Carmen Jones

Dorothy Dandridge Director: Otto Preminger Otto Preminger

Overview

Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones comes to DVD with a beautiful widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Closed-captioned English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 4.0 and Dolby Digital Surround. English and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include the theatrical trailer. 20th Century Fox deserves much credit for making this mid-'50s film look and sound this good. Fans of the film will not be disappointed in the slightest.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/22/2002
UPC:	0024543018834
Original Release:	1954
Rating:	NR
Source:	20Th Century Fox
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	4,837

Special Features

Theatrical trailer; Interactive menus; Scene selection; Anamorphic widescreen [aspect ratio 2.55:1]; Audio: English 4.0 surround, English Dolby surround; Subtitles: English, Spanish

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dorothy Dandridge	Carmen Jones
Harry Belafonte	Joe
Olga James	Cindy Lou
Pearl Bailey	Frankie
Diahann Carroll	Myrt
Nick Stewart	Dink Franks
Joe Adams	Husky Miller
Brock Peters	Sgt. Brown
Sandy Lewis	T-Bone
Mauri Lynn	Sally
DeForest Covan	Trainer
Le Vern Hutcherson	Joe [singing]
Marilyn Horne	Carmen [singing]
Roy E. Glenn	Rum Daniels

Technical Credits

Harry Kleiner

Otto Preminger	Director,Producer
Claude E. Carpenter	Set Decoration/Design
Herschel Burke Gilbert	Musical Direction/Supervision
Oscar Hammerstein	Songwriter
Edward Ilou	Art Director
Harry Kleiner	Screenwriter
Sam Leavitt	Cinematographer
Louis Loeffler	Editor
Mary Ann Nyberg	Costumes/Costume Designer
Herbert Ross	Choreography

Scene Index

Side #1 --
0. Scene Selection
1. Main Titles [:02]
2. Joe's Gal [1:36]
3. Carmen ("Dat's Love") [3:33]
4. "You Talk Jus' Like My Maw" [2:03]
5. The Military Prisoner [3:54]
6. "Dere's a Café on de Corner" [:55]
7. Carmen's Escape [1:32]
8. More Problems [4:00]
9. Carmen's Home Town [1:39]
10. Trouble's Coming [:56]
11. In the Stockade [1:39]
12. "Dis Flower" [3:16]
13. "Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum" [1:23]
14. "Stan' Up an' Fight" [2:02]
15. The Champ's Choice [3:45]
16. "Whizzin' Away Along de Track" [1:49]
17. "There's a Man I'm Crazy For" [:33]
18. Love on a Pass [5:18]
19. Joe's Big Mistake [2:07]
20. Chicago [1:45]
21. Visiting the Champ [3:37]
22. Joe's Suspicion [1:27]
23. Busting Out [3:00]
24. "Card Song" [1:03]
25. "My Joe" [:17]
26. Confrontation [4:35]
27. "He Got His Self Another Woman" [3:27]
28. The Big Fight [2:00]
29. "Final Duet" [:01]
30. "String Me High on a Tree" [3:37]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play Movie
   Special Features
      Theatrical Trailer
      Original One-Sheet
      Marilyn Diamond Collection
      Oklahoma
      The Rose
      Sound of Music
      South Pacific
   Language Selection
      Languages: English 4.0 Surround
      Languages: English Stereo Surround
      Captions & Subtitles: English
      Captions & Subtitles: Spanish
      Captions & Subtitles: Off

Editorial Reviews

Carmen Jones is a fine film whose luster is enhanced by the performance of Dorothy Dandridge. Her Best Actress Oscar nomination was the first for an African-American performer in that category. Although Dandridge was a fine singer with a successful night club career, her voice wasn't "operatic" enough to suit studio execs who dubbed her singing voice with that of opera singer Marilyn Horne. It was unusual in the 1950s for a film with an all-black cast to be marketed to white audiences. Tight studio control kept the production costs to a manageable $750,000, but it would be three years before Dandridge made another film, and another five years before a similar project, Porgy and Bess, would be attempted. Seen today, the story creaks a bit, but Dandridge elevates the film considerably.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam