Indiscretion of an American Wife / Terminal Station (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

Amazon.com Just as David O. Selznick and Alfred Hitchcock had clashed while filming Rebecca, the meddlesome producer left his Hollywood imprint on the troubled production of Vittorio De Sica's Terminal Station. Selznick's career was fading fast, and while self-exiled in Europe he seized on the notion of melding De Sica's masterful neorealism with a daring but otherwise conventional studio romance, casting big stars in a turgid melodrama about a Philadelphia housewife traveling in Rome (Jennifer Jones, Selznick's wife) who must choose between marital fidelity or illicit passion with a lovestruck Italian (Montgomery Clift) as she prepares to depart from Rome's coldly modern Stazione Termini. After De Sica's 89-minute Terminal Station tested poorly with audiences, Selznick cut the film to 64 minutes (excising most of De Sica's neorealistic atmosphere), added an 8-minute prologue of Patti Page singing two moody ballads to pad the truncated running time, and still failed to attract audiences with his gauchely retitled Indiscretion of an American Wife. Both versions are included on Criterion's magnificent DVD, allowing latter-day viewers a revealing comparison/contrast between Selznick's commercial taste (glossy and sentimental) and De Sica's artistic vision. Indiscretion turns Jones's overwrought character into a dimensionless focus of guilt and shame, lacking the moral depth of Terminal Station, in which her dilemma is more compellingly explored. Inevitably, only De Sica's version achieves Selznick's original goal: It's a remarkable hybrid of neorealism (with its authentic setting populated by people of all classes, subtly affecting the story) and Selznick's heavy-handed moralizing (with a partial dialogue polish by Truman Capote). Commentary by film scholar Leonard Leff and liner notes by critic Dave Kehr further illuminate this clash of formidable talents, illustrating how both films, gloriously restored, serve the divergent purposes of their creators. --Jeff Shannon Product Description Drama which features both Vittorio de Sica's original, full-length cut of the film Terminal Station (Stazione Termini) and producer David O. Selznick's edited American version, Indiscretion of An American Wife. Jennifer Jones stars as an American housewife vacationing in Italy who reluctantly decides to put an end to her brief affair with an Italian academic, played by Montgomery Clift. She flees to Rome's Terminal Station, where she bids him farewell, but he begs her to stay. Severely re-edited by Selznick after disappointing previews this disc presents both versions of the controversial film. Actors: Jennifer Jones Special Features: Includes new digital transfers of both versions of both versions of the film; Exclusive audio commentary on Indiscretion by film scholar Leonard Leff (Hitchcock and Selznick: The Rich and Strange Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and David O. Selznick); Original theatrical trailer; Promotional materials. Year: 1953 Runtime: 161 minutes Original Language: English.
ASIN: B0000A02U3
VSKU: DBV.B0000A02U3.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Jennifer Jones|Montgomery Clift|Gino Cervi|Richard Beymer|Vittorio De Sica
Binding: Dvd
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Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!