Yankee Doodle Dandy [Special Edition] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Michael Curtiz's Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) never had a significant history on video, apart from the dubious honor of being the first Warner Bros. title to be released in a colorized version on VHS tape and television. This DVD makes up for that neglect, with about two weeks' worth of viewing and listening material, covering a lot more than the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy, though that is a handy jumping off point. The first and most obvious virtue of this disc is the sparkling new transfer (in glorious black-and-white), looking and sounding better than existing theatrical prints. The contrast and density have been adjusted and balanced within and between each shot from an extraordinarily clean source print. The 125-minute movie has also been given a very generous 38 chapters, with each major plot development and performance number labeled. The real beauty of this release, however, are the bonus materials. The wall-to-wall commentary track by Rudy Behlmer is one of the finest ever done, crediting every relevant player and walking us through the shoot day-by-day and shot-by-shot. Behlmer even credits future director Don Siegel for his montage work in the movie, which is among the film's oft-unheralded virtues, and delineates the uncredited contributions of writers Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. There's barely a bit player missed, or too many details of James Cagney's career overlooked in Behlmer's narration, or much about George M. Cohan that's not here. The big challenge with this movie, in terms of commentary, is keeping up with the unusually large number of memorable moments that were improvised on the spot, leaving one even more impressed with the results. Behlmer's commentary is like a movie in itself, and a delightful one, carrying the viewer into the two bygone entertainment worlds that produced Cohan and which produced Cagney and Yankee Doodle Dandy. The other special visual feature on disc one is the most easily overlooked: "A Night at the Movies," which describes what a full evening's entertainment at the movies was like in 1942, with excerpts from trailers, newsreels, cartoons, and a patriotic short, all hosted by Leonard Maltin. It is accompanied by a list of Academy Awards won by Yankee Doodle Dandy and a list of cast and crew. Disc two is highlighted by the biographical featurette, "James Cagney: Top of the World," hosted by Michael J. Fox, which includes interviews with friends and colleagues such as David Huddleston, Mae Clarke, Joan Leslie, Virginia Mayo, Jack Lemmon, producer A.C. Lyles, screenwriter Julius J. Epstein, and Cagney's daughter Casey Cagney Thomas, as well as audio interview material with Cagney. The featurette doesn't slight Cagney's personal life or his politics, which led him to co-found the Screen Actor's Guild, and even mentions his successful lawsuit against Warners in 1936. The early Cagney movies excerpted for this documentary are fairly rare and look so good that one hopes that Warner Bros. is thinking about releasing them on DVD as well. The account of Cagney Productions is a little too brief, as well as slightly inaccurate (the company made more than three movies), although it does explain the connection between that company and the making of White Heat -- but then it jumps to Mr. Roberts from White Heat, instead of delving into the relationship between White Heat and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, his personally produced answer to the earlier movie. Despite its minor flaws, the documentary by itself is almost worth the price of this double-disc set. "Let Freedom Sing: The Story of Yankee Doodle Dandy" is equally fine, with film historians Bob Thomas and John McCabe leading off an account of the production that starts with George M. Cohan's life and career. It fills in any holes in Behlmer's commentary track, and adds visuals to the narrative account, including a tribute to Cagney's brother William, who handled the business side of the actor's career, and also to Joan Leslie (who appears) and Frances Langford, though the best part is the account of Cohan's later life and his reaction to the movie. There's a serious remembrance of Cagney by John Travolta, and then the disc gets to the delightful peripheral influences of the movie, a pair of classic Looney Tunes cartoons, Yankee Doodle Daffy and Yankee Doodle Bugs. The former is a stitch, with a manic Daffy Duck tormenting studio chief Porky Pig in his pitching of a new acting talent, which allows the lunatic waterfowl to do musical excerpts from the Warner library, even from musical numbers that were never produced. A patriotic wartime Warner Bros. short, You, John Jones, presenting Cagney in an unusually low-key, reflective role, rounds out the visual library supplements. There are also song rehearsals and audio-only outtakes, mostly featuring Cagney with piano accompaniment, and a radio presentation of highlights from Yankee Doodle Dandy presented on the Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater show of October 19, 1942, with James Cagney, Walter Huston, Joan Leslie, and Jeanne Cagney, plus images of Cohan sheet music and production stills, and poster and publicity art from the movie. All of these supplements are easy to access, through multi-layered menus that pop up automatically and are well-delineated. The internal menus are similarly easy to use, and the selections advance automatically with each choice as it concludes. The whole release is an embarrassment of riches, the biggest problem of which will be finding the time to enjoy all of it. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: French, English, Spanish
• Features:
  • cc All-new digital transfer from restored picture and audio elements
  • Rousing documentaries chronicling the movie's making and James Cagney's career
  • Audio commentary
  • "John Travolta Remembers James Cagney"
  • Leonard Maltin hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1942 with trailer, newsreel, dramatic short, cartoon and Cagney in wartime short "You, John Jones"
  • More vintage cartoons
  • Galleries of art/photo/publicity materials and James Cagney trailers
  • Audio-only extras: Radio show and pre-recording session outtakes/rehearsals

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Actor - 1942 (James Cagney)
•     Won Best Score - Musical - 1942 (Ray Heindorf, Heinz Roemheld)
•     Won Best Sound - 1942 (Nathan Levinson)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1942 (Michael Curtiz)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 1942 (George J. Amy)
•     Nominated Best Original Story - 1942 (Robert Buckner)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1942
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1942 (Walter Huston)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• Film Daily

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1942

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1992

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Acting - 1942 (James Cagney)

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Actor - 1942 (James Cagney)

• New York Times

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1942

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       James Cagney - George M. Cohan
       Joan Leslie - Mary Cohan
       Walter Huston - Jerry Cohan
       Richard Whorf - Sam Harris
       Irene Manning - Fay Templeton

• Director:

  Michael Curtiz, Hugh MacMullan

• Producer:

  Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner

• Screenwriter:

  Robert Buckner, Edmund Joseph

• Cinematographer:

  James Wong Howe

• Composer (Music Score):

  George M. Cohan, Heinz Roemheld

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Leo F. Forbstein

• Editor:

  George J. Amy

• Art Director:

  Carl Jules Weyl

• Associate Producer:

  William Cagney

REVIEWS:

• Yankee Doodle Dandy was one of the best World War II-era patriotic propaganda films, and it has proven itself enduringly popular in the decades following its release. The film succeeds almost entirely on the performance of James Cagney as legendary song-and-dance performer George M. Cohan, although significant credit should also be given to director Michael Curtiz, who expertly stages each scene to display the talents of his star. The film features an over-the-top framing device in which Cohan tells his life's story in flashback to President Franklin Roosevelt. The story is effectively fiction, using only the outline of Cohan's life and some of his songs as reference points. The musical sequences are among the best in any film of the era. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, including Best Actor for Cagney. The real-life Cohan died shortly after the film's release, living long enough to see it and like it despite, or perhaps because of, its lack of accuracy about his life. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
• {#Yankee Doodle Dandy} was one of the best World War II-era patriotic {\propaganda films}, and it has proven itself enduringly popular in the decades following its release. The film succeeds almost entirely on the performance of {$James Cagney} as legendary song-and-dance performer {$George M. Cohan}, although significant credit should also be given to director {$Michael Curtiz}, who expertly stages each scene to display the talents of his star. The film features an over-the-top framing device in which {$Cohan} tells his life's story in flashback to {$President Franklin Roosevelt}. The story is effectively fiction, using only the outline of {$Cohan}'s life and some of his songs as reference points. The musical sequences are among the best in any film of the era. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, including Best Actor for {$Cagney}. The real-life {$Cohan} died shortly after the film's release, living long enough to see it and like it despite, or perhaps because of, its lack of accuracy about his life. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide

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