AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY (DVD/WS-1.85/EN-FR-SP SUB) DVD

The Americanization of Emily
The lively but somehow slightly distasteful The Americanization of Emily stars James Garner as a WWII naval officer who happens to be a craven coward. While his comrades sail off to their deaths, Garner makes himself scarce, generally hiding out in the London flat of his lothario navy buddy James Coburn. Garner falls in love with virtuous war widow Julie Andrews (the "Emily" of the title), but she can't abide his yellow streak. Meanwhile, crack-brained admiral Melvyn Douglas decides that he needs a hero--the first man to die on Omaha Beach during the D-Day Invasion. Coburn is at first elected for this sacrifice, but it is the quivering Garner who ends up hitting the beach. He survives to become a hero in spite of himself, winning Andrews in the process. Paddy Chayefsky's script, based on the novel by William Bradford Huie, attempts to extract humor out of the horrors of war by using broad, vulgar comedy instead of the light satirical touch that would seem to be called for. Americanization of Emily was Julie Andrews' second film; it should have led to a steady stream of adult-oriented roles, but the box-office clout of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music consigned her to "wholesome family entertainment". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast James Garner as Lt. Cmdr. Charles Madison Julie Andrews as Emily Barham Melvyn Douglas as Adm. William Jessup James Coburn as Lt. Cmdr. "Bus" Cummings Joyce Grenfell as Mrs. Barham Edward Binns as Adm. Thomas Healy Liz Fraser as Sheila Keenan Wynn as Old Sailor William Windom as Capt. Harry Spaulding John Crawford as C.P.O. Paul Adams Douglas Henderson as Capt. Marvin Ellender Edmon Ryan as Adm. Hoyle Steve Franken as Young Sailor Gary Cockrell as Lt. Victor Wade Alan Sues as Enright Bill Fraser as Port Commander Lou Byrne as Nurse Captain Alan Howard as Port Ensign Linda Marlowe as Pat Janine Gray as 'Nameless Broad' Judy Carne as Nameless Broad Kathy Kersh as 'Nameless Broad'

Crew Bill Thomas - Costume Designer Arthur Hiller - Director Tom McAdoo - Editor Johnny Mandel - Composer (Music Score) Robert Armbruster - Musical Direction/Supervision William J. Tuttle - Makeup Robert R. Benton - Production Designer Henry W. Grace - Production Designer Elliot Scott - Production Designer Hans Peters - Production Designer George W. Davis - Production Designer Philip H. Lathrop - Cinematographer Martin Ransohoff - Producer Henry W. Grace - Set Designer Robert R. Benton - Set Designer Paddy Chayefsky - Screenwriter William Bradford Huie - Book Author

The Americanization of Emily
Paddy Chayefsky's cutting lack comedy was the first film to wring laughs from the notion that perhaps not all American troops had a completely gung-ho attitude toward their WWII service. James Garner stars as Charley Madison, a wheeler-dealer officer who prides himself on avoiding combat while he romances strait-laced Englishwoman Emily Barham (Julie Andrews) in the countryside. When she refuses to marry him due to his reluctance to pick up a rifle, he's forced to reconsider his position. Emily is a coruscating piece of work by the legendary Chayefsky, who fashioned one of the most thoughtfully hilarious films ever written on military service and marriage in a series of brilliant one-liners. Although Garner is assailed as a coward by his girlfriend, few commentators have noted that his pragmatic code of values is identical with that of Casablanca's (1942) Rick Blaine ("I stick my neck out for nobody"). When Charley says he would die to defend what is his -- his wife, his house, and his family -- he expresses a sentiment that runs deep in American life. Conversely, Emily's mantra of God, honor, and country expresses the spirit of self-sacrifice in wartime for which the British are famed. One of the film's great strengths is that the iconography of each of these two performers expresses perfectly, without a word being spoken, something essential and opposed about their native cultures, and at the same time they have terrific sexual chemistry. Yet, this may be even more a film about marriage than about war. When Emily questions the value of Charley's live-for-today creed, asking in effect, "Are you going to get rid of me when I'm not fun any more," she's spoken the key line of the film. If Charley would slide out of his military duties, why wouldn't he eventually slide out on her? That the film never answers these questions is one of its beauties, and as Charley reminds her, marriage is always a gamble. James Coburn as Charley's cunning buddy, Melvyn Douglas as a wavering admiral, and Joyce Grenfell as Emily's mother are all perfectly cast. The film's only drawbacks are Arthur Hiller's shaky direction and a low-budget D-Day scene, in which Garner is not just the first, but seemingly the only man charging the beach. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
 

Elliot Scott: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (nominated) George W. Davis: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (nominated) Hans Peters: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (nominated) Henry W. Grace: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (nominated) Philip H. Lathrop: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Cinematography (nominated) Robert R. Benton: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo Additional Features: cc Commentary by film historian Drew Casper Featurette Action on the Beach Theatrical trailer Subtitles: English, Français & Español Languages: English & Français MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 115 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Credits and Foreword [4:42] 2. Shopping List [4:11] 3. Something of a Prig [6:19] 4. Lay Off, Mrs. Miniver [2:55] 5. Competitiveness [3:19] 6. Jessup's Headache [4:13] 7. First Dead Man [4:27] 8. Cockamamie Assignment [2:36] 9. Emily's Men [2:33] 10. His New Religion [3:12] 11. Brave and Pointless [3:41] 12. Make My Movie [5:20] 13. Stay Out of Sight [3:43] 14. Love, Not Principle [5:06] 15. New Orders [3:37] 16. Unknown Sailor [5:46] 17. Annapolis Mood [5:07] 18. Working an Angle [2:46] 19. Morally Right Thing [5:48] 20. How Could You Do This? [3:05] 21. Not That Stoned [4:36] 22. Bound for France [3:17] 23. D-Day [3:18] 24. Hitting the Beach [2:13] 25. No Pride in Death [4:25] 26. May God Forgive Me [2:05] 27. Brass-Band Hero [5:30] 28. The Right Thing [5:39] 29. Cast List [:53]