Two Cool Movies Coming To DVD

Night Of The Iguana, with Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr, Sue Lyon, and Ava Gardner; directed by John Huston. Here's a synopsis/review from a blog called Like Anna Karina's Sweater:

When a film's pre-credit sequence has Richard Burton (as a priest) suffering a complete nervous breakdown in front of his parishioners, you know you're in for something special. Of all the filmed adaptations of Tennessee Williams' plays, John Huston's Night of the Iguana (1964) is easily one of the best. This tale of a defrocked, alcoholic priest (Burton) and the various women in his life contains the typical Williams themes -- guilt, repressed sexuality. and spiritual torment. The best thing about the film (besides the wonderful black and white photography by cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa) is the performances by the three leads -- Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr.

Some have claimed that Richard Burton is being too Richard Burton in the film, but Filmbrain believes it is one of his best performances, running a close second to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Ava Gardner, looking a bit haggard after her Sinatra years, gives a stellar performance, as does Deborah Kerr. Sue Lyon, in a near reprise of her role in Lolita, looks right for the part, but simply cannot keep up with her co-stars.

The story is set in Mexico, and most of the action takes place at a mountaintop inn run by Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner). Locked out of his church, the alcoholic Reverend Lawrence Shannon (Burton) now operates bus tours of Mexico for wealthy American women. He incurs the wrath of Judith Fellowes (Grayson Hall -- born to play this sort of character) when she suspects that Burton has seduced nymphomaniac jailbait passenger Charlotte Goodall (Sue Lyon). Determined to destroy him, Burton has no choice but to hijack the group and keep them at his friend Maxine's inn in order to prevent Judith from reporting the affair to both the tour company and the clergy. Also staying at the hotel is Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr) a New England spinster traveling with her ninety-two year old poet grandfather Nonno (Cyril Delevanti). A great hodgepodge of characters as only Williams can create.

The world at the inn is one dominated by women -- the nymphet, the vamp, the spinster and a handful of old crones -- and Burton finds himself increasingly set upon by all of them. In fact, other than Maxine's two servants cum sexual playthings, Pepe and Pedro (always shown shirtless and shaking maracas), Burton is the reluctant rooster in the hen house. (The bus driver, old poet, and stoned Chinese cook pose no threat to that paradigm.) Though he and Maxine have had a sexual past (even while she was married), he's more consumed by chasing his demons than the women who desire him.

The dialogue is sharp from start to finish, and screenwriter Anthony Veiller did a great job with the adaptation. For example, when Maxine suspects that Hannah has eyes for the Reverend, she brushes it off with "I'm a New England spinster who is pushing forty", only to be met with Maxine's "Well who the hell isn't?" Or when it's revealed that Ms. Fellowes' hatred of the Reverend is due to her own Sapphic desire for the young Charlotte, Maxine (she really has the best lines) delivers the following -- "Do you know that if it wasn't for the dikes, the plains of Texas would be engulfed by the gulf?" -- a great way to address a then-taboo subject.

Yet Night of the Iguana is truly Burton's film. Whether he's screaming at parishioners, walking on broken glass, or thrashing about while tied to a hammock -- this is a masterful performance. The paranoia, the fear, the fever-driven madness -- Burton pulls it off without once going over the top. The pristine letterbox print that shows occasionally on Turner Classic Movies is ripe for DVD -- hopefully someone will resurrect this wonderful film so that all can experience it.


Also for the first time on DVD - The Loved One, featuring James Coburn, John Gielgud, Jonathan Winters, Liberace, Milton Berle, Robert Morley, Robert Morse, Rod Steiger, Roddy McDowall, Paul Williams, and Tab Hunter; directed by Tony Richardson. How could all of these wildly disparate actors be in the same film? Well, this is not your average movie. jotix100 had this to say on the Internet Movie Database:

...this acerbic satire about the funeral business was written by Evelyn Waugh, an Englishman who saw the excesses about the art of preparing "the loved ones" for their final send off into eternity. The magnificent screen play is credited to Terry Southern and Christopher Isherwood, although other writers were also involved in its adaptation. The brilliant black and white cinematography by Haskell Wexler still has original crispness in the copy that was shown, which might have been because of a DVD format we saw.

The story is seen through Dennis Barlow,a young Englishman who comes to L.A. for a visit. He looks for his uncle, Sir Francis Hinsley, who works for a movie studio. Sir Francis moves among the English expatriates that had a love/hate relationship with the film industry, but who had better lives than in England. At least, in Los Angeles, they were seen as a rarity with tremendous panache, in sharp contrast with the uneducated heads of studios and so-called stars.

When Sir Francis dies in tragic circumstances, the Brits decide to appoint young Dennis to select the proper way to bury him. That's how Dennis comes to Whispering Glades, the ultimate resting place for the privileged and the famous. To say he suffers culture shock, is to put it mildly. Nothing prepares him for the excesses he sees in the place, that is being run by the mysterious Rev. Wilbur Glenworthy. It's here that he meets and falls in love with Aimee, the girl that is promoted to be the first woman embalmer. He is shown about what to order by the unctuous Mr. Sarles who wants him to pick the best the place has to offer. Dennis is also puzzled by the way the embalmer, Mr. Joyboy, has prepared Sir Francis for his friends to see him at the place.

Dennis, not having a job, is recruited by Henry Glenworthy in helping with the pet cemetery. He meets enough weirdos to last a lifetime. Henry, a businessman himself, decides to add a novel way to send the pets skyward by hiring young Gunther. The devilish Rev. Wilbur sees the invention and wants it for Whispering Glades. In an incredible finale, young Gunther achieves greatness by creating the send off to end all send offs.

The amazing thing about "The Loved One" is the performances Tony Richardson got out of all the actors in the film. Robert Morse is Dennis, a naive in the land of fantasy. Jonathan Winters playing dual roles of Henry and Wilbur Glenworthy, is in top form. Rod Steiger as the mad embalmer, Mr. Joyboy, has one of the best moments of his career. Anjanette Comer shows an affinity for Aimee. John Gielgud makes a wonderful Sir Francis. Paul Williams is young Gunther. But Liberace, who wasn't known as an actor, makes a devastating appearance as the salesman in the Whispering Glades showroom, the man who wants to offer nothing but the best for "the loved one" in his final appearance...

Night Of The Iguana comes out on DVD May 2nd, The Loved One on June 20th.