Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection

Seven Hilarious, Unforgettable Classics From The Father of Screwball Comedy
Featuring Four Films Never Before Available on DVD
Arrives November 21, 2006 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

BeansTalk note: Back in 1981, we were blithely attending USC film school. We went to school with a ton of people who are very successful. Unfortunately, we’re not really one of them. Reminiscences aside, one of the most memorable papers we had to write was on the great Preston Sturges. Everyone else was writing about Alfred Hitchcock. Not that we don’t love the original one-and-only Hitch, but at that time it seemed sort of obvious to write about him. Sturges’ “Lady Eve” remains one of our all-time favorite films. Sturges had a tragic life as we recall, but he would’ve been thrilled that at least three of his films are considered all-time classics.

Anyway, the reason for this entry is because Universal is releasing four of his films on DVD. So there you go.

For the first time ever, seven of the best films created by one of Hollywood’s first auteur directors are available together in Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection, coming to DVD on November 21, 2006 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Preston Sturges’ unique, witty and timeless comedies combine razor-sharp dialogue with laugh-out-loud slapstick to create fast-paced romps that remain as fresh and funny as the day they were first released. Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection captures the comic genius of a pioneering filmmaker with three of Sturges’ best known, most loved madcap comedies, along with four films never before available on DVD. The films boast a pantheon of Hollywood legends including Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Veronica Lake, Joel McCrea and Eddie Bracken as well as an ensemble of Hollywood’s best supporting players to create an unforgettable gallery of American rogues and heroes - often in the same character.

Sturges’ meteoric Hollywood career was fueled by an infinite talent for wordplay, an exuberantly irreverent sense of humor and remarkable insight into the human condition. Romantic without being sentimental, satirical but sympathetic, unpredictable and always entertaining, Sturges’ films sparkle with droll one-liners and clever double entendres characteristic of the Academy Award* winner’s unique filmmaking style. Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection includes his directorial debut The Great McGinty, with which Sturges made Hollywood history by becoming the first writer to direct his own script and winning the first Academy Award given for Best Original Screenplay.

Also included are cinematic gems Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Lady Eve, (all of which are on the American Film Institute’s list of Top 100 Comedies Of All Time), Christmas in July, The Great Moment and Hail the Conquering Hero. Perfectly timed for holiday gift giving, Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection will sustain the laughter through every season of the year. The special, seven-disc collector’ s set is priced at $59.98 SRP. Preorder close is October 17, 2006.