That Hamilton Woman (The Criterion Collection)
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DVD details
Actor: Heather Angel, Julie Compton, Laurence Olivier, Leonard Carey, Vivien LeighBrand: IMG
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 128 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of That Hamilton Woman (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: Great performance in a good historical film
Summary: 4 Stars
"That Hamilton Woman" tells the true story of Lady Emma Hamilton and Lord Nelson around the turn of the 19th century. It stars Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier and was produced by Alexander Korda. The film was released in the UK under the name "Lady Hamilton".
"That Hamilton Woman" was the last of three films that Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) and his wife Vivien Leigh (1913-67) made together. They met in 1935 and began their affair during "Fire Over England" (1937). They made "Wuthering Heights" (1939) and "That Hamilton Woman" (1941), and toured together many times in performances of "Anthony and Cleopatra", "Macbeth", "Twelfth Night", and "The School for Scandal". They divorced in 1960.
Leigh is best known for her stunning performances in "GWTW" (1939) as Scarlett O'Hara and as Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) - she won the Oscar both times. Eventually physical problems, a miscarriage, and the difficulty of living with Olivier would take their toll and she began a slow descent into madness, perhaps precipitated by the 326 performances as Dubois on stage in London followed by months filming the movie. Between 1955 and 1965 she made only 1 film, but she carried on with her theatre work and even won a Tony in 1963. Her last film appearance was in 1965 ("Ship of Fools").
Olivier was nominated for an Oscar 10 times, from 1939 ("Wuthering Heights") to 1978 ("Boys from Brazil"), and won in 1949 for "Hamlet". He appeared in 80+ films, usually as an Englishman or in films based in England. His prime period had been in the 40s, and he made few films in the 50s, probably because of all the personal problems he was having. He appears as #14 on the AFI list of Top 50 Screen Legends.
Alan Mowbray (1896-1969) appeared in more than 140 films from 1931 to 1962. He had a recurring role in the "Topper" series and made memorable contributions to films such as "The King and I" (1956), "The Man who Knew Too Much" (1956), "My Darling Clementine" (1946) and "Wagon Master" (1950). Mowbray plays Sir William Hamilton, Leigh's husband.
Sara Allgood (1879-1950) plays Leigh's Irish mother. She appeared in more than 50 films and was nominated for an Oscar for "How Green Was My Valley" (1941). Allgood's chubby face and Irish brogue contributed to films like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941), "The Fabulous Dorseys", and "Cheaper by the Dozen" (1950). My favorite Allgood performance was as John Garfield's mother in "Between Two Worlds" (1944).
Alexander Korda (1893-1956) produced nearly 60 films in his career that started in 1923 in Hungary. His break through film was "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933) and there followed a series of historical dramas including "Rise of Catherine the Great" (1934), "Private Life of Don Juan" (1934), "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (1934) and "Rembrandt" (1936). Korda was known for his cheap production values, which are sometimes evident in this film, although the Italian palace scenes are lavish.
The film came in 1940 and did not shrink for talking about the European menace to the "little island" that cradled civilization. In the film it is Bonaparte vs. England, but the mood is clearly Hitler vs. England and many of the speeches refer in general to "Europe" rather than "France" since France was an ally. There are a plethora of films from this period that conform to this standard, and it's always interesting to see how history is portrayed in the light of current events.
The film is a tour d'force for Vivien Leigh. She is in virtually every scene and unless Sara Allgood is around, she is the scene stealer. In the early years she seems to be channeling Scarlett O'Hara and one expects her any minute to exclaim "Fiddle dee dee", but as she ages (in the film) she takes on a more mature persona. Quite frankly IMO her acting in this film is even better than her performance in "GWTW".
BTW - We have many portraits of Emma Hamilton, the most famous of which were done by George Romney, and Leigh often moves in ways to suggest many of these fine portraits. Hamilton was one of the most beautiful women of her age, as was Leigh.
Olivier, on the other hand, is unconvincing as Lord Nelson, the hero of the British Empire. He seems to be more like "Hamlet at Sea" than the inspirational leader and master of strategy.
In retrospect there is a melancholy to this film in the parallel it has to Leigh's own life (much as there is sadness to "Citizen Kane" and Orson Welles' life). Just as in the film, Leigh came from a modest background, and just as in the film, she began an affair with a married man. Eventually they were together and for awhile they were happy and then began the slow decline. Both suffered the loss of a child and both suffered physical problems before the end.
If you enjoy historical drama, or just want to see one of the finest performances ever by an actress. This is a film you'll want to see.
Description of That Hamilton Woman (The Criterion Collection)
Synopsis:Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 09/08/09
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
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