Days of Wine and Roses is a film where typecasting gets completely thrown out the window. Blake Edwards is given the chance to direct a drama. Jack Lemmon is given the chance to be a dramatic lead man. And The oh-so-f'ing-beautiful Lee Remick is stripped of her Hollywood image and allowed to do what she does best: act.
This film is hardcore, and although there is some hilarious physical comedy by Lemmon, it's a sobering account of a couple bent on self-destruction. Days of Wine and Roses is a wonderful film, and shouldn't be missed.
From TMC:
The original theatrical poster for Days of Wine and Roses (1962) had the freakshow pitch of a carnie with its exploitive tagline of "It is different. It is daring. Most of all, in its own terrifying way, it is a love story." Yet, the film was truly controversial in nature due to its realistic treatment of a young urban couple destroyed by their growing addiction to alcohol. It was also the first time moviegoers had seen Jack Lemmon, normally cast in comedies, in such an intensely dramatic role.
Days of Wine and Roses originally aired as a TV play by J. P. Miller on Playhouse 90 and starred Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie in the lead roles. 20th-Century-Fox purchased the property but soon dropped it from their film slate due to the heavy costs incurred by the studio's production of Cleopatra (1963). They sold it to Warner Brothers who wanted a bigger box office name than Robertson for the lead character of Joe Clay, an ambitious public relations man who introduces his young bride, Kirsten, to social drinking. Robertson was just a year away from becoming a well known star, thanks to his role as John F. Kennedy in the true-life war drama, PT-109 (1963) but Jack Lemmon was offered the part instead. Likewise, Lee Remick replaced Piper Laurie as Kirsten, Clay's wife. Charles Bickford, in the role of Kirsten's father, was the only cast member to star in both the television and film versions.
While preparing for their roles, both Lemmon and Remick attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings numerous times. Lemmon even spent several evenings at the Lincoln Heights jail where he observed inmates in the drunk tank and the dry-out rooms. He later said, "It was frightening, watching those poor souls tortured by delirium tremens. As a result of what I saw we changed several scenes. For instance, we used a dry-out table where you are strapped down, rather than having the guy just wake up in a cell."
Because Days of Wine and Roses dealt with such a serious issue, Warner studio executives were concerned about the film's commercial prospects and held a preview screening. To their horror about forty couples walked out on the film during its showing which was a record for the studio. Later they discovered that the preview ad had failed to mention that it was a drama and not the expected Jack Lemmon comedy. When Days of Wine and Roses went into national release, it earned unanimous critical acclaim and positive word-of-mouth that helped increase its box-office take. The film also earned five Academy Award nominations including Best Actor (Lemmon), Best Actress (Remick), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Song (by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini) which won the Oscar in its category.
Technical Information:
Title: Days of Wine and Roses
Year: 1962
Country: USA
Director: Blake Edwards
Source: DVD9 Retail
DVD Format: NTSC
Container: .iso +mds
Size: 7.12 GB
Length: 1:57:10
Programs used: ImgBurn
Resolution: 720x480
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Video: MPEG2 @ ~5800 kb/s
Frame Rate: 29.97 fps
Audio 1: English- Dolby AC3 Mono @ 192 kb/s
Audio 2: Spanish- Dolby AC3 Mono @ 192 kb/s
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia
Video: Untouched
DVD Extras: Director's Commentary, Jack Lemmon Interview, Theatrical Trailer
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