Reviewed by Colin Jacobson
Columbia-TriStar, widescreen 2.35:1/16x9, standard 1.33:1, languages: English Dolby Surround [CC], Spanish & Portuguese Digital Stereo, subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai , double side-single layer, 28 chapters, Production Notes, Photo Montage, Vintage Advertising, Talent Files, Theatrical Trailers, rated PG, 113 min., $24.95, street date 4/18/2000.
Academy Awards: Won for Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor-Arthur O'Connell, Best Score, 1956. Directed by Joshua Logan. Starring William Holden, Kim Novak, Cliff Robertson, Rosalind Russell, Susan Strasberg. It's Labor Day weekend, and fresh off a freight train is Hal Carter (William Holden), a happy-go-lucky drifter who's looking for a brand new start in life. A robust, handsome show-off, Hal has come to Kansas to seek gainful employment in his old fraternity brother Alan's family granary. But despite his high hopes and expectations, Hal's ambitious plans soon go away when his sexual magnetism attracts every woman in town, including 19-year-old Madge Owens (Kim Novak) -- the alluring young beauty queen who also happens to be Alan's girlfriend.
Ever watch a movie and wonder if the film was based on a play? Umm... probably not, but if this does occur, here's an easy way to tell: If characters in the movie make statements such as, "Sure is a scorcher today! Oh, when will this hot weather end! We sure could use some rain!" then you're probably dealing with an adapted play. Okay, I can think of at least one exception; Do the Right Thing often used similar phrases, but I'm sure Spike Lee was attempting to convey that stage-based feeling with his film. (Why do so many stage characters discuss the weather? I figure it's because plays have few other ways to convey this information. Movies can show heat, rain, snow, etc. more graphically, but it's not so easy on stage, especially when dealing with such a non-visual quality like high temperatures; other elements can be faked, but heat's a lot tougher to show.) This is the kind of information that occurred to me while I watched Picnic, which indeed was based upon the Pulitzer Prize winning play by William Inge. I thought of such issues because the movie itself gave me little about which I cared. Picnic isn't a terrible film, but it's kind of a silly one that lacks much real substance.
Frankly, I don't much like stage plays, mainly because of their overly broad
qualities, but one thing I care for even less is filmed plays. Too many of
these do little to modulate the material for the big screen; they come
across simply as photographed versions of the originals with few attempts to
adapt the work.
I never saw a stage version of Picnic so I can't say how many
similarities it shares with its Hollywood sibling. Clearly the locations
have been opened up a great deal. Unlike something such as A Raisin In
the Sun - which rarely leaves its one-room setting - Picnic
offers a wide variety of locales, so at least it takes advantage of the
cinematic medium in that way.
Unfortunately, that's the only way it does so. The remainder of the movie
sounds and feels like a play. Characters in those projects always talk
about the big things they're going to do someday, and all of the ways life
has disappointed them; plays are filled with big old monologues about such
issues, and so is the movie of Picnic.
It's all so much roil and toil without purpose, though. I really have
little idea what the point of Picnic was. The characters are all
pretty flat, with little insight into their beings other than as cardboard
cutouts. As a romance, it lacks sizzle or spark, though maybe it's hotter
than I think but I was just too annoyed at the fact everyone seems to think
Kim Novak - who I always thought looked kind of odd - is so much more
beautiful than the rather cute Susan Strasberg. I've never understood why
Hollywood has so much trouble with this issue; it's so rare that a
supposedly bland or unattractive character actually is.
That's not the only casting problem. It doesn't help that star William
Holden is supposed to play a guy who's apparently in his mid-twenties when
the actor was actually 37 at the time! Holden does a better job than I'd
expect - he looked pretty buff in the role - but I still have a hard time
accepting him as so young. (Speaking of Holden, take a gander at the cover
photo of him and Novak - every time I glance at it I can't help but think
how feminine he looks! There's something about his pose and the way his
shirt drapes over his arms - it looks like he's wearing a strapless gown.
Very odd!)
While I didn't find Picnic to be a complete dud, it seems clear that
the movie hasn't aged well. It's a part of the Fifties that feels stuck in
that era and doesn't translate well to modern times. Add to that an awkward
"staged" feel to the whole project and you have a less-than-compelling
movie.
(One possibly interesting aside: Picnic shares a lot of connections
to Disney movies. In A Bug's Life, the play is mentioned as one that
the ant colony performed. We also find a character named Mrs. Potts, who
become a Disney matron in Beauty and the Beast. Also, Disney regular
Verna Felton - known for her role as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother
among many others - appears in the film (as Mrs. Potts, natch). By the way,
Felton also performed the voice of Wilma's mother on The Flintstones.
I think I might have heard Betty Lou Gerson - 101 Dalmatians' Cruella
De Vil - in Picnic as well, but I was unable to substantiate this
impression.)
Picnic appears in both its original theatrical aspect ratio of
2.35:1 and in a fullscreen version on this double-sided, single-layered DVD;
the letterboxed image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Only the
widescreen version was viewed for this article. While inconsistent,
Picnic generally offers a satisfying image.
Sharpness usually looks pretty crisp and clean, though some shots appear
slightly vague and hazy. I noticed some evidence of jagged edges and moiré
effects, but not a lot. The print used for the transfer really looks
remarkably good, with just a little bit of grain and occasional speckles to
mar it; for a film this old, that's a pleasant surprise.
Colors seem very erratic. At times - such as the sunset scenes - they're
absolutely lovely and sumptuous, but much of the time the hues seem pale and
faded. They're not radically washed-out but are bad enough to be a
distraction; milky fleshtones looked oddest to me. Black levels seem quite
good, and shadow detail tends to be a little heavy but is acceptable.
Picnic has its flaws but generally looks pretty nice.
The same goes for the film's Dolby Surround 2.0 soundtrack. The front
soundfield offers some nice breadth; there's a decent attempt to spread
audio across the three channels that's much better than we normally hear for
movies this old. The surrounds offer only the faintest hint of
reinforcement of music and effects; for all intents and purposes, they go
unused, but at least they don't hinder the soundtrack.
Quality seems thin but acceptable for a film this old. Dialogue was clear
and intelligible but seemed badly synchronized at times; for much of the
movie, I felt that speech and image didn't match well. Both music and
effects are clean and relatively engaging, but they also lack any low end or
liveliness. While the soundtrack isn't exceptional, it's still quite solid
for a 45-year-old movie.
Picnic includes a few pretty mediocre supplements. We get a "photo
montage" that runs as a six and a half minute program; the camera zooms in
and out on various publicity shots, production pictures and advertisements
for the film. "Vintage Advertising" offers a whopping two posters from the
film, while the "Talent Files" give us the usual poorly-executed
Columbia-Tristar biographies for four of the actors and director Joshua
Logan.
We discover trailers for Picnic plus some additional films. These
include two Novak vehicles - Pal Joey and Bell, Book and
Candle - plus two Holden movies - Alvarez Kelly and Born
Yesterday. Finally, the package includes some brief but useful
production notes in the DVD's booklet.
I didn't find Picnic to be a terrible film, but it's a dated, awkward
and not very compelling one. The DVD offers fairly good picture and sound
but features few supplements. Fans of the film will probably be pleased,
but anyone else may want to skip this rather bland affair.
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