Worthy collection for Sturgess fans, old and new

DVDs:


	• Preston Sturges - The Filmmaker Collection (Sullivan's Travels/The Lady Eve/The Palm Beach Story/Hail the ... Preston Sturges, June Preston Universal Studios, 2006 average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Very good set!

Preston Sturges was one of America's finest directors, and its great that seven of his films can be had relatively cheaply. The video and audio are about as good as can be. However, there are no extras! Not one. Surely they could have included at least the trailers to his films or an essay on Sturges. Something! Oh well. Its still a good set and I recommend it.

Worthy collection for Sturgess fans, old and new

I already own three of the films in this collection and enjoy them regularly. The collection, however, is an excellent conglomeration of the breadth of Preston Sturgess's abilities as a writer and director. A different kind of social commentator than his contemporary, Frank Capra, Sturgess took outlandish situations and pushed them to just one notch shy of absurdity and still treated his audience to valid and hilarious discourses on the Human Condition.

If you have not seen any of Sturgess's work, this is an outstanding collection to learn what he was about. If you are familiar with his work, you will be happily surprised with some of the more obscure works found here.

The oddball in the mix is "The Great Moment" which is a quasi-biography and costume piece with Joel McCrea about the development of ether as an anesthetic. Sturgess liked to use what amounted to a repertory company of character actors that filled the major and minor roles in his films, and The Great Moment is no exception.

My favorite in these is still "The Lady Eve" which I've owned previously. The story and acting, and especially the direction, is of a quality that puts this among the best of any movie. If you want to study this movie, get the Criterion Collection version which includes insightful analyses and interviews that describe some of its subtle virtues, but if you want to just enjoy a highly enjoyable film, this one's fine.

"Sullivan's Travels" features Joel McCrea again and an adorable Veronica Lake in a comedy that takes a turn for the worse for the idealistic hero but then turns out okay in the end, lesson learned. "Hail, the Conquering Hero" and "Christmas In July" set up the lead characters with situations they didn't create but for which they have to bear the consequences. "The Palm Beach Story" is a lark, and "The Great McGinty" a bit more serious, but both explore the ramifications of a series of questionable decisions made by their lead characters. In the case of The Great McGinty, which is Sturgess's first effort as a writer/director, the quality is not as polished as later efforts, but he clearly can be seen to grow as both a writer and director with subsequent films in the collection.

Two outstanding Sturgess films that are NOT included in this collection are "Unfaithfully Yours" with Rex Harrison and "Miracle of Morgan's Creek" with Eddie Bracken (made the same year as Conquering Hero. If you like what you see in this collection, please consider adding these last two to your library as well.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Preston Sturges was the first prominent screenwriter to direct his own script. He went on an unparalleled creative streak that brought to the screen some of the most beloved films of all time.This collection pays tribute to seven of his finest and funniest films starring cinema's most illustrious screen stars.The Great McGintyAn opportunist (Brian Donlevy) turns corruption into a promising political career but struggles to stay on top when he tries to go honest.Christmas in JulyHope springs eternal when an office clerk (Dick Powell) mistakenly believes he's won a coffee slogan challenge and spends the "prize money".The Lady EveIt's the ultimate battle of the sexes when a wealthy heir (Henry Fonda) falls (literally!) for a con woman (Barbara Stanwyck) with a shady past.Sullivan's TravelsIn this comedic masterpiece a wealthy director (Joel McCrea) wants to find "real" people for his next great film (co-starring Veronica Lake).The Palm Beach StoryMoney makes the world go round or so Gerry (Claudette Colbert) believes when she divorces her struggling husband (McCrea) and supports him by marrying a millionaire.The Great MomentThis stirring biopic follows the fascinating life of W.T.G. Morton (McCrea) a 19th century dentist who successfully develops the first anesthesia.Hail the Conquering HeroA quirky soldier (Eddie Bracken) gets an unexpected homecoming when a group of uproarious Marines decide to "make" a hero out of the comic misfit.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 025193112620 Manufacturer No: 61031126

for more information click here

hot