| The Essential Steve McQueen Collection Warner, 7 discs Movie •••½ Picture/Sound •••• Extras •••½ |
The Complete James Dean Collection Warner, 6 discs Movie •••• Picture/Sound •••½ Extras •••• |
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| Films | New to DVD: Never So Few (1959), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Tom Horn (1980). New transfer in two-disc set: Bullitt (1968). New edition: The Getaway (1972). Reissue: Papillon (1973). | New to DVD: East of Eden (1955). New transfer: Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Same as separate edition: Giant (1956). All three are two-disc sets. |
| Notable Directors | Sam Peckinpah (Getaway), Norman Jewison (Kid), John Sturges (Never). |
Elia Kazan (Eden), Nicholas Ray (Rebel), George Stevens (Giant). |
| Acting method or Method Acting | Speak softly and carry a big shtick: long blue-eyed stares, animal ease at rest and in motion, unexpected grins. Languid with machines and women. | Second that emoting: pleading stares, slouching stumbles, sudden outbursts. He hesitates, tears words from within, and strikes a perfect pose. |
| Range and power shown here | Array of distinctive performances, from quicksilver kid who steals scenes from Frank Sinatra in Never to more meditative characters in Papillon and Tom Horn. | Although all films were made over just three years, his thrillingly instinctual and magnetic acting grows rapidly richer with each movie. |
| DVD Quality | Picture: Excellent contrast and rich colors. Sometimes overly grainy but detailed and bright, as if shot today. Sound: Crisp. The 5.1 mixes of Papillon and Never and the 4.0 mix of Bullitt are mainly front-channel. | Picture: Rebel has saturated colors, Giant luminous tones, and Eden a brown/yellow period look. All are a little short on detail. Sound: Giant could use more breadth, but the 5.1 mixes of Eden and Rebel have clean separation and convincing effects. |
| Extras | Commentaries: one for Bullitt, two each for Getaway and Kid. Documentaries: two (each feature-length). Featurettes: three. | Commentaries: one for each film. Documentaries: one feature-length and five hour-long ones. Featurettes: four. Also: deleted scenes, interviews, screen tests, etc. |
