Well, dear readers, yesterday I managed to get my hands on five count them five DVDs which will be released next Tuesday. Thank goodness that three of them were cheap and thank goodness I had credit in the store to use up. The DVDs were/are Fahrenheit 451, The Andromeda Strain, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Far From Heaven, and the brand spanking new Special Edition of West Side Story.
So far I’ve watched all of The Andromeda Strain which, like Fahrenheit 451, was previously available on DVD. However, this is an enhanced for widescreen transfer and looks great. There’s also a “making of” documentary included, with new interviews with Michael Chrichton and Robert Wise. The Andromeda Strain, which seemed very futuristic when it was released, seems very prescient when watched now, and while the computer stuff is obviously dated, its ideas, sadly, are not dated at all. I then checked out Fahrenheit 451, again enhanced, and again looking swell. I watched the “making of” (both of these “making of” documentaries were directed by my least favorite person doing these – Laurent Bouzereau). It features the Truffaut biographer Annette Insdorf (also on Day for Night) who is so pedantic and phony-baloney, and pretentious, with that arch “professor” way of speaking, that I wanted to throw a chair through my widescreen TV, the editor of the film (who’s great), and Mr. Ray Bradbury. There’s also a piece about Bernard Herrmann with Herrmann biographer Steven Smith, and, according to the box, a feature-length commentary by Julie Christie. Why she doesn’t appear in the documentary is an enigma. And the commentary is not only by her, it includes the editor, the producer of the film, Annette Insdorf and heaven knows who else. And it’s cobbled together and every time someone speaks a voice announces who it is – every single time. It’s so annoying I wanted to throw a chair through my widescreen television. While it’s fun to hear Ms. Christie, I’m afraid she just rambles on rather incoherently. And where, may I ask, in the documentary or the commentary, is the film’s set and costume consultant, Mr. Tony Walton? These idiots didn’t even make an attempt to involve him? They could have called me and I would have put them in touch – but it’s not like he’s not living in the United States of America. But, the important thing here is the transfer, which is terrific, and the price (I paid $11.50 for both Andromeda Strain and Fahrenheit).
I shall report on the others tomorrow, especially the West Side Story DVD, which I’m in the midst of watching (I’ve already gone through its supplements).
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? These notes are so very dry today, don’t you think? I think these notes are very dry, and I think we need to hose these notes, I think we need to give these notes some oomph. Perhaps if we all click on the Unseemly Button below we’ll find some oomph waiting for us.
Perhaps not. These notes are dry, I tell you. They are dry, parched, arid, sans oomph. There’s no sparkle, no shine, no vivacity, no élan. These notes, like Urban Cowboy, should close after four performances.
Isn’t it funny that the very people who were bashing and complaining about Urban Cowboy ad nauseum on various boards are the first ones to say, “I can’t believe the producers are closing it so fast.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these boards, which have twenty to thirty people posting on them consistently, have become a negative force, and the people doing the postings have become so full of themselves because they know theater people occasionally read the boards. You know, the theater has managed for decades to get along without the Internet and these Monday morning quarterbacks, and I’m quite certain they can continue to get along without these youngsters’ “help”. That is my opinion (TIMO, in Internet lingo) and you may take it or leave it as you will.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must proof, I must write, and I must watch DVDs and relax on this beautiful day. Today’s topic of discussion: What do you think of these theater boards and certain types of people who post on them? And what do you think of the theater people who either read them or have people read them? You know my opinion (YKMO, in Internet lingo), so let’s have yours. Also, what will you be doing on this fine weekend? Post away, my pretties.