DVD Review: Written On The Wind (B+)

Written On The Wind (1956)
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall and Robert Stack
MPAA: UR
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

With Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven sweeping the critics right now its nice to see Criterion releasing a set of Douglas Sirk classics on DVD. Douglas Sirk is widely regarded as a master of color combinations on screen and a director with a penchant for the melodramatic. After viewing Written On The Wind I can truly attest that this reputation is well earned.

Written on the Wind is an overly dramatic clash of love gone bad with love unfulfilled. It centers on rich people boozing it up, arguing about life and driving sports cars way too fast. For those reasons alone, I love this movie. It was everything I was hoping for.

The story focuses on lifelong pals Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson) and Kyle Hadley (Robert Stack). The Hadleys are an oil family from way back and they are richer than the Rockefellers. Jet setting Kyle Hadley considers himself a swinger along the lines of Hugh Hefner and his lovely sister Marylee like to booze it up more than Jenna Bush. Kyle's buddy Mitch does his best to keep both of them in line much to the delight of old man Jasper Hadley. Old man Hadley wants Mitch to make a decent woman out of Marylee but that's simply asking too much.

On one of his playboy excursions Kyle meets Lucy (Lauren Bacall) and he instantly falls head over heels for her. The only problem is that so does Mitch. This all plays out like some crazy episode of Falcon Crest and the acting is over the top but somehow this all works. Its like a Tennessee Williams or Elia Kazan story but with a lot more booze. Toss in some surreal color designs (Sirk was apparently a master of the use of color) and weepy music throughout, and Written On The Wind is one amazing film indeed.

Kudos to Criterion for the beautiful print transfer and the excellent sound on this disc. Written On The Wind is a stupendously over the top melodrama with some fine acting performances. Don't miss this one.

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