Well, I've been a pretty light blogger lately, and one of the main causes has been the fact that my wife and I finally bid farewell to our circa-1995 27" Magnavox and made the leap to a 46" hi-def. Getting everything set up has been a bit of an ordeal since it necessitated a good deal of contractor work to get a suitable spot for it set up in our old house. I've still got some work to do on speakers, but the basic setup is in place now, including my new Blu-ray player.
To say that this upgrade has been a long time coming is an understatement. I guess I'm about as big a film buff as I know and certainly the biggest collector of movies. I've already splurged on a few essential titles, but the real treat is getting set for some new releases.
Two big Criterion titles are out today, in fact. The big one among fans is probably going to be Wim Wenders' masterwork Wings Of Desire. I'll shamefully admit that I've never sat entirely through this film so I'm really looking forward to it. As a side note, Wenders' Paris, Texas will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in January.
But my favorite upgrade so far will undoubtedly be the Blu-ray release of Merchant-Ivory's Howards End, previously released on DVD as part of Criterion's Merchant Ivory Collection. This release was chosen by Amazon voters online and has been somewhat controversial among Criterion fans. I've seen the words "dry" and "boring" in more than one spot.
I'll admit I have a tremendous soft spot for Howards End. The book was no doubt the first E. M. Forster novel I read, and the film was released just around the time I realized there was more to movies than just Star Wars and Indiana Jones. But even so, I think the film is tremendously underrated and misunderstood.
First, I take great exception to the idea that Howards End is an obvious "commercial" release in terms of Criterion releases. True, it was a darling of the 1994 Academy Awards and was an art house hit at the time (relatively speaking), but to imply that this is a money grab for Criterion is pretty silly. I think the film has aged quite well and is generally still well-regarded, but it's hardly a title that has penetrated our collective culture.
But more importantly, Howards End is not the snooty costume drama it is often dismissed to be. Rather, it's a rather scathing indictment of class warfare at the turn of the 20th Century, a theme that still resonates today. I don't really know the context of Forster's contemporary England, but the book and the film have always seemed to me to signify the inevitability of change in society. I've always found the characters' capacities for change to be the heart of the film. I would say that the performances of Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are their career best, except for the fact that they would exceed them in the Merchant-Ivory production of The Remains Of The Day (admittedly, an even better film, probably Merchant-Ivory's best).
It's easy to forget that during the early-to-mid nineties, serious period dramas were all the rage. I'm probably crosswise with a lot of other Martin Scorsese fans in calling The Age of Innocence one of my favorites of his (behind Goodfellas, of course). It's a shame that the Merchant-Ivory moniker became an easy label for some film buffs to use in dismissing similar, but lesser, films. I certainly get that their films aren't everyone's cup of tea (heh), but let me go on record as not just a defender, but a very serious fan of Howards End.
A few reviews of the Blu-ray...
UPDATE: And here are some of Jeffrey Overstreet's thoughts on Wings Of Desire.
Just now reading this and admitting that I've not seen Howard's End-- though I'll be able to remedy that soon!-- but one of my favorite films is A Room With a View.
Posted by: Josh | November 12, 2009 at 09:54 AM