Picnic : Restored
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.70 You Save: $6.25 (42%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.36 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Picnic : Restored
Movie Review: A great American film
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seen "Picnic" more times that I could count, most recently on the excellent DVD edition. It was released in 1955 and powerfully evokes old-fashioned small town America, but the essence of it transcends time and place. The dilemmas and stages of life portrayed can only be fully appreciated by someone who's gone through some of them. It was always one of my mother's favorite movies, but you need to grow up to a certain extent before fully appreciating it. It's one of those films that gets better with repeated viewings, and changes even as you yourself change.A scene that immediately comes to mind is one where Rosalind Russell, as a desperately lonely middle-aged woman living in denial, is unblinkingly staring at a blazing red sunset with her gentleman friend, Howard. In a tight, intense tone of voice she suggests that the day doesn't want to end, that it's going to "put up a big scrap, try to set the world on fire," to keep the night from creeping in. Yow! Besides being an example of great acting, it's a scene that just can't be fully appreciated until you've reached a certain age, seen some time slip by, and pondered mortality. Russell makes the most of it, and it always brings a lump to my throat. Howard, in his clueless way, agrees that "a sunset is a beautiful thing, all right." I suspect that people who watch this film, shrug, and say "so what? Kim Novak is fat and dull, and Holden is too old" are a lot like the character Howard, which may be to their advantage after all.
Regarding Kim Novak, I could certainly picture a more nuanced performance in that role, but she is better than OK, and not fat by 1950's standards! As for William Holden being too old to play Hal, I can forgive much for the sake of charisma like his. He certainly seems older than Cliff Robertson, who plays his former college fraternity brother (Holden was 37 at the time). The age issue is addressed in another scene with Rosalind Russell (now I think of it, hers may be the best performance in the film), where her insecurity and anger are suddenly let loose in a drunken rage as she lashes out at Hal. She shouts: "you're no jive kid, just afraid to act your age," and her tirade gets meaner with each second. This is the turning point of the whole story, and contains some more great acting. She spits the words out like venom at Hal, whose agony on hearing things he is afraid to think about, let along say out loud, is clearly visible on Holden's face. "Picnic" is full of vivid scenes like this, as well as more subtle and lighthearted character studies, and it is not a soap opera by any means.
Incidentally, this film contains a technical milestone at the very end. The last shot is reputedly the very first helicopter shot in a motion picture, done using a borrowed US Navy chopper. In this landmark shot, the maximum effect is achieved with no words. We have already seen Hal catch a passing freight train out of town, and we've seen Madge (Kim Novak) break the bond with her mother and catch a bus out of town. We know that their paths are to cross again as the helicopter shot begins by tracking the bus with Madge on it, and she is represented by a busy, hopeful-sounding version of the "Picnic" melody heard earlier in the film. As the camera continues to rise, we catch sight of Hal's freight train nearer the horizon, heading in the same direction, at which time a rough and virile melody begins to sound right alongside Madge's "Picnic" theme. What a great way to end a great film.
Movie Review: A flawed, but VERY worthwhile film...
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading several of the reviews both before and after viewing this film, I want to mention a couple of things not covered by most reviewers:
Pro: The movie is an absorbing study of how ordinary women in various stages of life react to a verile young man through the lens of their own self-absorption.
Predictably, the youngest does not see him at all but is vaguely ill-at-ease at the idea of having to relate to such men, while the oldest sees, and appreciates, him more deeply and clearly than the others. The beautiful and blossoming late teen (a stunning Kim Novak) is drawn to him both sexually and emotionally while her financially-struggling and protective mother judges him unworthy of her daughter (because he has nothing materially to offer and because of her own scares). The "good time" spinster-school teacher (Rosalind Russell) both desires him as a distraction from her unsatisfing life alone, and attacks him as she realizes that she can no longer attract such men.
Pro: The movie is a reminder of how much can take place emotionally (particularly for young people) in the course of one day, one afternoon, and/or one evening. It's the only film I can recall seeing that brings the remembrance of this "phenomenon of youth" so vividly to mind.
Pro: Adding to these layers, this movie is (1) a "cautionary tale" for young women who have the opportunity to choose between a profession and a relationship they believe will last; (2) a "tale of encouragement" for young women who are on the fence about whether to choose a mate on the basis of love or money/security; and (3) a "cautionary tale" for young men tempted to sew their "wild oats" too long.
Pro: This movie has the same emotional intensity tinged with the tragedy of human frailties as those written by Tennessee Williams. For me, these are among the most entertaining of the 1950s and 60s.
Pro: The decision to cast the leading man as someone at the end of his mis-spent youth instead of at the beginning.
Con: While clearly a talented performance, this was the beginning of Kim Novak's career and her character is not as engaging as some of her later ones. (Movie trivia: Alas, had Miss Novak agreed accepted the lead in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," her entire career would have remained elevated for a much longer period.)
Con: For whatever reason, William Holden's shameless over-acting is almost cartoonish next to Miss Novak's understated and nuanced performance. Worse, it works against the viewer's engagement with both the story and the other actors. A lot of male actors tried their hand at this plot line. Paul Neuman comes to mind as someone who could have done a better job (had the director chosen to cast a younger man in the leading role).
Closing Comments: For me, the Pros of this film far out-weigh the Cons. In addition, I think this movie offers the opportunity for people to discuss the broader issue of how women are doing as "relatively free agents" in their efforts to satisfy themselves with men (this state being the farthest cry from that described in the ancient "Laws of Manu).
For these reasons, I've catalogued this movie as a "5-Star Classic" in my collection. This puts it in the same company with "Night of the Iguana," "The Fugitive Kind," "Suddenly Last Summer,"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "The Long, Hot Summer," and "Hud."
Movie Review: Overly serious pseudo-cinemaphiles like me . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
aren't supposed to like an overheated melodrama like "Picnic," but I am a passionate fan even though it's SO over the top, SO Fifties, but nonetheless so outstanding, immensely entertaining, cathartic and totally guilt-free. The screenplay preserves the hothouse atmosphere of William Inge's original stage play while opening it up, letting us see the city park that hosts a Labor Day celebration. The acting and plot mix intense and absorbing use of realism, symbolism, and just plain over-the-top acting, as various characters deal with their own demons at crucial points in their life. The Freudian subtexts at work here may be all too apparent to today's audience but are no less valid anyway. "Picnic" was nominated for many Oscars, and two were awarded: one to James Wong Howe's cinematography (oh, those blazing, symbolic sunsets for those who will not go gently into that good night!); the other for the music, which mixes the theme tune with that old standard "Moonglow."
Time: 1955. Place: small Midwestern grain-processing city similar to Hutchinson, Kansas. Opening: studly vagrant (William Holden, end of his young-man roles) drops into town via freight train. Poor side of tracks: Lower middle-class mother; nubile, nineteenish, dime-store employee and town beauty Madge (Kim Novak), who is envied by brainy but plain younger sister (Paula Strasberg). Our beauty, however, is not too happily betrothed by unwritten rule to town grain scion's son.
Holden's role in the plot is the classic "new kid in town" theme. Arrogant by nature, and with an eye for Madge (which is not rebuffed, or so we think), he violates every socially acceptable notion of age, social class, and small-town propriety. Sparks fly; usually nasty ones, except for the ones between Holden and Novak, in which case you can guess . . .
Superb acting, better than we have a right to expect. Stage director Josh Logan ("South Pacific" "Mister Roberts") wisely played to each character's strength: nubile Novak's vulnerability, little sister Paula Strasberg's emotive ability (her father was Lee Strasberg, who invented Method Acting); Holden's blustery kick-...bravado, and Robertson's slow understanding that his privilege doesn't necessarily extend to things erotic. The movie also boasts an excellent supporting cast including the overlooked and underappreciated Arthur O'Connell as the old-maid schoolteacher's reluctant swain. Look for all-around buddy and fellow schoolteacher played by chunky, loveable Reta Shaw, whose name may be known by few but whose presence is felt in many a movie.
And that menopausal schoolmarm Rosalind Russell: Roz is just amazing in a performance that mixes everyday behavior, venom, confusion, sweet pardon and existential bewilderment as she rages, rages against change of life and her unmarried status--and that without resorting to any of the standard "PMS" stereotypes. As excellent as her earlier career-girl roles ("His Girl Friday") were, "Picnic" showed the industry that la Russell had what it took for complex adult drama.
If you can take 1950s melodrama for what it is, "Picnic" is one of the best. Some really intense acting takes place from an ensemble that would never be assembled again--effective juggling of complex, symbolic subplots--and a genuine if overstated portrayal of Fifties themes. To plagiarize Roz Russell from her later flick "Mame": "Picnic" is a banquet: Don't starve yourself.
Movie Review: Small town Kansas
Summary: 5 Stars
Hal Carter (played by William Holden), a former college football star, is now down and out and arrives in a small town in Kansas, riding a boxcar on the railroad, his main possession is a fancy pair of boots. It is early Labor Day morning. He finds some yardwork with Mrs. Potts (played by Verna Felton) to earn his breakfast and inquires about an old college frat brother and roommate, Alan Benson (played by Cliff Robertson) who lives in town. He discovers that Alan's father runs the corporation owning the local grain elevators, and Alan has a girlfriend, Madge Owens (played by Kim Novak) who lives right next door to Mrs. Potts, along with her mother Flo (played by Betty Field), younger sister Millie (played by Susan Strasberg), and the schoolteacher Miss Sydney (played by Rosalind Russell) who boards with them.
Madge never did well in school (Millie chaims they almost had to burn the school down to get her out), but she is good looking and her mother wants her to get a man while she is still young and attractive. Millie is a tomboy who is doing well in school, hopes for a college scholarship, and claims she has no interest in "boys."
Events lead to Hal taking Millie to the labor day picnic along with Alan who takes Madge. This is Millie's first time out with a man, and she dresses up, casting off her tomboy image. Miss Sydney goes with her friend Howard (played by Oscar nominee Arthur O'Connell). Everything is going well, and everyone is having an afternoon of fun but Howard has brought along a bottle of whiskey in a brown paper bag. As afternoon turns into night, people start losing some inhibitions. Madge starts dancing with Hal. Miss Sydney, now somewhat drunk, tries to cut in. Millie, feeling neglected, sneaks some of the whiskey and gets drunk. Harsh words are exchanged between various individuals. Hal is unjustly blamed for all the problems. Alan rejects Hal as a friend and tells the police that Hal stole his car. There is a side plot with Miss Sydney wanting to drag Howard into a marriage.
The next morning Hal feels he needs to make a quick departure from town, the morning freight train is coming through, but nothing will be the same again. Madge doesn't really like Alan (a man should learn that a woman may look at him unfavorably if he criticizes another man in front of her), and wants to go after Hal. Flo thinks Madge is losing her big chance with Alan (a local poohbah), who could give her a nice home, a car, charge accounts, etc. (things Flo always dreamed about). Poor Howard finds himself being dragged into a marriage, and doesn't know what hit him (Miss Sydney is a take-charge type woman). Millie seems to put aside sibling rivalry at the end.
Overall it is a great motion picture. The action takes place over 24 hours, from one morning to the next. I have the widescreen version, and the film quality is great.
As a note on previous reviews, be careful where you buy things. Some retailers (I won't name names) have been caught in the past selling pirated goods. Pirated goods have an unknown quality. If you buy from Amazon, you know your source. If you happen to get a bad copy from Amazon, they will replace it at no cost (or refund your money if it came from a secondary source listed on Amazon).
Movie Review: A small town America classic
Summary: 5 Stars
William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, PICNIC (1955, Columbia), makes a tremendously powerful and poignant and even romantic movie when directed by the workaholic Broadway director, Joshua Logan. This was a heyday for Logan, who also made the masterpieces BUS STOP (1956) and SOUTH PACIFIC (1958) over a very short period.
Clearly filmed on location and richly evoking small-town middle America on Labor Day day and night, PICNIC involves a drifter named Hal Carter (William Holden) climbing out of a train boxcar to look up his own college roommate, Allen Benson (Cliff Robertson), who is in the grain business with his rich father. But Hal first gets involved with several members of the Owens family: lovely grandmother Helen (Verna Felton), hardworking mother Flo (Betty Field), oldest daughter Madge (Kim Novak), and younger daughter Millie (Susan Strasberg). On the sidelines, and almost stealing the movie, are Oscar-nominee Arthur O'Connell as a general store owner named Howard, who is engaged of sorts to Rosalind Russell, as a school teacher named Rosemary.
Daniel Taradash, who found a way to adapt FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) a couple of years earlier, did the superb script on PICNIC, which gives us complex characters and interesting conflicts. Watch how Madge, engaged to Allen, gravitates to Hal at the same time she is crowned queen of the town during the greatest Labor Day sequence ever put on film (the 1957 PEYTON PLACE is a close second). The romantic and Oscar-nominated "Moonglow" is from PICNIC. Note how Allen grows to despise Hal during the movie. Meanwhile, Millie is always in the shadow of Madge ("Madge is the pretty one, Madge is the pretty one.") I believe that Susan Strasberg was Anne in DIARY OF ANNE FRANK on Broadway around this time, and also Marilyn Monroe's friend. And watch how nuanced Russell and O'Connell are as, respectfully, a teacher who hates booze and just has to be married because she is terrified of dying a spinster, and a store owner who is frightened of marital commitment and loves his booze.
The credits on this movie are staggering. Besides director Logan and writer Taradash, the lush Labor Day sequence (note that name "Neewollah" for "Halloween" spelled backwards) was filmed in CinemaScope and Technicolor by James Wong Howe; Oscar nominee Morris Stoloff composed the beautiful score; and the editing won an Oscar, as did the art direction/set decoration by Broadway legend Jo Milzener. Holden and Novak dancing to "Moonglow" has to be one of the most romantic moments of 1950s cinema.
How does it end? Is there a wedding, and for whom? Does Madge choose Hal and freedom outside this town, or Allen and guaranteed wealth in this town as her mother hopes? And isn't Verna Felton's Helen just about the most likeable grandmother in maybe movie history? PICNIC is a wonderful and thoughtful human interest drama and a lovely valentine to small town America. (REVIEWED ON LETTERBOXED VIDEOCASSETTE.)