All That Heaven Allows - Criterion Collection
by Douglas Sirk
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel, Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Virginia GreyDirector: Douglas Sirk
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Russell Metty
Editor: Frank Gross
Editor: Fred Baratta
Producer: Ross Hunter
Writer: Edna L. Lee
Writer: Harry Lee
Writer: Peg Fenwick
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-06-19
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of All That Heaven Allows - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: John du Prey - Classical Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Superb artistic work provides the layers of romance that so imbue this delicate film, that it transcends many romances that fail because of flaws in the story editing, the cinematography, or the soundtrack. Even the art direction in this work appears to be intricately designed and presented within all sets (no exception); these touches of perfection elevate romances to the genteel state of relationships. The intent to refine all levels to an exceptional standard are present in this work.
Now, in principle, a true relationship between an older woman and younger man must allow for mutual attraction, common interests, perhaps some manner of intimacy (that is acceptable to the woman); then she allows him to kiss her, and the stage of set (as in this movie) with beautiful colors, shadows, hues, silohuettes, nuances of interior design, and exterior shots (photographed with the eye of a perfectionist). Subtle transitions in the romance carry us, like doves on the wind, from Prologue to Act I to the unfolding conflict within Act II. A need for resolution to preserve the romance is introduced with expert care. We understand that need; dramatic irony and intent flawlessly merge into Act III.
To be fair, one would have to speak to all the crescendos, decrescendos, diminuendos, and denouements present in this film. These measurements of classical excellence are distinctly at work within the screenplay, set design, art direction, nuances in acting, conflict/resolution beauty, the two minor climaxes and the major climax (subtle enough to watch many times, in one's lifetime). The actress easily creates a heroine, who (in her day) perhaps touched women in a very sensitive way; her thoughtful, intelligent awareness of her commitment to a new man in her life is presented with grace and subtle feminine restraint. All That Heaven Allows harkens us back to a time when films (as a rule) treated women with dignity, respect, and honor.
Summary of All That Heaven Allows - Criterion Collection
Jane Wyman is a repressed wealthy widow and Rock Hudson is the hunky Thoreau-following gardener who loves her in Douglas Sirk's heartbreakingly beautiful indictment of 1950s small-town America. Sirk utilizes expressionist colors, reflective surfaces, and frames-within-frames to convey the loneliness and isolation of a matriarch trapped by the snobbery of her children and the gossip of her social-climbing country club chums. Criterion is proud to present this subversive Hollywood tearjerker in a new Special Edition.Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman were so successful in Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession that they reteamed for this, his first melodrama masterpiece. Young hunk Rock is a strapping son of mother nature, a gardener who woos middle-aged, middle class widow Wyman to the snooty disapproval of her conservative social circle and embarrassment of her self-centered children. Wyman discovers a new life with his open-armed friends and back-to-nature lifestyle, but struggles with life-changing decisions in the face of social pressure and vicious gossip. Living the Henry Thoreau dream, Rock inhabits his personal Walden in a rustic country cabin by a bubbling brook, a dream house lit by a giant picture window overlooking an idyllic countryside where deer pose just outside the window. Wyman's elegant but sterile suburban home transforms into a tomb when she sacrifices her love for the "good name" of her children, and the lonely widow sees her future in the pale, colorless reflection of her TV screen. But don't despair just yet: Sirk's heroines are dynamic and resourceful and no Sirk melodrama ends without a heart-tugging, over-the-top twist. German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who championed Sirk as a master and a mentor, remade the film as Ali: Fear Eats the Soul decades later. --Sean Axmaker
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