Deserves a Full Restoration DVD Release

I've owned this film in three different generations of VHS and DVD, and the most recent release (2005) takes it from the 88-minute running time listed on the IMDb page to 97 minutes, which is a huge improvement over its predecessors, but woefully cut by some 20 minutes from its original length. This fact is important to the work, which is in play form much more a study in human dynamics than any sort of spectacle (an aspect that the film evidently prefers). It's understandable that the film would place emphasis where it does in favor of "opening up" what was originally a dialogue-heavy play, but what is lost is much of the impact of the culture clash. At the same time, it must be said that the most recent release is an improvement over the earlier muddied, washed-out images of the earlier versions, restoring bright colors (while also highlighting the characters' pancake makeup), and the jumps resulting from splices, which rendered the old prints often incoherent, have been much reduced (though many are still there).



"Believe not what you wish to believe, but what in truth you can"