Product Description
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Legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille earned a place in cinematic
history when he helped create Hollywood's first feature-length
film, an event that established Hollywood as the motion picture
capital of the world. A master of spectacular epics, his films
garnered unparalled accl for their and grandeur. Now,
for the first time ever, five of his most popular films are
available in one premium DVD collection. Experience the
breathtaking dangers and delights of ancient Rome in The Sign of
the Cross; trek through a perilous jungle with Four Frightened
People; thrill to the passion, suspense and intrigue of
Cleopatra; journey back in time with the glorious story of The
Crusades; and see how the West was really won in the explosive
Union Pacific. With a glamorous roster of screen legends,
including Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton, Barbara Stanwyck,
Anthony Quinn and many more, this 5-disc collection is a
phenomenal reminder of the innovator who made moviemaking what it
is today.
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One of Hollywood's greatest showmen gets a worthy showcase in
The Cecil B. De Mille Collection, consisting of five of the
legendary producer-director's most characteristic films. As noted
by David Thomson in his influential book A Biographical
Dictionary of Film, "De Mille's movies are barnstormers, rooted
in Victorian theatre, shamelessly stereotyped and sentimental,
but eagerly courting 20th-century permissiveness, if only
solemnly to condemn it." That's an apt description of the films
included in this nicely packaged box set, which offers no extras
beyond the films themselves. Thomson is equally accurate in
calling De Mille's films "simple, raw, pious, and jingoistic,"
but as these five well-preserved films make abundantly clear, De
Mille was always a consummate entertainer. One of Hollywood's
foremost pioneers, De Mille cut an iconic figure, single-handedly
defining the archetypal image of the dictatorial director,
complete with boots, jodhpurs and an ever-present riding crop to
enforce his domineering authority. After failed attempts to work
independently and, later, for MGM, De Mille found a permanent
home at Para in 1932, and it's there that he made these five
films (now owned by Universal as part of their pre-1948 Para
library), which represent the glorious clash of Christian
virtues, epic-scale production values, lurid sexuality, and
self-important grandiosity that make De Mille's films so
curiously (and in many cases hypocritically) enthralling.
The Sign of the Cross (1932) is quintessential De Mille, now
famous for its pre-Code (i.e. pre-censorship) scene of peep-show
nudity as Claudette Colbert (playing Poppaea, wife of Charles
Laughton's Roman emperor Nero) takes a tantalizing bath in goat's
milk, daring DVD viewers to freeze-frame "the naughty bits" while
Roman prefect Marcus (Frederic March) struggles to reconcile his
loyalty to Rome with his forbidden love for the Christian maiden
Mercia (Elissa Landi), who's destined for the lion's den. Full of
outrageous spectacle (including dwarves in the Roman arena), this
blood-and-guts epic is pure De Mille compared to the more
conventionally formulaic adventure of Four Frightened People
(1934), also starring Colbert as one of the four titular
characters shipwrecked on a remote Malay island (filmed at Mauna
Kea and Mauna Loa, in Hawaii) and forced to fend for themselves.
It's a stodgy but frequently amusing adventure, with Colbert's
uptight schoolmarm growing sexier and less inhibited with each
passing scene. Colbert returns (De Mille obviously adored her) in
the title role of Cleopatra (1934), easily seducing Marc Antony
(played by De Mille favorite Henry Wilcoxon) in a film as
lavishly appointed as it is melodramatically extreme. Wilcoxon
pairs with Loretta Young in The Crusades (1935) with De Mille
once again mixing piety with prurience in a religious epic that
promises plenty of sex but, in classic De Mille fashion, remains
steadfastly chaste. Union Pacific (from Hollywood's golden year
of 1939) is a grandly entertaining Western that mangles history
(specifically, events surrounding construction of the
transcontinental railroad) while casting slingers Joel McCrea
and Robert Preston in a contest for Barbara Stanwyck's
affections.
Choosing a favorite among these five films is purely a matter of
personal taste, but for all of his weaknesses as a director (not
the least being a condescending and self-righteous arrogance
toward his audience), De Mille was never, ever boring. These
films helped to make Para the most profitable studio of the
1930s, and they hold up remarkably well. Despite the complete
absence of bonus features (Universal once again taking the
low-cost option with no-frills packaging), each film is presented
in pristine or near-pristine condition, ripe for first-time
viewing or nostalgic rediscovery by vintage film buffs
everywhere.--Jeff Shannon