My Cousin Rachel (1952)
Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Richard
Burton, Olivia de Havilland, John Sutton, Ronald Squire, Audrey Dalton, George
Dolenz, Tudor Owen
My Review and Thoughts:
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Twilight Time choose another classic in my book. I love this
movie. A solid cast. Tight direction, and awesome storyline. I love this
movie. This is based on one of my favorite
books, the masterpiece classic written by Daphne du Maurier, who also wrote the
wonderful classic Rebecca. This is a mystery romance. It is directed by Henry
Koster. Not only a director but also a huge screenwriter that wrote films in
the 20’s, 30’s, 40's, 50's, 60’s. He also wrote the screen play for the film I am
reviewing My Cousin Rachel. He was the screenwriter from such classics like
1947’s The Bishop’s Wife, 1950’s Harvey, 1953’s The Robe, which he directed all
three, and he was responsible for many other classic films. He directed 50
films. His last movie was the 1966’s The Singing Nun.
Starring the wonderful Richard Burton. Burton was a god and
total controller of all type of films. From the classic 1953’s The Robe, to
1961’s Camelot, 1963’s Cleopatra, he was and is someone I thought shinned in
every role he ever did. Burton is what I call a manly man actor. He was
sophisticated and to the point, and made you believe his characters on screen.
He died way to soon, 58 years old was a true shame. Twilight Time released
other films that Burton has been involved with such as Equus. Also, they released
the film 1984 which is a favorite of mine. 1984 was Richard Burton's last
film. He always brought to life thought provoking, intense characters, and the
character of Philip Ashley in My Cousin Rachel is no different. It's sad seeing
and knowing his mastery is forever silent, but as long as there are awesome
companies like Twilight Time to express important pieces of film, his legend
will live on.
Also starring the one and only beautiful goddess Olivia de
Havilland. Olivia is what I call the complete package when it comes to actresses.
She had the looks, the brains, the ability to create believable characters. She
has starred in some the greatest films of all time. All one must do is scan her
Award Worthy and award-winning career. Born in 1916 and as of this writing,
this amazing woman is still alive. 101 years old, pure perfection. She is one
of the remaining Golden Age of Hollywood icons. Her mastery, beauty and
everything about her bleeds perfected cinema. From the masterpiece of cinema,
my number one favorite film in my 100 films list, 1939’s tour-de-force Gone
with the Wind. Some of my personal
favorites of her career besides Gone with the Wind, is her wonderful work
alongside the sexy and handsome Errol Flynn. The two worked flawless together,
and the chemistry on screen between the two was perfection. They worked on the
amazing classic 1935’s Captain Blood, and in my viewpoint the best telling of
the legend, 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood. 1936’s The Charge of the Light
Brigade, 1938’s Four’s a Crowd, 1939’s Dodge City, 1939’s The Private Lives of
Elizabeth and Essex, 1940’s Santa Fe Trail, 1941’s They Died with Their Boots
On, are all fine examples of cinema perfection. Two of the greatest performers
of all time. Her many classic roles are films that are classic masterpiece
worthy cinema that leaves a historical stamp on motion picture history. She
shined in 1949’s The Heiress and 1948’s The Snake Pit, and so many others. She
began acting in 1935 and remained in the world of cinema both great and small
until 1988. She was a two-time Oscar winner for the performances in The
Heiress, and To Each his Own. She greatly deserved both.
She also was nominated two other times for an Oscar for The
Snake Pit and Gone with the Wind. She also won two Golden Globes and countless
other awards, from Emmy’s, Critics’ awards, and other Foreign Awards. She also
was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which I have visited twice in
my life. If you are ever out in Cali. Go and honor this legend, it’s located at
6762 Hollywood Blvd.
My Cousin Rachel is a fantastic film to experience. Twilight Time has brought this classic film to a new a generation of movie lovers. This High Definition Blu-ray is a beautiful example of mastery.
Audio/Video:
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Yet again as always. I am a broken record when it comes to
praising the Audio and Video department of these Special Edition Blu-rays.
Twilight Time has never let me down in this department. This Black and White
beauty has never looked any better. A perfection of High Definition and
brilliant crisp audio quality.
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1:33:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
1952 / B&W
Extras:
Special Features: Isolated Music Track: Music done by Franz Waxman. Waxman is brilliant. His vast career of music shines. He
is one of the best musicians to ever grace cinema. One of his greatest scores
was for the film Peyton Place, which Twilight Time honored with a Special
Edition Blu-ray yet sadly the isolated music was not given as a special feature
on it, which was a huge bummer. He also did the score for another Twilight Time releases that I recently reviewed, Sayonara. My Cousin Rachel is another one of his awesome
scores also, and you get it as a special feature alongside some of the effects
track. He died way to soon. 60 years old was such a shame. He left a world of
excellence for all to hear. His music is still being used today on soundtracks
and being composed for motion pictures and TV. Started in 1930 and did so up
until his death. A pure German composer that not only created music but allowed
the listener to become a part of the music. If there is ever one composer I
bring up all the time, it would be Waxman, because Waxman was music. It’s as if
the lyrical notes bled from his hands. A pure genius.
My Cousin Rachel Vintage Radio Show
Original Theatrical Trailer
Overall:
Another classic example of how to treat an older film giving
it a solid High Definition transfer. A beautiful crisp imagery and sound
quality. Twilight Time has done another wonderful example of Blu-ray
perfection. Highly recommend.
INFO:
Make sure you head over to www.screenarchives.com to buy all
the wonderful Twilight Time Blu-rays. The main page that gives you these
beautiful releases on top quality Special Editions.
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