- Actors: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis, Akim Tamiroff, Lucille Ball
- Director: Douglas Sirk
- Format: NTSC, Subtitled
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: All Regions
- Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Studio: Cohen Media Group
- Release Date: September 27, 2016
- Run Time: 202 minutes
Declared one of
cinema’s greatest ironists decades after the period of his greatest success as
a filmmaker, Douglas Sirk was given a place in film history thanks to the
efforts made by French scholars in their development of the auteur theory. Sirk
primarily worked in melodramas of the middle and upper class, leading to subtle
social commentary and satire. Sirk is probably best known for the soap opera
melodramas he made in the 1950s, which served as a dissection of the culture during
that era, but this two-film set includes two of his films from the 1940s. Both
are set in Europe despite being made in America
and both are a reminder of the fact that Sirk was a European filmmaker, only
forced to make movies in America
through the displacement of WWII.
A Scandal in Paris is a delightfully
wicked Napoleon-era costume film, a comedy with the type of dark edge expected
from the dark comedies of Ealing Studios. The film is based on the memoirs of
an elegant French thief named François Eugéne Vidocq (George Sanders). Despite
dressing and behaving as an aristocrat, François was born in a prison and makes
his living by stealing from those he fools with his polished demeanor. This
skill of deception eventually lands him a job as the chief of police in Paris, where he makes
plans to rob the city bank.
The only thing
in the way of François’ plan is the granddaughter of the marquise, whose home
he is a guest in. Loretta (Carole Landis) has fallen in love with the image of
François long before meeting him, as he once posed as a saint in a painting
that she admires. Her assumption is that he must be as honorable as the image
he resembles, but soon discovers the secret behind his behavior. The only
question remaining is whether her affections with be impacted by the truth of
his nature.
Lured is the other film included in the
Sirk set, and it is another unique spin on a familiar genre. Although the
narrative is a typical detective whodunit, the approach is far more comedic
than suspenseful. When a serial killer is targeting women in London through an advertisement in the
personal columns, Scotland Yard enlists an American dance hall girl to go
undercover to lure the killer into a trap. Starring Lucille Ball in the years
before her success on “I Love Lucy,” nearly all of the typical gumshoe
wisecracks are perfectly transferred to Ball’s comedic style in a
gender-reversal for the murder mystery.
After a friend
of hers goes missing, Sandra Carpenter (Ball) approaches the police for help,
but instead gets a job offer. Inspector Harley Temple (Charles Coburn) realizes
that the only way to catch the killer is by luring him, and capitalizes on
Sandra’s resourceful nature. The plot is somewhat ludicrous, but this only
enhances the comedic treatment of the material. And even with this humor, the
mystery of the killer is no less intriguing, especially when Sandra becomes
engaged to a man (George Sanders, once again) that she soon suspects to be the
killer.
Each of these
films has their own Blu-ray in this two disc set. They each also have a single
special feature, which are surprisingly good for these lesser known Sirk
classics. A Scandal in Paris comes
with a commentary track featuring film critic Wade Major, while the commentary
for Lured is provided by film
historian Jeremy Arnold.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8/10
Historical
Significance: 8.5/10
Special Features: 6.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment