As I mentioned a month or so ago here, the Kino Lorber company is releasing a Blu-ray of Billy Wilder's 1974 remake of the movie The Front Page starring Jack Lemmon as Hildy Johnson and Walter Matthau as Walter Burns. I really like this version of the classic play of the same name by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.
I like the pace. I like the supporting players. I like the interplay between Lemmon and Matthau. I like just about everything in it except Carol Burnett who seemed to be filmed playing in some other movie with a totally different style and then greenscreened into this one. Please note that I say that as someone who loves just about everything else Carol Burnett ever did.
Sorry to say, there is no DVD coming out of this release, at least now. There is a DVD still in print but the Blu-ray, I'm told, is a much superior transfer and of course it has some extra features and two world-class movie experts did a commentary track that isn't on any DVD. Those two world-class movie experts are none other than my friend Michael Schlesinger and myself.
At least, I think I'm on it. I had a bad cough the day we recorded the track and I wouldn't blame them if they chopped out a lot of what I said. But Mike had all sorts of interesting, non-hacking things to say about the film so you'll be in good hands.
The Blu-ray ships next week so if you want to advance order it, here's a link. I'm pleased to be a part of it, assuming I am a part of it.