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Inside The Actors Studio: Icons
R1 - America - Shout! Factory Review written by and copyright: Stevie McCleary & Noor Razzak (10th December 2006). |
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The Film
 "Inside the Actor’s Studio" is a look into the craft of acting. Hosted by James Lipton, it does not concern itself with recent media darlings, or the flavours of the week. It deals with those who have spent their life devoted to the field of entertainment. It is an insight into the lives and passions of many talented people, watched by over 80 million people worldwide. This particular set deals with four icons of their fields: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Barbara Streisand and Clint Eastwood. Lipton was the originator of "The Actor’s Studio", creating it as part of his acting course. Over the last 12 years it has been a wonderful chance for viewers and aspiring actors to learn more than they could ever hope about this profession. Because of this, the style does come off as quite elitist. Every step on an actor’s road is labelled as utterly amazing. The hyperbole came thick and strong, with Lipton always seeming to find new grandiose terms to compliment his guests. After awhile though, his passion for what he does shines through, and he does become rather captivating to watch. Each edition on the DVD follows a similar pattern. An introduction to the DVD audience from Lipton that is often filled with gems about the show and/or actors usually kicks things off. When the show starts he gives a rundown of his guest’s achievements and then announces them. Pretty standard stuff, I know. But then the good stuff starts. Lipton takes us through a journey of the performer’s life, stopping off at several important points that were integral to their artistic growth. It is the type of discourse that is quite foreign in American Talk show culture. Talk shows usually only focus on the performer’s film that is conveniently coming out next week, and a host of other pre-arranged questions. Lipton decided that there would be no pre-interviews. He would simply put a lot of work into gathering a wealth of knowledge about his guests and choose from that on the spot. It is this style that allows responses from people that you wouldn’t otherwise expect. It gives you a great insight into the person themselves, as they are on the spot the whole time. The interviews are edited down from times that could range up to six hours in their theatre. This still leaves us with a big chunk of tasty knowledge about the performers. Naturally, each person is far more entertaining if you already like them, or have been interested in them previously. From a basic information standpoint, there is goodness to be learned from all of them. I personally found Eastwood to be the most engaging, as I am a big fan, but the others were much more captivating than I expected. Newman was one of the first ever guest, as he was the Studio’s President at the time, I believe. Lipton had to fight for years to get the reclusive Redford to appear, and people tried to tell him that Streisand would be a diva on the show-but nothing was further from the truth. Each interview ends with a Q & A with the students in the audience. Just before that, however, Lipton runs through a questionnaire that remains virtually the same over the 12 years of the show. It is this questionnaire that becomes fascinating, as it connects all the guests. And believe me, nothing is more shocking than hearing what Streisand replied to the question “What are your favourite sounds”? This is called the Icons boxed set, and it is worthy of being called that. While it’s almost snobbery tone about the craft of acting may irritate early on, you soon get drawn into it. And some of the insights are good ones just in relation to how we act towards other people in general. Eastwood makes a good point that the best part of acting is listening. Something he feels people should do with each other more often. I don’t know if this set would be a keeper, unless you were a huge fan of all people concerned, but it is definitely worth it as something to watch and absorb. Many fascinating stories told by four fascinating people. I can honestly say it ended up being quite delightful.
Video
Presented in the show's original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 these full screen transfers range from average quality to a solid effort. The earlier shows such as the Newman episode display minor grain and aren't as sharp as later episodes such as the Eastwood one, which is sharp and detailed. All episodes feature natural skin tones and colors are nice and vibrant. I did notice some compression artefacts at times but nothing that was too distracting.
Audio
A single Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is included on all three of these discs. And taking into account that this is an interview series there's no need for a full blown 5.1 track, It would simply be a waste. These stereo tracks do a fine job in presenting the dialogue clearly and without any distortion, which all one could really ask for. The show does not include any optional subtitles.
Extras
Shout! Factory has included an introduction, some deleted scenes plus a couple of bonus trailers on these discs. Below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: Paul Newman and Robert Redord First we have a video introduction by James Lipton which runs for 3 minutes 40 seconds as he welcomes us to this DVD collection and briefly covers the history of the studio. A series of deleted scenes from the Newman interview is included and is entitled "Great moments that didn't make the cut", these scenes can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' function. The scenes included are: - "The Enemies List" which runs for 1 minute 25 seconds, Newman talks about being on Nixon's enemies list and the note in which he left the former President. - "Three Guys On A Truck" runs for 1 minute 18 seconds as Newman recites a rather humorous joke. - "The Golden Age Of Television" runs for 2 minutes 21 seconds and sees the actor recalling times of live television and the shift into newer areas of entertainment. - "Learning How To Hustle" runs for 2 minutes 57 seconds, Newman talks about putting his hustler training to the test at a pool hall. A series of deleted scenes is also included from the Redford interview and is also entitled "Great moments that didn't make the cut", these scenes can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' function. The scenes included are: - "Acting Class" which runs for 2 minutes 2 seconds as Redford comments on having a hard time doing movement and dance courses. - "Playing Hunches" runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds, he recalls auditioning and appearing on a television quiz show early on in his career. - "Another American In Paris" runs for 1 minute 48 seconds, he comments on his European experience and also seeing America from a different perspective. - "Angry and Barefoot In The Park" runs for 3 minutes 55 seconds and he comments on his stage experience and the anger in his performances. - "Mulholland Drive's Down Hill Racer" runs for 2 minutes 10 seconds, Redford tells a story of having to get a skiing close up of him in the middle of summer on Mulholland Drive. Rounding out the extras are a couple of bonus trailers, these are start-up previews and can be skipped, they include: - "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" which runs for 50 seconds. - "Shakespeare Behind Bars" which runs for 2 minutes 15 seconds. DISC TWO: Barbra Streisand There are no extras featured on this disc. DISC THREE: Clint Eastwood The primary extra on this disc is "Great moments that didn't make the cut" a series of deleted scenes, these can be played individually or with a 'play all' option, the scenes included are: - "The Man With No Name...And No Audio" runs for 1 minute 22 seconds and sees Eastwood telling the audience about having to loop dialogue for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" (1966) for new scenes that were added back into the film in recent years. - "Enter Don Seigal" runs for 1 minute 14 seconds and he comments on the director's involvement on "Coogan's Bluff" (1968) - "Nobody Knows Nothin" runs for 1 minute 7 seconds, Eastwood comments on there being no experts in film, just gut instinct. - "Play Misty For Me...Again" runs for 1 minute 34 seconds, he talks about the popularity of the stalker mentality and what he likes most about the film. - "Dropping Names In High Plains Drifter" runs for 1 minute 28 seconds, he comments on the cameo names that appear on the tombstones in the film. - "Painting With Light" which runs for 50 seconds, Eastwood talks about realistic lighting in westerns.
Packaging
This 3-disc set is packaged in three thin-pack amaray cases housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
Considering this is an interview series you wouldn't really expect too many extras, in many ways this disc can be considered a glorified extra and makes a great companion to any of the films featuring these great performers, this set comes recommended.
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