Billy
Wilder was one of the few directors capable of sustaining a comedy for
more than two hours without the film becoming tiresome or wearing out its
welcome. Clocking in at nearly two and a half hours, IRMA LA DOUCE
($15) is another of Wilder’s comic gems that manages to remain fun for
its entire running time. Billy Wilder’s film version of IRMA LA DOUCE
is based upon the Broadway musical, although Wilder threw out all the
songs, but retained the music, which was used as the background score for
the movie. Strangely enough, this treatment of the material proved to be
rather successful as IRMA LA DOUCE took home it only Oscar for its
music score.
Risqué
by 1963’s standards, IRMA LA DOUCE tells the story of a
prostitute in the red light district of Paris. Shirley MacLaine racked up
an Academy Award nomination for her comic portrayal of Irma La Douce- the
story’s resident streetwalker with a heart of gold. Into Irma’s little
world comes Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon), a rather naïve gendarme, who
actually gets thrown off the police force for performing an unscheduled
raid on the red light district. Following his dismissal by the police- and
through a series of amusing circumstances, Nestor ends up becoming Irma’s
new "protector." At first, the relationship works well enough;
however, Nestor falls in love with Irma and can’t stand the thought of
any other man touching her. The real comedy comes when Nestor hatches an
outrageous plan to maintain Irma’s career in the world’s oldest
profession, but preventing her from doing any actual "work." The
cast of IRMA LA DOUCE also features Lou Jacobi (in a wonderful
scene stealing performance), Bruce Yarnell, Herschel Bernardi, Hope
Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney, Cliff Osmond and Bill Bixby.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made IRMA LA DOUCE available on DVD in a
2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. This is a really nice transfer that appears quite sharp and
well defined. Colors are very vibrant and generally produce the look of an
original Technicolor print. MacLaine’s garish green stockings really
stand out in Technicolor, as do the other well-saturated hues. Color
reproduction is solid, appearing free from chroma noise or smearing. Black
are inky, white are crisp and contrast is very good. The film element used
for the transfer displays mostly minor blemishes and tiny scratches; yet
nothing beyond what one might expect from a nearly forty year old film.
Digital compression artifacts remain nicely camouflaged throughout.
IRMA
LA DOUCE comes with a fairly respectable Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. There is some background hiss here and there, but there aren’t
much by way of surface noise or other anomalies on the track. Fidelity is
decidedly limited, which leaves the Oscar winning music sounding a bit
thin and reedy. Still, the track will take a fair amount of amplification
without distortion. Dialogue is clean sounding and always completely
understandable. French and Spanish language tracks are also encoded onto
the DVD, as are French and Spanish subtitles. The basic interactive menus
allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as
well as a theatrical trailer.
IRMA
LA DOUCE is another Billy Wilder comic gem that his fans, or those of
Jack Lemon and Shirley MacLaine will want to add to their collections. MGM
has done a good job with the DVD, providing an attractive looking transfer
that should keep fans happy.
Billy
Wilder was one of the few directors capable of sustaining a comedy for
more than two hours without the film becoming tiresome or wearing out its
welcome. Clocking in at nearly two and a half hours, IRMA LA DOUCE
($15) is another of Wilder’s comic gems that manages to remain fun for
its entire running time. Billy Wilder’s film version of IRMA LA DOUCE
is based upon the Broadway musical, although Wilder threw out all the
songs, but retained the music, which was used as the background score for
the movie. Strangely enough, this treatment of the material proved to be
rather successful as IRMA LA DOUCE took home it only Oscar for its
music score.
Risqué
by 1963’s standards, IRMA LA DOUCE tells the story of a
prostitute in the red light district of Paris. Shirley MacLaine racked up
an Academy Award nomination for her comic portrayal of Irma La Douce- the
story’s resident streetwalker with a heart of gold. Into Irma’s little
world comes Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon), a rather naïve gendarme, who
actually gets thrown off the police force for performing an unscheduled
raid on the red light district. Following his dismissal by the police- and
through a series of amusing circumstances, Nestor ends up becoming Irma’s
new "protector." At first, the relationship works well enough;
however, Nestor falls in love with Irma and can’t stand the thought of
any other man touching her. The real comedy comes when Nestor hatches an
outrageous plan to maintain Irma’s career in the world’s oldest
profession, but preventing her from doing any actual "work." The
cast of IRMA LA DOUCE also features Lou Jacobi (in a wonderful
scene stealing performance), Bruce Yarnell, Herschel Bernardi, Hope
Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney, Cliff Osmond and Bill Bixby.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made IRMA LA DOUCE available on DVD in a
2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. This is a really nice transfer that appears quite sharp and
well defined. Colors are very vibrant and generally produce the look of an
original Technicolor print. MacLaine’s garish green stockings really
stand out in Technicolor, as do the other well-saturated hues. Color
reproduction is solid, appearing free from chroma noise or smearing. Black
are inky, white are crisp and contrast is very good. The film element used
for the transfer displays mostly minor blemishes and tiny scratches; yet
nothing beyond what one might expect from a nearly forty year old film.
Digital compression artifacts remain nicely camouflaged throughout.
IRMA
LA DOUCE comes with a fairly respectable Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. There is some background hiss here and there, but there aren’t
much by way of surface noise or other anomalies on the track. Fidelity is
decidedly limited, which leaves the Oscar winning music sounding a bit
thin and reedy. Still, the track will take a fair amount of amplification
without distortion. Dialogue is clean sounding and always completely
understandable. French and Spanish language tracks are also encoded onto
the DVD, as are French and Spanish subtitles. The basic interactive menus
allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as
well as a theatrical trailer.
IRMA
LA DOUCE is another Billy Wilder comic gem that his fans, or those of
Jack Lemon and Shirley MacLaine will want to add to their collections. MGM
has done a good job with the DVD, providing an attractive looking transfer
that should keep fans happy.
