(aka 'Derrière le miroir')
USA 1956
Bigger Than Life is one of the greatest American films of the 1950s, a high
point in the careers of lead actor James Mason and director Nicholas Ray. The
BFI, in conjunction with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, gives it its
first UK release on any format.
James Mason gives a towering performance as Ed Avery, a happily married
schoolteacher who agrees to take a new 'miracle drug' when diagnosed with a
potentially fatal disease. It is not long before the drug begins producing
malevolent and murderous side-effects that bring to the fore all of Ed's
long-repressed frustrations with his life.
Mason's support is exceptional: Barbara Rush as Ed's devoted wife, Christopher
Olsen as his cruelly punished son and Walter Matthau as his faithful colleague.
One of the cinema's most persuasive portraits of psychological turmoil, the film
also succeeds magnificently as searing melodrama and subversive social critique,
with Ray, his scriptwriters and cinematographer achieving a perfect balance
between emotional realism and expressionist allegory.
***
A superbly shot critique of the suffocating conformity, repression and
materialism at the heart of middle-class life, Bigger Than Life is the
American Beauty of 50s cinema.
It may not be as well known to audiences as
Rebel Without A Cause and
In A Lonely Place, but Nicholas Ray's
allegorical domestic melodrama lays claim to being the maverick American
director's finest and most subversive work.
First released in 1956 to mediocre reviews, it stars the brooding James Mason,
an overworked and dissatisfied suburban schoolteacher forced to supplement his
income by working on the switchboard of a taxi firm. Diagnosed with an incurable
inflammation of the arteries, Ed is prescribed the experimental 'wonder drug'
Cortisone by his doctors. Initially his levels of self-confidence and energy are
powerfully boosted, but the psychological side-effects prove alarming.
Scorning his life of "petty domesticity", he begins to bully loving wife Lou
(Barbara Rush) and child (Christopher Olsen). And his ideas for megalomaniac
educational schemes are followed by homicidal feelings towards the very people
he loves.
Shooting in Cinemascope, Ray brilliantly uses bold colors, expressionistic
shadows, and the precise framing of domestic architecture (particularly of the
staircase in the family home), to convey both atmosphere and meaning. Ed's
transformation involves moments of darkly ironic humor, not least his speech at
a parents' evening, where he derides the children as "moral midgets". "Childhood
is a congenital disease," he declares, "the task of education is to cure it."
The drugs in the film serve as a catalyst for the emergence of Ed's hitherto
repressed frustrations and anxieties. Yet although Bigger Than Life can be read
metaphorically as the playing out of murderous desires, it retains an emotional
force because of the intensity by which Mason conveys his character's profound
torment.
Excerpt from BBC reviews located HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: August 2nd, 1956
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL vs. BFI - Region 2 - PAL
(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. BFI - Region 2- PAL - RIGHT)
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Other Classique Americain cinema on DVD from Carlotta: (CLICK COVERS FOR MORE INFO)
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| Distribution | Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL | BFI - Region 2 - PAL |
| Runtime | 1:31:12 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:31:12 (4% PAL speedup) |
| Video | 2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.13 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.97 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
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| Bitrate:
Carlotta |
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BFI |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | French (player generated), NONE | English (Hearing impaired), none |
| Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Le
Parcouirs de 'Rebel' |
Release Information:
Edition Details:
• Feature commentary by Edward Buscombe
• 22-page Liner Notes booklet Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 14 |
| Comments: |
ADDITION: BFI - July 07': I'm very pleased to report that the new BFI disc of Ray's wonderful film has the same strong image quality as the Carlotta from two years earlier. Colors have some minor variance, here and there, but the infrequent damage marks are the same and this anamorphic and progressive scope film looks awesome. Where the BFI edition significantly improves is adding optional English subtitles and a host of good extras. Firstly, an exciting new commentary by author Edward Buscombe - a half hour conversation with, DVDBeaver contributor, Jonathan Rosenbaum and filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man, Down By Law, Stranger Than Paradise etc.) - it's quite a nice addition. There are also some extracts from a 1969 interview with Ray during a montage of images of the man and some of his films. It is 6:35. Finally we have a theatrical trailer and a beautiful 22-page liner notes booklet with color photos, essays by Geoff Andrew, author of The Films of Nicholas Ray (BFI, 2004); Jeanine Basinger and Susan Ray, and biographies. So if you don't own this gem yet - it's an easy purchase recommendation - If, per chance - you already own the Carlotta - is it worth the upgrade? Absolutely! Don't hesitate. ****
RE: The Carlotta:
NOTE:
Going by the initial menus one might expect this to be like many
of this years crop of un-transferred (in NTSC) a great English language
films by French production companies that have player generated
forced subtitles on the original English audio track. BUT on all three
of my Malata DVD players (856, 393a, 520) this was not the case - these
subtitles are NOT forced on the English audio. So I can only make the
assumption that they are not forced on any players but even if they are
mandatory on some DVD playback units, they easily removable on all
computers with DVD burners (see
HERE) - software is free, unfortunately
the film is
slightly more than 4.75 Gig (single layer blank) clocking in as the
English film only (no subs or menus) at 4.973 Gig. This means there will
be some slight degradation in image quality, but, I will assume, it will
be so small that it should not really be noticeable. Our assumption is
that these subs will not be forced on any DVD players but can only go by
the ones we own. If we hear that they are mandatory on some players we
will report which player it is in this review. So far though, the news
is very good.
Fabulous anamorphic and progressive image on this Carlotta DVD. The
colors are wonderfully bright hues. The image is tight to the frame
maximizing horizontal resolution, the extras are unfortunately all in
French (only) but the dialogue
audio was clear and very consistent in the main feature. Overall this is
a great release that may get a vote or 2 in the Year End Poll.
We will try to review all
the Classics
Du American Cinema recently released by Carlotta. If they are as
good as this one we will be making further recommendations. |
DVD Menus
(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. BFI - Region 2- PAL - RIGHT)
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Subtitle Sample
(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. BFI - Region 2- PAL - BOTTOM)
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(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. BFI - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE vs. television broadcast BOTTOM)
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(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. BFI - Region 2- PAL - BOTTOM)
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(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. BFI - Region 2- PAL - BOTTOM)
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(Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. BFI - Region 2- PAL - BOTTOM)
NOTE: Minor damage in frame apparent on both editions...
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Other Classique Americain cinema on DVD from Carlotta: (CLICK COVERS FOR MORE INFO)
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| Distribution | Carlotta - Region 2 - PAL | BFI - Region 2 - PAL |
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Thank You!
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