[.ca] Whales Of August

LEGENDS TO THE END:
Watching this film after several years was something of a bitterwsweet experience - it looks wonderful on DVD - it's beautifully photographed and has a subtle, haunting musical score. But its reason for being is as the final showcase for the acting of two screen legends to whom everyone in Hollywood today owes their careers - Lillian Gish, who invented screen acting during the silent era, and Bette Davis, who reinvented it after sound came in. "Life fools you," Davis says in the film, and she could have been referring to herself - it's hard to believe this is the Bette Davis of JEZEBEL and DARK VICTORY, of THE LITTLE FOXES, NOW VOYAGER, and ALL ABOUT EVE, even of WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? Age, illness and, yes, life - had taken their toll on her. But, she has her moments here - oddly enough, her best are without dialog, such as when she brushes a lock of her dead husbands hair across her cheek, while Gish has the lovely "passion and truth" monologue. Ah well - they don't make 'em like these gals anymore!

top movie:
You need to be an adult to enjoy this movie. Betti Davis is just great. The film it self is just beautiful and Lilian Gish is fantastic. The ocean is very pretty and their home is great. I have only owned it a little over a month and I have watched it already three times. I truly love Betti Davis and even though she is really old in this movie she still is great. Buy it, you will enjoy it.

One of my favorite films:
When I watched this as a young man of 20 I fell in love with it. It is not an action film. It is a beautiful story of deep characters as they find themselves having become old. It is a story of reclaiming yourself, even at the end of your days. It is one of the last films of Bette Davis and Vincent Price. They gave magnificent performances that I still treasure. I have waited a long time for this to come on DVD!! One of my favorite quotes is from Bette Davis. She was told by her sister that "Memories fade with time." Bette, portraying her blind sister, proudly proclaims in her best Bette Davisness - "That has not been my experience!"

DVD offers best presentation in years:
As you can see from the earlier reviews, this movie is well-loved. This is the first time since its release in 1987 it can be seen in its original aspect ratio. This DVD also brings alive the colors of the Maine island where these actors gave their final film performances. The print does suffer from small imperfections but are not very noticable. Sound is an unenhanced stereo. The disc offers no extras other than chapter selection. It is too bad a little more effort was not put into a film that is significant to the filmographies of the stars. Overall, if you have seen this movie on cable and enjoyed the fine acting you will be impressed with the visual improvements this DVD brings.

A MOVIE EVENT!:
A gorgeous movie to watch and own. What more can you say about a movie with Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Ann Sothern and Vicent Price in it? A film that brings talent, beautiful scenery and a great story line together to make an "epic picture" and puts it into a 91 minute treasure.