Rating: 
Summary: The Importance Of A Good Commentary!!
Review: Comparing the 1952 film adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest with the 2002 is problematic, and in many ways, futile. Both films are marvelous and perfect representatives of the acting/film styles of their respective time periods. The 1952 version is structured like a play; the action even begins and ends with a curtain, as if the viewer were in an upper box of a grand theatre or opera house. Similarly, the acting is quite stagy; viewers who prefer their actors to perform their parts in the cinema the same way they would perform them on stage will most likely enjoy this version. In particular, Dame Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell is the epitome of the stage Grand Damme, the empress of her sex, aloof, imperious, cascading from a great height, and perfectly marvelous. Dorothy Tutin as Cecily and Moliere translator Miles Malleson as Rev Chausible are also standouts in their respective roles. The little-known Michael Dennison is an unexpected pleasure as Algernon, complete with ever-present roguish grin, while Joan Greenwood is very pretty but almost a little too stagy to be an effective Gwendolyn. Both Margaret Rutherford as Miss Prism and Michael Redgrave as John Worthing are somewhat miscast; sure, they are dazzling talents, but each is too thoroughly grounded and earthy for the roles they play, particularly Miss Rutherford, who was perhaps the definitive Madame Arcati in Noel Coward's classic Blithe Spirit, filmed only a few years earlier. Still, all the actors are quite effective in their roles; the problem with this DVD lies with the presentation itself: There is no commentary. Of course, director Anthony Asquith is long gone (he died in 1968), but Criterion could and should have called on a film historian, or better yet, a member of the directors own family could have supplied an excellent commentary. Helena Bonham-Carter is not only a luminous actress, she is also Asquith's grand-niece, and it would have been nice to have approached her about the possibility of providing a commentary in this case; a current actresses thoughts and views of how this classic was presented two generations ago would have been priceless. Still, this is an excellent DVD, and a worthwhile film adaptation to add to your collection, especially if you are willing to provide your own running commentary.
Rating: 
Summary: Still the finest film version of the great Wilde play
Review: Despite a couple of weaknesses in the production, the remains far and away the best version of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. I actually enjoyed the recent Colin Firth version, but with only one exception, the Michael Redgrave film is in every way a superior film. The sole advantage of the newer film is that it doesn't suffer at all from the feeling of being stagy. The Redgrave version feels not at all like a film, but a stage production that has been filmed. It is not, in a film an advantage to feel more like a play than a film. On the other hand, the newer version takes many outrageous liberties with the Wilde play, some just stupid, some distracting.The more significant advantage of the earlier film is the absolutely stunning performances of many of the actors. On a head to head comparison, the newer film suffers dreadfully in comparison. Michael Redgrave has a much solider grasp of the lead role than Colin Firth, and relative unknowns Michael Dennison and Dorothy Tutin are more effective in their performances than Rupert Everett and Reese Witherspoon. Likewise, the great Margaret Rutherford and Miles Malleson surpass Tom Wilkinson and Anna Massey as Miss Prism and Rev. Chasuble. Dame Judi Dench is one of the foremost actresses of her age, but Dame Edith Evans was an even more formidable presence in hers, and in this battle of acting heavyweights, Dame Evans wins by a large margin. But the biggest difference lies in the performances of Joan Greenwood and Frances O'Connor in the role of Gwendolen Fairfax. I am two-thirds in love with Frances O'Connor, and have been since seeing her in MANSFIELD PARK. I continually regret that she is in too few films. Despite this, Joan Greenwood's performance is quite unforgettable. She without any question possessed the most sensual voice I have ever heard, and the way she could take an absolutely trivial line and make it a thing of beauty is unique. Her voice was, in fact, a bit over-the-top. It was too lush and rich for many roles. But it was perfect for this role. Joan Greenwood was a beautiful woman, but she is one of the few beauties I have seen whose looks were eclipsed by her voice. The amazing thing is that the cast of the more recent film is not at all bad. In fact, in many ways it is very good. The problem for the new film is that the cast of the old one was just so extraordinarily great. The big problem with the new film is the direction. Oliver Parker made a bevy of unfortunate decisions in crafting the film, like having the initial conversation between Worthing and Algernon take place in a bordello instead of Algy's flat. The notorious tattoos were dreadful beyond comprehension. The final shot, where Lady Bracknell discovers that Mr. Worthing is lying about his first name, was an unjustifiable bit of revisionist mischief making. Anthony Asquith, the director of the 1952 version, isn't at all flashy or virtuosic, but he does have the good sense to get out of the way and let the words carry the film. The viewer won't come away thinking about how marvelously the film was directed, but neither will he or she be thinking about how badly it was done. I don't recommend against seeing either of these film versions of Wilde's great play, but if one were to see only one, I would definitely urge seeing the earlier one over the new one.
Rating: 
Summary: Too bad the VHS version is out of print.
Review: Do not be misled by favorable reviews of the VHS version. This is one of my favorite movies, but the Criterion DVD production does not do it justice. First, and this is the main reason for the low rating, the sound track is muddy and nearly inaudible. It sounds like it was mastered from a PAL magnetic tape original, perhaps in England, where sound engineers (as in the VHS production of "Amadeus") have trouble turning up the volume knob. To hear this version, I have to turn up my TV's volume knob from 15 (on its proprietary Panasonic scale) to nearly 40. The problem is not that it's an old movie, for the sound in the VHS version is very good. Second, the feature that gives you biosketches and pix of the stars does not let you leap directly to the one you are interested in. For example, you must inch through ten minutes on Michael Redgrave and Edith Evans - clicking next and waiting, clicking next and waiting, clicking next and waiting - about 40 times before you reach Joan Greenwood. Other performers are even further back in the loop. The biosketch feature was evidently designed by someone who does not own and use a DVD player. I hope other entries in the Criterion Collection are not botched like this. I give it 2 stars only because it is a great movie, better than the recent (2002) theatrical release.
Rating:
Summary: Priceless - A must-have
Review: I disagree with Patrick Moore's quibbles, and am delighted that sound and color recorded over 50 years ago survive so well. Yes, this version takes minor liberties with the original. Wilde never mentioned "Ernest" singing "La Donn' e Mobile" in the tub with servants awaiting the final note's fair resounding before rinsing our star (Pavarotti was only 16 at the time, so we must settle for a baritone). In fact the original initial scene is in Algy's digs; "Ernest" is already dry and dressed, albeit with much the same dialog. In the film, no nasty solicitor wants to lock "Ernest" up for a trifling 762 Pounds (10 to 15 years' income for Algy's valet Lane) owed for supping if not stomping at the Savoy. These are the most significant departures, and I did not find them disturbing. As must be apparent, I sorta enjoyed the tub aria and believe Wilde might have liked it too. Redgrave, father of Vanessa, Corin and Lynn, was 44, a bit too old to play a man of 29 in the company of a cast that is otherwise of appropriate age. Again, this is a minor point, especially given his brilliant performance. I will not repeat others' praise of the performances of the cast beyond saying that in watching the marvelous BBC-TV version, I felt so sorry for its great cast, having to compete with these performances, and extend equal sympathy to Colin Firth & co. in the newly released film. Even legends Judi Dench (in the new film) and Joan Plowright (in the BBC set) could never say "A HA-and-BA-ag?!" like Edith Evans did. I admired Plowright for not trying to be Evans, whose delivery of this single line is mentioned on hundreds of web sites. The costumes are stunning and appropriate to both period and cast. (Does anyone else feel sorry about the Birds of Paradise hacked apart to build the millenery? Folks didn't worry much about that in 1952, probably even less in 1895, so the headgear is probably authentic, even if counter to modern sensibilities.) As good as the cast is, most giving the performance best remembered from a career of brilliancies, the real star, of course, is Oscar Wilde, who skewers the British upper crust so deliciously with line after clever priceless line. Half the lines in this play must have found their way into some collection or other by now. This marvelously funny play is also a tragedy because it was Wilde's last great work when it should have been followed by volumes of others. Soon after its appearance, Wilde was ruined, villified, amd imprisoned, never saw his children again. He died poor, friendless, and miserable in a Paris hotel in 1900, his 46th year, five years after "Earnest's" first performance. What other delightful manifestations of his brilliance were denied us by society's inability to accept the bisexual nature that Wilde could not help? I'm a big hairy straight guy from a redneck background, but even I know that the most tragic loss of a Bird of Paradise in conjunction with this play was that of Wilde himself.
Rating:
Summary: Priceless - A must-have
Review: I disagree with Patrick Moore's quibbles, and am delighted that sound and color recorded over 50 years ago survive so well. Yes, this version takes minor liberties with the original. Wilde never mentioned "Ernest" singing "La Donn' e Mobile" in the tub with servants awaiting the final note's fair resounding before rinsing our star (Pavarotti was only 16 at the time, so we must settle for a baritone). In fact the original initial scene is in Algy's digs; "Ernest" is already dry and dressed, albeit with much the same dialog. In the film, no nasty solicitor wants to lock "Ernest" up for a trifling 762 Pounds (10 to 15 years' income for Algy's valet Lane) owed for supping if not stomping at the Savoy. These are the most significant departures, and I did not find them disturbing. As must be apparent, I sorta enjoyed the tub aria and believe Wilde might have liked it too. Redgrave, father of Vanessa, Corin and Lynn, was 44, a bit too old to play a man of 29 in the company of a cast that is otherwise of appropriate age. Again, this is a minor point, especially given his brilliant performance. I will not repeat others' praise of the performances of the cast beyond saying that in watching the marvelous BBC-TV version, I felt so sorry for its great cast, having to compete with these performances, and extend equal sympathy to Colin Firth & co. in the newly released film. Even legends Judi Dench (in the new film) and Joan Plowright (in the BBC set) could never say "A HA-and-BA-ag?!" like Edith Evans did. I admired Plowright for not trying to be Evans, whose delivery of this single line is mentioned on hundreds of web sites. The costumes are stunning and appropriate to both period and cast. (Does anyone else feel sorry about the Birds of Paradise hacked apart to build the millenery? Folks didn't worry much about that in 1952, probably even less in 1895, so the headgear is probably authentic, even if counter to modern sensibilities.) As good as the cast is, most giving the performance best remembered from a career of brilliancies, the real star, of course, is Oscar Wilde, who skewers the British upper crust so deliciously with line after clever priceless line. Half the lines in this play must have found their way into some collection or other by now. This marvelously funny play is also a tragedy because it was Wilde's last great work when it should have been followed by volumes of others. Soon after its appearance, Wilde was ruined, villified, amd imprisoned, never saw his children again. He died poor, friendless, and miserable in a Paris hotel in 1900, his 46th year, five years after "Earnest's" first performance. What other delightful manifestations of his brilliance were denied us by society's inability to accept the bisexual nature that Wilde could not help? I'm a big hairy straight guy from a redneck background, but even I know that the most tragic loss of a Bird of Paradise in conjunction with this play was that of Wilde himself.
Rating:
Summary: Correcting some technical misinformation given below
Review: I would like to correct one bit of confusion in the Patrick Moore review below. While I would also quibble with how bad he finds the sound quality (there are mild incompatibilities from one DVD and disc to another--my copy isn't overwhelmingly clear or resonant, but it is no worse than many other versions of older films that I own), the criticism about this not being widescreen is based on an error of fact. This mistake is frequently made in reviews of DVD editions or older films, but the 1952 version of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST was not released in what we now think of as a widescreen edition. The vast majority of films from the thirties, forties, and much of the fifties will not be widescreen. For instance, classics as diverse as CITIZEN KANE, RASHOMON, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, and a host of other films will be fullscreen rather than widescreen. People who have not seen a significant number of older films in theaters sometimes don't realize that 70mm prints only started becoming widespread in the 1950s, and that even in the 1960s a large number of films were still being released in 35mm prints.
Rating:
Summary: Look, I am Earnest!
Review: Importance of Being Earnest is a masterful creation by Oscar Wilde where he is satirically mocking the privileged class. The film adaptation by Asquith from the stage to the silver screen is done with equal perfection as Wilde's play. An important factor to mention is that Asquith's father Herbert was one of the driving forces that put Wilde behind bars for "indecent acts" from which Wilde never fully recovered from. Thus, in a way, Asquith is apologizing for his blood relation's erroneous behavior toward Wilde by making a film that is ridiculing the pseudo-bona fide earnestness of the privileged class.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific movie, good DVD
Review: Many of the reviews here have a lot to say about the movie itself, but not much about the DVD presentation. That the movie is excellent is not in dispute. I'd also like to point out that everyone can and will appreciate it, not just english majors or art-film aficionados. Although the society it presents is utterly and completely different from our own modern ways, it's STILL a very very funny film with a wealth of one-line gems of Oscar Wilde wit. The picture quality presented here on the Criterion DVD is incredibly vibrant and quite pleasing. The color is amazing considering the movie is half a century old (and also considering the DVD was digitally mastered from a print rather than a negative). Audio cleanup is unobtrusive and all the lines of dialogue are clear and understandable. The biggest drawback with the DVD is the lack of extras. There is an original theatrical trailer, and a gallery of production stills, but that's all. Luckily it means the retail price is a bit lower than other Criterion titles, but it's still disappointing that more visual extras couldn't be included. The booklet is, as usual with Criterion discs, well worth reading. Summary: great funny film for everyone, beautiful picture, weak on extras.
Rating:
Summary: A Comedy of Manners Polished to a High Gloss
Review: One of the great films...artificial, mannered, hilarious. I wouldn't have expected Redgrave to be as good as he was in upper-class high comedy, but he was excellent. And Joan Greenwood...what high style, what lusty undercurrents, what sly eyes, what a voice. Check her out in Kind Hearts and Coronets and Man in the White Suit. She never lost that voice. If they ever make DVDs of Little Dorritt I and II, she plays Derek Jacobi's aged and sick mother. She's instantly recognizeable the first time she speaks.
The Criterion package is first rate. If you appreciate wit, acting done to a high polish, and the type of film simply not being made anymore, get this one.
You might also want to look at On Approval, another gem of style and manners.
Rating:
Summary: classic comedy-of-manners (or lack there of!!!)
Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is one of the most beloved movies of all time. It's deserved status as a classic is not disputed with this reviewer. The fun begins when Algernon Moncrieff (Michael Denison) discovers that his best friend Jack Worthing (Michael Redgrave) sometimes invents a fake brother named Earnest to get out of sticky situations. Algie also learns of the beautiful young Cecily Cardew (Dorothy Tutin), who is Jack's young ward at his country estate. When the formidable Lady Bracknell (Dame Edith Evans) calls with her daughter Gwendolen (Joan Greenwood), the history of Jack (or Earnest's) parentage is discussed when it is discovered that Gwendolen has decided to marry Jack based on the desirability of his name (which she thinks is Earnest)!. Getting confused? This is only the first half-hour! Algie, wishing to see for himself the beauty that is Cecily, high-tails it down to Jack's estate, and disguises himself as Earnest. Of course, Cecily too is enamored with the name of Earnest and is soon engaged to him. When Jack returns home in funeral garb with the story of Earnest's death in Paris, the story is quickly blown with the appearance of Algie as the wayward 'brother'! Also staying at the estate is the nervous Miss Prism (Margaret Rutherford) who is Cecily's tutor. Prism's shameless flirtation with the stuffy Canon Chasuble (Miles Malleson) is the prime focus of her life. It is not until Lady Bracknell makes her way to the estate that the true story of Jack (or Earnest's) parentage is uncovered, with the 'help' of Miss Prism... Oscar Wilde's classic witty repartee is given top-shelf treatment in Anthony Asquith's classic film version in glowing Technicolor. Truly a delightful good time. The DVD includes the trailer, stills gallery and bio's for the cast.
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