292 Unfaithfully Yours

[Martha]

Unfaithfully Yours



In this pitch-black comedy from legendary writer-director Preston Sturges, Rex Harrison stars as Sir Alfred De Carter, a world-famous symphony conductor consumed with the suspicion that his wife is having an affair. During a concert, the jealous De Carter entertains elaborate visions of vengeance, set to three separate orchestral works. But when he attempts to put his murderous fantasies into action, nothing works out quite as planned. A brilliantly performed mixture of razor-sharp dialogue and uproarious slapstick, Unfaithfully Yours is a true classic from a grand master of screen comedy.

Special Features

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• Audio commentary by Sturges scholars James Harvey, Diane Jacobs, and Brian Henderson
• New video introduction by writer-director Terry Jones
• New video interview with Sturges's widow Sandy Sturges
• Gallery featuring rare production correspondence and stills
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Plus: a new essay by novelist Jonathan Lethem

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

[Brian Oblivious]

Unfaithfully Yours is another one of Sturges' masterpieces. Because it was made at Fox rather than Paramount, doesn't feature many of his Stock Company players such as William Demarest, wasn't made during his famously fertile 1940-1944 but rather during his "decline", and wasn't a hit with audiences at the time, it tends to get lumped in with inferior pictures like Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend and the Sin of Harold Diddlebock by some Sturges fans. I emphatically disagree (and I'm not the only one). It admittedly has a somewhat different "feel" from his string of Paramount hits, but got some huge laughs, a wonderful lead performance from Rex Harrison, and is at least as much of a statement by Sturges on the nature of film directing as Sullivan's Travels is (though where that film focuses on the place of the artist in relation to the world, this one is more about the process of creation itself). In other words, I think its up there with the two Criterion Sturges films, as well as Christmas in July, the Miracle of Morgan's Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero.

Good music in it too.

[Jaime_Weinman]

I always liked the fact that the conductor in this film is obviously based on Thomas Beecham, the British conductor -- even his repertoire is based on Beecham ("Your Delius? Delirious!"). Though I suppose that as the film goes on he becomes more and more of stand-in for Sturges himself.

[cdnchris]

I've been dying to see this movie ever since I saw it mentioned on the supplements of the other Sturges discs. I can't find it anywhere on VHS. It just sounded like a sick sort of comedy, and I like those (Arsenic and Old Lace, though over the top, I get a kick out of.)

I just have to ask, though, is it really more of a dark comedy? Does it have a sort of sick sense of humour? I'll probably blind buy it anyways, so I guess it doesn't matter.

[Derek Estes]

I really love this movie! I think at times it's perversely dark. It doesn't suprise me that it was a failure at the box office at the time it was released. I mean there are several Film Noir that are as dark if not darker, but the average person expecting a Preston Sturges comedy surely felt brutalized after leaving the theater. I'm glad to see more Sturges appear on DVD, and the Criterion treatment will make this a must have!

[Gordon]

The UK edition from Optimum via Fox, is excellent: luminous transfer, revealing interviews with Sandy Sturges and Terry Jones (and his cat!).

I can't see me replacing it with the Criterion, unless there is an extra-special extra.

Brilliant film. We need all of Sturges' films on DVD.

[alandau]

Sorry to spoil the party, but IMO this is not one of Sturges' best films. It lacks the creative wit and chaos of his Paramount gems (40-44).

I found the film difficult to sit thru. And this is watching the Fox Laserdic print which had an excellent transfer.

[Gordon]

Sullivan's Travels is one of best films ever made - period. It's an extraordinary film in every sense. Very, very funny, but also quite hard-hitting; whimsical, yet stark. A true 'lesson in screenwriting', if ever there was one.

Easily one of Criterion's finest discs. Totally essential.

[kschell]

Are we jumping the gun on this one, or is it a definate?

http://img169.exs.cx/img169/3909/criterion25gs.jpg
It's totally "definate"

I dunno... I have one of those sheet... a few years old now... listing "A Room With a View"

[justeleblanc]

So are we going to delete this thread, now that it turns out that it was just a joke?

[Andre Jurieu]

This was real and has been since confirmed

viewtopic.php?t=1992&start=0

This was a fake

viewtopic.php?t=2059

If it turns out that the first one was really a fake, we will know by the end of the month and I'm sure that our admin will delete the threads.

[Brian Oblivious]

I found the same catalog at my local Virgin Megastore as well the other day.

[devlinnn]

It admittedly has a somewhat different "feel" from his string of Paramount hits, but got some huge laughs, a wonderful lead performance from Rex Harrison, and is at least as much of a statement by Sturges on the nature of film directing as Sullivan's Travels is (though where that film focuses on the place of the artist in relation to the world, this one is more about the process of creation itself).

It has been a while since I've seen it, but I totally agree with Brian here. Harrison's sublime performance (did he ever falter on screen?) really is the surrogate Sturges at his most naked, showing us the dangers (both comic and tragic) of the artist who is fully aware of his gifts, but blinded by ego to the environment he inhabits. I think we can also read into the title of the film that what we have is an open letter by Sturges to those very close to him, as a way of seeking forgiveness and understanding for his personal shortcomings as a lover, father, friend etc. That he could so so in a major Hollywood production with a stellar supporting cast (Linda Darnel never more ravishing; Rudy Valley devilishly annoying and dead-on hysterical) only supports his genius as a writer/director/artist.

The Criterion DVD will be essential and treasured viewing.

[devlinnn]

Dr. Doolittle is Harrison's Two Faced Woman - any poor bugger would have suffered with such screen competition. He wears those slacks and boots well though, so give him a little credit. Staircase is one of the few Donen's I have never been able to see - it has always sounded too awful to be true.

[ltfontaine]

Because it was made at Fox rather than Paramount, doesn't feature many of his Stock Company players such as William Demarest, wasn't made during his famously fertile 1940-1944 but rather during his "decline", and wasn't a hit with audiences at the time, it tends to get lumped in with inferior pictures like Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend and the Sin of Harold Diddlebock by some Sturges fans.

Herewith a very belated reply to the premise that The Sin of Harold Diddlebock is an "inferior picture like Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend." While the film fails to attain the delirious heights of Sturges' best work in the early Forties, it is nevertheless a very enjoyable comedy with generous helpings of undiluted Sturges genius. The first half of the film is pretty much uniformly up to snuff, including the priceless long scene in which Harold Lloyd, Franklin Pangborn and Edgar Kennedy concoct and consume the potent potable dubbed, in Harold's honor, "the Diddlebock." The film admittedly runs out of steam somewhat during the protracted hijinks with Jackie, the lion, but The Sin is well worth viewing by those who enjoy Struges' other films. The performance by Lloyd, especially, rises well above the movie's other limitations.

[Brian Oblivious]

Good point, Itfontaine. Though Sin of Harold Diddlebock is inferior to Unfaithfully Yours and the Paramount pictures, to simply lump it in with the all-but-unwatchable Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend without comment was unfair of me. Diddlebock is a severely flawed but nevertheless quite enjoyable film, and it even expands at least one of Sturges' key themes as an auteur, that of the "good fairy".

David Thomson even has a nice thing or two to say about Beautiful Blonde... though (in the context of Betty Grable's career, anyway). I'd like to hear a full defense of it from someone sometime.

[Ashirg]

Amazon and DVD Soon have it for pre-order for July (12th or 19th)

[lull]

Fox are releasing Howard Zieff's Unfaithfully Yours (1984) starring Dudley Moore on DVD June 7, 2005.
hmm. dunno which one i'm gonna get now.

[Sai]

The specs are up, and they continue the trend of an audio commentary on a lower-tier disc.

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer

- Audio commentary by Sturges scholars James Harvey, Diane Jacobs, and Brian Henderson

- Video introduction by writer-director Terry Jones

- Video interview with Sturges’s widow Sandy Sturges

- New essay by novelist Jonathan Lethem

- Gallery featuring rare production correspondence and stills

- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

[kieslowski]

Presumably the Terry Jones and Sandy Sturges pieces are ported from the UK R2 Second Sight disc...

[FilmFanSea]

Nearly three weeks before its July 12th streetdate, the first review of Unfaithfully Yours is up at DVD Talk, and it is far from fawning. The "star" ratings seem unusually harsh, particularly when compared with the text.

[tryavna]

Nearly three weeks before its July 12th streetdate, the first review of Unfaithfully Yours is up at DVD Talk, and it is far from fawning. The "star" ratings seem unusually harsh, particularly when compared with the text.

Yeah, I'm not sure what to make of this review, particularly when it contains odd, unsubstantiated claims like:

Though it was a dud in theaters and today is one of Sturges' least respected films

Actually, it's rated pretty highly by many film critics. Leonard Maltin, for example, gives it his highest rating of 4 stars. I'd also place it highly in the Sturges canon -- perhaps a bit below Sullivan's Travels and The Lady Eve and Miracle at Morgan's Creek, but above others like Christmas in July and The Great McGinty.

Or:

The obvious changes to Sturges' style that marked his downfall as America's top filmmaker are evident here, and it's hard to argue that he had already begun his spiral.

Then there's no evidence offered to convince me that this film demonstrates a declining skill on Sturges' part.

All in all, an odd review.

[Anonymous]

As a Criterion fan, I am a regular lurker here, and keep an eye on what people think of my reviews. I appreciate your notes on my review, and I have made a few edits to make my points clearer, as I didn't do so the first time around it seems.

I bumped up the star ratings on the audio and video a bit to be more in line with my comments. The star ratings are very difficult to match to the comments, as I can be more specific in writing than I can be with star levels.

I adjusted my quote about it being one of Sturges' least respected films to be more specific. I meant as one of his least-respected from those glory years when he was pumping out pure magic three times a year. But I do believe it is uneven and below the quality of the five Sturges films you mentioned.

The spiral/downfall quote... I should have said "hard to argue he hadn't already" (which is corrected now.) I don't think it was a skill thing so much as a style issue. I can't imagine an earlier Sturges film attempting the comedy (ill)attempted in this one. Perhaps it was the influence of his work on "The Sin of Harold Diddlebock" that led to this, but no matter what, I think it was a downward departure for him.

The DVD just didn't do the same things for me that Criterion's previous Sturges films did, and felt just average to me. Considering the studio's work, their average is still of a "Recommend" level, but its not as good as other films they've worked on.

But, that's what's great about opinions. We all get to have one. Thanks for reading.

[ben d banana]

This is yet another hearty "fuck you" to the folks calling 2005 a disappointment. Contains easily the best (intentional) laugh at

SpoilerShow

a woman getting slashed to death with a razor

that I can recall.

[jorencain]

Well, not too many comments about this one...I just watched this for the first time and have mixed feelings about it. It's very odd for a film to start as a comedy, become as serious as this one does, and then move into an extended slapstick climax, leading to an overly sappy ending. I enjoyed the movie, but it took me a little offguard (similar to my reaction to the various acting styles in the Coens' "Ladykillers"). Perhaps my expectations got in the way, but I think I wanted it to be a little funnier than it was; the dialogue is more clever than funny.

I also think Sturges overplayed his hand a little during the climax - tripping over the phone and falling through chairs 90 times became a little monotonous. I know he likes to push those little physical comedy things to the extreme (the tux-staining in "The Lady Eve", falling in the pool in "Sullivan's Travels"), but this time it got to me a little. It was charming in the other two films - a little grating this time.

At the same time, viewed more as a drama, I think it's very effective and good. The dialogue is very clever, of course, and the themes of paranoia and jealousy are really well presented. I loved the huge discrepancy between how the events were imagined by Rex Harrison and how they actually played out; it's very real and a great study in how people view themselves and others.

So, it's a mixed bag for me, and I think I need to watch again before making any final judgements.