Classic DVD of the Week
3.27.2007: Errol Flynn and Ingmar Bergman collected.
By Glenn Kenny
The Errol Flynn Signature Collection — Volume 2 is, like its predecessor, heavier on movies directed by Michael Curtiz than it is on those directed by Raoul Walsh. Not a complaint, just an observation. Actually, it is a complaint if, like me, you've been eager to see Northwest Pursuit and/or Desperate Journey again. I mean, The Adventures of Don Juan, directed by Vincent Sherman, is pretty lightweight and Pursuit could have easily been put in its place in this five-movie box. Then again, Don Juan is a ravishing piece of Technicolor.
So goes the nitpicking of the collecting cinephile. When you come right down to it, this is an instant-must have, and the sole Walsh picture it contains, Gentleman Jim, is absolutely deathless and a big favorite of Flynn himself.
One of the really great DVD events of the year also occurs today: Early Bergman, the inaugural release of Eclipse, a new label from The Criterion Collection. This five-discer features films from the beginning of master Ingmar Bergman's moviemaking career, and it's remarkable. I have more on the set in an interview with Criterion/Eclipse honcho Peter Becker that can be found here.
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