Product Details

• Actors: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Japanese, Korean
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: December 9, 2008
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (149 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001GUYAZY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,779 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Director Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) took home every Oscar in the book (well, okay, all the major ones) for this seminal 1934 comedy starring Clark Gable as a hard-bitten reporter who stays close to a runaway heiress (Claudette Colbert) rather than lose a good story. Funny and sexy, the film is full of memorable scenes often referred to in other films, such as the "walls of Jericho" (a mere bedcover hung on a line down the middle of a room so opposite-sex roommates can get undressed), and Colbert's famous flash of thigh to stop a speeding car in its tracks. Capra's brisk, urbane brand of wit was a perfect complement to his populist faith in the common man (in this case, Gable's character), and that inspired combination makes this film both a spirited entertainment and an uplifting experience. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert team up for laughs as mismatched lovers in this 1934 screwball comedy classic. Spoiled Ellie Andrews (Colbert) escapes from her millionaire father (Walter Connolly), who wants to stop her from marrying a worthless playboy. En route to New York, Ellie gets involved with an out-of-work newsman, Peter Warne (Gable). When their bus breaks down, the bickering couple set off on a madcap hitchhiking expedition. Peter hopes to parlay the inside story of their misadventures into a job. But complications fly when the runaway heiress and brash reporter fall in love. Directed by Frank Capra, It Happened One Night was the first movie to be honored with all five major Oscars(r): Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a Wonderful DVD, January 15, 2000

By 

J. Michael Click (Fort Worth, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: It Happened One Night (DVD)

More than six decades after its original release, "It Happened One Night" still sparkles like a newly minted coin. It's romantic, witty, sophisticated ... and certain key scenes (especially Clark Gable's gangster impression and Claudette Colbert's hitch-hiking lesson) remain laugh-out-loud funny. A near perfect blend of script, direction, and performance, it deservedly swept the top five 1934 Academy Awards. One statue that it wasn't even nominated for, and should have won, was for Joseph Walker's Cinematography; his masterful camerawork makes this movie glisten and shine.

The DVD transfer is amazingly beautiful. There are a few shots that appear to be slightly grainy and one or two jumps in the soundtrack, but those are minor quibbles. I've watched this film several times over the past twenty years -- in a revival theatre, on satellite, and on VHS -- and it's never looked as good as it does here. The DVD extras are icing on the cake: trailers for this film and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"; the teaser for "Lost Horizon"; a filmed commentary by Frank Capra, Jr.; and the 1939 Lux Theatre radio broadcast of the story. I especially enjoyed the advertising archive section, which included color reproductions of the original one-sheet posters and lobby cards. Overall, this disc is a great example of the DVD format at its finest, and a most worthy presentation of a genuine Hollywood classic.

79 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the gold standard of screwball comedies, October 8, 2004

By 

Ivy Lin (NY NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: It Happened One Night (DVD)

In 1934, an underbudgeted, little-heralded film by the young director Frank Capra swept the Oscars, winning for best picture, director, actor, actress, and screenplay. Seventy years later, it's remarkable how fresh and funny "It Happened One Night" seems.
Neither Claudette Colbert nor Clark Gable wanted to do this film, but despite or perhaps because of this, their performances are spontaneous and endearing. They have real chemistry, and the scenes of them flirting and bickering have been much-imitated but never equalled. Besides the famous "Walls of Jericho" scene when Peter undresses, I also love it when Peter teaches Ellie how to dunk a donut.
The story is simple: Ellie Andrews, a spoiled heiress, runs away to marry her fiance. On the bus to NYC she meets Peter Warne (Gable), a reporter who's just been fired from his newspaper. Both are brash and obnoxious. Of course this odd couple fall in love.
It Happened One Night of course was filmed during the height of the Great Depression, and unlike many Hollywood films of that era did not portray a world of impossible luxury. Peter and Ellie spend a night in a cheap autocamp, their bus breaks down and a passenger faints from hunger, and Capra has numerous scenes of characters enjoying simple things, like eating a carrot or hitchhiking or stealing a jalopy. As is typical with his movies there are a lot of eccentric characters, like a singing driver and an obnoxious bus passenger who says "Shapely's the name and that's the way I like 'em." I also love the depiction of Ellie Andrews -- this was an era when women onscreen were strong and resourceful. Although the film does play up the "spoiled heiress" stereotype Ellie never becomes an obnoxious type character. It's delightful that in this movie, Ellie "wears the pants" in the relationship and is the mover and shaker. The bickering-but-respectful relationship between Peter and Ellie is an interesting contrast to a film made 20 years later, Roman Holiday. Roman Holiday is a film with a similar storyline, but the gender politics have changed. Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) has none of the eccentricity of Peter Warne (who's shown chewing a carrot), but is the romantic knight in shining armor. Audrey Hepburn's Princess is charming and doe-eyed, not brash and cheeky like Ellie.
It Happened One Night is not a big-budget film. Over the years, Hollywood has come out with many romantic comedies, some excellent. But It Happened One Night is still the gold standard. For once a classic film's reputation is richly deserved.

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply The Best, June 25, 2000

By 

Jesmat (West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Happened One Night (DVD)

I don't claim be a movie expert, but this is the best film I have ever seen. I already owned a VHS copy, but on buying a DVD player I paid good money to have this disc shipped to me in England - and boy was it worth it! The picture quality is as good as you will find anywhere and the sound is superb too. The DVD is also jam-packed with extra features. The film's commentary is provided by Frank Capra Jr. He has a wonderfully relaxed style and doesn't just sound as if he's reading from a prepared script. Along with Ron Howard's commentary for Apollo 13, this is the best DVD commentary I have heard to date. A special feature unique amongst DVDs must be the radio version of 'It Happened One Night', first broadcast in 1939, again starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. Whoever had the idea of including this on the DVD deserves a salary rise. The disc also includes trailers, cast lists, some beautifully illustrated posters and also a Frank Capra Jr introduction. This really is an extremely impressive package of Frank Capra's masterpiece.