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I'll admit it, I was planning on reading the famous book by Nabokov
book before I wrote this review. After all, Lolita is often mentioned
as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. I moseyed
over to my local small town public library, but my plan was foiled
upon discovering that they do not carry the book, even though they
do have two lesser known works by Lolita's author, Vladimir Nabokov.
Or perhaps I should say mildly surprised. After all, the subject
matter is definitely controversial enough to deter some libraries
from carrying it.
This controversial
nature, combined with a rich and challenging story, are probably
what attracted Kubrick to Lolita. Kubrick was just coming
off his stint as director of Spartacus, a film whose success
elevated Kubrick's status, enabling him to pick and choose
a project over which he would exert total control. Kubrick
would possess this exacting control over Lolita and his seven
later films, and this is probably why he chose not to include
Spartacus and his early MGM films in The Kubrick Collection.
Humbert
Humbert (James Mason) is a distinguished, well-educated Englishman
who is looking for a quiet place where he can continue his
writing pursuits. His search includes a visit to the house
of a middle-aged widow (Shelley Winters). Just when it appears
he has been scared off by the advances of Ms. Haze, she decides
to show him the yard, on which is perched her bikini clad
daughter Lolita (Sue Lyon). The sight of Lolita brings about
a change in Humbert, whose eagerness is communicated when
he asks Haze when he can move in.
Is this
movie about pedophilia? When I think of pedophilia, I think
of some sleazy scumbag taking advantage of an eight year-old
prepubescent neighbor. But Lolita is hardly prepubescent.
And Humbert hardly fits the sleazy scumbag stereotype, externally
anyway. What does age signify after all? Is Lolita really
any less mature than her mother, whose silly disposition makes
her easy prey for men like Quilty and Humbert, and who dutifully
keeps a shrine to her late husband, seven long years after
his death? Eons ago it was not unusual for an older man of
high social standing to marry a very young girl. How does
that factor into Humbert and Lolita's relationship? After
all, is Lolita not better off with Humbert than some deadbeat
her own age who can barely provide for her, both monetarily
and emotionally? Is Humbert taking advantage of Lolita, or
is it the other way around? What is Kubrick trying to say
by injecting many humorous moments into the story even as
Humbert's darker side is revealed?
The performances
are exemplary. In fact, I am not sure if I have come across
a movie that had three such stellar performances. I guess
credit has to be shared by Kubrick, the screenplay, and Mason,
Sellers, and Winters (yes, Shelley Winters was quite an actress
for a few years). Sellers' performance at the beginning of
the film is electric. I wonder how many takes they did of
the Roman ping pong scene. Remarkably none of them were nominated
for Academy Awards. Sue Lyon is fine as Lolita, although I
have a feeling her performance was more Kubrick's doing than
her actual acting talent. That impression is strengthened
by the horror show that marks the last few titles of her filmography.
Going from Lolita and Night of the Iguana to Evel Knievel,
Smash-Up on Interstate 5, and Akaza, the God of Vengeance?
Whew!
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Lolita might
be the best looking Kubrick DVD issued by Warner. But it is
still disappointing. There are still quite a few scars apparent
from the original picture element. These momentary specks
and blemishes were not that noticeable on my first viewing
of the DVD when I was more engrossed in the events of the
film, but looking at the DVD again I found this litter to
be much too frequent. I wonder if any attempt was made to
"clean up" the picture by using modern technology.
If a cleanup did take place, then the film elements used must
have been in poor condition. Sharpness and detail are the
best aspects of this DVD. During the opening credits brightness
exhibits instability, but this problem is fleeting. A few
seconds at the beginning of chapter 28 look especially bad.
Fortunately this DVD has no compression artifact problems.
One last
thing that I would like to mention has less to do with the
quality of the DVD and more to do with a choice made by Kubrick.
During the driving scene rear screen projection is used to
simulate that the car is actually moving down the road. This
filming technique has been employed all the way back to the
silent era because of its ease and economical nature. But
I find it horribly distracting in its falsity. This is the
one aspect of older films that I would not mind George Lucas
tinkering with, because I do not think he could make it look
any worse than it already is.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
I have read
consumer reports of a lip sync problem during the early scenes
of the DVD. Perhaps the sound is slightly off, but it is barely
noticeable. In fact, I am sure I would not have noticed anything
wrong had the alleged problem not been on my mind when I watched
it. The mono sound is perfectly clear without any hiss or
distortion. The film has no need for it, but wide dynamic
range is not evident, and low end sound will not be heard.
All in all I was quite content with the sound, and Kubrick's
musical choices make it even more enjoyable.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? The main
menu music is a nice addition, but does not really count as
a substantial supplement. The packaging claims the DVD contains
production notes, but I was unable to locate them. The page
with award information is quite worthless. The trailer reveals
how the studio tried to sell and promote this movie. Unexpectedly
they play up the controversy, which I would call an unusual
choice during the still conservative early 1960s.
Parting Thoughts
Considering
the whole package, the presentation of Lolita is not much
better than Warner gives to its budget line. But for some
reason Warner is charging the maximum price that it charges
for any of its DVDs. I like the fact that Warner has a multi-tier
pricing structure, but they should be consistent in their
choice of titles for each tier. The sound is very good, the
picture could be better, and the supplements are lacking,
so I am hesitant to recommend purchase of this DVD unless
you really like the movie.
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