CALIFORNIA SUITE (DVD/P&S/WS 1.85/DSS/ENG-SP-PO-CH-KO-TH-SUB/FR-DUB) DVD

California Suite
Playwright Neil Simon turned to the hotel setting he used so successfully in his stage-play (later a movie) Plaza Suite to explore four more human dramas in his play California Suite, which was adapted into this quite successful movie. In the first episode, the divorced couple of Bill and Hannah Warren (Alan Alda and Jane Fonda) have rented a suite in a posh Beverly Hills hotel in order to have a discussion about who will get the custody of their child. In the next episode, Sidney Cochran and Diana Barrie (Michael Caine and Maggie Smith) are a hilarious pair of Hollywood stars who have rented the suite to await their appearance at the Academy Awards: it is a "date of convenience" which enables the sexually adventurous duo to conduct their other, more unconventional alliances out of the public eye. Drs. Willis Panama and Chauncy Gump (Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor) have brought their families to Beverly Hills for a vacation which takes on nightmarish tone. Finally, Marvin Michaels (Walter Matthau) tries frantically and unsuccessfully to explain the situation to his wife (Elaine May) when she catches him in flagrante delicto with a hooker. Actress Maggie Smith won an Academy Award as "Best Supporting Actress" for her role in this film, in which she plays the actress waiting to win . . . an Academy Award. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Cast Alan Alda as Bill Warren Michael Caine as Sidney Cochran Bill Cosby as Dr. Willis Panama Jane Fonda as Hannah Warren Walter Matthau as Marvin Michaels Elaine May as Millie Michaels Richard Pryor as Dr. Chauncy Gump Maggie Smith as Diana Barrie Gloria E. Gifford as Lola Gump Sheila Frazier as Bettina Panama Herb Edelman as Harry Michaels

Crew Ronald L. Schwary - Associate Producer Pat Norris - Costume Designer Ann Roth - Costume Designer Jack Roe - First Assistant Director Herbert Ross - Director Margaret Booth - Editor Michael A. Stevenson - Editor Claude Bolling - Composer (Music Score) Charles Schram - Makeup Albert Brenner - Production Designer David M. Walsh - Cinematographer Ronald L. Schwary - Production Manager Raymond Stark - Producer Ronald L. Schwary - Producer Marvin March - Set Designer Robert Dawson - Special Effects Al Overton, Jr. - Sound/Sound Designer Neil Simon - Screenwriter Neil Simon - Play Author

California Suite
Whether adapting his own plays or writing directly for the screen, Neil Simon was one of the few writers who could draw an audience on his name alone. The typical Simon script combines humor, sentimentality, and pace in ways that Hollywood (and audiences) often found hard to resist. Directed by veteran Herbert Ross and featuring a large cast of big-name actors and immediately accessible character situations, California Suite was destined to be, and in fact was, a popular film. A derivative of Simon's successful 1971 Plaza Suite (three vignettes set in a Manhattan hotel), California Suite is four intercut vignettes set in a Beverly Hill Hotel. Although the four stories appear to be crisscrossed for no reason, and some flounder badly at times, Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for her role as an aging actress, and Michael Caine steal the show -- a significant achievement considering such talents as Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jane Fonda, and Alan Alda are also on the bill. Simon was nominated for an Academy Award for the script based on his own play (his third nomination in four years). ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
 

Albert Brenner: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Jane Fonda: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Actress (winner) Maggie Smith: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Maggie Smith: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or C (winner) Marvin March: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Neil Simon: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated)

Golden Globe, Best Picture - Musical or Comedy (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish, Por, KO, TH Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects 1: PCM mono Additional Features: Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video Widescreen & full-screen presentations Audio: English [mono], French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai Interactive menus Scene selections DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 103 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Widescreen 0. Scene Selections 1. Start [2:22] 2. No Left Turns [2:42] 3. Doctors on Vacation [3:07] 4. Nine-Year Reunion [7:24] 5. Come to Hunt Bear [3:41] 6. From Eternity Back to Here [1:33] 7. Discussing Jenny's Well-Being [6:42] 8. Diana's Acceptance Speech [3:04] 9. Win Some, Lose Some [10:07] 10. Without Reservation [2:32] 11. Watching the Toilet Flush [1:01] 12. "Notice the Hump?" [4:04] 13. No Fun Anymore [3:29] 14. At the Awards [2:29] 15. A Loser and a Lady [1:02] 16. Early Birthday Present [1:29] 17. Twit & Twittette [2:09] 18. Waist Deep in Shallow Waters [3:25] 19. Never Say Never Again [9:48] 20. Millie Arrives [4:51] 21. "Got a Girl in Here?" [4:16] 22. Sex-Crazed in the Morning [3:00] 23. The Awful Truth [1:30] 24. Behaving With Dignity [2:58] 25. Suite Casualties [1:20] 26. "Not in Front of the Hooker." [5:19] 27. Friends Forever [:37] 28. "I Love You, Mother." [2:16] Side #2 -- Full Screen 0. Scene Selections 1. Start [2:22] 2. No Left Turns [2:42] 3. Doctors on Vacation [3:07] 4. Nine-Year Reunion [7:24] 5. Come to Hunt Bear [3:41] 6. From Eternity Back to Here [1:33] 7. Discussing Jenny's Well-Being [6:42] 8. Diana's Acceptance Speech [3:04] 9. Win Some, Lose Some [10:07] 10. Without Reservation [2:32] 11. Watching the Toilet Flush [1:01] 12. "Notice the Hump?" [4:04] 13. No Fun Anymore [3:29] 14. At the Awards [2:29] 15. A Loser and a Lady [1:02] 16. Early Birthday Present [1:29] 17. Twit & Twittette [2:09] 18. Waist Deep in Shallow Waters [3:25] 19. Never Say Never Again [9:48] 20. Millie Arrives [4:51] 21. "Got a Girl in Here?" [4:16] 22. Sex-Crazed in the Morning [3:00] 23. The Awful Truth [1:30] 24. Behaving With Dignity [2:58] 25. Suite Casualties [1:20] 26. "Not in Front of the Hooker." [5:19] 27. Friends Forever [:37] 28. "I Love You, Mother." [2:16]