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The Importance of Being Earnest
Criterion Collection Anthony Asquith, having directed a wonderful film of George Bernard Shaw`s PYGMALION, turned in 1952 to another classic, one of the greatest theatrical comedies, Oscar Wilde`s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Set a... Anthony Asquith, having directed a wonderful film of George Bernard Shaw`s PYGMALION, turned in 1952 to another classic, one of the greatest theatrical comedies, Oscar Wilde`s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Set at the height of the Victorian era, popularly imagined to be a cold and repressive time, the visual contrast with 1950s Technicolor only seems to enhance Wilde`s sharp satire and droll epigrams.
Cast with talented veterans of the English stage, even the minor characters are a delight. Asquith allows the actors, particularly the female roles, to deliver Wilde`s dialogue in a ringing theatrical voice. Edith Evans as the imperious Lady Bracknell, full of strident tone and rolling R`s, and always in high dudgeon, strikes fear in the heart of Jack (Michael Redgrave), while Joan Greenwood as the beautiful, opinionated Gwendolyn (who could never marry a man named Jack), melts his heart in a voice that practically purrs.
Wilde`s use of a convoluted, improbable story, much imitated in the screwball comedies of the 1930s, never detracts from the pure enjoyment of his characters silly yet heartfelt struggles. Asquith`s staging and directing is smooth and fluid, thus retaining a theatrical feel. This gives today`s viewer a sense of what Victorian audiences must have felt when they first beheld the breathless pace and matchless wit of the incomparable Oscar Wilde.
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