Sweet smell of success [videorecording] / Metro Goldwyn Mayer ; Hill, Hecht and Lancaster present a Norma-Curtleigh Productions picture released through United Artists ; screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman ; produced by James Hill ; directed by Alexander Mackendrick.
Material type:
FilmPublisher number: CC1980D | The Criterion CollectionSeries: Criterion collection (DVD videodiscs) ; 555.Publication details: [Irvington, N.Y.] : Criterion Collection, [2011]Edition: Special edDescription: 2 videodiscs (96 min.) : sd., b&w ; 4 3/4 in.+ 1 booklet (56 p. : ill. ; 19 cm.)ISBN: - 1604653876
- 9781604653878
- Sweet smell of success (Motion picture).
- Photographed by James Wong Howe ; music scored and conducted by Elmer Bernstein ; songs by Chico Hamilton and Fred Katz ; art director, Edward Carrere ; costumes designed by Mary Grant ; set decorator, Edward Boyle ; sound recording, Jack Solomon.
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Notes | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult DVD
|
Dr. James Carlson Library | DVD | DRAMA Sweet sm | Available | Missing 56pg booklet. 10/15/12 | 33111006852277 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Ernest Lehman drew upon his experiences as a Broadway press agent to write the devastating a clef short story "Tell Me About Tomorrow." This in turn was adapted by Lehman and Clifford Odets into the sharp-edged, penetrating feature film Sweet Smell of Success. Burt Lancaster stars as J. J. Hunsecker, a Walter Winchell-style columnist who wields his power like a club, steamrolling friends and enemies alike. Tony Curtis co-stars as Sidney Falco, a sycophantic press agent who'd sell his grandmother to get an item into Hunsecker's popular newspaper column. Hunsecker enlists Falco's aid in ruining the reputation of jazz guitarist Steve Dallas (Martin Milner), who has had the temerity to court Hunsecker's sister Susan (Susan Harrison). Falco contrives to plant marijuana on Dallas, then summons corrupt, sadistic NYPD officer Harry Kello (Emile Meyer), who owes Hunsecker several favors, to arrest the innocent singer. The real Walter Winchell, no longer as powerful as he'd been in the 1940s but still a man to be reckoned with, went after Ernest Lehman with both barrels upon the release of Sweet Smell of Success. Winchell was not so much offended by the unflattering portrait of himself as by the dredging up of an unpleasant domestic incident from his past. While Success was not a success at the box office, it is now regarded as a model of street-smart cinematic cynicism. The electric performances of the stars are matched by the taut direction of Alex MacKendrick, the driving jazz score of Elmer Bernstein, and the evocative nocturnal camerawork of James Wong Howe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Based on the novellette by Ernest Lehman.
Originally released as a motion picture in 1957.
Special features: Disc 1. Commentary by film scholar James Naremore; Theatrical trailer. Disc 2. "Mackendrick: the man who walked away" Scottish television documentary (1986); "James Wong Howe: cinematographer" documentary (1973); "Gabler on Winchell" video essay with film historian Neal Gabler; James Mangold interview. Booklet: Gary Giddins essay; "On the writing of Sweet smell of success" by Ernest Lehman; "Hunsecker fights the world" by Ernest Lehman; "It's the little things that count" by Ernest Lehman; "Mackendrick and Odets" by Paul Cronin.
Disc 1. The film -- Disc 2. The supplements.
Photographed by James Wong Howe ; music scored and conducted by Elmer Bernstein ; songs by Chico Hamilton and Fred Katz ; art director, Edward Carrere ; costumes designed by Mary Grant ; set decorator, Edward Boyle ; sound recording, Jack Solomon.
Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Marty Milner, Sam Levene, Barbara Nichols, Jeff Donnell, Joe Frisco, Emile Meyer, Edith Atwater, Chico Hamilton Quintet.
Burt Lancaster stars as barbaric Broadway gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker and Tony Curtis is Sidney Falco, the unprincipled press agent he ropes into smearing the up-and-coming jazz musician romancing his beloved sister.
Rating: Not rated.
DVD; region 1, NTCS; widescreen (1.66:1) presentation; Dolby Digital mono.
Subtitled for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH).