| | | The story of a family's ugly secret and the stark moment that thrust their private lies into public view!
Features: DVD
An oil magnate's dynasty begins to crumble as a result of the activities of his pleasure-seeking family.
"Irresistible kitsch." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
Douglas Sirk whips up a devastating maelstrom of melodrama in WRITTEN ON THE WIND, the explosive tale of the Hadleys, a wealthy Texas oil family whose debauched members are on a crash course for self-destruction. From the windswept drunken car ride and pistol shot opening the film, Sirk leads an artful backward glance at the misjudgments, cruelty and bad faith that led the Hadleys and their unfortunate hangers-on to the point of no return. Robert Stack is Kyle Hadley, number one black sheep of the Hadley Clan, who attempts to cure his troubled life with a whirlwind marriage to the beautiful and unsuspecting Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall). Marylee Hadley is the rebellious and drunken younger Hadley, perpetually in trouble and eager for diversions from her vacant existence. Rock Hudson as Kyle's virtuous best friend Mitch is the pillar of sanity around which the entire Hadley Clan clings for its survival. However, when meddlesome Marylee, wounded from a spurned infatuation with Mitch, insinuates that Lucy's expected child is actually his, the already fragile and explosive situation devolves into a tragic battle to the death. Virile and visceral performances from an all star cast played against symbolically saturated cinematography and art direction combine to forge an alcohol and tragedy soaked critique of '50s middle-class America.
| Features | Region 1 | | Keep Case | | Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85 | | Letterbox - 1.85 | | Audio:
| Mono - English | | Additional Release Material:
| Trailers:
| 1. Original Theatrical Trailer | | 2. Bonus Trailer - ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS | | Text/Photo Galleries:
| Filmographies: Douglas Sirk - Director | | Liner Notes: Laura Mulvey - Film Theorist | | Lobby Card | | Production Stills | | Publicity | | Stills/Photos: THE MELODRAMA ARCHIVE |
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| Technical Info
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Release Information
|  | Studio: Columbia Tri-Star |
| Release Date: 6/19/2001 |
| Running Time: 99 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1956 | | Catalog ID: 1566 | | UPC: 00715515011525 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1957) |  | Dorothy Malone, Winner, Best Supporting Actress | | | Robert Stack, Nominee, Best Supporting Actor | | | Sammy Cahn & Victor Young, Nominee, Best Music, Song ("Written On The Wind") |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"...There's a genuine pathos and intelligence engineered by a director who rivaled Hitchcock in his mastery of the medium..." 01/11/2002 p.30Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
If you only see the surface, it's trash soap opera. If you can see the style, the absurdity, the exaggeration and the satirical humor, it's subversive of all the 1950s dramas that handled such material solemnly. - Roger Ebert
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