occasionally noticeable. Supplements include an optional introduction and an informative audio commentary by Frank Capra Jr., a stills gallery, the afore-mentioned restoration comparison, and a good essay by film critic and historian Scott Eyman to be found on the 6-page insert pamphlet. For some individuals new to the title, Lady for a Day will be a revelation, but those already familiar with it will know the pleasure they're in for and B2MP's Blu-ray release shows it in its best light. Very highly recommended. A DVD version is also available.

I don't think I need say much about the appeal of The Apartment, Billy Wilder's 1960 Academy Award winning Best Picture.



The film is a superbly-written (by Wilder and collaborator I.A.L. Diamond) blend of comedy, romance, and drama featuring Jack Lemmon at the top of his form as an ambitious employee intent on currying favour with his bosses by loaning them his apartment for various trysts, reliable work from Fred MacMurray as one of those superiors, and a very winning and believably real performance from Shirley MacLaine as the young woman caught between the two. The film has been available on DVD for some time now, first with a less-than-satisfactory transfer by MGM, something that was rectified with a Collector's Edition also from MGM about 4 years ago. Supplements included an interesting and enjoyable audio commentary by film producer and historian Bruce Block, and two featurettes on the making of the film and on Jack Lemmon (the making-of effort is the better of the two). Now MGM has given us a Blu-ray edition of The Apartment that includes those supplements. The 2.35:1 Blu-ray image really delivers in terms of sharpness and detail both in close-up and more distant shots. A nicely-detailed gray scale is evident with blacks and whites solidly delineated and modest grain has been retained. The DTS-HD Master audio 5.1 mix provides clear dialogue with some good evidence of directionality. Dolby Digital Spanish and French mono tracks as well as English, French, and Spanish subtitling are also provided. Highly recommended.