"Oh L'amour, L'amour!" Mary Boland's indelible Countess DeLave exclaims at least 39 times in
1939's The Women. Is there really anything like it? No matter how you may answer that
question, each year Valentine's Day arrives to remind us of its importance. Those with
sweethearts looking for gifts, those looking for someone to declare "Be Mine", and those just
wanting to pine away at the ideal of love will certainly get a healthy dose of love and lust -- and
its heartbreak -- courtesy of these new to DVD selections:
Golightly. He wanted Marilyn Monroe for the part (she would have made a
stunning, though very different Holly) and famously carped about Hollywood's
ruination of his novella, Breakfast at Tiffany's. But Capote's is a lone voice in
the wilderness -- true the reimagining of the George Peppard character from
gay best friend to hunky would be lover for Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly is a
big switch from the book -- but it works splendidly in Blake Edwards 1961 film.
Paramount Home Video has at last given us an anniversary edition of one of the
screens most romantic films, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Though the special
features are new they're a tad on the short side. We get, of course, a making
of feature, a short piece about Hepburn as a style icon (at its zenith here), an
even briefer segment about the famed jewelers of the title, and a commentary
by the film's producer. But the film itself is gloriously romantic -- bathed in
Henry Mancini's gorgeous music, Hepburn and Peppard are impossibly beautiful,
stylish lovers and Patricia Neal is funny and dry as Peppard's "patron." As Blake
Edwards notes, you'll just have to cringe during the Mickey Rooney scenes -- as
he does!
From 1977 comes Fox Home Video's DVD debut of Julia. Based on the Lillian
Hellman memoir "Pentimento" that according to some scholars makes James
Frey's "A Million Little Pieces" look as honest as Abe, this is the story of the
intense friendship of playwright Hellman and her girlhood friend, the
mysterious, wealthy and politically active Julia. During WWII Julia asks her old
friend Lillian to smuggle bribe money into Berlin to help free political prisoners.
As Lillian (Jane Fonda) goes on her dangerous journey, she remembers the
friendship with Julia (Vanessa Redgrave). Fred Zinnemann's film is gorgeously
photographed and acted (both Redgrave and Jason Robards as Hellman's lover,
novelist Dashiel Hammett received Supporting Oscars). The core of the film is
the detail in the friendship between the two women -- which many have
interpreted as being lesbian in nature. Whether such a relationship existed
between the two (or, more honestly, even at all), this still falls into the Tragic
Romance category. If subtext is your thing -- this is the one for you. Redgrave
is stunning and Fonda gives it her best shot as the tough talking, boozing,
drinking Hellman. Meryl Streep as a small role early in her career. No extras.
Forget Brokeback Mountain, when it comes to a mainstream gay love story from
a major studio with box office stars, look no further than 1982’s Making
Love, making its DVD debut courtesy of Fox Home Video. Okay, so Michael
Ontkean wasn’t exactly A-List box office. Okay, so Harry Hamlin wasn’t either
(though he had made a fetching debut in Clash of the Titans the previous year).
But in retrospect, the career risk these two took over 20 years ago is pretty
astonishing. The film, written by the openly gay Barry Sandler, is a character
study that follows the story of a successful doctor deliriously in love with wife
Kate Jackson who suddenly finds himself attracted to men. And when he meets
Harry Hamlin wild horses, let alone a former Charlie’s Angel, can’t stop him from
jumping the fence. This is a full on gay romance complete with love scenes.
The film tracks the dissolution of the heterosexual relationship in favor of a
happy, healthy gay one – albeit with a few bumps and some partner changes
on the road. And that still hasn’t been matched by any mainstream Hollywood
release. Kudos to all involved -- and a plug for Roberta Flack's beautiful title
song. Further background on the reception of the film is included in The
Celluloid Closet – which always gains my highest recommendation. Check that
out in lieu of any extras on this DVD.
From Wolfe Video comes The Journey, a sensual story of forbidden lesbien
love. Set in the lush, rural Kerala, Chicagoan Ligy J. Pullapally’s lyrical, lesbian-
themed story covers territory rarely visited by Malayalam filmmakers. The film
begins with the childhood friendship between beautiful, outgoing Delilah, and
her new neighbor, the shy Kiran. As the two girls grow into young adulthood,
their friendship intensifies into the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name and in
rural Malaysia, you’d better believe that lesbian taboos still exist. The sensitive
story is integrated with great details of local customs and the film is beautifully
photographed.
Those with a penchant for world cinema should look no further than this poetic
movie. The DVD includes a director's commentary and the trailer.
At the other end of the spectrum is the sexy and silly eXposed: the
making of a legend just out from TLA Releasing. Is it possible that the
creation of a porn film could be anything more than titillating and potential J/O
material? This jocular documentary cheerfully attempts to debunk that notion.
Mr. Pam, the film’s female director, was with the cast and crew of the Colt
Studios production of BuckleRoos. She captures seemingly everything you’d ever
want to know and a lot that you don’t particularly care about. Stupid and sexy
and kinda fun nonetheless. That and the weight that the "screenwiter" and
"director" bring to their observations about their "film" are unintentionally
hilarious. The ironies abound throughout -- as do the hot guys.
Aptly grouped in TLA's "Guilty Pleasures Collection," this is a pretty hot
documentary to watch as a precursor to some other typical Valentine's Day
behavior!
The disc includes a nice assortment of extras. Obviously, there's plenty of
nudity and strong sexual content.
