Mary Pickford
RAIN [Blu-ray/DVD] [1932]
VCI is pleased to present RAIN, celebrating its 90 Anniversary in a stunning new 4K restoration, produced from the original, uncut 94-minute version. It is a most important film in the history of the cinema, and one of the greatest films the ‘Thirties’ produced. The consummate dramatic and artistic achievement of both Miss Crawford and Walter Huston will give the picture life for many decades to come.
W. Somerset Maugham’s powerful story of Sadie Thompson has perhaps the most celebrated version, vividly capturing the lives of several very different human beings, thrown together on Pago Pago during a fierce monsoon. Brilliant performances are given by Crawford, as the cynical prostitute, and Huston, as the minister who tries to reform her. A ‘tour de force’ of camera work, style and direction of a film that caused controversy when first released, ‘Rain’ is one of the true classic dramas of film history.
Cast
Joan Crawford (Sadie Thompson), Walter Huston (Alfred Davidsonm), Fred Howard (Hodgson), Ben Hendricks Jr. (Griggs), William Gargan (Sgt. Hendricks), Mary Shaw (Ameena), Guy Kibbee (Joe Horn), Beulah Bondi (Mrs. Davidson)
Director
Lewis Milestone
Producer
Lewis Milestone
Cinematography
Oliver Marsh
Writer
John Colton (play), Clemence Randolph (play), W. Somerset Maugham (story), Maxwell Anderson (screen adaptation)
Music
Alfred Newman
Bonus Features
Commentary track by Mick LaSalle Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and noted film historian.
Commentary track by Richard Barrios Writer, Historian, and Commentator
Liner notes reprinted from Views & Reviews Magazine by Jon Tuska, author and film historian
Alternate Opening Title and Credits Sequence from the 18-minute shorter 1938 Atlantic Reissue
Original Theatrical Trailer Poster & Photo Gallery
Period appropriate Betty Boop Cartoon and Newsreel
Reviews
Because it slipped into the public domain in 1960 and has been easy to see, albeit through increasingly abysmal video transfers, generations have discovered Rain and found more to appreciate than those audiences in the 1930s were able to connect with.
Enter VCI, who have just released a beautiful, restored print of Rain for its 90th Anniversary. The 4K restoration was conducted by The Library of Congress in association with The Mary Pickford Foundation. The results are pleasing, with dramatically-increased clarity and depth.
VCI has delivered a fine restoration with substantial special features that fans of the film won’t want to miss.
Cereal at Midnight: Pop Culture in Analog – https://www.cerealatmidnight.com/2022/09/review-rain-1932.html
The film still plays as a pretty tawdry melodrama, and it’s incredibly talky a lot of the time, but this new transfer highlights one of the film’s chief assets, the lustrous cinematography of Oliver T. Marsh. A claustrophobic atmosphere is definitely achieved, so that several characters’ desires to escape are completely understandable.
Additionally, a nicely appointed insert booklet is included. Rain looks great for the most part, and the supplemental commentaries and redacted version of the film are interesting. With caveats noted, Recommended.
Jeffrey Kauffman/Blue-ray.com – https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Rain-Blu-ray/255503/#Review
Blu-ray
Drama