Why won't SOMEBODY put this masterpiece out on dvd? This is not only one of the greatest Griffith films, but (in my opinion) one of the greatest movies of all time. Criterion? Kino?? Even a public domain print from Grapevine would be awesome.
UPDATE: Grapevine has confirmed that "Isn't Life Wonderful" and two other Griffith films ("The White Rose" and "Scarlet Days") are going to be released on dvdr. GREAT.
All he'll do is transfer the VHS and used a canned soundtrack to replace Robert Israel's great one on the VHS. NOT "great".
shareYou're referring to the Kino VHS? No Grapevine won't do that, they'll transfer the imperfect print they had on VHS and transfer it. Better - far better - than nothing. But even that doesn't seem to be happening, it's been almost 2 years since I posted that and still no Grapevine dvdr has appeared.
Kino really needs to come to the rescue with their print to dvd...
They're the ones to email. People I know have done so but have been told there's little market for the "lesser" Griffiths!
shareKino must have gotten sick and tired of me requesting "The Struggle" for dvd though because they gave in and released it. They did tell me the same thing originally though, no market and no plans to put it out again.
Kino are awesome, no doubt about it.
Have any of you folks seen this film? I just sat through it and I was unimpressed and thrilled when it was over.
shareLOL
Yes we saw it. But it's not a film for everyone, that's for sure...
I watch a fair amount of silent films of all kinds, but this one was almost impossible to get through. I actually began to speed it up when the 'happy dancing' scene/s just kept going on and on.
It's such a dreary and grim film with people sitting in chairs looking at the ceiling or off into space.
The criminals were introduced perhaps an hour before they ever did anything. Most of the time they spent leering.
Carol Dempster can't act. And she stole the Gish smile schtick! Astounding.
The film looked very old-fashioned - perhaps 10 years older than it was. And i swear I saw the same set from MUSKETEERS of PIG ALLEY in ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL? It was the set of the interior of the building between the bar and the Gish apartment. It was in ILW?, too. (Forgot where).
The people seemed pathetic rather than triumphant as they praised the heavens for turnips. And the ending was just so corny. It was like a bad Hallmark card.
It was *really* hard to get behind this picture. I'd like to try it again, but I couldn't bear it again so soon.
I am really stunned at all the positive reviews here.
PS - Also just saw THE SORROWS OF SATAN. I didn't care for it, either.
Thanks for the reply.
Interesting observation about the film set. I haven't seen "Isn't Life Wonderful" in years as a house fire destroyed my entire VHS collection, and it's not on dvd yet for me to check out.
I disagree about Carol Dempster. She was fine as an actress, especially when Griffith was inspired. She certainly didn't 'steal' anything, she was just an actress and did what Griffith asked her to do. The scene in the food line, where she watches as prices continually go up and exceeded the money she had - if you don't see a brilliant, understated and heart-wrenching performance by Dempster there, then we just see things much differently. Which is fine.
I forgot to address "Sorrows Of Satan".
Yeah it's a really tough one to sit through. However, you probably saw the same horrible print I have (from Grapevine video, and now on a pirate dvdr). By all accounts (including a snippet from the PBS Griffith documentary Kino released), the power of this film lies in it's visual beauty. We see some of it, but very little as the print is dreadful. I won't really offer any definitive opinion until after I see the remastered version (if I ever do, that is).
http://www.grapevinevideo.com/Isnt_Life_Wonderful.html
It took a long time but it is now available! :-)
And now they're saying it's 'no longer available'? Wtf? Did Griffith's ghost come back and demand they discontinue it or something?
I would have actually bought it.
I see it's been deleted. This is bizarre.
shareI got a reply to my inquiry about it from Grapevine. Apparently the 'copyright holder' of the film requested they stop selling it, and whoever this person in has a DVD release of their own planned at some point.
Shouldn't something from 1923 be public domain by now?
All I can think of is Kino will put out their dvd.
share