Search - All the King's Men on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations Movie Release: 1949 DVD Release: 06/05/2001 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Korean, Spanish, Thai SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 49 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Drama, Political Drama, Political Satire, Film a Clef See Also: All the King's Men

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Robert Penn Warren, All the King's Men is a roman à clef inspired by the career of Louisiana governor Huey Long. Broderick Crawford won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Willie Stark, a backwoods Southern lawyer who wins the hearts of his constituents by bucking the corrupt state government. Journalist Jack Burden (John Ireland) is impressed by Willie's seeming sincerity, and aids Stark on the road to political power. Once he's reached the governor's mansion, however, Willie proves himself to be as dishonest and despotic as the crooks whom he's replaced. He also cheats shamelessly on his wife with both his campaign manager (Mercedes McCambridge, another Oscar winner) and with Anne Stanton (Joanne Dru), the sister of idealistic doctor Adam Stanton (Sheppard Strudwick). Fiercely protective of his power, Willie organizes a fascistic police force and arranges for "accidents" to befall those who oppose him; even so, he retains the love of the voters by lowering the poverty level, improving the school system, and financing building projects. Even when Willie all but orchestrates the suicide of Anne's uncle, a highly respected judge (Raymond Greenleaf), those closest to him are unable to escape his power and the charismatic hold he has over people. Stockton, CA, stands in for the unnamed state capitol where most of the film's action occurs. In addition to its Oscars for Crawford and McCambridge, All the King's Men won the Best Picture prize. Warren's novel would later be adapted into a stage play, a TV special, and even an opera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Broderick Crawford - Willie Stark
John Derek - Tom Stark
Joanne Dru - Anne Stanton
John Ireland - Jack Burden
Mercedes McCambridge - Sadie Burke

Winner of seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Actor), All the King's Men is given adequate treatment on DVD by Columbia. =All the King's Men is presented in its original standard full-frame aspect ratio (in glorious black-and-white) with slight defects present. Since All the King's Men was produced in 1949 it is to be expected that some grain, dirt, and scratches will show up on the print. Overall these imperfections are kept to a minimum and do not distract from the movie. Edge enhancement and shimmer were never present during the film. The audio is available in Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono (French, Portuguese, Spanish, and English) and does a fine job given the fact that this is a dialogue-driven soundtrack. Hiss and distortion are not present at any time during the feature. Also included on this disc are Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai subtitles. Sadly, =All the King's Men is slighted when it comes to substantial extra features. The only bonus materials included on this disc are a theatrical trailer for All the King's Men plus Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Anatomy of a Murder, as well as some relatively slim production notes and selected filmographies on the cast and director. It seems that a multiple Oscar-winning film like All the King's Men deserves better treatment than it receives here; however, fans will have to live with this edition for now. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide