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Cooking Price-Wise
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (22nd December 2024). |
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The Show
 "Cooking Price-Wise" (1971) Vincent Price had a long distinguished career as an actor for more than five decades of his life on stage and on screen. While his most well remembered works were in the horror genre such as "House on Haunted Hill", "The Fly", "The Last Man on Earth", and "The Pit and the Pendulum", he graced the screen in almost every genre there was, giving striking performances to each role. He poised charm and power in major works such as "The Ten Commandments" and "Laura", while also giving his all in campy works as well, treating each production as not a paycheck, but a wonderful way to show his remarkable talent. Television roles such as in "Batman" and "Columbo" further made his face and voice recognizable by the masses, and his roles especially as a villain came as high points. In addition to his acting work, Price was also an art historian and an avid art collector, establishing the Vincent Price Art Museum and working as an art consultant for Sears. Another interest of his that he took further with his fame was his love for food. He loved tasting food from all over the world, making sure to eat local cuisines when traveling, as well as acquiring recipes from restauranteurs so he could share his love for the different meals. Together with his second wife Mary Grant, Price co-wrote four cookbooks: "A Treasury of Great Recipes" (1965), "Mary and Vincent Price present a National Treasury of Cookery" (1967), "Mary and Vincent Price's Come into the Kitchen Cook Book: A Collector's Treasury of America's Great Recipes" (1969), and "Cooking Price-Wise with Vincent Price" (1971), with the last having an accompanying television series which aired in the United Kingdom the same year. The six episode series was produced for ITV, in which Price flew to England for the production in late 1970. Each episode would feature a specific ingredient theme and Price would solely prepare the dishes as well as providing colorful instructions, historical and geographical context, as well as colorful comments. The productions would be shot on video entirely on a simple stage set without the use of editing, cuts, or commercial interruptions, meaning multiple dishes had to be prepared for each episode, as Price would be preparing one while a completed one would be sitting in the oven at the same time, or as he would call it "the magic of television". The six episodes were shot across five days with each episode having no more than two takes done, and one day having two episodes shot. It was a tight schedule with only a basic wardrobe change for Price and using the same simple kitchen set for each episode in a multicam setup, with establishing shots, closeup shots, and overhead shots intercut live for the broadcast master, which would be shown on British television nearly a year later in 1971. Like any television cooking show, there was no room for error as having to re-prepare all the ingredients could take a long time as they would need to have things fresh for demonstration and fully cooked dishes for the ending showcase. Price would be reading a script from cue cards though he would thrown in a few adlibs along the way for some charm that he perfected. There are no "um..." "huh..." or gaps but there are a few noticeable moments that he flubs a word or two, but quickly recovering and giving it his all. There are some moments that the kitchen visuals cut to artwork or maps when he discusses the geography or the ingredient history, though he says he will try not to bore audiences with it. Price always keeps things interesting with his naturally great storytelling techniques as well as his colorful humor sprinkled in like he does with the salt and pepper. He mentions a few times that he prefers white pepper rather than black, which seems to him giving a nudge to the production team for not preparing one of his loved ingredients. The episodes were in the following order: Episode 1 "Potatoes: Dishes from New York, Savoy and Holland" - Recorded: Friday 17 July 1970 - Transmitted: 13 April 1971 - Menu: -- Manhattan Vichyssoise -- Pommes de Terre Savoyard -- Fish Fillets Nord Zee Episode 2 "Lamb: Dishes from Greece and Morocco" - Recorded: Monday 13 July 1970 - Transmitted: Tuesday 20 April 1971 - Menu: -- Dolmades -- Moroccan Tajine -- Café Napoleon Episode 3 "Bacon: Dishes from Great Britain" - Recorded: Tuesday 14 July 1970 - Transmitted: Tuesday 27 April 1971 - Menu: -- Gammon in Common Crust -- Wilted Spinach Salad -- Ayrshire Poacher’s Roll Episode 4 "Cheese: Dishes from California, Switzerland and Austria" - Recorded: Friday 17 July 1970 - Transmitted: Tuesday 4 May 1971 - Menu: -- Pannequets de Fondue -- Cheese Party Dishes Episode 5 "Rice: Dishes from the Gulf Coast, Hawaii and Indonesia" - Recorded: Thursday 16 July 1970 - Transmitted: Tuesday 11 May 1971 - Menu: -- Gulfcoast Salad -- Nasi Goreng -- Hawaiian Chicken and Long Grain Rice Episode 6: "Cream: Dishes from Italy, America and Turkey" - Recorded: Wednesday 15 July 1970 - Transmitted: Tuesday 18 May 1971 - Menu: -- American Ice Box Cake -- Yogurt Fluff -- Soufflé Pudding Charmian There are a number of notably fun moments such as Price not knowing where to put things as the kitchen set is so small, so he places things on the floor off camera, the flimsy pottery that could fall apart at any minute, his exclamation of "poetry!" while taking the souffle out of the oven, and of course his unusually sinister sounding way of introducing the potato with a unique pronunciation. Another highlight is in the cheese episode in which he prepares come fun creations such as a dragon using cheese, cucumber, and toothpicks, as well as chess pieces. Aesthetically the production is not all that different from cooking shows of the time or from thereon out. A host with ingredients, explaining the methods, and showing the finished product which was already in the oven and ready to be shown. The major difference is the presentation by Price. He is not showing how to make things that are particular staples of British kitchens, but instead ones that are international, not standard to the bland English palate. But he also informs the audience that the ingredients he uses are not particularly difficult to find in local British supermarkets and the dishes he is preparing are not at all difficult to make. He has a wonderful ability to give a calming sense to the audience without intimidation. If he can do it so can you. Price may have loved dining on food from around the world, but was not particularly the best cook. When the cookbooks with his wife started getting popular with invitations for the couple to demonstrate their work for talk shows, Mary was not particularly excited about being in front of the camera, as her work was always behind the scenes. Price had to hone his skills in the kitchen by practicing over and over with dishes until he was able to perfect them, causing concern for his young daughter Victoria who says in the interview on this disc that she had gotten sick of certain dishes that she had to eat every day due to her father's experimenting. Ratatouille may be a delicious dish, but having it every day for a week or more was overkill for her, as she could no longer eat it after that. Once Price became comfortable with his kitchen work, he brought his skills of preparation and narration to major talk shows such as "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson", becoming a sensation with more than his acting work. He became the most trusted name for food among women that he became a spokesperson for the American Dairy Association and signed a number of contracts with food and beverage companies to promote products through commercials over the years. Following Price's passing in 1993 at the age of 82, his acting work has gone on to be enormously popular, especially in the age of DVD and Blu-ray introducing his work to new audiences. While twenty-first century audiences are knowledgeable about his films, the food aspect of his career has been largely unnoticed. The cookbooks were out of print and his sole cooking show never had a home video release. With the book being reprinted in 2017 in an expanded form, there was still questions of where the accompanying television series was. The BFI surprisingly announced in 2024 that the series would be released in a home media format for the first time ever, and in the Blu-ray format no less at the end of the year. "Cooking Price-Wise" is not exactly the most innovative show or the most impressive as it is a simple low budget six episode series featuring cooking. But Vincent Price makes it exceptional. They are incredibly fun to watch and it is all due to his charm that is unmistakable, and it is now available for a new generation to experience, filling a hole of his wonderfully great life and career. Note this is a region B Blu-ray
Video
The BFI presents the episodes with two viewing options, in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio in upscaled 1080i50 AVC MPEG-4 and in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio in 576i AVC MPEG-4. The episodes were shot on standard definition PAL video on a studio set, and the original broadcast masters were upscaled to HD, keeping the original 25fps frame rate. Black bars were encoded on the sides of the frame to keep the 1.33:1 original broadcast ratio for television intact. The 576i versions of the episodes are in the original standard definition PAL format, encoded at 4:3. Essentially, the presentations look nearly identical in terms of color space and clarity, which can look a bit drab due to the limitations of the videotape format, and sometimes blurry due to the source. The HD upscaled episodes look very good on modern HD or 4K displays but they also bring out some of the faults with the video format source, with some magnetic tape distortion and errors, weaving of lighting, and the lack of clarity on close inspection. The SD versions of the episodes will show the limitations more on HD displays, but if automated upscaling is applied, the image should look very similar to the upscaled HD versions of the episodes. For purists who would like to watch the episodes on a standard definition 4:3 television, the HD versions would be problematic as the black bars are encoded into the image on the sides. For the original SD 576i versions, these are encoded at the 4:3 aspect ratio, making the image fit as they should on older monitors. There have been many milestones in the art of film restoration, but videotape restoration is something that is much more complex. The episodes here do look good for the most part considering their source, though some of the damage found in the masters were not fixable. The episodes still look great considering the sources, and fans and newcomers should be extremely pleased with the series finally becoming available on a physical media format officially. The episode runtimes are as follows: Episodes - "Potato: Dishes from New York, Savoy and Holland" (23:43) - "Lamb: Dishes from Greece and Morocco" (23:44) - "Bacon: Dishes from Great Britain" (23:49) - "Cheese: Dishes from California, Switzerland and Austria" (23:59) - "Rice: Dishes from the Gulf Coast, Hawaii and Indonesia" (23:31) - "Cream: Dishes from Italy, America and Turkey" (23:40) The runtimes for the six episodes are identical for both the HD upscaled versions and the original SD versions. Unfortunately there is no "Play All" option for the episodes, and they must be chosen manually each time. Also note the SD versions of the episodes are found in the bonus features menu.
Audio
English LPCM 2.0 mono English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono The original mono tracks for the episodes are presented in uncompressed LPCM for the HD upscaled episodes, while they are presented in lossy Dolby Digital for the SD episodes. The light bongo sounds of the opening and closing of each episode sound fair, but a bit unremarkable. For any cooking show, the narration is key and thankfully Price's voice comes in nice and clear for each episode. Audio is well balanced and clean, with no issues of hiss or damage to be heard. It's a simple yet satisfying experience here. There are optional English HoH subtitlesfor all episodes, for both HD upscaled and original SD episodes in a white font which are well timed, easy to read, and without errors.
Extras
Audio commentary on "Potatoes" by film and television historians Vic Pratt and William Fowler (2024) The BFI's Pratt and Fowler, who wrote the book "The Bodies Beneath: The Flipside of British Film & Television" mentioned the television series there, and give comments here about Price's career at the time, the 1970s being on full display with the set design, the video quality of the episode, and more. Audio commentary on "Bacon" by film and television historians Lisa Kerrigan and Josephine Botting (2024) This commentary has the BFI's Kerrigan and Botting discussing about the music played for the series, behind the scenes of the production, and more. Audio commentary on "Cheese" by author and webmaster of "Silver Screen Queen of the Kitchen" Jenny Hammerton and film and television historian Peter Fuller (2024) Hammerton and Fuller chat together about Price's travels and collecting recipes, background information on the cookbooks released, notes on the visuals and more. Hammerton sounds fine but Fuller sounds a bit muffled with his microphone in comparison. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Until We Eat Again: Victoria Price on Her Father's Love of the Culinary Arts" 2024 interview (18:09) This new and exclusive interview with Vincent Price's daughter Victoria Price recalls about growing up in a culinary family discussing the Price family history, her childhood and eating her father's cooking, her parents collecting recipes from around the world, the successful cookbooks, invitations to talk shows to demonstrate his cooking, becoming a spokesperson for food companies and organizations, "Cooking Price-Wise" being reprinted and more. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1 / 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Monster Munch with Jenny Hammerton" 2024 demonstration of Vincent Price's party recipes involving cheese (24:37) This featurette has Hammerton creating the Cucumber Crocodile, Melon Monster, and Cheese Chess Board that Price created in the series. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Kitchenfinder General with Jenny Hammerton" 2024 interview conducted by Vic Pratt (21:09) This featurette has Hammerton joined by Pratt at her her home in which she discusses about collecting celebrity recipes in the thousands from vintage magazines and books, with her most cherished ones including a vintage tattered copy of "Cooking Price-Wise". Shown are other related memorabilia and information on a number of other celebrities and their culinary loves. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Archive Films: This section has seven food related vintage films from the BFI National Archive. - "Ministry of Food Cookery Hints No.1: Oatmeal Porridge" 1940 short film (5:58) This wartime short sponsored by the Ministry of Food looks at the simplicity of oatmeal for the family. Not only preparing the oatmeal in the kitchen, but there is suggestion of keeping it in a large wooden box filled with hay for warmth over a long period of time for best results. Not exactly the fastest way to prepare or enjoy a meal, it is a fascinating look at the time and what was seemingly expected. The black and white picture is very sharp, with some minor damage being visible, with the narration audio being fairly good with no hiss or crackle to be heard. Note the short can be seen for free on the BFI Player. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "Ministry of Food Cookery Hints No.3: Potatoes" 1940 short film (6:12) The third short in the series looks at potatoes and their versatile ways for preparation as an essential household food. It's definitely not as exciting or fun as how Vincent Price put things, but on a simple informative side. Both this and the short above feature narration from Max Munden, with a dry informative side that is expected of educational government shorts of the period. Note the short can be seen for free on the BFI Player. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "When the Pie Was Opened" 1941 short film (8:11) This short was also sponsored by the Ministry of Food, but is quite different from the dry commentary shorts of above, and instead closer to an art film. Directed by Len Lye, this is an imaginative short that looks at a girl (played by Valerie Forrest) and her love for vegetable pie, told through a dreamlike trance. Note the short can be seen for free on the BFI Player. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "Tea Making Tips: Sponsored by the Empire Tea Bureau" 1941 short film (10:29) This wartime short which was sponsored by the Empire Tea Bureau is a simple showcase of tea making from various people. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "Food Flash" incomplete 1946 short film on how to cook a cabbage (1:00) This short film stars Charlie Chester and Arthur Haynes in a scripted skit of two men trying to cook a cabbage but through verbal comedy of taking instructions too literally making it impossible for them to do the simple task. Unfortunately only a minute of the film survives and it is presented here without the ending, so it is unsure if they were able to complete the cooking. The picture and the audio are in fairly good condition, with the black and white image being fairly balanced and the dialogue sounding very good. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "The Good Housewife 'In Her Kitchen'" 1949 short film (8:34) What starts as a seemingly ordinary educational short with a woman narrating about cooking in the kitchen becomes a fourth wall breaker with a man entering the studio set, and mansplaining it with reality. While it does have some informative ways on how to keep food fresh, it certainly is done in a way that is unique to the period. The black and white image is very contrasty here, with the source being a 16mm print and the audio is not very good either, with the dialogue being slightly hard to understand. Note this short can be seen for free on the BFI Player. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "Centenary Express: 100 Years of Refreshment" 1980 short film (6:35) This British Transport Film looks at the 100th anniversary of train catering on the British railway service with footage of a train traveling from Yorkshire to London, plus footage of British Railways Board chairman Sir Peter Parker commemorating the event with a cake cutting ceremony. The color short is fairly good in quality, with some colors being slightly washed out. Note the short is available on DVD on the BFI's release of "The British Transport Films Collection Volume 7 - The Age of the Train". It can also be watched at Train Air Tram. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Booklet The first pressing includes a 30 page booklet. First there is a newly written introduction by Victoria Price which repeats some information found in the interview, but also has some great information on the background of the series and book. Next is "No Longer Will You Be Horrified by the Horrors of Hollandaise" by Peter Fuller which looks at Price and the series and its background. Then there is "Vincent's Theater of Food" by Jenny Hammerton on the books and other related materials including the rare narrated records. This is followed by "Can You Think of Anything Richer or Yummier Than That?" by Vic Pratt with his appreciation of the series. There are also credits for the episodes, special features information with notes by Pratt, notes on the presentation, acknowledgements, and stills. As stated, this is the first home video release for the series and all the extras were specifically created for this Blu-ray release. One thing curiously missing from the booklet may be an actual list of the ingredients for the dishes for the episodes which could have been helpful for people looking to try the dishes themselves. Also strangely missing from the disc is a cooking demonstration by Hammerton which was done for the BFI's YouTube channel in 2013 making Price's goulash recipe from the book. (Though the clip has been embedded below.) Also missing obviously due to rights issues are clips of Price on talk shows and his television commercial work, which have also been embedded below. Other notable clips: A clip from the series, courtesy of the BFI Cooking Vincent Price's Goulash with Jenny Hammerton and BFI curator Nathalie Morris from 2013, courtesy of the BFI Vincent Price cooking trout using a dishwasher on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson Commercial for the American Dairy Association with Vincent Price Commercial for Coffee Mate with Vincent Price Commercial for No Jelly candy bar with Vincent Price Commercial for Cousins submarine sandwich shop with Vincent Price Monster Vitamins commercial with Vincent Price Sun Country Wine Coolers commercial with Vincent Price Vincent Price Christmas Special on Saturday Night Live
Packaging
This is the 50th release in the BFI's "Flipside" series. The first pressing also includes a slipcase and the aforementioned booklet.
Overall
"Cooking Price-Wise" does not reinvent the cooking show formula at all. But it has Vincent Price doing what he loved and the six episodes that were produced can be finally enjoyed by a new audience more than fifty years after their original broadcasts. The BFI's presentation is great, with a number of fantastic extras included. Highly recommended. Blu-ray Amazon UK link Blu-ray BFI Shop link "Cooking Price-Wise" 2017 reprinted book from 2017 (Amazon UK)
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