Sullivan's Travels

[warren oates]

VERONICA LAKE’S ON THE TAKE

Director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is one of Hollywood’s hottest talents, with an uncanny gift for getting audiences rolling in the aisles. But he’s dissatisfied: he wants to abandon comedy for Serious Statements, and buys the rights to celebrated social-realist novel ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’

To make his masterpiece as realistic as possible, Sullivan naturally has to understand how the book’s downtrodden characters must have felt, so he takes to the road as a hobo, is taken under the wing of a failed actress (Veronica Lake), and learns several valuable home truths about the importance of not patronising his audience.

Writer-director Preston Sturges had an inspired run in the 1940s, turning out some of the funniest American comedies ever made (The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek). Sullivan’s Travels is one of his best: not just hilarious but also truly wise.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• New high definition digital transfer of the film by Universal Pictures
• Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by filmmaker and Python Terry Jones
• Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer – Kenneth Bowser’s acclaimed feature-length documentary portrait from the American Masters series
• Kevin Jackson on Sullivan’s Travels: an appreciation by the writer and broadcaster
• The Preston Sturges Stock Company: a celebration of Sturges’ regular character actors and bit-part players
• Safeguarding Military Information: a Sturges-scripted propaganda short released in the same month as Sullivan’s Travels
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw

[Black Hat]

If the elements are there for a solid Sullivan's Travels Blu, can a Criterion upgrade be that far away?

I was just talking about Sullivan's Travels last night, this is outstanding news, really all their releases lately, much kudos.

[MichaelB]

Arrow has just confirmed (via Twitter) that Sullivan's Travels will be slightly delayed, although nowhere near the six-month delay that was rather alarmingly announced by Zavvi!

In a nutshell, a single extra is holding things up, but we're hoping to tie up the paperwork this week, after which it's all systems go. I'd rather not announce a new release date until all the materials are actually with the encoder (i.e. when we can be certain about meeting it), but I'll confirm it here as soon as I can.

I haven't seen the final encode yet, but the master (Universal-supplied, Deluxe-cleaned-up, under James White's supervision) looks very nice indeed - copious but unobtrusive grain, and a pleasingly natural and organic look. Given the way that Preston Sturges typically crams his frames with loads of people (often all talking at once), the HD upgrade makes a bigger difference than I'd anticipated.

[What A Disgrace]

I wonder if that supplement could be Safeguarding Military Information!

[MichaelB]

I wonder if that supplement could be Safeguarding Military Information!

That is on the disc, as it happens, but the specific extra that delayed the release is considerably more substantial.

I ummed and aahed about including Safeguarding Military Information, as Preston Sturges' involvement seems to have been minimal at best (in his memoirs, script supervisor Herbert Coleman claimed to have written virtually all of it, and denied point blank that Sturges had ever come anywhere near the set, despite Sturges' claims to the contrary), but it's near-contemporaneous with Sullivan's Travels and gave me an excuse to add more historical context in the booklet, so I thought "why not?".

[What A Disgrace]

Arrow's website now says it will be released on May 26.

[MichaelB]

I anticipate that Arrow is playing safe, but that they'll start shipping as soon as copies arrive - so the chances are that anyone ordering directly from them will get it before then.

The paperwork on the major extra has now been secured, and we're just waiting for delivery of the Digibeta master - and once it arrives, authoring and QC should only take a week or so.

It'll be well worth the wait - this is by far the best single-disc Preston Sturges release that anyone has attempted in the UK. I wouldn't want to compare it with the Criterion, as the extras are different for the most part, but with around three-and-a-half hours' worth of video supplements and approx. 12,000 words in the booklet, it's safe to say that we've done Sturges justice.

UPDATE: The extras actually come to a whisker over four hours.

[EddieLarkin]

The supplemental sides of all of your Arrow productions have been exemplary Michael. Your Sullivan's Travels disc is highly anticipated.

Are you working on the upcoming Petri as well?

[zedz]

Are you working on the upcoming Petri as well?

Yes, give us the dish on Petri.

[What A Disgrace]

I still want the dish on this.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

VERONICA LAKE’S ON THE TAKE

Director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is one of Hollywood’s hottest talents, with an uncanny gift for getting audiences rolling in the aisles. But he’s dissatisfied: he wants to abandon comedy for Serious Statements, and buys the rights to celebrated social-realist novel ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’

To make his masterpiece as realistic as possible, Sullivan naturally has to understand how the book’s downtrodden characters must have felt, so he takes to the road as a hobo, is taken under the wing of a failed actress (Veronica Lake), and learns several valuable home truths about the importance of not patronising his audience.

Writer-director Preston Sturges had an inspired run in the 1940s, turning out some of the funniest American comedies ever made (The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek). Sullivan’s Travels is one of his best: not just hilarious but also truly wise.

Special Edition Contents
• New high definition digital transfer of the film by Universal Pictures;
• Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio;
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing;
• Audio commentary by filmmaker and Python Terry Jones;
• Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer – Kenneth Bowser’s acclaimed feature-length documentary portrait from the American Masters series;
• Kevin Jackson on Sullivan’s Travels: an appreciation by the writer and broadcaster;
• The Preston Sturges Stock Company: a celebration of Sturges’ regular character actors and bit-part players;
• Safeguarding Military Information: a Sturges-scripted propaganda short released the same month as Sullivan’s Travels;
• Theatrical Trailer;
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw;
• Booklet featuring new writing on the film by screwball comedy expert Peter Swaab, plus archive pieces by Geoff Brown and Preston Sturges, illustrated with original stills and poster.

[Finch]

I hope it sells well so that The Lady Eve and Miracle on Morgan's Creek follow in the future.

[Kauno]

Arrow's website now says it will be released on May 26.

Zavvi says 22 September.

[MichaelB]

Arrow's website now says it will be released on May 26.

Zavvi says 22 September.

Zavvi is wrong and Arrow is right.

And here's the artwork:

[Drucker]

Have never seen a Sturges film and really was in no rush to until I started seeing the work being put into this. Looks like a fantastic package.

[tojoed]

Have never seen a Sturges film and really was in no rush to until I started seeing the work being put into this. Looks like a fantastic package.

I'm willing to wager that discovering Preston Sturges will be one of the great joys of your film-going life. You should make haste for the big box of his films that are on DVD, you'll never regret it.

[MichaelB]

If, once you've been through the Arrow disc in full, you don't want to see another Sturges film, I will have lamentably failed in my mission.

[warren oates]

It really seems like you've put together a release that's worthy of Sturges' great film and worth getting even for those like me who are anticipating some kind of Criterion upgrade in the near future. I'm especially interested in the commentary and The Preston Sturges Stock Company.

[domino harvey]

Interesting that both commentaries for this title consist of well-known comedians praising Sturges. I envy anyone about to start a journey through Sturges' output-- as I've argued elsewhere on this board, he is remarkably consistent in that while not all of his films are great, none are bad, a record I don't think any other auteur can or will touch

[knives]

Interesting that both commentaries for this title consist of well-known comedians praising Sturges. I envy anyone about to start a journey through Sturges' output-- as I've argued elsewhere on this board, he is remarkably consistent in that while not all of his films are great, none are bad, a record I don't think any other auteur can or will touch

Elem Klimov has got to at least come close. There's got be other examples.

[FerdinandGriffon]

There's got be other examples.

Obvious ones being Bresson, Ozu, Pialat, Rohmer.

Though maybe Domino is just referring to Hollywood. In which case I guess it's a matter of taste. I haven't seen a "bad" Sturges film, but I've seen several I consider less interesting than so-called "bad" films by Hitchcock, von Sternberg, Ray, etc.

[knives]

Yeah, there's a lot of room for weaseling under his conditions (for instance I know many don't like Mouchet though I'm with you on Bresson). I understand his consistency thing and why that would discount Hitchcock or Ray though. I'm not sure if I would discount von Sternberg as even his weakest film, probably Crime and Punishment, still has a fair amount going for it.

[Kauno]

Zavvi is wrong and Arrow is right.

And here's the artwork

Thanks. That is some great artwork.

[MichaelB]

I'm willing to wager that discovering Preston Sturges will be one of the great joys of your film-going life. You should make haste for the big box of his films that are on DVD, you'll never regret it.

It's probably worth mentioning that Arrow will be keeping a very close eye on sales of this title, because HD masters of most of the other Paramount Sturges films are also available off the shelf.

[matrixschmatrix]

I'm willing to wager that discovering Preston Sturges will be one of the great joys of your film-going life. You should make haste for the big box of his films that are on DVD, you'll never regret it.

It's probably worth mentioning that Arrow will be keeping a very close eye on sales of this title, because HD masters of most of the other Paramount Sturges films are also available off the shelf.

Haha, I was on the fence about importing this- I assume Criterion will release it sooner or later- but between the Terry Jones commentary and knowing more Sturges might be in the offing, I think you sold me.