ECLIPSE SERIES 16: ALEXANDER KORDA'S PRIVATE LIVES

Eclipse Series sets are rolls of the dice - for every stunner (I have watched Eclipse's two Ozu sets multiple times), there are stinkers (the William Klein collection is a pretentious bore, and even the Kaurismaki set disappointed). The important thing to remember, though, is that Eclipse is the patron saint of hard-to-find cinema. Titles released under this arm of Criterion don't get the regal treatment of their high-profile editions, but they liberate what might be long-in-exile films from their vaults, and that alone makes the series one to applaud.

Alas, Alexander Korda's Private Lives is one of Eclipse's least engaging collection, a set of four films that showcase some wondrous performances but little more. It's a shame, because both the film and Criterion's edition of The Thief of Bagdad were gorgeous affairs, so the fact that Private Lives is a mishmash group of so-so pictures stings a bit.

We start with the most notable title here: The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). This Oscar-winning film houses a sensational performance from the inimitable Charles Laughton, but even with a runtime of an hour and a half, it drags, and the rest of the pictures here follow suit. The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934) benefits from Paul Czinner's classical direction (Korda produced this one but didn't helm it), but even a sassy turn from film legend Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. can raise the film from the period piece humdrum it contains. The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) is a tad better - it houses the last appearance of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., so it has a film-history imperative behind it, at least - but this Don Juan is relatively limp and lifeless compared to other films that center on the mythos of that inescapable character. And a film like Rembrandt (1936) could only succeed if a filmmaker was astute enough to use her/his camera to really peer into the troubled genius of its eponymous protagonist - unfortunately, even though the Korda/Laughton reteaming drums up a bit of intrigue toward the painter's life and times, Korda's direction never elevates the material to anything more than standard-grade historical piece.

But hey - Eclipse is still a viable entity. You can't win 'em all...