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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD EAN: 9780790790039 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC ISBN: 0790790033 Label: Warner Home Video Languages: Manufacturer: Warner Home Video MPN: D31976D Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Warner Home Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: March 01, 2005 Running Time: 99 minutes Studio: Warner Home Video Theatrical Release Date: March 06, 1942 Editorial Review: Amazon.com essential video: Just as Roberto Benigni found himself on the receiving end of some finger-wagging for making a comedy set during the Holocaust, so the great Ernst Lubitsch caught some heat for this extraordinary 1942 satire set behind enemy lines during World War II. In his best performance on film, Jack Benny stars as Joseph Tura, the lead actor and head of a Polish theater troupe that is suddenly enlisted as a Resistance organization when an American pilot (Robert Stack) requires protection. The twist is that the pilot has been having a series of trysts with Tura's wife (Carole Lombard), the hilarious evidence being the disruptive departure of Stack's character from a theater audience each night as the hammy Tura unknowingly cues the lovers by launching into Hamlet's famous soliloquy. The remarkable script by Edwin Justus Mayer ingeniously folds the tensions of a betrayed marriage into the comic suspense surrounding Tura and company's efforts to pull off a Mission: Impossible-like sting on the local Nazi command. Many unforgettable moments and lines of dialogue adorn this black comedy, and the performances--most memorably Sig Ruman's crisp volleys with Benny--are a dream. Above it all, however, is Lubitsch's unmistakable Continentalism, his accent on Old World manners especially in a dangerous situation, suggesting the Nazis' very vulgarity was a reflection of their profound evil. --Tom Keogh Average Rating:
 Rating: - A Near-Perfect Comedy, Filmed and Set at a Unique Moment in TimeI came to this film late, mostly as a curiosity having watched the Mel Brooks remake many times. Boy am I glad I finally caught this. This film provides a rare window on the early days of the war, as seen by a Western Europe equally perplexed and disgusted by the rise of Nazism. In the hands of a brilliant director, and a motivated cast, this film transcends its moment and enters the realm of high art. I could go on about the sets, the intricate comic plot that grows ... Read More Rating: - Interesting AspectsI won't add my unqualified praise to the long list of enthusiastic reviews, with which I heartily agree. The other day I saw a documentary about "Gentleman's Agreement," which mentioned that it was the first Hollywood film to use the word "Jew," which had supposedly been taboo because the studio heads did not want to call attention to their own ethnicity. Actually, Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" had dealt openly with the plight of Jews, in Germany, long before "Gentleman's ... Read More Rating: - Fantastic and FunnyI don't like to throw around superlatives, for the most part. But I really think that this is the funniest film that I have ever seen. The humor is a combination of farce/screwball, satire, black and a some slapstick to boot. But what makes it really stand out is the directing, Lubitsch is simply brilliant. The cuts are just right, the timing of the scenes and the pacing of the film overall keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. In a sense, the film feels like one extended dance ... Read More Rating: - Love this movie!Just a wonderfully funny movie - Jack Benny is great and of course, so is Carol Lombard. It has twists and turns - and turns out hilarious! Rating:  - JackI love "The Jack Benny Show". I don't see the humor in this DVD. Must be me. Otherwise it's a great product. No defects. |
