Customer Reviews

Vivien Leigh Classics (Dark Journey / Fire Over England / Sidewalks of London / Storm in a Teacup)

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

 

 

Four of Vivien Leigh's early cinematic efforts, filmed in England during 1937 and 1938. These were crucial years for the actress: in private life she was falling in love with Laurence Olivier while professionally she was beginning to dream of playing the role of Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" (which was already in pre-production in America). This quartet is especially interesting because - in addition to their individual entertainment value - they collectively provide fascinating documentation of Leigh's metamorphosis from a lovely but unsure ingénue into an increasingly radiant and confident star capable of carrying a film on her talented shoulders. They also offer a testament to her versatility; her roles include an historical romance ("Fire Over England"); a comedy ("Storm in a Teacup"); a spy drama ("Dark Journey"); and a quasi-musical ("Sidewalks of London").

The copyrights to these features lapsed years ago, and wretched quality multi-generational prints have flooded the early home video and cable TV markets. The AMC/Genius Entertainment transfers offered in this collection are advertised as "digitally remastered", and they are indeed the highest quality prints I have (yet) viewed, offering superior sound and picture quality. While hardly pristine, none of the films is plagued by the washed out contrast, bleary focus, and unsteady volume that are often associated with public domain titles. On the whole, this collection is an outstanding value that is sure to delight the many fans of the incomparable Miss Leigh.

I was familiar with most of the films in this collection but only knew Storm in a Teacup from a less than perfect transfer to VHS. Happily the transfer to DVD is a great improvement in picture and sound. Gone are all the skips that were present in the VHS version. This lively comedy is a gem, full of beautiful performances by a lively troup of actors. Of course Leigh looks beautiful and acts like the pro that she was. The other films feature such greats as Charles Laughten, Rex Harrison (also in "storm")and Laurence Olivier as her partners.

To me the main difference between American film and British films of that era is that American films often feature "personalities" with limited acting ability while in the English films the acting is always flawless. Anyone interested in vintage films from across the sea should have this collection and at this price, its a steal.

I love old movies, that is pretty much all I buy. I bought this because very few of Vivien Leigh's films are on DVD. I enjoyed "Storm In A Teacup".......BUT...the film quality of this set is so poor it is completely unwatchable so don't waste your money.

I bought this package because of Vivien Leigh, appart from her, I didn't really know what I was in for. The dvd's were inadequately packaged and consequently the dvd case was damaged(luckiy the dvd's were fine) during transit. And because of the dodgy packaging, it became a target for Australian customs, who probably held it for some time.

The dark journey and fire over england were of average quality, it was quite difficult to understand/hear what was being said. Also, because of my lack of war knowledge some aspects of dark journey were hard to understand. The plots of both were always a bit hazy. And some of the characters were a little underdeveloped

But side walks of london and storm in a teacup on the second disc both with Rex Harrison were lovely. I thought storm in a teacup was funny and sweet. Both were really interesting to watch. Vivien Leigh's characters are much better in these films. The sound and visual aspects of these two films were much better than the others.

All in all, it was a worth while purchase.

Once again (for the second time), an AMC Movies 4-DVD set that I've purchased - this particular collection - has wound up disappointing me greatly and absolutely, and has, consequently, promptly wound up in the garbage.

I know how each of these four movies is SUPPOSED to look, and how some of them look in other budget DVD releases, as well as how each of them appear on TCM, and what you get in this AMC Movies junk collection is truly a disgrace, that AMC should be ashamed to put its name on. As with the previous AMC Movies 4-movies set (of an entirely different grouping of old films) I purchased the other year, what you will find, immediately, upon testing either of these four movies, is that the picture quality is dull / murky / muddy, and like looking through a fog or haze, or perhaps, more precisely, a soup of skim milk. Very drab and bleak image quality, that totally kills the look and feel of any movie. I don't know what's wrong with AMC, or Genius Entertainment, releasing such absolutely inferior garbage. Picture quality in this 4-movies Vivien Leigh collection was every bit equally as bad, in an identical way, to how it was in the prior set I purchased the other year.

By the way, I don't recall how audio quality is in either collection, as I was so turned off by image quality of each individual film that I didn't pay any attention to what their sound was like, having immediately decided I wasn't keeping either collection regardless.

With the earlier purchase, I didn't bother to get a refund, as I figured I hadn't paid much so wouldn't worry about it. However, this Vivien Leigh collection purchase (which looks every bit as bad as the other mentioned collection), I promptly contacted the vendor who I purchased it from, explained the unacceptable product quality, and was immediately given a full refund - at which time I tossed the 4-movies set into the trash, where it definitely belongs.

Take my advice and NEVER buy anything labeled AMC Movies, as I can tell you it's likely to be junk. AMC most certainly isn't TCM, for sure!

This is a rare DVD which offers early films of a star known mostly for her one role in Gone With the Wind. She was more verstatile than her Scarlett role indicates. In fact, she is largely an unknown actress in America. These early films give us a deeper insight into the young Vivien Leigh and her promise.