The Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2 (1953)

¡Adoro estas películas!

Nuevamente, cinco de mis películas favoritas de Joan Crawford; sin duda un acierto de la Warner el editar estas cintas en DVD. Sólo tengo ciertos reparos acerca del formato del box set, que es un poco engorroso de manipular, comparado con el box set N°1 de Joan, con cajas independientes. Otra cosa es la ausencia de subtítulos en español o francés; pienso que se le habría dado una difusión más amplia y dado más categoría a los discos. También pienso que le sobran unos cortos animados, que nada tienen que ver con la Crawford, existiendo tanto material visual inédito sobre ella. Aún así lo importante es el contenido, que no obstante representa una muy buena selección de films y un trabajo de restauración impecable. Particularmente mi favorita fue "Torch Song": una explosión de color y estilo, sumado a unos temas musicales hermosos. Categoría aparte es el número musical de "Two faced woman", ¡la performance más freak de la historia del cine!.
Es de esperar que salgan a la venta otros sets de DVD de Joan Crawford; siento que los estudios están en deuda, con cintas como "Our dancing daughters", "Harriet Craig", "Susan and God" o "Letty Lynton", además de haber dejado pasar el aniversario 100 de su nacimiento (¡punto para Davis!... por ahora). July 8, 2008

Very good buy for the price

I enjoyed seeing a lot of the Joan movies that aren't the Blockbusters yet are very good movies! June 20, 2008

Joan Crawford Collection

The sound in Volume 2 seems to be all right, but all of the DVD's in Volume 1 have defective sound so serious it's impossible to hear at full volume. Unfortunately, I didn't view DVDs Volume 1 until I received Volume 2 and it is too late to return them. My advice is to check each DVD for quality as soon as you receive them. EB May 19, 2008

Gorgeous set

As a companion box set to The Joan Crawford Collection, this set works reasonably well: if the first set profiled the very best of Joan's middle career output, then this set takes us back, way back, to some of Crawford's earlier triumphs.

I won't review each movie in detail, suffice it to say that "Sadie McKee" is a classic example of Joan in Shopgirl-To-Socialite mode - not for everyone, particularly not when movies like "Mildred Pierce", "Possessed" or "A Woman's Face" show that Crawford's acting capabilities stretch far and beyond the limitations of Sadie's trite storyline - but is an enjoyable sort of "Pretty Woman" prototype nonetheless. "Strange Cargo" IS strange - gorgeous performances by Gable and Crawford in an ahead-of-its-time tale of morality and redemption that - dare I say it - doesn't work as well as it could have (again, a laboured and overlong script robs this film of the talents of its two principal stars).

"A Woman's Face" is a fabulous movie - if you can look past the dodgy makeup effects Joan turns in a stellar performance here, and the plot moves from drama to melodrama to thriller with polished facility, and I am delighted that this is finally out on DVD!! "Flamingo Road" is great, too - sure, we can't really believe coiffed, refined Joan as a carney stripper Lane Bellamy, but the film itself is well-made, well-acted and thoroughly enjoyable.

And "Torch Song". If you can picture Marlene Dietrich astride a pink unicorn, eating chocolate éclairs and blowing soap bubbles from her tiara, while "Pop Goes The Weasel" plays in the background, you are still nowhere near picturing the all-conquering campness of this particular motion picture.

And it's fabulous!

The presentation and extras on this set range from the ridiculous (vintage cartoons?!?!) to the sublime (audio recordings of Bette Davis and Ida Lupino in "A Woman's Face", Crawford's own vocal stylings for her ultimately dubbed role in "Torch Song", and pleasing Crawford & Gable and Jimmy Fund PSA shorts).

This is a very worthwhile purchase for any Crawford fan: what are you waiting for? Thoroughly recommended, and containing great examples of Ye Olde Chick Flick (Sadie McKee), searing dramatic talent (A Woman's Face, Strange Cargo) brilliant direction and storytelling (A Woman's Face, Flamingo Road) and boundless hilarity (Torch Song).

Get it right this minute! May 10, 2008

Joan Crawford Box Set 2 this set isn't as good as the first set, with the exception of, Flamingo Road and, A Woman's Face.

The Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2 (A Woman's Face / Flamingo Road / Sadie McKee / Strange Cargo / Torch Song) April 5, 2008

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