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WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Blake Edwards
Cast:
Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek, Robert Webber, Dee Wallace, Sam J. Jones, Brian Dennehy
Writing Credits:
Blake Edwards

Tagline:
A temptingly tasteful comedy for adults who can count.

Synopsis:
George Webber (Dudley Moore) is a successful songwriter going through a mid-life crisis in 10. When he meets a newlywed (Bo Derek), he follows her to a Mexican resort where he learns the lesson that one must be careful what one wishes for.

Box Office:
Opening Weekend
$3.526 million on 706 screens.
Domestic Gross
$74.865 million.

MPAA:
Rated R

DVD DETAILS
Presentation:
Widescreen 2.35:1/16x9
Fullscreen 1.33:1
Audio:
English Monaural
French Monaural
Subtitles:
English
French
Spanish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 122 min.
Price: $9.98
Release Date: 9/3/1997

Bonus:
• Featurette
• Cast and Crew Biographies
• Trailer


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EQUIPMENT
Sony 36" WEGA KV-36FS12 Monitor; Sony DA333ES Processor/Receiver; Panasonic CV-50 DVD Player using component outputs; Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five); Sony SA-WM40 Subwoofer.

RELATED REVIEWS

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"10" (1979)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (April 11, 2007)

My Dad allowed me to start to read Playboy at the age of 12, and I can partially thank 1979’s ”10” for that. We’d seen the flick at the theater in the fall of 1979, and star Bo Derek was slated to appear in the March 1980 issue of Playboy. I used the fact that I’d already seen her naked in the movie, so what harm would come if he bought the mag for me? Granted, that’s loose reasoning, so I’m pretty sure the Old Man would’ve allowed me to start my regular perusal of Playboy anyway, but at least ”10” helped give me the nerve to make such an argument.

Because of this, I maintain a soft spot in my heart for the sex comedy. Don’t expect a ton of plot here. Basically, man (Dudley Moore) has mid-life crisis, man pursues fantasy (Derek), man discovers that reality (Julie Andrews) is better than fantasy - the end! It’s not exactly fertile ground for rich characters and themes.

Essentially, "10" remains true to the Blake Edwards style of comedy: fair amounts of slapstick with occasional bits of semi-sophistication. While the humor in "10" only intermittently amuses, I do appreciate the fact that Edwards knew when not to force a joke. Throughout the film, he's not afraid to let gags develop in the background, where they actually work more effectively.

Too many filmmakers feel they must shove humor down the viewer's throat. They seem to fear that if they don't make the gag frightfully obvious, the audience will miss it. For example, during Animal House, the scene where a handyman tries to remove a dead horse from the dean's office while the dean conducts his business falters because director John Landis too explicitly focused on the handyman and the horse. Had he filmed the scene as though the dean's business was the focus, not the horse, it would have worked much more effectively.

Edwards peppers ”10” with segments like that, and it benefits from that approach. Scenes that otherwise might have fallen flat are given life simply because they're presented in such an ordinary way. The camera acts as if nothing special is happening, so the viewer feels like he discovers the humor, not like he's forced to laugh.

While I appreciated such attempts at subtlety, overall I found "10" to be only slightly above average. For one, it's a good 30 minutes too long. The project just seems more drawn it than it should be, and as a result, the story moves along much too slowly. We know that eventually George will somehow meet up with his dream girl, and while anticipation of this event makes the culmination of that search more interesting, it takes so long that the climactic scene lacks much of the excitement that it otherwise could have contained.

In general, the actors do well with their roles. "10" made Moore a star in America, and he handles the responsibilities of the role - both comic and dramatic - with aplomb. Julie Andrews doesn't have a whole lot to do in her role as George's long-time girlfriend, but her presence adds charm and class to the project.

Of course, the biggest impact created from "10" was that it made unknown Bo Derek into a mega-star. Rarely has so much ado been made about so little. Oh, she certainly was an attractive woman, but she lacked any semblance of acting skills. In this film, that's not really a problem, since the role required Derek to do little other than look sexy. She accomplished that task well. When we actually heard her speak and learned a little about her toward the end of the film, however, we saw how little talent that beautiful body actually included. I felt that the climactic scene in which George learns the foolishness of his quest lost a lot of its impact because Derek provided so little presence.

Still, ”10” remains a likable comedic fantasy. How much of my enjoyment comes from nostalgia, I can’t say. Whatever the case, it maintains enough life for me to enjoy it to a moderate degree.


The DVD Grades: Picture C-/ Audio C/ Bonus D

”10” appears in both an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 and in a fullscreen version on this double-sided, single-layered DVD; the widescreen image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Only the letterboxed picture was reviewed for this article. While the flick could’ve looked worse, it also could’ve looked a lot better.

Sharpness was usually fine. Though most of the movie displayed acceptable delineation, it occasionally seemed a little off. Wide shots were slightly ill-defined, but the movie usually exhibited fairly good clarity. I noticed some jags and shimmering along with some noticeable edge enhancement. Source flaws caused distractions via specks, spots and marks. These weren’t heavy but they appeared on a consistent basis, and I thought digital artifacting also created some concerns.

Colors varied. Daylight shots showed pretty nice life and vivacity, but other shots tended to be somewhat thick and muddled. This left the overall impression of the hues as mediocre. Blacks were excessively dark and without distinction, while shadows seemed murky and dense. Though parts of the flick looked pretty good, in the end I thought it was a below average transfer.

I also felt the monaural soundtrack of ”10” appeared decidedly lackluster. Speech was intelligible and lacked edginess, but the lines seemed somewhat dull. Music was similarly bland, as the score and songs displayed decent clarity without much vivacity. Effects never played a major role in this comedy, and they followed along the same lines as the other elements. These pieces were acceptably clean but never dynamic or memorable. I thought the mix was average for its era.

Only a few minor extras appear here. Cast presents basic biographies for director Blake Edwards plus actors Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek and Robert Webber. We get the film’s original trailer and a period featurette. The latter runs sdahkjdhsad and mixes movie clips, shots from the set, and interviews. We get remarks from Moore and Andrews. The piece covers the project’s origins, the cast, and the story. The clip is long on promotion and short on value.

”10” helped make stars of Dudley Moore and Bo Derek, and it remains a reasonably enjoyable flick after all these years. Though it never becomes great entertainment, it presents a fairly amusing and likable look at a midlife crisis. The DVD offers mediocre picture and audio along with negligible extras. This is a lackluster release for a pretty good movie.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3.7 Stars Number of Votes: 10
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