Search - Charlton Heston Collection 3 Disc Collector's Set on DVD

Not really movies, but Heston's early television work from S

Kenneth M. Pizzi | San Mateo, CA United States | 06/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Rather hastily put together after the actor's passing in early April 2008, this set from St. Clair Vision does not contain the familiar 1970 "Julius Caesar" production starring Heston as Marc Antony, Jason Robards as Brutus, and Richard Chamberlain as Octavian as one may be inclined to believe and indicated on the dvd case.

Instead, this is really a glimpse of Heston's early television work circa 1949-1953, right before he would become a household name with DeMille's "The Ten Commandments." Nonetheless, this collection of Heston's work, including a 1952 teleplay of "Julius Caesar" for Studio One is rather striking for its camera work and an interesting use of minimal sets--at times mirroring the camera techniques of early German Expressionism. "Peer Gynt" featured in this set, and based on Ibsen's play, showcases then-seventeen-year old Heston's first-ever televised role. In "Bolt of Lightning" Heston plays one of our lesser-know Founding Fathers and revolutionary leaders, James Otis, who was first beaten mercilessly for his anti-British views and then killed by...you guessed it...a bolt of lightning. Heston's gives an interesting performance, a bit over-the-top but amusing nonetheless.

The 3-disc set concludes with a nicely narrated photoshop slideshow and voiceover covering the actor's finest moments in motion pictures and televison spanning the actor's sixty-three years in show business.

Other dramas for television broadcast include the classic "Wuthering Heights" and "Of Human Bondage" for the Westinghouse Theater and Studio One. Bear in mind, little has been done to improve the remastering of these programs over fifty years old, but Heston fans will treasure these rare glimpses into this talented actor's presence on the stage and in the studio."