New on Disc: 'Babette's Feast' and more …
29 Jul, 2013 By: Mike Clark
Babette’s Feast
Criterion, Drama, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR.
In Swedish, Danish and French with English subtitles.
Stars Stephane Audran, Bodil Kjer, Birgitte Federspiel, Jarl Kulle.
1987. The feast portrayed in this hugely deserving Oscar winner ends up getting rave reviews from its participants — but not until its rigidly religious Dane invitees get loosened up a little by spirits of multiple kind. Writer-director Gabriel Axel, adapting the Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen) literary source, pokes a little gentle fun at the guests’ provincialism; yet for the most part, he treats them with affection because this is one affectionate movie.
Extras: The Blu-ray includes the original short story; a 1995 documentary on Blixen/Dinesen; new interviews with Axel and star Stephane Audran; a visual essay by Michael Almereyda; a good written essay by film scholar Mark Le Fanu; and a new 2K digital restoration.
Read the Full Review
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (Blu-ray)
Available at ScreenArchives.com
Twilight Time, Drama, $29.95
Blu-ray, NR.
Stars William Holden, Jennifer Jones.
1955. Here’s a prime example of how a pop tune contributed to a movie’s success, and yes, a Best Original Song Oscar win was forthcoming. This adaptation of Han Suyin’s semi-autobiographical novel deals almost exclusively with a Eurasian physician’s Hong Kong-set love affair with a married male news correspondent to the typical snobbish social ostracism, set in 1949 against a backdrop of Chinese communism and then the Korean War.
Extras: In typical Twilight Time fashion, the disc includes Julie Kirgo liner notes and an isolated track of Alfred Newman’s Oscar-winning musical score.
Read the Full Review
© 2015 Questex LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.
For technical difficulties plesae contact the webmaster. | | Contact us | Site Feedback
Questex Entertainment : Agent DVD /