Product Description

Bette Davis Collection Volume 1 includes 2 new-to-DVD classics, featuring Davis in her ninth Academy Award nominated role as movie queen Margaret Elliot whose popularity and fortune has ended. In MR. SKEFFINGTON, Davis portrays Fanny, a beauty who has used her looks to manipulate her way through life. But now diphtheria has robbed her of her only attribute. And without her looks, she’s lost. NOW, VOYAGER stars Davis' magical portrayal of Charlotte Vale, a spinster who defies her domineering mother (fellow Oscar nominee Gladys Cooper) to discover love, heartbreak and eventual contentment. In DARK VICTORY, Bette Davis delivers a bravura, moving-but-never-morbid performance as Judith Traherne, a dying heiress determined to find happiness in her few remaining months. THE LETTER, a peerless example of melodrama as movie art, stars Davis as an adulterer using her sexual wiles to escape a murder conviction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9036 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Running time: 553 minutes

Customer Reviews

I Suggest Buying the Titles Separately for Your Permanent Collection
My rating is merely for the packaged format and NOT for the movies. The five movies in this collection are quintessential Bette Davis, and belong in every film buff's permanent collection.

That being said, the problem I have with many pre-packaged collections is that someone else has chosen the movies for you, and may not have included the movies you would have chosen had you been allowed to choose the assortment yourself.

If I had been the one to assemble this collection, I would have included Now, Voyager (Keepcase), Mr. Skeffington, and Dark Victory (1939); but I would have substituted any of the following titles: Of Human Bondage (B&W), The Petrified Forest, All This, and Heaven Too, Jezebel (Restored and Remastered Edition), or The Little Foxes; for the later The Star and lesser movie (IMHO) The Letter.

My reasoning is that the movies I have named are all top-notch examples of Bette Davis in the thirties and early forties. The Star is getting into a middle-aged Davis, who while still fabulous, belongs to the fifties. The Letter is just not as good as some of the other movies I suggested.

Of course, you cannot go wrong with any of Bette Davis' films, and if you like the boxed set format, this is as good a place to start as any. There is no "theme" to this set. For instance, these are not all of her most critically-acclaimed performances (her first Oscar win, for Dangerous, is not here, for example, nor is her second for Jezebel.)

Buying in a collection like this may be a little more cost-effective, although you can find all of the above-mentioned titles for under eighteen dollars, with the exception of All This and Heaven Too and Dangerous.

Ultimately, it's up to the individual collector to decide what films (and in what packaging format) belong in one's permanent film library. My own preference is that the films of the great stars be collected separately, unless the boxed sets follow some sort of theme or sequence (such as the Indiana Jones films, for example; or all the films which feature the star and a certain favorite co-star or director.)

Classy Lady of the Big Screen
There is no finer lady of the big screen than Bette Davis. If you like tear jerkers, this is a must. If you want acting at its greatest, this is a must. If you just like watching the classiest lady in the world, this is a double must. Each dvd has a review from her peers, giving you inside information that only enhances the Bette Davis experience. A must have at any price.

Great value for the pack!
If you are a Bette Davis fan, as I am, this is a great set. It is well worth the money.