Champagne for Caesar
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DVD details
Actor: Art Linkletter, Barbara Britton, Celeste Holm, Ronald Colman, Vincent PriceBrand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-12-17
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Champagne for Caesar
DVD Review: You know what they called me in college? Sky Blue Waters ?
Summary: 5 Stars
I was excited to see that there was finally a DVD of Champagne for Caesar, that was till I started reading reviews about the bad transfer. As one reviewer related, but maybe didn't believe, that Image had told him that this was the best they could do from their source. I might believe that because I had seen varying degrees of quality through the years and remember later versions with bad sound in the later reels(particularly the park sequence).
I had searched years ago for a VHS version and could only find it on Laserdisc. So I bought it on that format as I did with Susan Slept Here(I then had to buy a laserdisc player so I could watch my two laserdiscs). They both look and sound great. It's disappointing Champagne isn't worth the purchase and Susan Slept Here isn't available at all on the more convenient DVD format. It's a crime, I might add, that this is also true for Genevieve, the British comedy of the same era. It's a crime that these and others like It's In the Bag, Ball of Fire and The Male Animal are not restored and made available on DVD. It's not only a job that should be done but one that should have been done long ago. The longer it's left undone the less likely it is that it will be done correctly, if at all.
Enough bad news, about this one of kind comedy. Champagne is full of superb talent doing amazing jobs in wildly unique roles. Beauregard Bottomley(Ronald Coleman)unsurpassed scholar knows everything about everything except how to, in the vernacular, make a buck. He's snubbed by Burnbridge Waters(Vincent Price)the eccentric megalomaniac founder and president of Milady Soap company(The Soap That Sanctifies). Milady sponsors Masquerade for Money hosted by Happy Hogan(Art Linkletter). Beauregard pulls a Ken Jennings. Along the way we are treated to Celeste Holm as Flame O'Neill and Barbara Britton(who I've been in love with ever since)as Gwenn Bottomley, Beauregard's sister. Everyone is screamingly funny with the exception of Vincent Price. Vincent Price as Burnbridge Waters may be the single funniest performance ever put on film ! ! ! If you have a sense of humor be careful, you might die laughing.
It's been about eight to ten years since I last watched my Laserdisc but I can still think of at least 20 lines from the movie to quote, as this is certainly one of the most quotable movies ever. My favorite is at a round table discussion when one of Burnbridge's nervous yes-men fills him in on what they know about Bottomley. A friend nearly wet himself upon hearing it.
A little known American classic begs for a complete restoration, but if you've never seen it, it may be worth putting up with a less than perfect version and I myself might even take a chance and see if some these pundits aren't being just a bit too persnickety.
Addendum: The pundits were right. There's an inexplicably bad reel during Bottomly's first visit to the game show. I've seen a bad reel during the park scene, which is now just fine, but never during the game show. Considering what they're selling this for, you would not expect such a shoddy transfer and especially during such a vital reel. It doesn't totally take away from the enjoyment of the film but it does hamper it a bit. In general resolution is now good enough for me tell that this was originally shot in color and for some reason, as had been the case in many other movies of the period, it was released it in B&W. This is evident by the style of credits, makeup, clothing and set design. A lot of early fifties westerns seem to have had the same decision made about their release.
PS: If anyone has the answer for why there are no longer any color copies of It Came from Outer Space, originally in glorious 3-D Technicolor, please e-mail me. I've seen it in color but can no longer find any evidence that this was the case. I'm positive I saw it and it wasn't colorized, it was Techicolor and I know the difference. It's puzzled me for years. There I began to notice the movies that apparently released in B & W that were originally shot in color. The biggest give-away is first the credits: contrasting tones that don't make sense. The second is make-up: heavier than usual with the lipstick being especially dark and heavy.
Description of Champagne for Caesar
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