95-96 All That Heaven Allows & Written on the Wind

[Gregory]

In Sirk on Sirk, I remember him talking about the "happy ending" requirement and how he saw the title in a different (less optimistic) light than the studio did, but I don't remember him discussing the ATHA ending much specifically or it being forced by the studio. I always figured that it came straight from the source novel and that it was never an issue for Sirk because he maintained his own conception of the material. Even though "heaven" may be "stingy," I don't see any indication that Ron and Cary will be completely unhappy, just that they will have new problems to face—as a couple—including the lingering worry that Cary may have compromised Ron's chosen way of living. But that's still an ambiguous ending. Considering Ron and Cary's future together, despite the problems they will face they could very well both be better off than they would have been in any other outcome of the story. Ron's mentor Thoreau had an amazingly appealing philosophy of living, but as eloquent and inspiring as his writings on solitude and self-reliance are, he was by all accounts an emotionally distant person, and even outside of the 2+ years at Walden pond his way of living didn't seem to leave any room for sharing any of it with another person. ATHA suggests that even though Ron is happy in his daily life and doesn't want to compromise, he also wants to be with Cary. So he is, and again that introduces new issues, but I'm not convinced that the happy ending is in reality a completely unhappy ending.

I'd also argue that Sirk was never cynical about his Hollywood films, but all along he had no illusions about what artistic compromises he was making. He understood that a studio had to make money, and that if a story was essentially bad, there were still things he could do to within that material that, on its surface, was formulaic or even trashy. So he didn't have a private reserve of disdain for the films he was making but rather could use his freedom with camerawork and editing to make them work on multiple registers at once, and all along I believe he had a sense of hating it and loving it at the same time, as he puts it in Sirk on Sirk.
Anyone new to Sirk's work who want to see him work in a different mode, which succeeds in openly avoiding the happy ending, should check out The Tarnished Angels.

[zedz]

Anyone new to Sirk's work who want to see him work in a different mode, which succeeds in openly avoiding the happy ending, should check out The Tarnished Angels.

I'd also recommend There's Always Tomorrow, my favourite Sirk, where the ending is clearly the only one that a studio could countenance, and yet Sirk invests it with such melancholy and complexity that it's totally shattering. I think it's the clearest example of how Sirk operates. Far from being any kind of compromise, the 'studio-imposed' ending, and how Sirk deals with it, is essential to the film's emotional power. Life itself can be a string of Hays Code compromises.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

I would be cautious in drawing conclusions about historical social norms from a film, particularly one made in a genre that has its own conventions of fairly long standing.

I stand by my statement that the relationship between a younger man & older woman - especially with different social standings - was considered taboo - in the small-town, close-minded, upper-class 1950's microcosm as presented in the film. That being said, I completely understand that this was not indicative (nor was it supposed to be indicative) of the attitudes of the world at large in the 1950's, i.e. Paris, NYC, other areas, etc.

Re: the ending, I got the strong impression

SpoilerShow

that Ron's will to live (after his almost fatal accident) was positively affected by Cary's love - just my interpretation, of course....

[whaleallright]

n/a

[Norbie]

Why the weird aspect ration of 1.75, and not the normal 1.78, 1.66, or 1.85?

[tenia]

1.75 actually was a thing, back in those days. For instance, see A Hard Day's Night.

[djproject]

Remember in the fifties, you had a variety of options for the soft widescreen (matting top and bottom portions of a projected 35mm film) due to theatre sizes. I also remember seeing that 1.75:1 was common for British theatres (which I know doesn't quite explain why it was chosen for this title).

(Speaking of aspect ratios, my theory for why Europeans tended to go for 1.66:1 ... if it was the supposedly the widest you can project in a pre-existing theatre, then it was a reason to go wide and still keep the old theatre houses and therefore not renovate them.)

[EddieLarkin]

Just about every ratio under the sun was tried out between 1953 and 1955, so 1.75:1 isn't unusual, but for this film there is historical documentation suggesting 1.85:1 as the intended AR. When asked why Criterion had gone 1.75:1 instead I believe they said they felt it was best following "an examination of the materials".

[djproject]

Just about every ratio under the sun was tried out between 1953 and 1955, so 1.75:1 isn't unusual, but for this film there is historical documentation suggesting 1.85:1 as the intended AR. When asked why Criterion had gone 1.75:1 instead I believe they said they felt it was best following "an examination of the materials".

If it was a "shoot and protect" situation, I could imagine the 1.75:1 is a nice in between among the widescreen aspect ratios (1.33:1 was never an option for this one).

[Fred Holywell]

Probably because it was a compromise between 1.66 and 1.85, 1.75 was popular in Hollywood for a while -- notably at Disney and MGM (MGM called it Metroscope). Not sure if Universal used it as a rule. I thought they were more inclined to go with 1.85 or 2:1.

[FrauBlucher]

If this is indeed getting announced, I would have to imagine that they will add new supplements. It definitely deserves more than what's on the DVD edition

[swo17]

Revamped release of Written on the Wind coming Feb 1

[domino harvey]

They sat on the Blu for years to only produce one new special feature? Classic Criterion

[soundchaser]

I was gonna say, if this is the same transfer that was released in France (which I assume it is), don’t expect anything revelatory. Baffling it’s taken this long.

[swo17]

Random thing I just noticed: The new Acting for Douglas Sirk feature is an excerpt from a 1980 documentary by Eckhart Schmidt, whose follow-up was this madness:

[therewillbeblus]

Well color me intrigued, Der Fan rules

[swo17]

I'm sure this will be very similar

[therewillbeblus]

Hey, maybe it's an obsessive avant-garde doc forecasting the themes of his fictitious work

[domino harvey]

Will this also replay the same song over and over for 100 minutes?

[ChunkyLover]

I was gonna say, if this is the same transfer that was released in France (which I assume it is), don’t expect anything revelatory. Baffling it’s taken this long.

I don't think it will be. The French master was in a 2.00 aspect ratio and the video clip on Criterion's site is in a 1.85 aspect ratio; plus, the caps don't really show the harsh digital look that was present on the French disc.

I'm sure this will be very similar

The doc was on Eureka's "The Tarnished Angels" and it's pretty straightforward. It is sad seeing an obviously ill Rock Hudson during his interview bits.

[swo17]

The doc was on Eureka's "The Tarnished Angels" and it's pretty straightforward.

Ah, but it takes on a whole new feel when you realize that the interview subjects were being held against their will!

[tenia]

I was gonna say, if this is the same transfer that was released in France (which I assume it is), don’t expect anything revelatory. Baffling it’s taken this long.

I suspect that the master used in France is an old High def one that wouldn't be stated as a 2K restoration per Criterion's usual wording.

[tenia]

We'll have to agree We'll have to disagree then.

[onedimension]

Are the clips and stills on the Criterion website usually taken from the new edition? The one for Wind looks pretty good, to my eye, great grain. Maybe not "revelatory", but a massive step up from the DVD.

[britcom68]

Just announced as part of the Wexner Center Cinema Revival Festival For feb 2022:
https://wexarts.org/film-video/written-wind

The site listing says the Lee Klien will introduce the film before it's showing (does not specify if this is pre-recorded, or zoom or in-person). The technical spces is that what will be shown is 4k Newly restored from the original 35mm Technicolor camera negative by The Criterion Collection. Special thanks to Universal Pictures.