Long unavailable due to rights disputes, the 1954 airplane adventure drama The High and the Mighty has finally come out on DVD. A two-disc Collector's Edition of The High and the Mighty was released on August 2 by Paramount Home Video.
Adapted by Ernest K. Gann from his own novel, The High and the Mighty is a sort of Grand Hotel on wings. This tale of a Trans-Pacific airliner that suffers engine trouble along the way was directed by William A. Wellman (whose Wings was the first film to win a "Best Production" Academy Award), and stars John Wayne, Robert Stack, Claire Trevor, Jan Sterling, Laraine Day, Robert Newton, Paul Kelly, John Qualen, Phil Harris, David Brian, Julie Bishop, and Regis Toomey.
One of the biggest hits of 1954, The High and the Mighty was nominated for six Academy Awards: Best direction (William Wellman), best supporting actress (Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor), best film editing (Ralph Dawson), best original song ("The High and the Mighty", music by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washington), and best original dramatic/comedy score (Dimitri Tiomkin). Only Tiomkin took home the statuette for the film's score.
Wellman was also nominated for a Director's Guild Award, while Jan Sterling, perhaps the best trashy blonde of the 1950s, won a best supporting actress Golden Globe.
Region 1 DVD (Canada / U.S. / U.S. territories) release date: August 2, 2005
- Number of discs: 2
- Picture: Anamorphic widescreen – 2.35:1
- Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0
Surround) - Available subtitles: English
- Disc One:
- Introduction by Leonard Maltin
- Commentary by Leonard Maltin, William
Wellman, Jr., Karen Sharpe, Pedro
Gonzales-Gonzales and aviation expert Vincent
Longo
- Disc Two:
- Introduction by Leonard Maltin
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Trailer
- Batjac Montage
- The High and the Mighty Premiere Footage
- Photo Gallery
- The following featurettes:
- The Batjac Story
- Stories from the Set
- On Director William A. Wellman
- The Music and World of Dimitri Tiomkin
- Restoring a Classic
- A Place in Film History
- Ernest K. Gann: Adventurer, Author, Artist
- Flying in the Fifties
List price: US$19.99. (At Amazon: US$13.99.) Prices subject
to change.
A Paramount Home Video release.
More Batjac productions on DVD
Quiz of the Day: 1954 was an unusual year for the Academy Awards, since no less than three of the five best picture nominees failed to get a best direction nod. The High and the Mighty's William A. Wellman was one of the three directors who were nominated but whose films failed to make it to the Academy's top-five list. Who were the other two "best picture-less" nominated directors?
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Quiz Answer: Alfred Hitchcock for Rear Window and Billy Wilder for Sabrina. The "director-less" best film nominees were The Caine Mutiny (Edward Dmytryk), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Stanley Donen), and Three Coins in the Fountain (Jean Negulesco).
i've always wanted to see this movie. i was so glad when it became available. i'm not a john wayne fan, but i love airplaines. the high and the mighty had so many thrills. a good movie that i recommend.