Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12168 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-27
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 132 minutes

Synopsis
Given that she throws tantrums, gets intoxicated, and pushes people away when she needs them the most, it's a wonder New York theater star Margo Channing has any true friends. But when Eve, Margo's young and innocent-seeming protegee, schemes to gain both the affection of Margo's friends and a starring role originally written for Margo, the actress discovers just who is in her corner and who is not. Released in 1950, ALL ABOUT EVE's power radiates undimmed through the years. The role of aging stage star Margo Channing is considered by many to be the best of Bette Davis's career, as Davis reveals and conceals Margo's vulnerabilities with a skill seldom seen onscreen. Anne Baxter is also marvellous as the subtle Eve, whose glowing enthusiasm masks a cold, calculated ambition. Both actresses garnered Best Actress Oscar nominations, and the film in its entirety took 14 nominations, winning seven of them, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. George Sanders was awarded Best Supporting Actor for his biting portrayal of potent, nasty theater critic Addison DeWitt. Consistently listed among the best films of all time, director-writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz's ALL ABOUT EVE shouldn't be missed; the acting, writing, and directing are unequivocally brilliant.

Customer Reviews

Pristine, crystal clear transfer for an amazing film
All About Eve is generally accepted in the film critic's world as having a faultless script, brilliant dialogue, multidimensional characters, brilliant cinematography and atmospheric music. Everything about it, they say, is perfect.

Although i wouldn't place All About Eve above Dekalog or Le Mepris, it certainly is always up there among my favourites. It tells the story of luckless Eve Harrington(Anne Baxter at her best), who is taken under the wing by famous actress Margo Channing (Bette Davies at her best). What follows from then on is incredibly interesting and features flawlessly realised characterisation, i wouldn't want to spoil the film for you by revealing the plot, but this is a film about women, and features some superbly catty remarks and underhand actions. It's consistantly in books of the greatest films of all time, and must be so.

The twist and turns of the suprising but beautifully restrained plot make this a worthwhile purchase on that alone, but bringing everything else into account it makes it a must have for anyone interested in classic films.

Picture quality is perfect, It appears Cinema Reserve truly do what they say on the tin (excuse the pun!) Special features include 4 fairly interesting featurettes, commentaries, news clips and a trailer

You won't regret buying this absolute genius of a film!!

Fasten Your Seatbelts....
Far more eloquent people than I have extolled the virtues of this classic - not least, the Academy themselves who nominated it for an unbeaten 14 Oscar nominations (it won 6).
It's not often one can say a movie is perfect, especially one over half a century old - and yet this movie does just that. It is a perfect fusion of cast, director, and above all, script. And what a genius screenplay it is - literate, without ever being elitist. Scathing and caustic yet never lacking warmth, it is remarkable that such an insightful movie about women was made by a man - Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
The story revolves around Eve Harrington, a young woman who appears as an adoring fan at the theatre back door, waiting for Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis. At first doting and adoring, then insinuating into her affairs, and then showing her ultimate goal - to take her place, Anne Baxter plays Eve with great restraint - allowing her eyes to shine bright with a sincerity we soon come to realize is hollow. While Eve represents all the young ingénues that wait in the wings, Margo as played by Bette Davis is a unique and uniquely well rounded and believable character - not least because it mirrored her own character so much. Scathing, brassy, and yet increasingly vulnerable as her 40th birthday passes, it is the sort of role that even today Hollywood actresses complain there is not enough of, and brilliantly portrayed through an almost permanent haze of cigarette smoke, as much a part of her character as the script. That 40th birthday party, incidentally, contains the infamous line - `fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night..'. Then there is Celeste Holm (heard on one of the commentaries) and a small first screen role for Marilyn Monroe, who, as is often said, appeared to draw all the light on herself when she was on the screen.
Let's not forget the men though - Gary Merrill, later to become Bette Davis real life husband, plays the object of Bette Davis attentions, and is no push-over. When Eve turns her attention on him, he rebuffs her with the harsh "What I go after, I want to go after. I don't want it to come after me.". And then most of all, George Sanders, his mellifluous speech purring out bemusement and cynicism in equal measure, and who turns out to have teeth to go with the purr.
Every character and every line deserves a mention, but instead of reading this review- watch the movie! It's no screwball comedy, but rather a superb character study and ensemble piece, which glitters with wit and talent.

As a bonus, this Cinema Reserve tin set do the movie some justice - the movie itself has two commentaries, and the second disc has a couple of period interviews (more amusing for the dated way in which the actresses spout prescripted answers, than they are educational) and a half hour documentary which though short, covers some of the fascinating backstory to the movie and its real life parallels pretty well.
All in all, great movie, great package, highly recommended.

Wonderful Film
I bought this film because I'm a huge Marilyn Monroe fan and my mum is a big Bette Davis fan. Never having seen this film before, I thought "Why not?", especially as it was only £8 and it came in a special edition metal case (it matches my Seven Year It and Some Like It Hot dvds in metal cases). I'm so glad that I did. This film is absolutely wonderful! It's funny, charming and is a film that stays with you. I can see why my mum likes Bette Davis. She wasn't considered your classic Hollywood icon, but she brings this film to life. It's definately worth owning, I love this film and highly recommend it. I'm on the look out now for some other 'classic' Bette Davis films, to see just what else she is capable of!