Tom Jones / Movie

by Tom Jones / Movie (Artist)

Overview

"This is one of two available versions of the 1963 Best Picture winner Tom Jones. This disc comes with a standard full-frame 1.33:1 image that does not faithfully reproduce the original theatrical aspect ratio. An English soundtrack is rendered on Dolby D

Product Details

ISBN-13:	0026359066429
Publisher:	HBO / SAMUE
Publication date:	09/30/1997
Edition description:	Dolby 5.1 / Stereo / Mono
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 0.62(h) x 7.53(d)

Table of Contents

Side #1 --
0. Scene Index
1. Our story begins.... [5:13]
2. Sport in the woods [2:44]
3. Touching his bastard's heart [7:48]
4. The father of Molly's child [4:34]
5. The deer hunt; Rescuing Sophie [6:38]
6. Convalescence montage [4:44]
7. Death...and resurrection [4:52]
8. A drunken night of undulled desire [5:59]
9. Miss Western, Matchmaker [9:09]
10. The force of sobriety [5:01]
11. What to do with Sophie [1:41]
12. On the march; Toasting Sophie [4:19]
13. Hasty departures [4:13]
14. Rescuing Mrs. Waters [4:48]
15. The Upton Inn [:40]
16. Fine dining [3:43]
17. Mr. Fitzpatrick arrives [:49]
18. Everyone else arrives [3:43]
19. "I am no traveling midwife, sir." [1:31]
20. Tom meets Partridge [1:37]
21. Lady Bellaston's favors [2:23]
22. Sophie and the gentleman [5:43]
23. Lord Fellmar's courtship [3:40]
24. Matrimony [6:23]
25. Duel with Fitzpatrick [3:33]
26. Reunions & revalations [3:46]
27. Headed for the hangman [6:37]
28. Headed for Sophie [2:57]

Editorial Reviews

A bawdy, exuberant adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 18th century novel, Tom Jones bears the enviable contradiction of being a timeless period piece. Boasting both a uniformly excellent cast and a screenplay by John Osborne that remains one of the cinema's most successful literary hatchet jobs, the film ushered in a new era for British cinema. Its unabashed commercialism (which had to be financed by United Artists after its subject matter was deemed too outré by British financiers) was key to the subsequent influx of American dollars into the British film industry, and it signaled the effective end of the darker, more politicized English Free Cinema movement. The film was a landmark for a number of other reasons, first and foremost director Tony Richardson's presentation of the subject matter. Presaging MTV-style film direction by at least three decades, Richardson directed his film with impressive speed, employing rapid cuts, a frequent breaking-down of the fourth wall, and a pace breathless enough to make audiences forget that they were watching what had been a 1,000-page novel. Notable, too, was the fact that a story set two centuries ago could ring so true with a contemporary audience. The depiction of Tom's libidinous past was marked by the sort of carefree, liberated attitude that would soon become one of the defining attributes of the film's era. Moreover, it featured one of the most memorable demonstrations of the link between food and sex ever committed to celluloid, giving new meaning to the term "human appetite." With so many lasting qualities -- to say nothing of a star-making performance by a young and dashing Albert Finney -- it is little surprise that Tom Jones has stood the test of time as one of the 20th century's most enjoyable cinematic achievements.