The Good
Who doesn't want a collection of Sidney Poitier movies?
The Bad
I wish there was more in the way of extra features.The Sidney Poitier Collection contains 4 films from this wonderful actor. The films in this collection are:
- Edge of the City
- A Patch of Blue
- Something of Value
- A Warm December
Edge of the City sees Poitier and John Cassavetes as two men fighting corruption on the waterfront. A Patch of Blue sees what happens when a blind girl from a bigoted family gets some aid from an African American man. Something of Value chronicles the bloody uprising in the Mau Mau jungle. Lastly, A Warm December is a love story that sees what happens when a widower tries their hand at love in a new country.
Features
A Patch of Blue
Commentary
Director Guy Green sits back and discusses this film. He talks about working with the actors, what he was trying to achieve, how the movie came together, etc. He gives us anecdotes about the production and that is what makes this commentary so enjoyable. Anybody looking for a laugh might be disappointed but those that want to hear about how a movie gets made... look no further.
Sidney Poitier: The Legacy Essay
Stills Gallery
This gallery simply presents pictures from this film. There isn't too much to say about them but they looked good.
Video
Widescreen - Presented in a "matted" widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. Enhanced for widescreen TVs. A Patch of Blue is in the letterbox format. A Patch of Blue and Edge of the City and white. Something of Value and A Warm December are in color. All of these movies looked pretty good. I wasn't able to watch all of them but I did give them a spin in my player. Nice work Warner Bros.!
Audio
Dolby Digital - Mono. All of these films sounded pretty good. Once I turned up the audio on my TV about halfway, everything played about as good as I thought that it might. There isn't anything that awesome about any of the sound work, but for what it is things sound solid here.
Package
Poitier stands on the front of this slipcase cover with his arms crossed. The back features descriptions and images from all the films, and on the bottom of the cover there are technical specs. All four discs are housed in 4 slim cases with artwork and descriptions from each film.
Final Word
Out of all the films in this collection my favorite was most certainly Edge of the City. The fact that I really like Sidney Poitier as an actor (and I love John Cassavetes) made me the most excited about this movie. The story that it tells about friendship, race and honor is something that resonates just as strongly today as when it came out in 1957.
Sidney Poitier is one of America's finest actors and I think it's great that his work is getting recognized in such a strong collection.