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The Movie:
Of Oscar Wilde's many works, one of the most beloved is "The Importance of Being Earnest", a play that was originally made into a film in 1952 (this picture) and then again remade fifty years later, in 2002. Although Oliver Parker's new edition seems as if it's not meeting with entirely high praise as it's currently exiting from theaters, the original 1952 film is really a delightful comedy.
The plot is a simple, but entertaining, comedy of errors. The film stars Sir Michael Redgrave as Jack Worthing, a wealthy country gentleman who is seeing Gwendolen Fairfax (Joan Greenwood). However, Gwendolen thinks that Jack regularly escapes to London to take care of his non-existent brother, Earnest. Jack's friend, Algernon Moncrieff (Michael Denison), finds out about his scheme and, right when Jack is attempting to convince others of Earnest's passing, Algernon pops up proclaiming that he is Earnest. Algernon has other plans in mind though, all of which involve Jack's beautiful, young ward, Cecily.
The plot may be simple, but the screenplay is packed with amusing plot twists, terrific lines of dialogue and great character details. The film is wonderfully structured, revealing new details at nicely spaced points along the way. All of the leads (especially Denison and Greenwood) also display marvelous comedic timing, really hitting the comedic beats pitch-perfectly. The film is also beautifully shot in Technicolor. Overall, a classic comedy that's definitely worth looking into, although one wishes that Criterion would have given it the full Special Edition treatment.
The DVD
VIDEO: "The Importance Of Being Earnest" is presented in the film's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. This digital transfer was created from a new 35mm composite print. The picture quality of the Technicolor feature is generally excellent, although there are some concerns that briefly arise before the picture returns to looking fine once again.
The new print used often looks superb, with much of the film only being affected by what appears to be intentional grain. However, there were a few instances (the opening credits, for example) where some dirt and a few specks/marks were evident. A couple of frames appeared jumpy, too. On the positive side of things, no pixelation or edge enhancement were seen. The technicolor film boasts a vivid, beautiful color palette that looks fresh and lively once again on this release, as colors are presented richly and, as from a few instances where they seemed to waiver a little bit, without flaw.
SOUND: "The Importance of Being Earnest" is presented in mono audio. The audio quality is a little less than one might expect from a mono soundtrack of this age. Almost entirely dialogue-driven, the conversations are fairly clear, but turning up the volume did help make the dialogue more consistently easy to hear. The music, however, remains rather thin and hollow. Overall, an okay presentation.
MENUS: Basic main menu with a slight touch of score behind it.
EXTRAS: Unusually little for a Criterion release: a photo gallery and bio section with text notes from historian Bruce Eder is included, as is the theatrical trailer.
Final Thoughts: The audio/video quality isn't quite up to my expectations regarding Criterion's work, but it's a perfectly watchable presentation of an excellent, witty and highly entertaining comedy. Recommended.
Film Grade
The Film *** 1/2
DVD Grades
Video 82/B
Audio: 80/B-
Extras: 70/C-
Menus: 70/C-
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