Uncle Vanya (1957/VCI DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: B- Film: B-
Anton
Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya is a family
drama whose title character is in his twilight years and because of visiting
family, has to deal with repressed feelings of lost time, possible regrets and
where he is at the moment. A role taken
on by many great actors, Franchot Tone (the 1935 Mutiny On The Bounty) decided to co-direct and star in a 1957
feature film, version and VCI Entertainment has issued it in a decent new DVD
edition.
A good
adaptation, censors forced the makers to change the ending, yet this is
surprisingly well acted and has a consistent energy top it so it just does not
become another boring run-through by people who think they know what “art” is,
yet are obviously bored by it. Peggy
McCay and George Voskovec co-star in this well-cast version that deserves some
degree of rediscovery. The sets,
locations, costumes and other details are a plus as the film moves along for
its engaging 98 minutes. If you are a fan
of the book or not familiar with it, seeing this version is recommended.
The 1.33
X 1 image has good Video Black to VCI’s credit, but it softer more often than I
would have liked, though the print looks so good, VCI ought to consider a
Blu-ray on the level of their acclaimed A
Christmas Carol release. The Dolby Digital
2.0 Mono shows its age despite some cleaning that was done, but the low volume
and some distortion has us urge caution on playback levels and volume
switching.
Extras
include trailers, a 1959 Robert Culp radio drama version of Vanya from the Theater Guild and
Nicolai Gogol’s 1938 film The Rebel Son,
the second of two Taras Bulba films made by and starring Harry Baur (this is
the English-language British version) also known under the title The Barbarian & The Lady. It is odd, dated and all over the place, but
amusing and worth including.
- Nicholas Sheffo
