Warner Brothers finally released George Pal's 1960 classic, "The Time Machine", on Blu-ray a few short weeks ago. It's a shame they couldn't have honored this film in the same way, to mark its FIFTIETH year.
Of course, this film has always dwelt in the shadows of "Mary Poppins", which garnered ALL the attention in that late summer of 1964...
Such a shame. There's room for both.
It's a forgotten classic and I think the story is 10X better than Mary Poppins. The budget was extremely low but it still managed some impressive visuals. It was one of Tony Randall's very favorite roles with good reason, he did an amazing job. Every time I see it the movie reminds me of why I fell in love with film.
shareI agree. Some extras like the book or script, and the Blu-ray with audio commentary, featurette, etc. They did that for the 50th anniversary of the Nutty Professor.
shareI have a suspicion this film is being somewhat sidelined because the very notion of a caucasian actor in 'yellow face' (made up as an Oriental) is, as with 'black face', so outdated now as to be considered offensive to modern audiences. A Blu-ray would be very welcome on my shelf, though, as I remember this film and its life-affirming central character with great affection.
When Mickey Rooney passed away recently, many obituaries mentioned his turn as Japanese neighbour Mr Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's as a career low point, 'racism ruining an otherwise classic motion picture' or some such wording. Indeed, that does seem to us now to be very crass stereotyping, but things need to be seen in an historical context. I.e. when the film was made, was there any offence intended? Would any actors of the genuine ethnicity have been considered? Oversight and ignorance are quite distinct from malicious intent!
See also the classic Doctor Who story (Tom Baker, mid-70s) The Talons of Weng-Chiang, in which John Bennett gives a similarly respectful and nuanced performance to that of Tony Randall, playing another Chinese performer with hidden depths. (I suspect 7 Faces of Dr. Lao was one of many influences on the production.) Because he was a white actor, regardless of how good he is in the role, these episodes are seldom mentioned now without some qualification or defence being offered.
I have even heard British actor Sir Ben Kingsley's casting in Gandhi criticised sometimes these days – and his father was of Indian descent!
... because I reappear with tedious inevitability