Customer Reviews

The Golden Age of Television (The Criterion Collection)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Early in the days of television, the teleplay was made popular with independent one and two hour segments on shows named after the sponsor, such as "The U.S. Steel Hour". These were early showcases of the excellent talents of young writers such as Rod Serling. Because you didn't have to leave your living room to see a fine drama, they had a huge negative impact on the film industry and led to such innovations as making both the color film and the widescreen film common, since these were two things you couldn't get from television. Up to now many of these early teleplays have been shown only in the public domain if at all, because they only existed on kinescope, and then only for the purpose of rebroadcasting to different time zones. The concept of the rerun and syndication had not occurred to producers at the time these were made - with the exception of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. New digital techniques have allowed these early kinescopes to be transferred and viewed with better clarity than ever before, and this new package by Criterion boasts some fine dramas from the 1950's, many of which went on to be made into acclaimed motion pictures.

EPISODES:

Marty (1953) - The motion picture was a Best Picture Oscar winner in 1955. This version has the role of Marty played by Rod Steiger and the role of the girl with which he connects played by Nancy Marchand. Written by Paddy Chayefsky.
Patterns (1955) - Written by Rod Serling. Show starred Richard Kiley as young executive Fred Staples. However, Staples can see his possible distant future in an aging executive (Ed Begley) who is constantly berated and belittled by the boss (Everett Sloane).
No Time for Sergeants (1955) - Andy Griffith is cast as Will Stockdale, a backwoods fellow who is drafted into the army. Harry Clark plays the sergeant that is his nemesis. This play was the basis for the TV Show "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C" which ran from 1964 until 1969.
A Wind from the South (1955) - Stars Julie Harris.
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956) - Written by Rod Serling with Jack Palance as the slow-witted mountain of a man who suddenly finds his boxing career over and doesn't know what to do next.
Bang the Drum Slowly (1956) - Written by Mark Harris and starring Paul Newman in one of his earliest performances. It's a story of a baseball team that is a thinly disguised version of the New York Yankees whose catcher gets Hodgkin's disease and tries to conceal his ailment.
The Comedian ((1957) - Written by Rod Serling and starring Mickey Rooney as a difficult TV comedian who picks on his brother (Mel Torme) and drives one of his gag writers (Edmund O'Brien) to the brink of insanity by his behavior.
Days of Wine and Roses (1958) - Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie are a couple whose lives are ruined by alcoholism.

Extra features:
Commentaries by directors John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann, Ralph Nelson, and Daniel Petrie
Interviews with key cast and crew, including Frankenheimer, Andy Griffith, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Richard Kiley, Piper Laurie, Nancy Marchand, Jack Palance, Cliff Robertson, Mickey Rooney, Carol Serling, Rod Steiger, and Mel Torme
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by curator Ron Simon and his extensive liner notes on each program

This set is an enormous disappointment, and an affront to fans of classic television. What is presented in the set is a direct copy of material originally released on laserdisc, using the same kinescope film transfers that were originally done back in the 1980s.

"Requiem For a Heavyweight", for instance, has had minimal corrections made (a slight tint to the original transfer was removed, and the sound was re-synched, that sort of thing.) No serious effort was made to stabilize the image, or to remove considerable dirt and moire artifacts in the old transfer.

Not only would the above-mentioned corrections be fairly trivial to accomplish, there is now a process that has been developed called LiveFeed Video Imaging that restores the "live broadcast" look to programs that were preserved as kinescope films. And since these programs were originally aired as live performances, they're **exactly** the sort of material that the process was invented for! Why on earth would Criterion think people would rather have these shows look like jittery old movies?

When one considers the source of this release, the only words that come to mind are "travesty" and "lost opportunity". While a release of this quality might have been passable in say, 1985, this is the year 2009-- it's inexcusable for a company that heavily trades on its customer's passion for quality presentation to essentially ignore 25 years of advances in restoration technology. (And this from a set that lists 8 different restoration technicians **and** a QC Manager!)

For those who have the original laserdisc sets.. take heart-- there's no need to buy this. For everyone else, please keep in mind that (just as with "The Fugitive" and "My Three Sons"), there's nothing to be gained by encouraging companies to release substandard product, when they're fully capable of providing something vastly superior.

This DVD release contains eight teleplays broadcast on live television in the 1950's.

This is an impressive release both for the difficulty of having broadcast but how they were able to record them at a time before videotapes were available.

Many of these teleplays were later adapted into movies.

Marty is the story of a young bachelor living with his mother and looking for a girlfriend.

Patterns is about life in the office of a large corporation.

No Time For Sergeants is about a soldier who bothers his sergeant and other recruits.

A Wind from the South follows an innkeeper in Ireland who falls in love with one of her customers.

Requiem for a Heavyweight is a boxing story

Bang the Drum Slowly is about a baseball team with a terminally ill player who wants to play one last season

The Comedian stars Mickey Rooney as TV star who fights his way to the top

Days of Wine and Roses is a story with a message about alcoholism.


Each episode contains an optional introduction with interviews made during their reruns of public television, and selected episode contain audio commentary its directors.


I found it impressive at how they described the way they recorded the episodes by putting a 16mm camera in front of a television screen and managed to synch the frame rates together enabling a clear picture.

The picture quality is not as good as the typical Criterion release but it contains teleplays that were part of television's most popular era.

The Golden Age of Television (The Criterion Collection) I recently got this set as an update on the original Laserdisc set I got in the 1990s. I enjoyed that set but I did have a faulty side(The Comedians with Mickey Rooney) and now I have a replacement. Like another recent box set of anthology plays I enjoy these kind of shows and little was shown in my territory at the time in Australia. The shows were kinescoped on "Live" presentation and we are lucky so many survived and in reasonable condition. They can vary because of the quality of the monitor that was used to record the shows direct to the camera and the ultimate processing at a lab. Sure the sets are simple and it shows but what the heck there are good old performers giving their all in these dramas. Two notable shows are The Days of Wine & Roses, and, Marty, both of which were later made into films. I recommend this set as a good example of early TV drama features with goods casts. I guess most, if not all, these shows were broadcast "Live" from NYC. I give 4 stars dropping a point for the original quality of the recording but there is lots to enjoy here.

These Golden age of television shows originally aired on PBS many many years ago. I have copies of a few of these on scratchy old VHS tapes. I have been waiting for the release of these gems for a long time. I am not disappointed in the quality or the content of this release.

The introductions by "of that era actors" like Jack Klugman are fantastic. The behind the scenes interviews with directors and actors are fascinating. The quality of images are not horrible by any means, and are much better than in previous collections that I have purchased. Five minutes into each show, and you are there, marveling at what an accomplishment these creations really were.

As for the content, in many ways it does not get any better than what you will see here. This is the pick of the of the litter. Personally I prefer the "Marty" that is in this collection to the filmed version. "Requiem for a Heavyweight" is superb in every way. "The Comedian" is incomparable, and "Patterns" sublime.

A negative review for this collection is unwarranted in my opinion. These are shows which you will again and again and again return to, because there is simply nothing like them. Put this one on your must have Christmas list.

It seems like this set was made just for me. I've wanted the original version of Patterns for years, not to mention Marty and No Time For Sergeants. Most of these are much better than the movies that were made out of them later on. It's nice to know that Criterion thinks enough of this material to release this set. This gives new generations a look at truly original television before it had been rehashed countless times, year after year after year, right up to the present day. Please, if you don't want to buy it, rent it, but don't miss these shows!

This is an example of Television at it's best. I remember watching these with my parents and my grandmother or just being told about them. First class drama with top notch casts, writers and directors on TV. now we're reduced to reality shows because no body wants to spend the money. I'm growing quite a collection of old TV.

This is a wonderful collection.
Really.

Yes -- the kinescope images are a little rough, but apparently Criterion chose not to deal with 'LiveFeed Video Imaging' and its enthusiastic creator; regardless, they look fine in comparison with other public-domain discs.
Yes -- the shows can be a little downbeat (brilliant, but downbeat).
Yes -- trust Criterion, dear review-reader, they have done a bang-up job on bringing these rarities to DVD.

This is a great set for those interested in classic television anthologies. Every one of these episodes is a gem, and I can't wait to see more. This was truly the Golden Age of Television -- it was an age when experimentation and vigor was rewarded with tribute and applause.

This is a fun set -- perfect for weekend viewing with a bottle of wine and an open mind.

Enjoy!

Okay, there are enough reviews which tell you in detail what each of these shows was about. Suffice it to say, there's hardly a title that doesn't surpass anything on the tube today. Come on, is there a funnier show than "The Honeymooners" (The Big Bang Theory" - please) better drama then "Requiem for a Heavy Weight" (Jersey Shore - ugh). You know in your heart of hearts the answer is no. There are two good reasons for this and let me let you in on the secret. There isn't enough talent in the world to write for seventy or eighty networks, not at the level of this quality. It was hard enough to do it for three back in the fifties. Most of the talent on these shows were Broadway trained, meaning they didn't have to do one take after another to get it right. Does anybody really think that Charlie Sheen is in even in the same world as Paul Newman? The other reason is very obscure and has to do with Channel 2. Back in the early 50's, William Paley, the "feared by everyone" CEO of CBS was buying up channels or making deals with affiliates that were broadcast on the frequency alloted Channel 2. Why? Because, as any elderly engineer will tell you, Channel 2 has a larger reception area than Channel 4, or 7 or heaven forbid 13. At the end of the 50's Paley, who was quite an intellectual himself, realized, that most people didn't want to see Broadway plays that challenged the intellect. They wanted eye candy that didn't force their brains to work beyond a certain level. So, he decided that instead of authentically great shows like Studio One or Playhouse 90, his network would produce crap, like The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. His reasoning was that Channel 2 (of which he controlled many) would get out into the countryside, where people who would eat up his countrified shows. Turns out he was right. Now this is not to knock people who have low brow taste - it's just the way it is. And the Golden Age of television disappeared in a few seasons, but what the heck, we did get "My Mother the Car".

We haven't watched all the plays yet, but this DVD set offers a unique opportunity to see some of our finest actors (some at the very beginning of their careers), in plays written and directed by master craftsmen.