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Features: DVD
In this pitch-black comedy from legendary writer-director Preston Sturges, Rex Harrison stars as Sir Alfred De Carter, a world-famous symphony conductor consumed with the suspicion that his wife is having an affair. During a concert, the jealous De Carter entertains elaborate visions of vengeance, set to three separate orchestral works. But when he attempts to put his murderous fantasies into action, nothing works out quite as planned. A brilliantly performed mixture of razor-sharp dialogue and uproarious slapstick, Unfaithfully Yours is a true classic from a grand master of screen comedy.
"One of the most sophisticated slapstick comedies ever made..." Pauline Kael
"A small masterpiece in its skillful blending of moods, genuinely moving and quite beautifully played by Harrison and Darnell." Time Out
Editor's Note
In his last Hollywood film, Preston Sturges crafts a powerfully rendered mix of slapstick, screwball, and melodrama in his darkest comedy ever. Rex Harrison plays Alfred de Carter, the effete and blasé classical conductor returning to New York on the eve of a great performance. Awaiting his return are his beautiful wife Daphne, her coy sister, and her brother-in-law Auguste. Alfred had asked Auguste to look after Daphne during his absence, and when August alerts Alfred that he had Daphne watched by a detective and attempts to deliver the report, the seeds of doubt are planted in an otherwise blissfully romantic marriage The superb Alfred slowly comes undone as he unwillingly lets the idea of Daphne's possible infidelity contaminate his every thought. Sirk elicits uproarious performances from the dry and evocative cast as the film leads to a masterfully complex climax: Alfred fantasizing variously gruesome, magnanimous, and gallant actions he might take, while simultaneously conducting the symphony orchestra to an enraptured audience. When Alfred attempts to act on his fantasy, reality becomes stranger than fiction, and his devious plans are derailed in a series of hysterical physical gags and unsuspected misunderstandings.
| Features | Audio Commentary By Sturges Scholars James Harvey, Diane Jacobs, And Brian Henderson | | Audio: English Mono | | Essay By Novelist Jonathan Lethem | | Gallery Featuring Rare Production Correspondence And Stills | | New Video Interview With Sturges's Widow Sandy Sturges | | New Video Introduction By Writer-Director Terry Jones | | New, Restored High-Definition Digital Transfer | | Optional English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing | | Theatrical Trailer |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Home Vision/Public Media |
| Release Date: 7/12/2005 |
| Running Time: 105 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1948 | | Catalog ID: 1614 | | UPC: 00715515016421 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Uncut
"Impeccable 1948 Hollywood swan song from Preston Sturges..." 07/01/2004 p.138Sight and Sound
"[T]here are some wildly energetic and imaginative sequences which show Sturges at his bravura best." 08/01/2004 p.79 Premiere
"[R]ich....[With] lovely bits from select members of Struges' rep company." 09/01/2005 p.126 |
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