Sullivan's Travels

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zedz
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#26 Post by zedz » Sun Apr 06, 2014 4:29 pm

domino harvey wrote: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
Edward Yang! His weakest film (That Day on the Beach) is his country's Breathless.

I think Bresson is pretty safe as well.

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MichaelB
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Sullivan's Travels

#27 Post by MichaelB » Sun Apr 06, 2014 4:37 pm

I'm not entirely convinced by this "Preston Sturges has never made a bad film" argument. I accept that The Great Moment was edited by Paramount against his wishes and that the final result is clearly not what he intended, but what about The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend and The French, They Are a Funny Race?

Although I completely agree that Sturges' 1940-43 run was absolutely phenomenal - not just masterpiece after masterpiece, but an average of two per year. Most filmmakers would have been more than satisfied with something as good as The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels and The Palm Beach Story every two or three years.

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#28 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Apr 06, 2014 5:53 pm

But what about the problematic English lead in Mahjong, zedz? And there is also this comment from your post on A Confucian Confusion on the Edward Yard filmmaker's thread:
The word on the film was "it's not as good as A Brighter Summer Day", but that's an insanely vague description, and could conceal something very great indeed. Even a film only half as good would be a must-see.

When I finally did see it, I understood the general lack of enthusiasm. It's a dazzlingly constructed film. In fact, it's probably Yang's most overtly 'constructed' film, assembled within an inch of its life like a Preston Sturges film on steroids.
(Although I wouldn't write a filmmaker off for one or two weaker films!)

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zedz
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#29 Post by zedz » Sun Apr 06, 2014 6:11 pm

colinr0380 wrote:But what about the problematic English lead in Mahjong, zedz? And there is also this comment from your post on A Confucian Confusion on the Edward Yard filmmaker's thread:
The word on the film was "it's not as good as A Brighter Summer Day", but that's an insanely vague description, and could conceal something very great indeed. Even a film only half as good would be a must-see.

When I finally did see it, I understood the general lack of enthusiasm. It's a dazzlingly constructed film. In fact, it's probably Yang's most overtly 'constructed' film, assembled within an inch of its life like a Preston Sturges film on steroids.
(Although I wouldn't write a filmmaker off for one or two weaker films!)
Mahjong and A Confucian Confusion are still two of the greatest films of the 90s, and A Confucian Confusion is pretty much flawless (as long as you're on board with what it's setting out to do). But none of this mitigates the sheer awfulness of Nick Erickson's performance in Mahjong!

EDIT: Oh, and I probably need to note that my write-ups on some of those films predated my seeing them theatrically, and A Confucian Confusion in particular proved to be an audience film par excellence. The comedy works like crazy, and it has that Tatiesque quality of different sectors of the audience reacting to different things at different times, so it's much, much funnier and even 'busier' in its real context than in isolated home viewing. As for Mahjong, the mood swings that the film is based around are much more brutal and effective on the big screen. Everything else working so well makes it easier to forget Erickson when he's off-screen. Also, they're both films that thrive on visual detail, and so are especially poorly served by the available digital sources.

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bugsy_pal
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#30 Post by bugsy_pal » Mon Apr 07, 2014 3:16 am

Jeez, I'll be all over an Arrow bluray of The Lady Eve if they release one. And Sullivan's Travels is a day one purchase. Hats off to them! Magnificent stuff.

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MichaelB
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#31 Post by MichaelB » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:44 am

Here's the artwork without the Arrow Video colour bars:

Image

...and the reversible sleeve featuring original poster art:

Image

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Black Hat
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#32 Post by Black Hat » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:28 pm

tojoed wrote:
Drucker wrote: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.
I'd make this wager too. Sturges is brilliant. People like to compare him Lubitsch but he is a good deal better as his films are actually good. Lubitsch I've always felt to be a stylist rather than a consummate filmmaker.

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Black Hat
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#33 Post by Black Hat » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:35 pm

MichaelB wrote:I'm not entirely convinced by this "Preston Sturges has never made a bad film" argument.

The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels and The Palm Beach Story every two or three years.
I'm a great admirer of Sturges but would have to agree. The three you mention are a clear cut above the rest of his output which is at best hit or miss.

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swo17
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#34 Post by swo17 » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:50 pm

There are at least a couple more films, both by Sturges and Lubitsch, that belong in that esteemed company.

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#35 Post by MichaelB » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:54 pm

Yes, I think I've been quoted out of context to some extent - I certainly didn't mean to imply that those three were Sturges' only outstanding films.

(Just for starters, there's no way I'd have left out The Miracle of Morgan's Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero if I was trying to be comprehensive!)

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Black Hat
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#36 Post by Black Hat » Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:43 pm

Sorry about that Michael. I meant to agree with your post and use it to segue into my own comment.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#37 Post by Roger Ryan » Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:16 pm

Drucker wrote: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.
Just to chime in here: knowing that you're a fan of Welles, I've long considered Director Sturges to be the "Welles of comedy" if you will. His penchant for long takes, overlapping dialogue, unique scene transitions and innovative opticals demonstrate a style not entirely dissimilar to Welles's (pretty much all of this can be seen in the opening seven minutes of SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS which I suspect was influenced a bit by KANE). On top of this is the fact that Sturges was a brilliant screenwriter as well.

My favorites are CHRISTMAS IN JULY, THE LADY EVE, THE PALM BEACH STORY and UNFAITHFULLY YOURS but you really can't go wrong with his work from '40 through '48 (although THE GREAT MOMENT doesn't quite measure up).

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Drucker
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#38 Post by Drucker » Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:24 pm

Roger Ryan wrote:
Drucker wrote: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.
Just to chime in here: knowing that you're a fan of Welles, I've long considered Director Sturges to be the "Welles of comedy" if you will. His penchant for long takes, overlapping dialogue, unique scene transitions and innovative opticals demonstrate a style not entirely dissimilar to Welles's (pretty much all of this can be seen in the opening seven minutes of SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS which I suspect was influenced a bit by KANE). On top of this is the fact that Sturges was a brilliant screenwriter as well.

My favorites are CHRISTMAS IN JULY, THE LADY EVE, THE PALM BEACH STORY and UNFAITHFULLY YOURS but you really can't go wrong with his work from '40 through '48 (although THE GREAT MOMENT doesn't quite measure up).
I think you just sold me even more. I watched His Girl Friday for the first time last year. While I enjoyed it, I couldn't help but be irked that there was almost no overlapping dialogue. It became very apparent in the scene where Grant and Russell take turns answering a phone in a specific scene. Grant's Line. Pause. Russell's line. Pause. The movie overall was great, but that stood out for me.

I'll be picking this up soon, and certainly checking out the other Sturges films when I can.

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domino harvey
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#39 Post by domino harvey » Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:31 pm

This set is an ideal investment

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#40 Post by TonyleStephanois » Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:00 pm

domino harvey wrote:This set is an ideal investment
If enough people buy Sullivan's we'll do that set in HD...

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domino harvey
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#41 Post by domino harvey » Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:01 pm

I was already going to buy it, but now I'll do it with a sense of purpose!

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#42 Post by MichaelB » Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:02 pm

Drucker wrote:I think you just sold me even more. I watched His Girl Friday for the first time last year. While I enjoyed it, I couldn't help but be irked that there was almost no overlapping dialogue. It became very apparent in the scene where Grant and Russell take turns answering a phone in a specific scene. Grant's Line. Pause. Russell's line. Pause. The movie overall was great, but that stood out for me.
I can certainly vouch for the overlapping dialogue in Sullivan's Travels, if only because it made it an absolute bastard to extract clips for the extras! All too often, the syllable that I wanted to end on would be the first syllable of the next sentence - which is why there are some very tight cuts in there, for which I apologise in advance.

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domino harvey
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#43 Post by domino harvey » Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:05 pm

I trust you remembered to make sure your extras had a little sex in 'em

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#44 Post by MichaelB » Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:09 pm

domino harvey wrote:I trust you remembered to make sure your extras had a little sex in 'em
The Kevin Jackson piece has a whole section on innuendo (which was enormous fun to edit).

In fact, that whole piece was an absolute joy to put together - to say that Kevin was in his element is a fairly major understatement.

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#45 Post by swo17 » Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:16 pm

domino harvey wrote:I was already going to buy it, but now I'll do it with a sense of purpose!
Ditto.

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Drucker
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#46 Post by Drucker » Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:22 pm

TonyleStephanois wrote:
domino harvey wrote:This set is an ideal investment
If enough people buy Sullivan's we'll do that set in HD...
Let's hope posts on the Criterionforum are legally binding.

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#47 Post by MichaelB » Tue Apr 22, 2014 12:40 pm

A sneak preview of two pages from the booklet - the regular 'Contemporary Reviews' section, which reveals that Sullivan's Travels wasn't always regarded as a 24-carat classic.

The full contents list is:

• Film Credits;
Sullivan's Travels by Peter Swaab (2014);
• Contemporary Reviews;
• Preston Sturges on Sullivan's Travels (1959);
Eleven Rules for Box-Office Appeal by Preston Sturges (1942);
Preston Sturges: Inventor by Geoff Brown (1986);
Safeguarding Military Information by Michael Brooke (2014);

plus the usual credits, transfer info, stills, etc., across forty pages.

I'm really pleased with it - the two long pieces complement each other beautifully, and the Geoff Brown piece also complements the on-disc documentary Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer by focusing primarily on Sturges' parallel career as an inventor.

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Sullivan's Travels

#48 Post by MichaelB » Fri May 23, 2014 1:28 am

Beaver:
I can't imagine this being bested at any point in the future. Sturges' brilliant masterpiece comes in the definitive Blu-ray package. Top-shelf a/v, loaded with valuable extras - Arrow truly are the 'Criterion of the UK'. Our highest recommendation!

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MichaelB
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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#49 Post by MichaelB » Sun May 25, 2014 2:41 pm

The Least Picture Show:
With an HD transfer that breathes new life into a beloved film and a great array of goodies, all told this is an unmissable release for fans of Sturges – and if you’re not a fan of this scintillating director, you should be.

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Re: Sullivan's Travels

#50 Post by wllm995 » Mon May 26, 2014 3:59 am

Such a great release gives me hope that "The Lady Eve" might get a similar treatment sooner rather than later.

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