Reviews

Random Harvest is a first class romantic drama that requires Kleenex to be on-hand and one of the few credible amnesiac narratives.

Part of the film is set in the early 1920's and much creative licence has been taken so much so that no effort whatsoever has been made with wardrobe and hair to reflect the period. But with all the drama it's easy to overlook this glaring oversight. Being made at MGM and set in Great Britain the "Englishness" is laid on with a trowel to look more English than the country itself which isn't a bad thing.

Great screen chemistry between Garson and Coleman in addition to a first class supporting cast make this a not to be missed studio system period release!

I rather like this quite unusual blend of noir and romance. It opens quite uniquely after which a sweeping, rich score accompanies the opening credits which move into a minor tonality upon the producer credit in a clever hint of that this isn't going to be a quaint little film set in a small town.

A strong cast with Cotton giving an edge to his character with a past and Valli who is his redemption and Spring Byington bringing an indomitable goodness which comes across as maybe naive but her character is an optimistic survivor who in reality is a force. Esther Dale brings sassiness and a reprove in amongst the undercurrent of darkness.

I enjoyed Bros in spite of the so-called stereotypical portrayals of the characters in this film - it is a comedy. Those who are gay like myself and found the characters over the top I raise awareness to those comedies (admittedly on the small screen such as Friends and Will And Grace. Both have heterosexual characters and scripting both of which are hyper real and maybe stereotypical.

I found Bros entertaining (and romantic comedies are not up there as a favourite genre) and it managed to touch on some deeper stuff as well. It's a comedy and the sort of comedy like screwball which has elements that are hyper real. I thought it moved along nicely. I found myself having a chuckle more often than not in that very special atmosphere like no other - viewing a film in a dark cinema with a heap of other viewers which to me creates its own unique viewing experience.

Others have said much regarding the talents of its director on this platform. My comment will be on the restoration. Visually the 4k scan looks fantastic - beautifully sharp with deep blacks and nice contrast. The audio track however is disappointing. As a projectionist who has run many older "academy ratio" films with mono soundtracks, I have found these particularly good. Nice rich sound with quantities in the lower spectrum that were pleasing and dialogue that was clear and pleasing to the ear. Not so with many European classic restorations. It seems that the visual elements are given a lot of attention but the audio is an afterthought. It was recorded using Westrex sound which Hollywood used but displays a harsh, distorted quality with a lack of bass. This could be better. No excuse being an "old movie". Maybe from the early 1930's but not in the 1950's by which time many advancements had been achieved in the area of audio in cinema.

At the end of my teen years along came this movie with its smash hit soundtrack which every track seemed just marvellous and featured our own Aussie Olivia Newton-John. The film also features smart deco styling and motifs which were popular at the time after the design aesthetic of the 1970's and were truly like a breath of fresh air and some colours that were not primary.....1980 was here! All this holds a fond place in my coming of age - it's not perfect but it sits in a very happy place within. It's a "crowd" film - another example of the power of cinema when a film is watched with an audience. You don't get that watching this on a "device" with its digital convenience (god save us) no fun, none of the energy that exists with an audience who are there for the place this film holds for them or maybe to experience what all the fuss is about.

Just one lovely film with some great touches of visual realism giving breaths of fresh air to some serious topics developing along the way. A great cast all ripe and bursting with talent being let loose on this well written material has impressive results that are believable and provide a realistic evocation of the time aided by some nice cinematography. They all shine particularly Ms Colbert, Ms Jones (looking just lovely and doing a most believable Innocent character) Mr Walker and as always Agnes Moorhead glimmering like a diamond in a smart wardrobe delivering sublime deliciously covert barbed dialogue showing her great talents but for only brief moments which I savour. I do love a Max Steiner score and this one doesn't disappoint if you love the big rich sounds he creates. I'm in heaven!

The two female leads do an excellent job in this fun well produced comedy taking us on a journey through the lives of these two blondes with excellent characterisations in addition to an excellent supporting cast with a standout performance from Janeane Garofalo who couldn't have done a better job!! Frequent and very nice fluid camera movement throughout is a very nice touch with this employed in well designed and rehearsed crowd crowd scenes that flow beautifully. Great use of some great 80's hits used quite aptly increase the fun levels and partnered with the original score which isn't obtrusive. I gave this a 10 - it's a classic of its time!

This film is one of the most unforgettable viewing experiences I have had! It's a heartfelt drama with the perfect script delivered by flawless performances. Every cast member is a standout here! The last 20 mins had me in tears at various points though it's like there is this thread of comedy also here with what I can only describe as perfection! Do yourself a favour and see this film!!

Parts of this remake are ok and the rest is like a television series. Nothing more to add just going for the $$$$$ with this remake. 2/10

Energy abounds in this Aussie flick with lots of great set design and costumes to match and that's as far as it got for me. The rest was a bit of a dissapointment.

Yes, I did expect a certain vulgarity to be present but some aspects of the narrative I just found just silly and at times plain stupid. Several minutes of voice over and fast cutting I found overwhelming at the start. There were some set pieces I found funny and was laughing along with the rest of the audience who were at times laughing more than I did, however it was these ridiculous parts of storyline that killed it for me. They kinda were absurd but the execution was where the word silly and stupid came in.

Guy Pearce is always great but overall the cast's characters were not developed enough. Kylie Minogue and Jack Thompson's characters in particular were strangulated by the lack of thought given to them in the script. Mr Thompson's character just didn't go anywhere or vary. Not to blame him at all.....there was little heart in the characters overall.

The sound mix however was well executed.

Amanda Root is perfection along with the rest of the cast in a very faithful looking version of this Jane Austen opus. Lighting in particular is natural - apparent use of candles in a dining room scene, in another there appears to be only the natural light coming into the particular room. This gives the viewer the feeling of the lighting of the period. Costuming and makeup are not overdone to make the production look too glamorous with the performances more than making up. I can watch this again and again!

Only one beef: the aspect ratio of the DVD is obviously from a VHS master and is 4:3 (screen ratio of 1.37:1) so is cropped off at the sides, as the title is right at the bottom of the frame indicating that a full frame negative has not been used for this DVD release. Certain shots are telling with obvious chopping off of actors and items and doesn't look like an ideal frame composition. Time for an update! The cinematic release ratio was 1.85:1 (widescreen ratio) and all TV's since around 2002 of course are close to this (1.77:1 or 16:9)

I went to a pre-release fund raiser screening not knowing anything about this film or it's topic. I was disappointed to say least of the superficial, uneven nature of how such a historically important topic (which I don't believe a lot of people actually know about), which I don't believe has been documented on film prior to this, was handled.

There was a lack of depth in the narrative as we were taken in a particular direction only to have that suddenly interrupted to be taken off in another and not returning to original in a lot of cases. Most frustrating for viewers like myself, keen to know more about this topic. The tongue in cheek humour was the deal breaker for me - it was as if trying to appeal to the masses and win them over and like the film further taking us away from any depth or exploration of this dark time in history and and depth of the topic. It seemed like a pointed insult to the real life people working under such perilous circumstances, but you wouldn't have known that only for the fact the WWII and Nazi's were mentioned.

Film can be a powerful medium in reminding the world of the true horrors of war, in particular the kind inflicted by the Nazi's. I think it's important to do this. This film has a great ensemble of actors but simply misses on a lot of levels in doing the above and it's silly humour only makes it a trite futile exercise. Simply indulgent - a gluttonous waste of talent and time.

Spend 94 precious minutes watching a bunch of inane, base characters from the absolute extreme low spectrum of consciousness and humanity go through the motions. Olivia de Havilland must have needed the money to have lowered herself to this level. It's not clever like some of the other thrillers of the period with a distinct lack of imagination and creativity in scripting, and production values that I found lacking in subtlety.

I found scant suspense and entertainment value here, just frustration at watching such an inane scenario that therein existed potential unrealised.

I want my 94 mins back.

Saw this film last night and it is one of the standout films I have seen in a while. It is not a film that is jarred into one's memory with blatant technique and narrative. It is it's subtle pace and nature that is simply music to the senses.

Great to see Patricia Clarkson in a lead role in a film that utilises her ability to not wear her heart on her sleeve. She and the direction draws the viewer into her experience not only in a foreign land but her vulnerability of being in that land more or less alone. I cannot describe adequately the experience of this in the film. Introspective...powerful without overbearing the viewer...bravo on her performance! The visual nature of this film is quite beautiful with the numerous panoramic camera angles woven intricately into the narrative without feeling we were going off on a mini travelogue from it. Sublime scoring is likewise on par and is truly the icing on the cake! The sound mix was obviously handled with care with reference to surround channels evidenced in the detail in the outdoor sequences on the streets of Cairo. I left the cinema feeling uplifted and most satisfied from the duration spent with this rare and well crafted cinematic gem.

I saw this on a VHS release here in the 1980's and was one of those films years later I could not forget. How could one forget this memorable title with a equally interesting and unusual combination of love, comedy, drama and disaster that in many other circumstances would simply not work! Boyer and Arthur's romantic moments...pure magic as is Boyer and Leo Carillo's comedic turns. Produced to the tune of over a million dollars (a very generous budget for 1937) independently by Walter Wagner the look of this "A" production certainly reflects this. The deft hand of Borzage could only keep the goings on fluent with the seemingly challenging narrative in a film that easily keeps the viewers attention. To my mind one of the highlights of 30's cinema. I urge anyone interested in this era - see this film!! Available on DVD (mine is a South American copy and OK print quality).

Putting it simply, my head hurt after viewing this! The poor copy with out of sync and sometimes unintelligible dialog released as "Confidential Report" on DVD here didn't help. The overwhelming and chaotic qualities I felt were aided by Robert Arden yelling much of his dialog. It did arrive at an outcome after flashback from the start of the film however the journey is convoluted, busy and somewhat confusing. Also a rich, visually textured one. I can see and appreciate the genus of Welles here in light of certain sources stating he was excluded from the editing process and he himself calling it a big mistake. Dreamlike - YES! Maybe another viewing is needed. Maybe. Seeing a decent 35mm print on the big screen would be the way to go.

I first saw this film when I was about 12 years old and it scared the living daylights out of me. I saw it again recently on a nice DVD with a print from the UCLA archives and enjoyed it once more with less of the initial reaction of a 12 year old.

There are a number of elements in this productions favour.

The setting of the swamps and the remote plantation provide generous doses of eeriness for starters.

Oberon, whose star was on the decline, is perfect with her very British genteelness and performance of a woman in a vulnerable state. We are given indicators (such as the her discarded telegram) early on, that all is not well - she thinks she in going deeper into madness. She pulls this off very well.

I am a huge fan of the orchestral scoring during this period, however the lack of it here, and instead lots of sounds of the swamps, adds generously to the suspense, in addition to a number of nighttime shots.

The directors montage at the start of the film is a perfect and dramatic beginning to one of the sleeper suspense films of the period.

Many viewers use the terminology "melodramatic" and complain about "too much over the top music" of films of this type. This sort of description is I feel quite negative, inaccurate and does indicate a definite lack of understanding about the films of this era.

This terming of "melodramatic" is also usually the result of not looking at the film the way a contemporary audience would have seen it.

Firstly the definition of the genre of melodrama literally means music and drama.

Orchestrated film scores were the order of the day in this "studio system" period. These scores were there to support and intensify the narrative on the screen for the viewer. This was still only 15 years after the development of sound with film, and only about a decade the orchestral scoring had found it's place in sound films with the scoring of "King Kong" in 1933, also by the composer for this film, Max Steiner.

Were not silent films just prior to this accompanied fully by music? Steiner was probably the greatest and most prolific composer in classic Hollywood. MGM, the king studio of the block, never packed such punch in relation to musical scoring of their films, as did those scored by Steiner over at Warners.

Davis said herself in a self critical fashion of the artist that this was "the worst movie ever made". This I feel was more through vanity than anything else.

Audiences at previews commented unfavourably on her make-up. Davis was a star and this was going against the glamour image a star was supposed to look like. The make-up WAS exaggerated (just check out those over made-up lips!), and her costumes help her along when she flounces around (no-one flounced better than Davis) and really helped bring this crazy southern belle to life.

All the above was intentional by Huston running into problems all the way through production with the studio heads that it was all too excessive. This is what gives the character of Stanley the wallop and impact.

Hooray for Huston for sticking to his guns leaving us with a true and definitive melodrama!

At our recent film society screening of this film (we very luckily have a 16mm print in The National Film and Sound Archive here in Australia) it was very apparent of the skill of director and his star in what is an subtle and underplayed telling of this Fannie Hurst tearjerker. There is an absence of musical underscore very typical for the period prior to 1934, and this added to the potency of the effect of Dunne's absorbing and masterful performance, illustrating her as not just a star but an actress as well. Overall this film has a very gentle feel with slow fade-outs used frequently in giving this effect. Dunne is wonderful in her playing earlier in a lighter fashion and makes a skillful transformation into the section of the film where she is older and more serious. I had sympathy for her character in spite of the sacrifices she makes for John Boles, remaining in the "back street" of his life. I see director Stahl as a sort of predecessor to Sirk in his handling of solid fare such as this and "Leave her to Heaven" (1945).

"Marked Woman" was banned on it's original release here in Australia then abruptly withdrawn at the last moment from it's initial television screening here in 1966. Why all the fuss? Well it's because of those female leads playing "hostesses" in a "clip joint" are obviously playing prostitutes! Shock! And in a film from 1937!

This film followed hot on the heels of the sensational and newsbreaking 1936 trial of mobster Lucky Luciano who was convicted on the evidence of the prostitutes who worked for him. This was the sort of material ("torn from the headlines") that was the staple and was very much a part of the house style of 1930's Warners - gritty, hard boiled, tough stories concerning the working person facing the depression. At the end of the opening credits there is a title card disclaiming any resemblance to persons real or otherwise in the film. This was rarely if ever stated so strongly in films of this period. Warners were obviously very conscious about being seen to be not capitalizing on such a headline event so soon after - which they were!

Simple sets abound reflecting the obsession that Warners had with economy - even the nightclub is rather plain with not too many long shots to expose too much. This nightclub over at RKO would have had a distinctly chic Art Deco look as per the trademark of that studios Art Director, and the whole production is also in stark contrast to the lavish Crawford and Shearer vehicles over at MGM.

This film is late in Davis' "early period" - one which I find fascinating with it's odd mix of narrative concerning women and crime. It is also a very interesting vehicle of Humphrey Bogart still years off from the super-stardom he found from "High Sierra" in 1941. His role is very much the reflection of the censors requirement from 1934 that the law makers be glorified and not the law breakers as was very much the case and staple of pre-1934 Warners output. His speech as District Attorney in court has an abundance of force and conviction.

Other players in the film to my mind fit like a glove. Eduardo Ciannelli is suitably creepy and sleazy as the crime boss. Lola Lane, Rosalind Marquis (both giving us two nice Warren and Dubin numbers in the nightclub), Mayo Methot (soon to be Mrs Bogart in real life in what was a very stormy union) and Isabel Jewell (the perfect little gold-digger) portray with the toughness required and as the other "marked women" trapped in a life on the wrong side of the law. Costuming reflects perfectly their "class" in spite of their lucrative profession.

"Marked Woman" also closely followed the landmark court case between a very unhappy Davis (trapped in what was very much a man's studio) and Warners over the crummy scripts she was repeatedly presented in spite of her landmark performances in "Of Human Bondage" ('34) at RKO and "The Petrified Forest" ('35). After being off the screen for almost a year she lost the case and came back humbly with the studio relieved to have their "upcoming" leading female star back in action (tempramental star Kay Francis career at Warners was winding down by this stage) and eventually giving her more meaty and suitable parts like "Marked Women" with their really coming to the party in giving her "Jezebel" in 1938.

"Jezebel" was the doorway for Davis' "mature" phase for it was the director of "Jezebel" (and subsequent vehicles "The Letter" (40) and "The Little Foxes" (41)) William Wyler was able to tame her and provide much assistance in maturing her performances. Simultaneously Warners became a outfit turning out extremely polished vehicles and one of the champions of the "Womens Picture" through the 1940's.

We are very fortunate in the Australian National Film and Sound Archive having a good 16mm copy of the film which we will be screening at our film society this year. There's nothing like seeing a film like this in it's intended environment - the big screen!

Enter a suspended state of disbelief and enjoy this entertaining and gritty melodrama from Hollywood's golden age!

A film that is so much a 30's Warners film in an era when each studio had a particular look and style to their output, unlike today where simply getting audiences is the object.

Curitz was one of the quintessential Warners house directors working with tight economy and great efficiency whilst creating quality, working methods that were very much the requirements of a director at Warners, a studio that was one of the "big five" majors in this era producing quality films for their large chains of theatres.

Even though we have a setting of the upper classes on Long Island there is the generic Warners style embedded here with a narrative that could have been "torn from the headlines". Another example is the when the photographers comment on the girls legs early in the film and she comments that "They're not the trophies" gives the film a more working mans, down to earth feel, for these were the audiences that Warners were targeting in the great depression. (ironically Columbia and Universal were the two minors under these five majors until the 50's when their involvement in television changed their fortunes - they would have made something like this very cheaply and without the polish and great talent) Curtiz has created from an excellent script a film that moves along at a rapid pace whilst keeping the viewer with great camera angles and swift editing.

Thank heavens there is no soppy love interest sub-plot so the fun can just keep rolling along.