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Special Features
- Sneak peek of the new theatrical film of All the King's Men, including interviews with James Gandolfini, Jude Law, and Anthony Hopkins
- Theatrical trailer
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It Happened One Night (1934), directed by Frank Capra
You Can't Take It with You (1938), directed by Frank Capra
All the King's Men (1949),
From Here to Eternity (1953),
On the Waterfront (1954),
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), directed by David Lean (2 discs)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962), directed by David Lean (2 discs)
A Man for All Seasons (1966),
Oliver! (1968),
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Gandhi (1982). directed by Richard Attenborough (2 discs)
The description of extras is all jumbled together in the press release, but this is what goes with what, the best that I can figure:
DVD Features
Extras for Gandhi:
An Introduction from Lord Richard Attenborough
The Funeral
The Making of Gandhi Photo Montage
The Words Of Mahatma Gandhi
Milestones in the Life of Gandhi
Gandhi weblink
Ben Kingsley talks about Gandhi
Designing Gandhi
Lord Attenborough Audio Commentary
From the Director's Chair
In Search of Gandhi
Madeleine Slade: An Englishwoman Abroad
Reflections on Ben
Shooting an Epic in India
Extras for A Man For all Seasons:
The Life of Saint Thomas More
Extras for Lawrence of Arabia:
A Conversation with Steven Speilberg
Making of Lawrence of Arabia
Maan, Jordan: The Camels Are Cast Featurette
Romance of Arabia Featurette
Original Newsreel Footage of the New York Premiere
Advertising Campaigns
Extras on It Happened One Night:
Commentary by Frank Capra Jr.
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers... "It Happened One Night"
Vintage Advertising
Extras for Bridge Over the River Kwai:
Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
Exclusive Documentary - Adaptation of Boulle's novel, casting, history of production, score, release, restoration and more.
Vintage Newsreel footage
An Appreciation by John Milius
By going back and checking extras on existing releases, this appears to be a repackaging of stock, with no new releases just for this collection. Also, this list of extras may be incomplete, because some films do have extras on their DVDs that are not listed in the product description I have seen. For example, the current release of Kramer vs. Kramer has a "Making Of" documentary that is not listed in the press release for this set.
This does appear to be a complete collection of Academy Award winners by Sony/Columbia, with the exception of The Last Emperor, which is currently on DVD via the Criterion Collection. Double dips could occur if you already own The Premiere Frank Capra Collection (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington / It Happened One Night / You Can't Take It with You / Mr. Deeds Goes to Town / American Madness / Frank Capra's American Dream), which would cause you to purchase "It Happened One Night" and "You Can't Take it With You" twice. There is also the The David Lean Collection (Lawrence of Arabia / The Bridge on the River Kwai / A Passage to India) as well as the WWII 60th Anniversary Collection (The Guns of Navarone/From Here to Eternity/The Bridge on the River Kwai) (Includes Collectible Scrapbook). All of these collections overlap with the new Bst Pictures Collection.
Broderick Crawford justly earned an Oscar for his performance as Willie Stark, whose ego and thirst for power grows to horrific proportions--and whose corruption gradually taints even the most honorable people around him. The supporting cast of John Ireland, Joanne Dru, Anne Seymour, and Walter Burke (to name but a few) is also quite good. But the real knockout here is actress Mercedes McCambridge as Willie Stark's hard-edged assistant and sometimes lover; it is an astonishing performance which, in spite of its supporting status, remains locked in mind long after the film ends, a role for which McCambridge won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress.
The script doesn't really do full justice to Warren's novel, the film is a bit slow to start, and the story itself feels a bit dry in the telling--but the performances and numerous memorable scenes carry it through to tremendous effect. ALL THE KING'S MEN is so explicit in its portrait of how corrupt politicians manipulate the public that it should be required viewing for every one of voting age. Recommended.
Stark triumphs, however, and we watch as he himself takes on the trappings of official power, which he takes to like a duck to water. Stark builds new schools and colleges, hospitals for the poor, improves the roads, and seems to be everything the common man could hope for in a champion and leader. But there is a darker side to Stark, as he himself ultimately becomes assimilated by the corrupt machine he sought to topple and reform, and evidence surfaces that he has not only tolerated and even fostered corruption himself but was possibly involved in the murder of an innocent man who dared to challenge his authority. In the end, we see Stark using the same means and ends to further his power and to hold it at all costs that his enemies used against him at the very beginning of his career.
The movie raises the question as to whether Stark was really any different from the corrupt cronies he replaced, and the schools and hospitals he built just monuments to his ego and arrogance, or whether he was a good man who ultimately went bad in his quest and thirst for power. The question is left open for the viewer to decide, as Stark's career comes to a sudden and tragic end during a campaign where he's fighting for his political survival after he's finally implicated in the murder of the innocent man.
Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, and Mercedes McCambridge are really superb in their roles, and the movie is shot in dark, film noir style, which helps create an appropriately dark, conspiratorial mood and ambience. Overall, still a great movie and as I said, one that still packs a considerable punch and continues to be relevant today in its message about the dangers of demogogues and the abuse of raw, unchecked, political power.
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