Controversial Classics Collection

[Jeff]

Paul Muni gives a joltingly realistic performance in this powerhouse classic directed by Mervyn LeRoy (Little Caesar), based on autobiographical writings by chain-gang escapee Robert E. Burns. Like many '30s crime sagas, this deals with gritty realities. Yet it also stands apart as a film that made a difference, igniting protests that led to vital penal reforms and Burns himself received a commuted sentence.

DVD special features include:
* Commentary by film historian Richard B. Jewell
* Vintage musical short 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
* Theatrical trailer
* Subtitles: English, French & Spanish

Cover art here.

[What A Disgrace]

As for Chain Gang, I can't wait for this disc. Its easily the jewel of this set, and I'm almost glad it lost the TCM vote, as the films in this set seem much better treated than the winners.

[porquenegar]

What a great movie. Muni does an amazing job. He's so intense. I think the ending is perfect and has haunted me for days. Anyone listen to the commentary track yet?

[Steven H]

What a great set of films. My favorite is split between three: I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Bad Day at Black Rock, and Advise and Consent. They were all enjoyable (even, I would think the underdog of the set, The Americanization of Emily was entertaining, with interesting commentary by the Director, Arthur Hiller). My favorite performance of the set is either Andy Griffith in Face in the Crowd or Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock.

Fury reminded me of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, with the taking of revenge from afar, and the Bogdonovich commentary wasn't his worst (the Lang excerpts saved it, I suppose). Bad Day at Black Rock (the only film I had seen before) seemed more modern (existential, and knowing in it's cinematic context) than I remembered it, and the commentary track was fantastic (entertaining and revealing, although I might not agree with all the subtext Dana Polan points out, they seemed reasonable). Blackboard Jungle was entertaining (the best "School Teacher Trying To Make a Difference" film I've seen), but seemed to fall apart at the end (turning it into a black and white "with me or against me... forever" message) and ended up being much more conservative, in my opinion, than it should have been. I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang and Advise and Consent struck me as genuinely controversial, the former being held up against our entire law system and the latter showing how detached our government is from "the people" (though I think we've lost whatever illusion those of that time period clung to... nope, still there). I suppose A Face in the Crowd is more controversial *now* than it was then, because of people being accustomed to Andy Griffith's television personalities. Pretty amazing performance though (and the commentary points out that Griffith *became* Rhodes during the shoot... I can only imagine).

Did anyone find Drew Casper's commentary on Advise and Consent to be a little too "thorough"? He spells everything out (though there's a lot of great information), sometimes literally ("He (Preminger) was a true auteur. A-U-T-E-U-R.") And did anyone else laugh their head off when James Garner called Julie Andrews a "bitch" in Emily?

[peerpee]

Mindboggling that I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG is 1932. What an incredible film. Looking forward to ploughing through the rest of this marvellous set.

[BWilson]

Two Drew Casper comments:

1. The slipcase for Americanization of Emily says that Casper gives commentary for that film. However he does not. The commentary is by the director, Arthur Hiller.

2. I've attended many of Drew Caspers lectures and listened to his 3 audio commentaries and I can say that he performs on the commentary exactly as he lectures in class. I too find it silly when he spells things. It's something he does during lectures so that you'll know how to spell "auteur" (for example) in your notes. Of course it's completely unneccessary during an audio commentary. Oh well, he's a pretty wacky guy, he probably thinks we're all at home taking notes. But for whatever it's worth you can feel assured you are getting as close to a genuine USC film school lecture as possible.

[tryavna]

Two Drew Casper comments:

1. The slipcase for Americanization of Emily says that Casper gives commentary for that film. However he does not. The commentary is by the director, Arthur Hiller.

2. I've attended many of Drew Caspers lectures and listened to his 3 audio commentaries and I can say that he performs on the commentary exactly as he lectures in class. I too find it silly when he spells things. It's something he does during lectures so that you'll know how to spell "auteur" (for example) in your notes. Of course it's completely unneccessary during an audio commentary. Oh well, he's a pretty wacky guy, he probably thinks we're all at home taking notes. But for whatever it's worth you can feel assured you are getting as close to a genuine USC film school lecture as possible.

I have to say that I personally find Drew Caspar's voice a little creepy. Sort of like other posters on this board find Bogdanovich's voice.

But I'm also very underwhelmed by the content of Caspar's commentaries. His commentary for White Heat in particular was a waste of time. As much as I like Warner releases, I'm beginning to gain an even greater appreciation (if that's possible) for the generally superb work Criterion does at every level, including in the extras department.

[BWilson]

His White Heat commentary was pretty poor, but Asphault Jungle and Advise and Consent are both A+. He spends a lot of time on actor biographies in the White Heat commentary which is something I loath. He doesn't bother with that in the other two.

[djali999]

Funny that I had to turn off his Asphalt Jungle track after 50 minutes - it was driving me up the wall - but listened for all of White Heat. Haven't heard his others, but I found the I Am A Fugitive... track by Jewell rather unenlightening and stopped listening eventually. A shame for such a great film to have a "just ok" commentary as its' only background extra. Oddly, I remember his track on Little Ceasar as one of the better in that set.

[mbalson]

I have to say that I personally find Drew Caspar's voice a little creepy.

I hate to say this, but I think I find his facial expressions even more so.

[devlinnn]

Don't find Drew Casper too bad, but would like to put forward the proposal to have Scott Eyman narrate all commentary tracks from now on, whether they be his own, or if he has to read from another's notes. His laconic, US of A drawl is the stuff of dreams, and fits like a glove to the films he talks about (My Darling Clementine a supreme example).

[Galen Young]

I've picked up a few of my favorites from the set: Fury, A Face in the Crowd and Advise & Consent. Really great transfers on them all.

A Face in the Crowd is a such a knockout. It's amazing just how prescient this film has turned out to be. Even the little documentary included with it called "Facing the Past" is pretty good. Just hearing an aging Andy Griffith talk about Kazan's directing method and say the phrase "fuck her" is classic!

[Gordon]

I love Bad Day at Black Rock. It's so lean and raw. Tracy is, for the most part, Destiny personified. The long-awaited confrontation between Tracy and Borgnine is still the most impressive, satisfying and, more importantly, justified piece of movie-violence I have ever seen and Christ knows I have seen more of my fair share of phoney, over-the-top bullshit showdowns over the years.

Sturges was a master of physical scenes, not just violence, of course: he is also, like Melville, Bresson and Becker, a fine proponent of the 'cinema of process', meaing, the detailed observation of the characters' actions, especially handiwork. The French Masters of this under-used technique, because of their austere approach to filmmaking, highlight these moments more strongly than Sturges, whose style is more colourful and robust.

The anamorphic 2.55:1 CinemaScope transfer is very good; the best the film has ever looked at home. Dana Polan's informative commentary is fairly lively and interesting, but concentrates too heavily on the cultural context of the film. It was shot in three weeks. 443 of the film's 455 shots were completed in the first take: "I believe in Take One for spontaneity. If it doesn't come off, I move the camera to another viewpoint. Freshness is paramount," stated Sturges. I would love to hear Sturges commentary that was recorded for the Criterion Laserdisc, but no dice.

Bad Day at Black Rock was a landmark moment in American Cinema. It draws on Wild West mythology and archetypes, but clashes them against a modern world, after World War II, at a time when Oriental philosophy and culture was slowly finding its way into American life. It also can be seen as an allegory for the collective unconscious guilt that America carries for how the West was truly won: through deceit and murder of proud Indian tribes and exploitation of 'Chinamen' on the railroads and African slaves throughout the South. It was also the first film to use CimemaScope/widescreen as a psychological device, with masterful, geometric blocking of actors, seperated by Antonionian space. Andre Previn's cues still bother me: they are harsh, overblown, 'too-many-notes' blasts that state the obvious.

Sturges, though not a true auteur, was, unquestionably, a master craftsman, who made some of the most exciting, unpretentious and satisfying colour-widescreen films in American Cinema of the 50s and 60s and he, as a filmmaker, deserves to be written about more. Budd Boetticher is another filmmaker of this era who deserves more respect. Tough, lean, truly physical films, with subtle, emotional depth, beautifully crafted and, if I may be so bold, mythological.

[Steven H]

Andre Previn's cues still bother me: they are harsh, overblown, 'too-many-notes' blasts that state the obvious.

This is really the only reservation I had about the film. I'd like to know more about the production history and where and why the music came into play on this one. A little "less" music would have suited the movie perfectly.

[jcelwin]

Just finished watching 'A face in the crowd'. An excellent and underapreciated film. All the performances are exceptional, especially Griffith as 'lonesome'. Kazan did an amazing job.

[domino harvey]

I had no idea Griffith could act, but his performance is just terrific

[jt]

Currently down to $53 in the amazon sale

[domino harvey]

I accidentally came across this anecdote related by an Amazon shopper and it's too excellent not to share here:

I Was A Fugitive From New Year's Eve.

Back in the fifties there really wasn't much that I was allowed to see on late night television except for special occasions. One night that I'll never forget was a New Year's eve when I got to stay up late with my parents and watch one of my dad's favorites, I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG, which I had never heard of until that New Year's Eve of my 12th year.

Now this film may or may not qualifiy as an official noir but the experience surrounding this showing was certainly noirish. It was a terrific, engrossing movie which my dad kept assuring me was based on a true story that had happened right here in Chicago back in the twenties. Needless to say my 12-year old imagination was completely captivated by the movie as well as the suspenseful race to the midnight coverage of New Year's from downtown. The channel which was showing the movie assured all of us that they would have live coverage of the wild celebration downtown right after the movie. The veteran clockwatchers in my living room speculated that there wouldn't be enough time to finish the movie and then go downtown just before the stroke of twelve. It got pretty exciting there around 11:55 or so.

Finally, at about 11:58 Paul Muni, still a fugitive, slips out of the darkness behind his girlfriend's garage to say goodbye forever to her. As Muni starts slipping back into the darkness the girlfriend says "But how do you live?" Muni replies "I steal!"

All of a sudden two freindly news anchor faces show up on the screen with celebrating celebrators exclaiming "Happy New Year!" right behind them. What? What happened to the movie? My dad said he thought there was more and apparently he wasn't the only one. That night and the next couple of days the TV station's phone lines were jammed with complaining callers wanting to know how the movie came out. It even made the local front pages.

The TV station issued several statements saying that they had played the entire movie including the ending but the more they said it, the fewer viewers believed it. And I was beginning to wonder if I could believe anything I saw on TV, after alll"You don't believe everything you read in the papers, do you?" My friends claimed it was all a lot of bushwa to sell used cars." You don't believe used car salesmen, do you?"

So finally, to settle this raging debate, the TV station played the actual absolute ending to I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG during every newscast for a good couple of days.
And poor Paul Muni still had to steal to survive and he never did get back with his girlfriend. Only this time the station included the short piece of film that said "The End." As for myself and my "in the know" friends, we settled on the hard boiled if not noirish explanation that the whole thing was a publicity stunt to get higher ratings.

But it was a great movie.

[Gregory]

A good thread would be "movie broadcasting disasters," assuming there are enough known examples. The most famous is probably the "Heidi incident," when millions of angry fans missed the dramatic ending of one of the most memorable U.S. football games in history because the network decided to air a made-for-tv adaptation of the story of a young girl in the Swiss Alps. It's a great story.

[Jonathan S]

A good thread would be "movie broadcasting disasters," assuming there are enough known examples.

I remember a late-night BBC broadcast of A Day at the Races in 1979 when two reels were repeated (and others omitted). "Not again!" shouted my mother (who hated the Marxes anyway) as the Brothers commenced their second medical examination of Margaret Dumont.

[Lamourderer]

This is going offtopic but... about a year ago the biggest commercial tv station in our country showed Kurosawa's Dreams. It was pretty weird, considering that the usual scale of this channel consists of reality tv, song contests and Hollywood films made in past ten years. Of course Dreams was shown after midnight in the middle of the week so that it wouldn't bother anyone decent or normal. Still, the situation was weird. It got even weirder when one of the episodes (the one with the man and the demon in post-apocalyptic landscape) was repeated right after it ended. I spent about 10 minutes thinking what it would possibly mean and why did Kurosawa choose just this episode to be repeated and how courageous and experimental the man was even in his last years of directing, until I realised it was a mistake in broadcast and the episode was repeated right on top of the next episode from which I now got to see about ten seconds after the repeated episode ended. I never read any complaints about this from any newspapers or Internet forums, because I was probably the only one in the whole country really watching the film. It was just so lame that the only time the channel in question was showing something actually watchable they had to screw it up.