DRIVING
MISS DAISY ($20) is a genuine delight of a movie, which I really like
because it tells a very simple story in a tender manner, without any
grandiose pretensions. I would guess that enough people had similar
feelings about DRIVING MISS DAISY, because the film earned the
Academy Award for Best Picture of 1989, as well as one for its leading
lady Jessica Tandy. But then again, DRIVING MISS DAISY does have
quite a pedigree; starting out as a Pulitzer Prize winning play by Alfred
Uhry. In hindsight, one could almost say that the Pulitzer almost
guaranteed that the Motion Picture Academy would honor DRIVING MISS
DAISY in some form or other.
DRIVING
MISS DAISY tells the story of the unlikely friendship that is forged
between an elderly Jewish woman and the nearly as old African American man
who becomes her chauffer. Opening in late 1940s Georgia, DRIVING MISS
DAISY follows one Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy), whose advancing age
makes it impossible for her to operate an automobile safely. Daisy’s son
Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) is a wealthy businessman who solves his mother’s
problem by hiring Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman) to be Daisy’s chauffer.
Initially, Daisy resents Hoke because his presence in her home represents
a loss of her independence, but eventually the two develop a workable
relationship, which grows into a deep friendship over the next quarter
century.
In
addition to Jessica Tandy’s Oscar winning turn, DRIVING MISS DAISY
also features an outstanding performance from Morgan Freeman, who also
originated the role of Hoke on the stage. Tandy and Freeman have a
marvelous chemistry together on the screen and makes the film’s central
relationship completely believable. Of course, the film’s biggest
surprise comes in the form of comedian Dan Aykroyd, who gives a truly
marvelous dramatic performance. Aykroyd showed tremendous promise with
this performance, yet has never turned up in anything else that tests his
merits as a serious thespian. The cast of DRIVING MISS DAISY also
features Patti LuPone and Esther Rolle.
Warner
Home Video has made DRIVING MISS DAISY available on DVD in a 1.78:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. This is a very nice transfer that brings out the simple beauty
of Peter James’ understated cinematography. Much of the film would
appear to have been shot with a slight diffusion filter over the lens, so
the image on the DVD isn’t as razor sharp as many have come to expect
from the format. Still, the picture produces excellent detail, allowing
one to appreciate the production design and period settings. Colors are
nicely saturated, without ever appearing exaggerated and flesh tones are
quite natural, despite some of the age makeup applied to some of the
actors. Blacks are accurate, white are clean and the picture has a nice
sense of depth. Digital compression artifacts are always well camouflaged.
Surprisingly,
DRIVING MISS DAISY sports a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel stereo
surround soundtrack, instead a 5.1 channel remix. I guess since the film
is primarily dialogue driven, transcribing the original Dolby Surround
stems into the discrete format wasn’t deemed necessary. In Dolby
Surround, the rear channels provide a nice sense of ambience, as well as
adding some musical fill to Hans Zimmer’s lilting score. There is a some
stereo separations in the sound effects, but there is nothing particularly
pronounced. Dialogue is very cleanly rendered, with the actors’ voices
retaining warmth and character. Not a particularly inspired soundtrack,
but it does sound nice enough. French and Spanish language tracks are also
provided on the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as few nice supplements. Director Bruce
Beresford, screenwriter Alfred Uhry and producer Lili Fini Zanuck are on
hand for a running audio commentary. Although recorded separately, the
edited result produces an informative and fairly entertaining commentary
track. Also included on the DVD are several featurettes. Jessica
Tandy: Theater Legend to Screen Star is a six minute look at the
actress’ career, featuring interviews with those who knew and worked
with her. Miss Daisy's Journey from Stage to Screen is an
eighteen minute program that traces the projects difficult path from
Pulitzer Prize winning play to Academy Award winning motion picture.
Finally, there is the original 1989 making-of featurette, which is a
fairly standard six minute PR piece. Closing out the supplements are a
theatrical trailer, cast/crew filmographies and an awards list.
I
am a big fan of DRIVING MISS DAISY and am glad that the Academy
Award winning Best Picture has finally been given a quality DVD release.
Having the film in 16:9 enhanced wide screen is something that movie fans
have been longing for since the early days o the DVD format. Those of us
put off by the former full screen release can finally enjoy Jessica Tandy’s
Academy Award winning turn, as well as the terrific performances of Morgan
Freeman and Dan Aykroyd. Highly recommended.
DRIVING
MISS DAISY ($20) is a genuine delight of a movie, which I really like
because it tells a very simple story in a tender manner, without any
grandiose pretensions. I would guess that enough people had similar
feelings about DRIVING MISS DAISY, because the film earned the
Academy Award for Best Picture of 1989, as well as one for its leading
lady Jessica Tandy. But then again, DRIVING MISS DAISY does have
quite a pedigree; starting out as a Pulitzer Prize winning play by Alfred
Uhry. In hindsight, one could almost say that the Pulitzer almost
guaranteed that the Motion Picture Academy would honor DRIVING MISS
DAISY in some form or other.
DRIVING
MISS DAISY tells the story of the unlikely friendship that is forged
between an elderly Jewish woman and the nearly as old African American man
who becomes her chauffer. Opening in late 1940s Georgia, DRIVING MISS
DAISY follows one Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy), whose advancing age
makes it impossible for her to operate an automobile safely. Daisy’s son
Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) is a wealthy businessman who solves his mother’s
problem by hiring Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman) to be Daisy’s chauffer.
Initially, Daisy resents Hoke because his presence in her home represents
a loss of her independence, but eventually the two develop a workable
relationship, which grows into a deep friendship over the next quarter
century.
In
addition to Jessica Tandy’s Oscar winning turn, DRIVING MISS DAISY
also features an outstanding performance from Morgan Freeman, who also
originated the role of Hoke on the stage. Tandy and Freeman have a
marvelous chemistry together on the screen and makes the film’s central
relationship completely believable. Of course, the film’s biggest
surprise comes in the form of comedian Dan Aykroyd, who gives a truly
marvelous dramatic performance. Aykroyd showed tremendous promise with
this performance, yet has never turned up in anything else that tests his
merits as a serious thespian. The cast of DRIVING MISS DAISY also
features Patti LuPone and Esther Rolle.
Warner
Home Video has made DRIVING MISS DAISY available on DVD in a 1.78:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. This is a very nice transfer that brings out the simple beauty
of Peter James’ understated cinematography. Much of the film would
appear to have been shot with a slight diffusion filter over the lens, so
the image on the DVD isn’t as razor sharp as many have come to expect
from the format. Still, the picture produces excellent detail, allowing
one to appreciate the production design and period settings. Colors are
nicely saturated, without ever appearing exaggerated and flesh tones are
quite natural, despite some of the age makeup applied to some of the
actors. Blacks are accurate, white are clean and the picture has a nice
sense of depth. Digital compression artifacts are always well camouflaged.
Surprisingly,
DRIVING MISS DAISY sports a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel stereo
surround soundtrack, instead a 5.1 channel remix. I guess since the film
is primarily dialogue driven, transcribing the original Dolby Surround
stems into the discrete format wasn’t deemed necessary. In Dolby
Surround, the rear channels provide a nice sense of ambience, as well as
adding some musical fill to Hans Zimmer’s lilting score. There is a some
stereo separations in the sound effects, but there is nothing particularly
pronounced. Dialogue is very cleanly rendered, with the actors’ voices
retaining warmth and character. Not a particularly inspired soundtrack,
but it does sound nice enough. French and Spanish language tracks are also
provided on the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as few nice supplements. Director Bruce
Beresford, screenwriter Alfred Uhry and producer Lili Fini Zanuck are on
hand for a running audio commentary. Although recorded separately, the
edited result produces an informative and fairly entertaining commentary
track. Also included on the DVD are several featurettes. Jessica
Tandy: Theater Legend to Screen Star is a six minute look at the
actress’ career, featuring interviews with those who knew and worked
with her. Miss Daisy's Journey from Stage to Screen is an
eighteen minute program that traces the projects difficult path from
Pulitzer Prize winning play to Academy Award winning motion picture.
Finally, there is the original 1989 making-of featurette, which is a
fairly standard six minute PR piece. Closing out the supplements are a
theatrical trailer, cast/crew filmographies and an awards list.
I
am a big fan of DRIVING MISS DAISY and am glad that the Academy
Award winning Best Picture has finally been given a quality DVD release.
Having the film in 16:9 enhanced wide screen is something that movie fans
have been longing for since the early days o the DVD format. Those of us
put off by the former full screen release can finally enjoy Jessica Tandy’s
Academy Award winning turn, as well as the terrific performances of Morgan
Freeman and Dan Aykroyd. Highly recommended.
