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| Naked
City |
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| Starring: Paul Burke, Horace McMahon,
Harry Bellaver, Nancy Malone Guest
Starring: Robert Duvall, Sylvia Sidney, Albert Salmi, Dennis Hopper,
Ben Piazza, Eli Wallach, George Maharis, Walter Matthau,
Lois Nettleton, Theodore Bikel, Keir Dullea
Directed by: John Brahm, Tay Garnett,
Buzz Kulik, Arthur Hiller, David Lowell Rich, Elliot Silverstein |
Broadcast Release: 1960/61
DVD Release: 2003
Released by: Sony Pictures Television/Image Entertainment Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Full screen |
More Class Television A&E has
just released the final two volumes of the 1968 The Avengers season on DVD
(***1/2). This was the last official season of the popular show, though it was to be
briefly revived later as The New Avengers. For the ’68 shows, Emma Peel (Diana
Rigg) was replaced by Tara King (Linda Thorson). Steed (Patrick Macnee) remained the same
stalwart anchor as ever. So much brouhaha is justifiably made over the seasons with Rigg
that the excellent qualities of the Thorson season are often overlooked. The plots and
scripts were zippy, the dialogue crisp, the action fast, and the pacing often better than
in earlier seasons. The best scripts were still written by series producer Brian Clemens.
The standout on these two discs is "Pandora," an episode in which King is placed
in extreme peril, as a prisoner in a house where strange things are going on. It reminds
one a lot of "The Joker" from the ’67 season, in which Emma Peel is placed
in similar danger. Close inspection reveals that Clemens wrote that one, too. No surprise!
The transfers on these recent DVDs are quite good, though
the prints are not always pristine. When they are good, though, they are very, very good.
Hot colors were a trademark of both the show and the era in which it was filmed. Take
King’s apartment, for instance. Its opposing walls are painted in garish colors: teal
blue and yellow, with purple and red accents, set off by maroon carpet. And the costume
designers were most likely to dress her in something that contrasted totally with her
surroundings, say purple or green. All of these bright colors will be a feast for the eye
on a properly adjusted monitor, and they are handsomely reproduced on these DVDs. The
overall effect is one of glorious clutter and every detail of it is not only colorful but
also sharply etched in singular detail. The soundtrack, which carries, in addition to
dialogue, Laurie Johnson’s all important music score, is clean and serviceable, with
period distortion only cropping up now and then. Each disc has a set of still frames as
well as a chapter search menu. The discs may be purchased separately as volumes 9 or 10,
and are also sold as a set in a slipcase.
...Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com |
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The guest stars provided the more human element of the
stories, playing people who resonated with reality: tortured, caring, complicated, and
very true to life. Since the show had such respected directors and writers, it was
possible to hire some of the best talent around for guest spots. Some of the highlights of
the eight, hour-long episodes presented on the two DVDs (available separately as volumes 1
and 2): Robert Duvall, balding but still with some hair, playing a loser who must confront
his past while holed-up with his opera-star aunt; Dennis Hopper as a tortured psychopath
who sadistically tortures and murders young women to avoid confronting his needs; the
gangland vengeance that polarizes two brothers played by Paul Stevens and Ben Piazza; and
Theodore Bikel as a model husband and father who, unknown to his loving family, works as a
hired killer. The scripts really let the actors to get into these meaty roles, allowing
the audience to see what makes them tick and how they became the way they are.
The shows used innovative camera work for impact, and a
compelling score by jazz-band-leader Billy May, both of which helped to keep the show very
"New York." One could never watch this program and pretend it happened anywhere
but in the Big Apple.
The DVD presentation is excellent, in as far as it goes.
There are four episodes to each disc. The black-and-white picture has generally good
contrast, and is pretty sharp and clean. It’s not as good as the reference black and
white on something like Down By Law, but is not washed out like the usual TV
late-show presentation. "Good" is the operative word. The mono sound is more
like "serviceable." The overall level is a bit low, so you will have to crank up
your volume control a bit. The dialogue is good, but the music could have a little more
dynamic range, especially since it is so well written.
Overall, this is an exceptionally literate and enjoyable
show, presented adequately. One wishes there were some extras, even a history of the show
and biographies of the actors, but there is absolutely nothing at all beyond an episode
and chapter menu. While missing those things, I have to be grateful that this show has
appeared on DVD at all. This is no doubt thanks to Image Entertainment, always willing to
take risks to put interesting, often excellent programming out for the DVD-buying public.
Unfortunately, it looks as though these eight episodes are it. At this juncture, Image has
no plans to produce any more volumes of Naked City. Do not write your Congressman,
write Image Entertainment! |
