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Apr 22, 2011 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis

Undoubtedly there are Blu-ray fans already familiar with 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success looking forward to seeing Oscar-winning cinematographer James Wong Howe’s vivid Manhattan through Criterion’s new presentation. They won’t be disappointed.

The film bristles throughout with energy, boosted by Elmer Bernstein’s brassy, urgent score, and the black-and-white world rarely looked more noir-ishly glorious. Framed by a cityscape of flashing neon and looming skyscrapers, Sweet Smell is an immersion into the hothouse environment of newspaper columnists and publicists, where favors beget favors and no one forgets it.

Burt Lancaster is darkly fascinating as all-powerful columnist J. J. Hunsecker (modeled after Walter Winchell), and Tony Curtis has one of his career-high roles as press agent Sidney Falco. Troubled over recent career issues, Falco pesters Hunsecker for a few high-profile crumbs of client publicity and finds himself faced with how completely he might sell himself for enough column inches to carry him another month.

There’s such a wickedly twisted series of one-hand-washing-the-other that characters practically have to be reminded whose pockets they’re wearing. Of note is a great sequence where Falco gets an early scoop on Hunsecker’s mention of a comedian for his next column, after which Falco visits the comedian and, attempting to score him as a new client, gives the impression he’s calling Hunsecker to urge him to print that piece.

Extras include “Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away,” a 1986 documentary featuring interviews with director Alexander Mackendrick, actor Burt Lancaster, producer James Hill and others, and “James Wong Howe: Cinematographer,” a 1973 doc about the director of photography, featuring lighting tutorials with Howe.

(www.criterion.com)

Author rating: 8/10