Oh! I thought this was another one of those John M. Stahl movies that had later been remade by Douglas Sirk, but I got it confused with… probably… All That Heaven Allows? So I haven’t seen this one before.
Huh… This looks very… restored.
OH MY GOD! His face is made out of rubber! This has been totally over-restored — it’s just 2K, but it seems like they’ve totally degrained it and… smoothed it? Criterion, c’mon. You gotta know when to stop.
But other than that, it looks great.
Heh.
I love the idea of setting these scenes outdoors. There’s gotta be like five people just out of screen with reflectors to get the light everywhere… Looks really good, even if over-restored.
EEEEK
Is it possible that they were just really really heavy handed with the make up?
Nah, it has to be the restoration. I don’t think it’s meant to look like this.
I mean, this is very pretty, too, but I betcha it would have been stunning in a new 4K scan without all the smoothification. It’s just disturbing how plastick-ey this looks. Not a grain in sight.
I mean, look at these shots…
Stahl and his cinematographer were just insane. It’s just one gorgeous shot after another.
I mean, look at this! This could be the prettiest movie ever (except Zuckerbaby, of course).
Every shot is on point.
Vincent Price!?
Heh, twin beds because of the Hays Code, but then she gets into bed with him! *gasp*
Oh, I think I may have misunderstood this movie… I thought it was a romance or a weepie… but is it a noir!? Is she a psycho who’s planning to kill the brother!?
Wow, what a matte painting.
OK, this movie isn’t perfect. The third quarter of this movie drags — once it’s been revealed what this movie is about, we have to follow the characters around for a bit too long. But then there’s the ending, which is the most over-the-top melodramatic thing ever! Fantastic.
But more than anything, I just loved the cinematography on this. Every single shot had something interesting going on — something beyond the call of duty. Something that could have been a perfectly fine static shot is a dolly shot, and a talk that really didn’t need to happen in front of the most magnificent mountains… does. The melodrama is over the top, and so is the cinematography.
Heh — it won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, and was nominated for All The Technical Awards, like Set Decoration. Understandable. And! It was also Fox’s highest grossing movie of the decade, according to the documentary on this disc.
Leave Her to Heaven. John M. Stahl. 1945. ⚅
