The Criterion Collection has announced the upcoming release of two classic Douglas Sirk '50s melodramas: All That Heaven Allows (1955) and Written On the Wind (1956). While these movies were labeled as "women's pictures" upon their release, their reputation has continued to soar over the past decades, as has Sirk's reputation as one of the finest directors working within the Hollywood system.
All That Heaven Allows stars Jane Wyman as a middle-aged widow who finds herself romantically pursued by a younger man (Rock Hudson)--causing much angst for everyone concerned, including Gloria Talbott as her daughter and Agnes Moorehead as her best friend. Sirk utilizes expressionist colors, reflective surfaces, and frames-within-frames to convey the loneliness and isolation of a matriarch trapped by the snobbery of her children and the gossip of her social-climbing country club chums.
The Criterion Collection's DVD includes liner notes by film theorist Laura Mulvey; production photos and lobby cards; a BBC documentary titled "Behind the Mirror: A Profile of Douglas Sirk" (1979) that includes rare interview footage with the director; and a seminal essay titled "Imitation of Life: On the Films of Douglas Sirk" by Sirk admirer and filmmaker Rainer Fassbinder, illustrated with rare ephemera.
Melodrama maestro Douglas Sirk's Written on the Wind is the colorfully debauched tale of a Texas oil magnate brought down by the trashy excesses of his spoiled offspring. It features an all-star quartet that includes Robert Stack as a pistol-packin' alcoholic playboy, Lauren Bacall as his long-suffering wife, Rock Hudson as his best friend, and Dorothy Malone (who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) as his nymphomaniac sister.
The DVD features liner notes by film theorist Laura Mulvey and "The Melodrama Archive: A Douglas Sirk Filmography," featuring rare production and publicity stills, behind-the-scenes photos, and lobby cards.
Release date for both DVDs: June 19th, 2001.
Web link
The Criterion Collection: www.criterionco.com
ARTICLE DATE: 5/20/01
