Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle

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Fletch F. Fletch · #1 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:43 pm

Finally!

No word on specs but man, did this fly under the radar. Amazon.ca also has a listing for it but nothing on Amazon.com.

The Digital McGuffin · #2 Post by **The Digital McGuffin** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 1:32 pm

The fact that it's coming from Alliance Atlantis might not bode well, but atleast it's pretty cheap.

I remember Artificial Eye used to do the VHS of this in the UK. You never know, they might get around to releasing it on DVD one of these days.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #3 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:17 pm

The Digital McGuffin wrote:The fact that it's coming from Alliance Atlantis might not bode well

I'll say -- they're so lazy they couldn't even be bothered to change the blurb (I'm pretty sure a movie released in 1994 no longer qualifies as a "remarkable new movie").

Fletch F. Fletch · #4 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:30 pm

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:
The Digital McGuffin wrote:The fact that it's coming from Alliance Atlantis might not bode well
I'll say -- they're so lazy they couldn't even be bothered to change the blurb (I'm pretty sure a movie released in 1994 no longer qualifies as a "remarkable new movie").

I also get the vibe that this is going to be a bare bones release as well. Still, the price is right. I may pick it up anyways and let you all know if it's any good.

Fletch F. Fletch · #5 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 12:31 pm

Well, I finally got a chance to watch this DVD. The quality of the transfer is pretty good. I didn't notice too many blemishes and I think the softness of the image was probably the way it was filmed. The disc is pretty bare bones. Not even a trailer and with 2.0 sound -- although, that doesn't really hurt this dialogue-heavy movie.

All in all, if you're fan of this movie it is worth picking up (i can finally throw away my crappy pan and scanned VHS tape) -- esp. for the cheapo price ($11 Canadian) 'cos who knows when someone's going to get around to releasing this one in the 'States. Altho, I do hold out hope that maybe it is one of the Fine Line movies that Criterion snagged.

#6 Post by **cdnchris** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:12 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Altho, I do hold out hope that maybe it is one of the Fine Line movies that Criterion snagged.

The fact that Alliance is releasing their own DVD, and not porting an American one, suggests that that might be a possiblity, since the only time they ever make their own DVDs of a New Line/Fine Line film is if Image or Criterion is doing the DVD in the States.

Mental Mike · #7 Post by **Mental Mike** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:38 am

I love Jennifer Jason Leigh, but I hate this film. She seemed miscast and there's nothing worse than a bunch of literary poseurs yacking about nothing in a restaurant - this film is art for the underachiever

Fletch F. Fletch · #8 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:51 pm

Mental Mike wrote:I love Jennifer Jason Leigh, but I hate this film. She seemed miscast and there's nothing worse than a bunch of literary poseurs yacking about nothing in a restaurant - this film is art for the underachiever

I disagree completely. Leigh worked at perfecting Parker's cadences and way of speaking. If you've listened to any recordings of Dorothy Parker you'll hear that Leigh got it pretty close.

As for literary poseurs, well, I think that is kinda the point. Early on in the movie some sycophant comments that the Alquoniun table was filled with literary greats and she responds that no real giants came out of that group. And then we see them banter back and forth and of course what they say is mostly pretentious, etc. but that's kind of the charm as well. The give and take, the riffing between characters gives the film its energy and are some of the best (and most entertaining) moments of the movie.

Fletch F. Fletch · #9 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 8:56 am

From DavisDVD:

Image Entertainment has announced the star-studded Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle for release on September 5. The 1994 drama features, among others, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Campbell Scott, Matthew Broderick, Peter Gallagher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Heather Graham, Wallace Shawn, Lili Taylor, Stanley Tucci and Jon Favreau. The disc arrives with a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, a commentary with director Alan Rudolph, "Would you kindly direct me to hell?" Dorothy Parker featurette, an interview with composer Mark Isham, a TV spot and the trailer. Retail is $14.99.

Jean-Luc Garbo · #10 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:35 pm

Wow. =D> I'm a happy camper. It's on sale for $11 at Amazon, too. I'm looking forward to seeing Leigh in her glory days in the film, but that commentary track sounds good. Does Rudolph give good commentary?

John Cope · #11 Post by **John Cope** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:36 am

AMB wrote:Wow. =D> I'm a happy camper. It's on sale for $11 at Amazon, too. I'm looking forward to seeing Leigh in her glory days in the film, but that commentary track sounds good. Does Rudolph give good commentary?

The commentary here is presumably a port of the one on the laser disc edition. If so I can tell you that it's really quite excellent.

Rudolph's commentaries are generally so-so. The one onSecret Lives of Dentists doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic and the one on Trixie is also pretty lackluster. But he seemed genuinely passionate about Mrs. Parker which is why it was good. It's also why its' a shame not to have one available on The Moderns which is full of fascinating thematic details and would probably be a joy to hear.