STEVENS G-FILMMAKERS JOURNEY (DVD) DVD

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
The man who assembled the remarkable documentary George Stevens: A Filmaker's Journey had the benefit of knowing the subject intimately: the film was written, produced and directed by George Stevens Jr. Utilizing pristine-quality filmclips and interviews, Stevens Jr. details Stevens Sr.'s rise from silent-film cameraman to one of the top producer/directors in Hollywood. We are treated to snippets of Stevens' camerawork on the Laurel and Hardy films at Hal Roach Studios, then we are transported to his salad days as a feature director at RKO. Among the films highlighted from this first chapter of Stevens' directorial life are Alice Adams (1935), Swing Time (1936) and Gunga Din (1939) (one would like to have heard a bit more background info concerning Stevens' Wheeler and Woolsey comedies). Next we find Stevens as an autonomous entity at Columbia Pictures, producing and directing such classics as The More the Merrier (1943). The war years are thoroughly covered via Stevens' vivid color footage of the invasion of Europe. The last stages of Stevens' Hollywood career is traced through generous portions of A Place in the Sun (1951), Shane (1953), Giant (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). The many interviewees include Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Warren Beatty. As an added filip, A Filmmaker's Journey includes rare home-movie sequences showing George Stevens at home and at work--all filmed with as much care and professionalism as Stevens' "mainstream" pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast George Stevens Jr. as Narrator George Stevens as Himself Montgomery Clift as Brandon de Wilde as Fred Astaire as Himself James Dean as Cary Grant as Himself Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Himself Katharine Hepburn as Herself Rock Hudson as Himself Sam Jaffe as Himself Jean Arthur as Herself Fred MacMurray as Himself Jack Palance as Himself Joel McCrea as Himself Ginger Rogers as Herself Elizabeth Taylor as Herself Spencer Tracy as Max von Sydow as Himself Shelley Winters as Herself Warren Beatty as Himself Frank Capra as Himself John Huston as Himself Rouben Mamoulian as Himself Joseph L. Mankiewicz as Himself Alan J. Pakula as Himself Fred Zinnemann as Himself Pandro S. Berman as Himself Hermes Pan as Himself Ivan Moffat as Himself Hal Roach as Himself Jack Sher as Himself Millie Perkins as Herself Irwin Shaw as Himself

Crew Susan Winslow - Co-producer George Stevens, Jr. - Director Carl Davis - Composer (Music Score) Juan Ruiz-Anchia - Cinematographer Gerald Cotts - Cinematographer Don Lenzer - Cinematographer Tom Hurwitz - Cinematographer Harrison Engle - Cinematographer George Stevens, Jr. - Producer Susan Winslow - Sound Editor

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
(not reviewed)
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: none specified DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 112 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Life Is a Journey [2:41] 2. Alice Adams [6:16] 3. Early Life [1:15] 4. Hollywood [1:28] 5. Laurel and Hardy [3:21] 6. Swing Time; Never Gonna Dance [4:48] 7. Gunga Din [10:31] 8. Woman of the Year [5:18] 9. The More the Merrier [8:13] 10. War in Europe [7:16] 11. Liberation of Paris [4:03] 12. Dachau [3:50] 13. I Remember Mama [1:38] 14. A Place in the Sun [10:47] 15. 1950 Directors Guild Controversy [4:27] 16. Shane [:55] 17. Giant [9:09] 18. The Diary of Anne Frank [4:16] 19. The Greatest Story Ever Told [7:49] 20. That's Him [9:01] 21. End Credits [2:39]