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| Herbert
Marshall, Miriam Hopkins, Kaye Francis, Edwart Everett Horton,
Charlie Ruggles |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Gaston Monescu (Herbert Marshall):
It must be the most marvelous supper. We may not eat it, but it
must be marvelous.
A sophisticated thieving couple insinuate
themselves into the household of the beautiful and very rich Mme.
Colet and many complications ensue.
 Comedy
may be the most popular movie genre in the world with the most universal
appeal, but it's also the most difficult to make. Not only are most
popular comedies intensely formulaic and disappointingly broad and
predictable, they also tend to date very rapidly, giving most popular
successes a very limited shelf life. This makes it all the more
tragic that the man who reigned supreme during the Golden Age of
Comedy has been all but forgotten by today's moviegoer. Even Ernst
Lubitsch's best-known films Ninotchka and To Be or Not
To Be remain relatively rare, with both as yet unavailable on
DVD. But his best pictures, exhibiting his devilishly witty master
touch for innuendo, comic timing and double entendre date
back to the early years before the Production Code came into effect,
and have only been seen very rarely since.
Trouble in Paradise was made just a year and a half before
the Code was enforced in Hollywood,banishing sophisticated, intelligent
sex comedies like this from its repertoire. It's the complete absence
of any form of moralizing or sentimentality that has kept this movie
so remarkably fresh, while the director's impeccable timing and
superlative cast keeps the story moving along at a tremendous pace.
It was a huge influence on later, better-known romantic comedies
like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday, but it
remains funnier, fresher and more original than anything that followed
it. A variety of factors, including the absence of stars that are
still well-known today, have conspired to make this high point in
movie history something of an unknown masterpiece. Hopefully, this
most welcome DVD release will bring it back into the public's eye
and restore its reputation to its former glory. |
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Available on DVD only as a Region 1
release from the Criterion Collection.
The fullscreen image is framed
at its original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1. Very few prints
of this seventy-year-old classic have survived, and those still
in existence are faded and somewhat the worse for wear. For this
transfer, the Criterion Collection again used the MTI Digital Restoration
System to remove dirt, debris and scratches. Parts of the film now
look very good, though fading and fine grain is pervasive throughout,
and there are instances where large scratches proved irreparable.
Wear and tear is in any case within acceptable limits, and this
is probably as good as the film will ever look.
The mono sound mix is rendered in Dolby Digital 1.0. There is some
minor hiss noticeable in the background, but dialogues are clearly
intelligible throughout, with only very few pops, crackle and hiccups.
At long last, this half-forgotten
classic finally comes to DVD, and thankfully, the Criterion Collection
gave it the Special Edition treatment it so fully deserves. Getting
the viewer in the right mood, film director and sometime film critic
Peter Bogdanovich narrates an excellent 10-minute introduction
to the main feature, which successfully places the film and
its director in the necessary historical context as well as singing
its praises. It also includes numerous rare photographs and is illustrated
by several film clips. Lubitsch biographer Scott Eyman provides
an excellent audio commentary track that's a solid, well-told
mix of scene-specific explanations and background on the film's
director. Eyman comes well-prepared, with his rounded, complete
sentences giving the impression that he's reading aloud, but never
faltering in the way readers of pre-written commentaries like this
tend to.
The other impressive supplement is the inclusion of Lubitsch's complete
silent film Das Fidele Gefängnis ('The Merry
Jail)'), accompanied by a newly composed score by Aljosepha Zimmerman.
This 1917 silent film runs 48 minutes and is of course a little
more dated than the disc's main feature, but is still very funny
and a valuable inclusion. An audio-only supplement on the disc is
the 1940 Screen Guild Theater radio program featuring the
director along with Jack Benny, Claudette Colbert and Basil Rathbone,
running about 30 minutes. It doesn't have much to do with Trouble
in Paradise, but it's a nice bit of film history and a rare
chance to hear Lubitsch speak. Finally, a still gallery features
artwork along with many quotes from directors and critics old and
young celebrating the work of Ernst Lubitsch.The static menu screens have a pleasing
Art Déco design similar to the box art. Navigation and annotations
are up to the Criterionc Collection's usual high standards.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
January 19, 2003
Click
here for IMDB info on Trouble
in Paradise.
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