"The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit" (1956) is something we don't get from our cinema-going experiences anymore; an analytic and methodical glimpse into the issues of family strain that either drive us to distraction or build our moral character. The film stars the quintessential man of integrity, Gregory Peck as Tom Rath. He's a congenial good natured gentleman whose career doesn't seem to be living up to the expectations of his wife, Betsy (Jennifer Jones). Prodded by Betsy's nagging, Tom takes on a more lucrative position at an ad agency, then discovers that a part of his almost forgotten past has come back to haunt him. During WWII Tom and fellow soldier buddy, Caesar Gardella (Keenan Wynn) picked up a pair of Italian girls and had some behind-closed-doors fun to alleviate the pressures of war and home sickness. That night results in the birth of an illegitimate child. What to do? Tell Betsy? Go to Italy? See the child? What to do? Working from a masterful bit of authorship by Sloan Wilson, director/writer Nunnelly Johnson has brilliantly conceived a poignant cinematic reflection of a man pushed to the edge of his temperament, who decides to rise to the occasion rather than toss everything he's worked hard for into the ash can. Gregory Peck is the very essence of manly integrity a stoic charmer that completely satisfies and buttresses the whole film. Yes, the ending is a rather matter-of-fact conclusion to the whole quandary, and in a manner befitting 50s sexual politics, but until then the story functions as something of a zeitgeist for honor, self-reliance and self-reflection in the every man that is sourly lacking in any of our contemporary representations of cinematic masculinity.
The transfer from Fox Home Video is, in a word, marvelous. It's Cinemascope (2:35:1) and glowing from corner to corner in the rich vibrancy of 50s Technicolor. Transitions between scenes suffer from the inherent flaw of all early scope movies (a momentary degradation in color and sudden grainy characteristic). But this is a flaw in the original photography, not the DVD transfer. Colors are rich, sumptuous and bold. Contrast levels are bang on. There are rare hints of film grain, mostly in the war time flashback that uses actual newsreel footage. Contrast levels are also a bit lower than one would expect during these scenes. Overall, the image will surely NOT disappoint. The audio is remixed to stereo and recaptures much of the original vibrancy of six track magnetic stereo. Extras include audio commentaries, trailers and a restoration comparison.
The transfer from Fox Home Video is, in a word, marvelous. It's Cinemascope (2:35:1) and glowing from corner to corner in the rich vibrancy of 50s Technicolor. Transitions between scenes suffer from the inherent flaw of all early scope movies (a momentary degradation in color and sudden grainy characteristic). But this is a flaw in the original photography, not the DVD transfer. Colors are rich, sumptuous and bold. Contrast levels are bang on. There are rare hints of film grain, mostly in the war time flashback that uses actual newsreel footage. Contrast levels are also a bit lower than one would expect during these scenes. Overall, the image will surely NOT disappoint. The audio is remixed to stereo and recaptures much of the original vibrancy of six track magnetic stereo. Extras include audio commentaries, trailers and a restoration comparison.