The Bette Davis Collection (The Star / Mr. Skeffington / Dark Victory / Now, Voyager / The Letter)

Amazon.com

Even in the 21st century, very few film stars create and define their own genre--and certainly not in the complete way Bette Davis did. The Bette Davis Collection gives an exceptionally good survey of essential Bette, with four of the five films absolute knock-down classics from her long reign at Warner Bros. Davis's personality was so strong that she tended to overpower her directors, but William Wyler was one of the few to maintain his own distinctive style with her, and The Letter (1940) is a triumph for both of them. At a humid Malaysian plantation, Davis kills a man in the brilliant opening sequence, and the remainder is a darkly suggestive unraveling of the complicated explanation.

Dark Victory (1939) and Now, Voyager (1942) would be on anybody's list of most representative Davis pictures. In the former, she's a doomed heiress nobly losing her eyesight, a multiple-handkerchief situation that proved one of her biggest hits. Voyager allows Davis one of her favored techniques (appearing frumpy for at least part of her performance) as a mother-dominated spinster who comes out of her shell. Her match with Paul Henreid--and the music of Max Steiner--turns this into one luscious melodrama.

If Mr. Skeffington (1944) is not as celebrated as those films, it is nevertheless a characteristic Warners work-out. Davis wasn't shy about playing unsympathetic roles, and Fanny Skeffington--vain, selfish, married for practicality--is an exasperating tour de force. She gets good support from Claude Rains as the sensible, adoring husband. The Star (1952) is no classic, but its Pirandellian aspects will appeal to the actress's fans: Bette plays a washed-up Oscar-winning star desperate to get herself back in the public eye (think if it as a less witty postscript to All About Eve). There's some hint the main character is modeled more on Joan Crawford than Bette herself, in which case Davis must have loved playing it.

Extras are modest, with short featurettes giving background on three of the discs, and director Vincent Sherman providing commentary for Mr. Skeffington. But the films themselves, and their neurotically intense star, are quite capable of standing alone. --Robert Horton

Description

The Bette Davis Collection includes 3 new-to-DVD classics, featuring Davis in multiple Emmy-nominated performances as a captivating adulteress, a manipulative beauty, and a former Oscar-winning actress recovering from the end of her career.

Customer Reviews:

Changing my tune.......2007-05-05

As my tagline indicates I am mad about musicals, and I vowed I would never add dramas to my collection because with musicals, you can play the numbers over and over again, like a record, and enjoy. You can never tire of songs, dance and spectacle. But dramas? Once seen, to be put away for years, otherwise you become too familiar with the plot and the initial impact weakens. I revised my thinking with the release of the Bette Davis Collections because I realised that - in keeping with my love of musicals - every Bette Davis movie is a symphony. A symphony of emotions that equals major musical works - grand opera, concertos, and the subtlety of chamber ensembles. I also have a personal connection with "Dark Victory" and "Now Voyager". They were the work of screenwriter Casey Robinson, top Warner Brothers writer of the 30's and 40's, who retired with his Australian wife, Joan, to Sydney and became a close friend. Having heard all the stories, I asked him if Bette was difficult. "She never changed a line," he told me, "she respected a good script." Enough said. I worry a bit about them shoving "The Star" into this collection - it's a lesser vehicle when they could have included "The Old Maid" or "The Sisters"...but that's the deal, huh? It seems 'collections' are an opportunity to offload at least one minor low-budget movie. However, it's still interesting given Bette's typically bravura performance, and it's wonderful that her formidable contribution to cinema is preserved so magnificently. Go see what I think about Collection Two.

The Bette Davis Collection.......2007-02-23

Absolultely must have for any fan. It is great. I love "The Letter".

Regards

BRAVO!.......2007-02-17

My favorite is Mr. Skeffingtion. Talk about a dose of cold hard reality. That psychiatrist was a real trip! Very enjoyable movie.

Fabulous.......2006-12-23

Better is the best and fabulous in this box set. We've never had a better actress.

Bette Davis's Best Movies All In One Simple Box.......2006-11-04

People have often said that Bette Davis is the most versitile and simply the best actress to have come out of Hollywood, and until Meryl Streep came along I would agree with that statement, Bette Davis give remarkable performances in all five of these films, In The Letter, Bette Davis gives one of her finest performances a moody cheating housewife who murders her lover and then claims it was self defence, in Now Voyage she plays the shy and intraverted daughter of a controlling mother, when the mother dies she has trouble coming out of her shell and when she does she finds love, but none of it is that simple, a very good film, extremely good dialogue, all the films in this box set a brilliant and I would recommend these films to anyone that wants to watch a film with real actors that have real talent.

Average customer rating:

Ms. Davis yet again isn't afraid to play a flawed, less than admirable character
Classic
Not the typical Boy Meets Girl Movie
Mr. Skeffington
The best of Bette

Mr. Skeffington
Starring: Bette Davis , Claude Rains , Walter Abel , George Coulouris , and Richard Waring
Director: Vincent Sherman
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0008ENIDO
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Amazon.com

Fanny Skeffington, an incorrigible society flirt of the WWI era, was one of the meatiest roles and most exasperating women Bette Davis ever played. Flighty Fanny loves the attention of her male suitors, but marries the steadfast Jewish financier Job Skeffington (Claude Rains) for security; long after their wedding day, she still enjoys receiving gentlemen callers. Time catches up with Fanny, of course, and the bills are due by the time World War II rolls around.

Mr. Skeffington is a vintage Warner Bros. workout for Davis, who never shied away from playing unsympathetic or physically unappealing roles. (Her main worry here was looking pretty enough in the early reels to justify Fanny's reputation.) Her theatrical performance and Rains's impeccable work carry the handsomely dressed story through its many melodramatic shifts. The dialogue by Julius and Philip Epstein (who were doing Casablanca around this time) has the sprung rhythm of screwball comedy, although director Vincent Sherman and the cast don't always seem to have noticed this. There's also the growing issue of anti-Semitism--a subject rare in Hollywood prior to this--especially as it concerns Fanny and Job's daughter. But mostly the film has Bette Davis, who strides headfirst into the gray areas (her indifferent treatment of her daughter is especially unappetizing), a fearless attitude that looks like the polar opposite of Fanny Skeffington's vanity. --Robert Horton

Description

Whose face ravaged, grotesque is in the mirror? Surely it?s not that of Fanny Skeffington, the prettiest woman in New York. Fanny always used her beauty to manipulate her way through life. She?s encouraged dozens of suitors, even after her marriage. But now diphtheria has robbed her of her only attribute. And without her looks, she?s lost. Bette Davis earned her eighth Best Actress Oscar nomination portraying Fanny

DVD Features: Audio Commentary: Featurette:New Featurette; Mr. Skeffington: The Big Picture Theatrical Trailer:

Customer Reviews:

Ms. Davis yet again isn't afraid to play a flawed, less than admirable character.......2007-08-21

A vivid, sprawling, involving story about a woman who takes her beauty and charm for granted, reveling in the superficial benefits they attract while letting genuine opportunities for love and meaning pass her by. I think we all have met people like this, sharp and attractive and clever in their teens, twenties, and thirties, but then lonely and a bit paunchy as they enter their forties, because- way back when- they couldn't bring themselves to settle down with just one of the cute and charming people in their circle when they had the chance, because there were just too darn many of them to enjoy. Of course, the tragedy of people like Bette Davis' Mrs. Skeffington character is that, even if they did have a moment of clarity while still young and alluring, many still would choose the sweet, momentary pleasures instead of taking the time to build something more meaningful.

Warner Home Video's DVD of "Mr. Skeffington" features sharp picture and sound, a brief but illuminating featurette about the movie, and a couple of short subjects that might have been shown with the film during its original release.

Classic.......2007-06-26

Loved this one. Just classic Bette Davis. I would watch her in any movie. A simple review I know, but what else can be said about Bette Davis?? She's the best!

Not the typical Boy Meets Girl Movie.......2007-05-13

This is a love story. Bette Davis plays a shallow, spoiled rich girl with no money Mr. Skeffington loves her character, why, I have no idea. She marries him for his money. They divorce after a hefty settlement. Only after many years does she realize what a fine man she has lost. The ending is expected, but touchingly done. It's a classic film. Enjoy it. I certainly did.

Mr. Skeffington.......2007-05-13

What has Bette Davis done that you dont love??? Another excellent film.

The best of Bette.......2007-03-04

I'm traditiionally not a Bette Davis fan but this film is so entertaining! Bette plays a selfish, self centered and arrogant woman who is also vain and conceited- very few admirable qualities. After contracting a very serious illness that dramatically alters her very beautiful appearance and the return of Mr. Skeffington from W.W. 11 Fanny Skeffington dramatically changes- for the better. She finally understands the true meaning of love and life.

DVD:

DVD

DVD