MR & MRS BRIDGE (DVD) DVD

Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (played by real-life "Mr. and Mrs." Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward) are well-to-do residents of Kansas City in the 1940s. So far as the Bridges are concerned, however, it's the 1920s, with Mr. Bridge treating his wife like property, regarding his grown children as if they're still adolescents, and habitually voting against that upstart Roosevelt. Though the underlying painfulness of such an archaic arrangement is never ignored, Mr. Bridges' obstinancy is for the most part amusing. The scene that seemed to please the audience most was the one in which Mr. Bridge orders Mrs. Bridge not to leave their table at their country club despite tornado warnings (they sit quietly in the deserted dining room while the building shakes and shudders). As for Mrs. Bridge, her "life" is totally defined by those around her--which in any other film would be a tragedy, but which here seems a logical extension of all that's gone before. Based on two separate novels by Evan S. Connell, Mr. & Mrs. Bridge is a rare excursion into Americana by the Ismail Merchant-James Ivory team. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Paul Newman as Walter Bridge Joanne Woodward as India Bridge Kyra Sedgwick as Ruth Bridge Blythe Danner as Grace Barron Margaret Welsh as Carolyn Bridge Simon Callow as Dr. Alex Sauer Robert Sean Leonard as Douglas Bridge (grown-up) Malachy McCourt as Dr. Forster Austin Pendleton as Mr. Gadbury Diane Kagan as Julia Saundra McClain as Harriet Gale Garnett as Mabel Ong Marcus Giamatti as Gil Davis

Crew Karen Schultz - Art Director Mary Kane - Associate Producer Humbert Balsan - Associate Producer Joanna Merlin - Casting Carol Ramsey - Costume Designer David Sardi - First Assistant Director James Ivory - Director Humphrey Dixon - Editor Robert Halmi, Jr. - Executive Producer Richard Robbins - Composer (Music Score) David Gropman - Production Designer Tony Pierce-Roberts - Cinematographer Larry Pizer - Cinematographer Robert Halmi, Sr. - Producer Ismail Merchant - Producer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Screenwriter Evan S. Connell - Book Author

Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
James Ivory and Ismail Merchant are better with the repressed emotions of Brits than Americans, but their track record eliciting memorable performances remains intact with Mr. & Mrs. Bridge. Though the film's real-life husband-and-wife team, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, were both roundly praised for their work, Woodward is the real standout, as the timid housewife whose few gestures toward independence get matter-of-factly squashed by her stern and humorless husband. Woodward is on the losing end of so many tiny skirmishes, most focused around the simple goals of lightening the mood and making people happy, that she eventually misplaces all of her resistance mechanisms. What's left is the apologetic laughter at her own foolishness, which Woodward acts with the perfect blend of practiced social grace and ingrained humiliation. Newman should be commended for accepting a part that's such a departure from his usual onscreen persona, but the performance is not without strain. It registers as so stiff and unyielding that one wonders whether it's Newman or the character who can't loosen up. A crucial flaw is that the characters never undergo transformation, a usual staple in narrative filmmaking; this could be because the script lacks spine and momentum, existing more as a series of illuminating windows into the Bridge world than a structured story. Merchant's story does produce telling observations about the inertia of idle American socialites, but they don't crystallize in a way that would deliver the film to lasting importance. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
 

Joanne Woodward: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actress (nominated) Joanne Woodward: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (nominated) Joanne Woodward: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Actress (nominated) Joanne Woodward: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Actress (winner) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Screenplay (winner)

National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: DDS: Dolby Digital Surround Additional Features: cc Dolby Digital Surround Sound Widescreen (1.66:1) enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1: Vistavision MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 125 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. One Big Happy Family [4:11] 2. Good Form, Mr. Bridge [2:32] 3. We Do Depend on Them So [3:13] 4. What's Up With India? [4:26] 5. Ruth [5:33] 6. The Leisure Class [5:02] 7. Ruth Takes Off [3:34] 8. The Bad Scout [3:06] 9. Tornado, So What? [5:49] 10. The Grand Tour [13:18] 11. Party On! [6:00] 12. Doug's Reading List [3:11] 13. Not to the Manor Born [8:12] 14. Carolyn's Wedding [4:11] 15. Julia, 20 Years Later [8:27] 16. Talking Stock [2:52] 17. War Movies [4:07] 18. Grace Comes Undone [7:32] 19. Carolyn Comes Home [5:35] 20. She Was My Best Friend [1:26] 21. Return of the Prodigal Son [6:53] 22. Anybody Out There? [3:34] 23. Epilogue [7:34] 24. End Credits [1:09]