|
Affairs Of Anatol (Sunset Blvd.)
|
(DVD - Code 1) (US-Import)
|
|
Inhalt: |
Cecil B. DeMille directed this risque aIl-star revue of decadence which must have been jaw-dropping in 1921 and which remains astonishing today, although for entirely different reasons. AnatoI de Witt Spencer (Wallace Reid), as incredibIy weaIthy as he is naive, and his child-Iike bride, Vivian (GIoria Swanson), are on their honeymoon. At a posh speakeasy he spies his high schooI sweetheart, Emilie (Wanda Hawley), from Pompton Lakes, New Jersey (DeMilles own hometown), who is obviousIy the sex toy of fIamboyant oId Gordon Bronson (known on WalI Street as the Man of lron, but here as the Man of Dough). To Vivians dismay, idealistic AnatoI decides to rescue the seductive Emilie, sets her up in an expensive apartment and gets her violin lessons, but she wont change her stripes and goes back to Bronson. The Spencers then try a second honeymoon, but they are no sooner settled into a simple country Iife than almost the same thing happens again, this time with the thieving wife (Agnes Ayres) of a self-righteous deacon (Monte BIue). Not onIy does DeMiIle show women smoking, drinking (during Prohibition), exposing body parts seldom seen on a movie screen, and frankIy pursuing men who attract them; he also presents this debauchery with amazing visuaI flair. DeMilIe clearly meant The Affairs of Anatol to be as much a decorative feast. With design by Erte, elegant Spencers honeymoon in sets that Iook Iike the work of Aubrey BeardsIey on stimuIants; Satan Synnes cape and tiara Iook Iike an octopus made of pearls, and all this exoticism is enriched by many striking and unusuaI lighting effects. This DVD edition is digitaIIy mastered from an elaborate originaI print featuring hand coIoring, stencil coIoring, and dozens of changes in color tint and tone, in itself a striking work of art. The Affairs of Anatol is presented at a visuaIly correct projection speed (21 frames per second) with a digital stereo score compiIed by Brian Benison from authentic siIent cinema music. |
|