Search - A Place in the Sun on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations Movie Release: 1951 DVD Release: 08/21/2001 Format: DVD - Black and White,Pan and Scan Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 1 mins Studio: Paramount Members Wishing: 9 Genres: Drama, Romantic Drama, Psychological Drama

Previously filmed in 1931 under its original title, Theodore Dreiser's bulky but brilliant novel -An American Tragedy was remade in 1951 by George Stevens as A Place in the Sun. Montgomery Clift stars as George Eastman, a handsome and charming but basically aimless young man who goes to work in a factory run by a distant, wealthy relative. Feeling lonely one evening, he has a brief rendezvous with assembly-line worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters), but he forgets all about her when he falls for dazzling socialite Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor). Alice can't forget about him, though: she is pregnant with his child. Just when George's personal and professional futures seem assured, Alice demands that he marry her or she'll expose him to his society friends. This predicament sets in motion a chain of events that will ultimately include George's arrest and numerous other tragedies, including a vicious cross-examination by a D.A. played by future Perry Mason Raymond Burr. A huge improvement over the 1931 An American Tragedy, directed by Josef von Sternberg, A Place in the Sun softens some of the rough edges of Dreiser's naturalism, most notably in the passages pertaining to George's and Angela's romance. Even those 1951 bobbysoxers who wouldn't have been caught dead poring through the Dreiser original were mesmerized by the loving, near-erotic full facial closeups of Clift and Taylor as they pledge eternal devotion. A Place in the Sun won six Oscars, including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, although it lost Best Picture to An American in Paris. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Montgomery Clift - George Eastman
Elizabeth Taylor - Angela Vickers
Shelley Winters - Alice Tripp
Anne Revere - Hannah Eastman
Keefe Brasselle - Earl Eastman
Fred Clark - Bellows

Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters star in the seething romance A Place in the Sun. Paramount's work on this black-and-white 1.33:1 full-screen transfer is very nice and even. While there are a few instances of dirt and grain in the image, overall, this is a solid-looking transfer with well saturated black-and-white levels. The audio is presented in a newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack in English. This is a very clear and concise soundtrack, though because of its age, the limitations in the source materials are often apparent. The directional effects are kept to a minimum, with most of the sound field is only played in the front and center speakers. Also included on this disc are English subtitles. =A Place in the Sun includes a nice batch of extra materials, starting with a few retrospective interviews with Taylor and Winters plus late director/producer George Stevens' son and associate producer, Ivan Moffat. This is a very enlightening and entertaining look at what went into the production of the film though the eyes of those who were there. Also included on this disc is another retrospective on director Stevens titled "George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him" and a very informative commentary track with George Stevens Jr. and Ivan Moffat. Conspicuously, the theatrical trailer for the film is missing. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide