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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nicholas Ray's expressionist masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Bigger Than Life [1956] [DVD] (DVD)
"Bigger Than Life" is a suburban melodrama directed by Nicholas Ray, the director of other 50s classics like "In A Lonely Place"(1950) and "Rebel Without A Cause" (1955). The film is based on an article in the The New Yorker, "Ten Feet Tall" by Berton Roueche, about the effects of wonder-drug Cortisone which when misused can result in mood swings, personalities changes and psychosis.
One of the side-effects of Cortisone is that it causes a feeling of euphoria which can be addictive as in the case of Ed Avery, performed brilliantly by James Mason. Ed Avery is a model of middle-class suburbia, a school teacher with a wife and son and on the the surface they appear to be happy. The drugs effects release him from this vision of marital bliss, the American dream of the nuclear family and in the process he becomes a tyrant. Like "Rebel Without A Cause" it sets out to undermine what is regarded as suitable 50s morality. Nicholas Ray along with Douglas Sirk were masters at handling this sort of material and with this film Ray utilises wonderfully expressionistic lighting, cinemascope and gorgeous colour to achieve his objective. This somewhat rare film which was a failure upon it's release is highly recommended. Jean-Luc Godard in 1963 placed this film in the top 10 American sound pictures up to that point. Cast: James Mason (Odd Man Out,1947; A Star is Born,1954) Barbara Rush (When Worlds Collide,1951; It Came From Outer Space;1953) Walter Matthau (A Face in the Crowd;1957) Christopher Olsen Cinematography: Joe McDonald (My Darling Clementine,1946; Niagara,1952; How to Marry a Millionaire,1953) The BFI DVD transfer is excellent.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"God was wrong!",
By
This review is from: Bigger Than Life [1956] [DVD] (DVD)
Bigger Than Life happily tears down all the 1950s values it starts off celebrating, making even fewer friends on its original release than Fight Club did among the remnants of the Moral Majority. If producer and star James Mason isn't exactly credible as an All-American teacher and, briefly, one-time college football star, he's a lot more credible as a mild-mannered schoolteacher turned egomaniac psychotic as his over-medication on the Cortisone that keeps him alive has disastrous effects on his nuclear family: there aren't many actors who could pull off a scene that sees him with a pair of scissors in one hand and a Bible in the other reading the story of Abraham and Isaac as a parenting guide. And there aren't many directors who would have dared in the ultra-conservative 1950s to use the Bible not as a source of peace but of torment as it becomes clear that he intends to go through with God's command to Abraham - and, when reminded that God spared Isaac, would have the balls to have his `hero' reply "God was wrong!"
Nicholas Ray's use of CinemaScope (a format Mason despised but which was forced on him by the studio) is exemplary and unfussy, as is his use of light and camera angles - as Mason's ego expands, he is shot from lower angles, while even his shadow towers over those of the rest of his family in the same room. There's also a beautifully staged scene as a still gentle Mason follows his wife through the house turning out the lights in amorous pursuit, oblivious to her suspicions that he's having an affair - not to mention a great lecture on moral values at a PTA meeting as Mason offers his new near-Nazi theory of education. Great stuff and great to see it here in its original CinemaScope ratio. Extras include an 8-minute audio extract from an interview Nicholas Ray gave at the NFT which has nothing whatever to do with the film (it's mainly about his experiences at Fox making The True Story of Jesse James and the limitations of independent filmmaking), a lengthy video conversation between filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, an audio commentary by Ed Buscombe, a badly faded-to-pink trailer introduced by James Mason (informing us that "a handful of hope became a fistful of hate!") and a booklet.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent DVD Release,
By Abe Raman "Abe Raman" (Cardiff) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bigger Than Life [1956] [DVD] (DVD)
This DVD is extremely well produced, with a crisp, sharp picture, faultless sound and careful subtitling. The original cinematic trailer is included, as is an interesting 25min discussion between two American film critics, who make some good points about the film without being too irritating.
Very highly recommended.
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