laureatedvd.com

[Ken Barnes]

Hi Mark,

Judging by the titles that would have to be 20th Century Fox.

Universal's boxed set - a Laureate Presentation - is scheduled for Nov 10 this year and contains

BRINGING UP BABY (1938), INDISCREET (1958), MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940) and OPERATION PETTICOAT (1959)

"Indiscreet" and "Petticoat" are presented anamorphically in their original theatrical aspect ratio.

Thanks for your interest

Cheers
Ken

[Dominic McHugh]

OOOOOH! I must have been asleep before - I didn't realise that it was included in the forthcoming releases! 'Indiscreet' is one of my favourite films of that period, indeed of all time. Such class and sophistication are rarely to be found in any film. Just look at the recent 'Down with Love' with Renee Zellweger. I saw it at a preview last Sunday and was appalled at how banal the humour was, but most especially by the actress' total lack of glamour compared to Doris Day, on whom the character is meant to be based. I was not alone in being disappointed, either: the reaction was generally very poor, and considering that none of us had paid to see it, that doesn't say much for the film's quality! It made me hanker after the Doris Day set you mentioned a little while ago! Shame it wasn't available when they were planning 'Down with Love' - it would have helped if they'd bothered to actually watch some of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson films on which they were basing DWL!

Yet another Laureate presentation to look forward to - I can't wait!

Dominic

[Ken Barnes]

Hi Dominic,

I think you'll be pleased with the new Cary Grant boxed set.
Although it was not easy obtaining pristine prints of these classics, Terry Young and the guys at Phoenix have done a superb job in restoring them for DVD. "Indiscreet" is also one of my particular favourites and is a text book example of how sophisticated comedy should be written and performed.

I haven't seen "Down With Love" but the general reviews
both here and in the USA ( where the movie bombed ) would seem to support your opinion of it. I'm prepared to accept that Ewan MacGregor may be a good actor of sorts but
judging from the films of his that I've seen, I doubt if he'll ever be a big star. Except for his appearances in
the "Star Wars" movies, he has yet to have a true box office winner. "Trainspotting" was a huge hit over here but it failed to ignite in the U.S. as did "Moulin Rouge"

It's a shame but I think Mr. MacGregor is charismatically
challenged and his continuing box office track record certainly bears this out. In short, he's no Cary Grant.

I really hate to put down the homegrown product but if somebody out there disagrees with this opinion, let's hear from then.

Ken Barnes

[James Carrouth]

Dear Ken Barnes,

I wish I could give you a convincing argument about the merits or otherwise of Ewan MacGregor - but I can't. As a Scot, my inclination is to want to support MacGregor but Sean Connery he ain't.

The strange thing about the UK is that we don't seem to be able to produce real stars. Every so often, it seems that the British media have found a potentially great star and they promote him - or her - to the heights only to find that the public don't agree. Our Ewan is one such example and Ralph Fiennes is another. Hugh Grant seems to be the exception. He has a likeability that audiences warm to and his box office track record certainly speaks for itself. In a word, he's bankable. One wonders just how long it will be before Ewan MacGregor runs out of producers who are willing to lose money on his so-called screen appeal. I've just seen his latest film "Young Adam" and found it woefully depressing. While the film has certain artistic merits, people don't want to spend good money in order to be depressed. They can get depressed for free.

As for Mr. MacGregor's appearance in a lighter film like "Down With Love," even with a co-star like Renee Zelwegger, he fails to look like a suitable leading man.
Audiences in the States stayed away from this picture in droves and it looks like they'll probably do the same here.
One wonders how many actors turned down this role before Ewan grabbed it in yet another vain hope that it would bring him the box office success that continually eludes him.

Give it up,Ewan and go back to playing supporting roles in other people's films

[Jim Patterson]

I don't know how the name Ewan MacGregor found its way onto this website devoted to classic films and great stars - but I must admit to being intrigued.

Anyone can claim to be an actor but not everyone can lay claim to being a star. And a star MacGregor ain't. The new boxed sets being released next month by Universal are a solid testament to star quality. So let's keep that thought in mind and never mention the boring and over-touted Mr. Macgregor again.

J.M.

[Dominic McHugh]

Well perhaps not quite all of them, but I too wondered how someone like Harvey Keitel, an acting abomination, could ever be considered to be one of the greatest of all time, nearer no. 1 than Fred Astaire, I think. How the legendary Kirk Douglas and (I think) also Burt Lancaster (I could be mis-remembering) were omitted is beyond me, especially when the former's lesser son was in the top 100. Sorry, Jim, I fear it was my fault that Ewan M was ever mentioned, but I was even more appalled by his co-star than himself. Renee Zellweger is either in poor films or ruins reasonable films. Although a difficult label to give any film, I thought Bridget Jones' Diary was the worst, most boring and coarse film I have ever had the misfortune to see in my entire life. Sequels are often poor, so why they are making a sequel to that poor film is one of life's mysteries!

We could go on like this forever but I think the point that everyone's trying to make is that we all heartily approve of Laureate's focus on QUALITY CLASSIC films. Roll on November!

Dominic

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks Mark, Domenic and Jim.

The word "star" is applied far too liberally these days.
I don't want to keep harping on about the likes of Ewan MacGregor ( the star who never was ) or Harvey Keitel ( the star who never will be ) but a real movie star is someone who can carry a film and draw people into the cinema on the strength of his ( or her ) name. There are a few today who can do that - and you know them when you see them. But even today's stars - people like Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford,etc. - can't achieve what the old stars did in terms of ticket sales.

In the 1930s and '40s some 90 million Americans went to the cinema every week and it was often the stars that attracted them to the box office. In those days there was no TV, no
satellite,no cable, no video. The only form of revenue that films knew was the box office and the paying public. If this was still the case, the likes of Ewan MacGregor and
Harvey Keitel would soon be picking up dole money and Tom Cruise would be a lot less wealthy than he is today.

In the old days it was the box office alone that separated the men from the boys and the Cary Grants from the Ewan MacGregors. As mentioned, Channel 4's list of the top 100 Movie Stars didn't mention Kirk Douglas or Burt Lancaster.
Nor did it mention Bing Crosby who is still the star who sold more tickets for Paramount than any other actor in the studio's history. He was in the Top 10 for 15 years and was No. 1 for five successive years ( 1944 to 1948 ). Not even John Wayne managed that.

To show how truly ridiculous that stupid poll was, Harvey Keitel ( who has never had his name associated with a single box office hit in his life ) was voted above John Wayne - the actor who has actually sold more cinema tickets than any film star in history.

They don't make movies today - they make deals. Ewan MacGregor is the result. His face on film has nothing to do with what the general public want to see. Quite the reverse. When will the film companies learn ?

K.B.

[Greg Hopper]

Too bad they judge actors these days solely on how much money their films make. Yeah, Ewan was pretty good in Down With Love, and OK as Obi Wan, but face it, they could have put Fozzie Bear as Obi Wan and the movie would have still been huge!!! Now if Ewan continues to make films like Down With Love, I'll consider him a pretty good actor. Of course, next to the amazing David Hyde Pierce, he looked pretty weak...
I think out of today's crop of "stars" there are a very select few that I will go see in anything they do, Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford, and perhaps Emma Thompson, for some reason, they've never made anything I didn't enjoy...

[Greg Hopper]

Fozzie Bear is!! From the Muppets!!! Wakka-wakka-wakka!!!