Carrie (1952)

Based on Theodore Dreiser's "immoral" novel "Sister Carrie" -- the word "sister" was removed, in order to avoid confusion: this is not a nun picture -- this 1952 William Wyler film tells the story of Carrie, a poor, small-town girl (Jennifer Jones) who moves to Chicago in search of a better life. Struggling to get by, she moves in with a salesman -- who plans to marry her -- but he makes the mistake of introducing Carrie to George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier), a restaurant manager with amazing powers of seduction. Before long, Hurstwood and Carrie fall madly in love. Of course, everything falls apart when she learns Hurstwood's terrible secret: he has a wife and kids.

As you might expect, things get more complicated from there and Hurstwood is severely punished for his "immoral" conduct. While reputed as some kind of romantic classic, this is a bleak, unflinching look at the dark-side of romance. In fact, in its depiction of impossible love, Carrie was a major influence on Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence, a fact Scorsese and co-writer Jay Cocks readily acknowledge in the published screenplay of that film.

Paramount's transfer is impressively clean, presenting the film's polished black-and-white photography in something approximating its original glory. And don't worry about the dreaded "full screen collection" banner on the DVD case: this isn't a compromised presentation. Made one year before the introduction of widescreen, Carrie was photographed in the full screen ratio (1.33:1) and is accurately presented on this DVD.

The only feature is brief but significant. Paramount has integrated the famous "flophouse" scene back into the film. According to some brief explanatory text, this was cut from American prints in the 50s due to the "political state of affairs." This unpleasant glimpse of homeless life circa 1890 has its own chapter on the DVD, entitled "Destitute" (which clocks in at 2 minutes and 35 seconds). Marking the rock-bottom low point of Hurstwood's decline, this scene adds immeasurably to the film's impact.

Widely seen as a showcase for Laurence Olivier's finest performance, Carrie is an old fashioned tragedy with a surprisingly downbeat, unromantic worldview. Presenting this tragedy in its full, un-censored despair, Paramount's recent DVD is clearly the best way to see this William Wyler classic. -- Jonathan Doyle