WARNING - DO NOT BUY THIS PARTICULAR DVD!!!!!!!!!!
H. Hedrick | 04/25/2010
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I was really disappointed when I saw that what I got in the mail was a knockoff DVD for the regular price (by A2ZCOS instead of a studio). What I expected came to pass. This is the only DVD that my player has ever been unable to read. First, a message came up from A2ZCOS saying that the movie was old and the sound quality might be lower than expected. Then the DVD player stalled and said that the DVD was "dirty" and was unable to read it. I really don't expect Amazon to be selling this junk, but I guess I have to double check from now on. As for the movie, it is one of the great films of all time. ----- I really consider that Amazon owes me for the wasted order, but whatever."
Simply wonderful
magellan | Santa Clara, CA | 07/17/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When one hears the phrase "They just don't make 'em like this anymore," this is the movie that most often pops into my mind. With a great cast, a suspense-busting story, and possibly the cleverest and certainly the fastest and most perfectly timed dialog of any movie ever made, this is a timeless and great classic from Hollywood's Golden Age.
The movie reprises the famous Ben Hecht play from 1928, The Front Page, which some considered to have had the best dialog ever written for the American stage, but with one important change. Director Howard Hawks had the idea of changing the male reporter's role to that of a woman, which brilliantly set the stage for the romantic comedy of this movie.
The rapid fire dialog of the movie deserves at least a brief comment. As one other reviewer wrote here, Hawks shot the scenes in long takes many times until the dialog was perfect, and only then committed it to film. Grant and Russell were also given considerable latitude in ad-libbing the occasional line. In fact, I've heard that Russell felt she needed a little extra sparkle in her dialog and secretely engaged (unfortunately I don't recall who) another writer to provide some additional lines, which were left in the final cuts. Eventually Grant began to suspect Russell was up to something, and she was. :-)
There's so much that goes by so fast in this movie that it's easy to miss something. My favorite is when Grant and Russell (who's still playing hard to get) are reminiscing about one of their previous capers--when they stole the stomach of a murder victim right off the autopsy table to get evidence for their story. :-)
You'll also recognize dozens of character actors from the era in various roles. Most, except for Gene Lockhart, father of June Lockhart who many will remember from the 60s TV series, I didn't know the names of, but I've seen them pop up in many other movies from the period over the years. No doubt most of these people were under contract to various studios, and got used again and again in different movies. And of course Ralph Bellamy does a great job with his role and provides a stolid foil to the zany, devil may care personalities of Hildy and Walter, in the character of a conservative, risk-averse life insurance salesman.
It's a great movie from another era that rewards viewing more than once."
Be Sure To Buy The Right Version!
John Mclaughlin | San Francisco, California, inatlantis@aol.com | 09/13/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There's a lot than can be said about the film itself: Howard Hawks' best comedy and possibly his best film, one of the earliest uses of overlapping dialogue (and probably the best), tightest screenwriting, etc., etc. If you want to know more about the film, there are lots of other reviews which sing its praises. My focus is on helping you to buy the best-quality version available.
Beware of all except the Columbia Classics edition (with the small orange oval near the bottom left of the front cover which confirms the transfer from film to DVD was "Restored from the Original Negative!"). Most of these were made on the cheap with poor transfers from inferior prints which look and sound awful. Get the Columbia Classics edition, released November 21, 2000, through Sony Pictures, ASIN: 6305416192. The Columbia Classics version features an excellent transfer: the picture quality is crisp and clear, with no contrast issues or visual artifacts, and the restored mono soundtrack is clean and full, with no muffled lower end or tinny-sounding high end. Enjoy!"