CURTIÇÃO DE FILMES ANTIGOS (3) LAURA (Blu Ray, restaurado e remasterizado) Otto Preminger Laura Release Year:1944Studio:20th Century FoxLength:87 MinutesMPAA Rating:UnratedRelease CountryUnited States The Movie Itself: Our Reviewers Take Few films can be identified solely by their theme music, but Laura is definitely one of them. David Raksins haunting, melodic score has become almost as famous as the movie itself, spawning more than 400 recordings and exquisitely capturing the air of mystery and romance that pervades this hypnotic whodunit. Like the storys intoxicating heroine, the lush music deftly draws us into the drama, and swirls around our brain as we try to unravel the sticky web of lies entangling the characters. Yet even without its memorable theme, Otto Premingers film flirts with and often achieves perfection. A sharp, literate script, richly textured plot (with a clever angle), first-class performances, and superb cinematography all combine to create a masterful motion picture that seems as fresh today as it certainly did upon its initial release almost 70 years ago. Many critics classify the movie as a film noir title, but lumping Laura in the same category as the gritty Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Murder, My Sweet unfairly pigeonholes this sleek, sophisticated tale. Sure, Laura contains a number of standard noir elements — stark contrast, murky shadows, twisted passions, a tough-talking detective, and a beautiful, ambiguous heroine — but theres a glossy quality to the film that, like cream, allows it to rise above more typical noirs. No seedy locales or sordid liaisons dirty up its plot. On the surface, Laura is antiseptically clean, and its well-scrubbed, high society characters behave with decorum throughout. More akin to Agatha Christie than Raymond Chandler or James M. Cain, Laura revels in its Park Avenue trimmings, and its searing wit adds a lightness of tone that cuts tension and makes the characters more accessible. Adapted from Vera Casparys novel, Laura opens with Det. Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigating the murder of chic advertising director Laura Hunt. He interviews the ultra-refined, acid-tongued columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), who relates how he fell under Lauras spell and used his stature and influence to foster her career. McPherson also questions Lauras on-again-off-again fiancé, playboy Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price); her wealthy aunt, Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson), with whom Shelby occasionally dallies; and Lauras devoted housekeeper, Bessie Clary (Dorothy Adams). Through intimate flashbacks, narrated by Waldo, McPherson comes to know Laura (Gene Tierney), and as her stunning portrait beckons to him while he scopes her apartment for clues, he finds himself unable to resist her seductive aura. Divulging further details would spoil the fun of this engrossing mystery, which marked Premingers emergence as one of Hollywoods top directors. At just under an hour-and-a-half, Laura breezes along, aided by its razor sharp script and Premingers flawless yet invisible technique. Every scene is visually interesting, but only on a second viewing can one appreciate all the subtle touches. With a confidence that belies his inexperience, Preminger seamlessly merges character, mood, and story, so that we, too, become captivated by Laura and her colorful friends — even as we wonder which one is a killer. The director would delve more deeply into noir with Fallen Angel, Where the Sidewalk Ends, The 13th Letter, and Angel Face (a personal favorite), but Laura started the cycle and remains a unique, unforgettable entry in a cluttered genre. Amazingly, Tierney resisted the title role. Who wants to play a painting? she quipped in her autobiography. Yet that iconic portrait cemented Tierneys career, and her cool demeanor, exotic beauty, and natural sincerity both shade her performance and compensate for her limited acting range. Andrews also impresses, filing his own breakout portrayal as the outwardly sullen but inwardly romantic detective. In a classic scene where McPherson wanders through Lauras apartment, soaking up her lifestyle and rifling through her personal effects (lingerie included), Andrews quietly conveys his growing obsession with and bizarre attraction to the dead girl. Price affects a lazy Southern drawl as the spoiled, weak-willed Shelby, and Anderson dazzles in a brilliantly underplayed confrontation with Tierney in a favorite 40s locale — the ladies room. Yet despite these marvelous performances, Laura belongs unequivocally to Clifton Webb. The 55-year-old actor had appeared in several silent films, but spent the bulk of his career on the Broadway and London stage before Preminger cast him as the priggish Waldo, whose withering one-liners cut down every character he encounters. Just like George Sanders equally venomous Addison DeWitt in All About Eve, Webb punctuates his narrative with a string of stinging verbal barbs, at once setting the films sophisticated tone and making a fine foil for the macho, no-nonsense McPherson. Even Tierneys glamorous painting cant upstage Webbs pitch-perfect portrayal, which justly earned the actor his first Oscar nomination. Without his caustic wit, Laura would be just another assembly-line whodunit, instead of one of the most slick and stylish productions of the 1940s
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 11:12:02 +0000
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