Its probably safe to say that Denzel Washington is one of the most accomplished, talented and recognized African American actors in cinema today. Well, I mention him only to help illustrate the magnitude of the actor honored in this collection into perspective. Denzel does not hold a candle to the greatness of Sidney Poitier.
Born in 1927, Poitier got his first film role in 1947, where he quickly made a name for himself starring in films like Cry, The Beloved Country and Blackboard Jungle. Hes stared in countless film and TV roles over the years and was nominated for best actor in 1959 for The Defiant Ones and finally one in 1964 for Lilies of the Field. An accomplished actor and a filmmaker, he was given an Honorary Award at the Oscars in 2002. This collection brings together four films from his prolific career, two which are classics and two that are sadly, quite less than.
Edge of the City (1957). This collection starts out strong with Edge. The film stars a young John Cassavetes as Axel Nordmann, a troubled man whos running away from his past. With a reference from a friend he gets a job as a longshoreman in New York where he quickly befriends Tommy Tyler (Poitier). But things turn tough for Axel quickly as his new boss, Charles Malik (Jack Warden) knows his secret past and dislikes Tommy for being black. Charles has it in for both men and this comes to an explosive and tragic end. Axel must come to terms with his many inner demons as the trouble that surrounds him. This is a fantastic story that is elevated to greatness by immaculate acting on the part of all three men. You believe each of these men liking Axel and Tommy instantly and likewise hating Charles instantly. This film strong enough to stand on its own without this box set.
Something of Value (1957). Sadly, Value is as disappointing as Edge is good. The story is strong; set in the beautiful African wilderness, Peter (Rock Hudson) and Kimani (Poitier) have been best friends since childhood. However as they grow older their racial differences, spurred on by the society around them, drives them apart. Kimani ends up joining the Mau Mau Resistance which leads to the death of some of Peters family so he joins the army to fight back and soon former friends are not enemies. They try to find a peaceable understanding but ultimately their story ends in tragedy. In the hands of a better director with a better script this could have been a fantastic film. Hudson and Poitier are as good as ever, but the film trods along slowly never fully engaging the audience in all that his going on.
A Patch of Blue (1965) Easily the best film in this collection, Blue is truly classic cinema and a perfect romance. Selina (Elizabeth Hartman) is a poor, uneducated, blind white girl who lives under the tyranny of her abusive mother (Shelley Winters). One day when lost in the park in the rain, Gordon (Poitier) happens upon her and rescues her. Being blind she does not realize that hes black and they quickly become friends. He helps her to better get along in the world without her eyes. However Selinas mother is as racist as she is abusive and is violently apposed to her daughter spending time with a black man. Blue is a perfect blend of drama and romance that is sure to entertain all that see it.
A Warm December (1973) This collection comes to an end with a culmination of who Poitier is as he both directs and stars in this film. Sadly, this is not one of his better directorial outings. Matt Younger (Poitier) is a widowed father who goes to London to race motorcycles and escape his life. There he meets Catherine (Ester Anderson) a mysterious woman who he instantly falls for. They both have things hidden in their past and as these mysteries are revealed they fall more in love. The problem with this film is it tries too hard to be too many things. In the beginning it is very lighthearted and playful with an air of mystery that doesnt quite fit. Later on when it is revealed that Catherine has a deadly illness the film takes a turn for the serious and begins to feel like a different film all together. Poitiers acting is great as always but its not good enough to make this film interesting.
Poitier didnt make many of his great films for Warner Bros. so they had very little to pull from for this collection. Out of four films you get two that noteworthy; so a fifty-fifty split isn’t all that good.
Edge of the City, Something of Value and A Patch of Blue are all in black and white and A Warm December is in color. All films are presented in widescreen format with Dolby Digital Mono sound. These are all really good transfers. They all look and sound good.
Each film has a Theatrical Trailer.
A Patch Of Blue:
Commentary by director Guy Green: While mildly informative this is a very dry commentary.
Sidney Poitier: The Legacy Essay: While one would hope for a featurette about the man all you get is this essay to read. Very disappointing.
Gallery
Award Notes
This is a decent collection. None of these films are currently available anywhere else so if youre a Poitier fan than this is easily a must one. If not Id highly recommend renting Edge of the City and A Patch of Blue. Something of Value and A Warm December are totally avoidable. With two bad films and a severe lack of special features the overall value of the set is greatly reduced from what it could have been.
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Warner Bros. Home Video presents The Sidney Poitier Collection. Directed by Richard Brooks, Martin Ritt, Guy Green and Sidney Poitier. Starring Sidney Poitier, John Cassavetes, Rock Hudson, Shelley Winters and Ester Anderson. Not Rated. Released on DVD: January 27, 2009. 4 films on 4 DVDs. Available at Amazon.com.
