'Two Weeks In Another Town [Remaster]'
(Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Cyd Charisse, George Hamilton, Daliah Lavi, et al / DVD / NR / (1962) 2011 / Warner Bros. Archive Collection)
Overview: Just out of a sanitarium, Jack grabs at a small role in a movie shot in Rome by a director (Edward G. Robinson) whose career is also on the skids. When the director falls ill, Jack takes over, realizing this is his last shot at personal and professional redemption.
DVD Verdict: Vincent Minnelli directed this handsome production that seems to be completely shot in Rome, and also Cinecitta studios, (one of the settings). Kirk Douglas and Ed G. Robinson are the big stars in this. Both Hollywood people, one a director, and the other an oscar winning actor both on the verge of their own personal demises.
A chance comes for both of them that brings them together, while you get to hang with them on and off sets with George Hamilton and various stunning Italian beauties. Once this movie gets it's motor going, it's going to knock you over.
I don't want to reveal the end, or really, the big scenes near the end, but I will say that now I see where Oliver Stone got his ideas for the fantasy sequences in Natural Born Killers and Rodriquez got his visual style for the car sequences in Sin City. Cyd Charisse plays a real Succubus with more danger than Lena Horne in her hottest scenes - and that's saying something.
Both gals seem to be equal in their abilities in flashing dazzling, dangerous teeth. Technicolor looks extravagant in this film, and so does Rome at night. You care for the lead, Kirk, and don't want some downtempo melodrama to eat him alive, which seems to be always lurking around the corner. But that's the great trick of this film as it puts you on edge and then delivers goods you never expected. When it's over, you've been on a wild ride.
You might also dig Kirk's Maserati convertible too - or Clare Trevor, who gets to have lots of fun tearing up the scenery. Indeed, just watch this film TODAY as you'll never look back! [TD] This is a Full Screen Presentation (1.77:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
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