Jessica — Jessica( Blu Ray)
From the early 1960’s Jessica is a Sicilian village mountain set film that blends light drama, gently saucy-to-slapstick humour, and romance. It regards a ‘pretty’ blond American midwife moving to the village- to turn more than a few heads and bring up some trouble. Filmed in Technicolor it’s a feast for the eyes- as it’s largely set in the spring/ summer, so everything is in bloom. Here from Imprint Films is the first ever Blu-Ray release of the picture featuring a lush & bright new scan, commentary track, and interview with the lead actress.
Jessica is fro 1962 and was a joint Italian, French, and US production. It was directed by Craiova, Dolj, Romania-born Jean Negulesco - he had thirty-six features to his name- these went from noir Three Strangers (1946), to the romantic western The Lure Of The Wildness (1952), to period-drama/ early disaster movie Titanic (1953), and Sea Adventure Boy On A Dolphin (1957). Mafia Alla Sbarra (1963).
The film was shot in and around Forza d'Agrò, Messina, Sicily- which truly is a beautiful mountain set village. It opens with postcard-like snapshots of the village, its surrounding landscape, and the villages themselves. We then meet one of our lead characters greying haired and kindly French priest Father Antonio(Maurice Chevalier) he sits under a tree with an acoustic guitar- which from time to time he strums- he talks directly to the screen- telling us about Jessica(Angie Dickinson) an American midwife who has recently moved into the village- she is seemingly turning all the men’s heads, and is looked at with suspicion by the women of the village.
As the film moves on villages debate if they trust her, and what to do about Jessica- who is hardworking and caring. She lives with Mamma Parigi(Georgette Anys) a jolly larger lady, in time Jessica befriends ageing/ moustached gardener Old Crupi(Noël-Noël), and has a run-in with Edmondo Raumo(Gabriele Ferzetti) who lives in a mansion at the top of the village/ is in charge of it- though claims he is a common fisherman when he first meets Jessica.
The Technicolor truly is wondrous- as it picks out the mainly coloured flowers/ plants of the village gardens, Jessica/ the villages dress, and interiors of the buildings. We also get nice shots of local life/ traditional music & dance. And these are all very much enhanced by the film's new lush, bold, and bright scan.
The acting throughout is just fine- though there are no great dramatic scenes, and the characters are not terribly well painted. I’d say Jessica is a Sunday afternoon watch- it won’t blow you away/ change your world, but it’s a pleasant/ largely charming blend of light drama, comedy, and romance.
Moving onto this recent region-free Blu-ray release, and the 2k is a thing of wonder- with a great & bold colour pallet. The packaging itself is highly colourful too- with a bright yellow slip, and bright blue & yellow/ red text case.
On the extras side we get a new commentary track from film historian C. Courtney Joyner- this as you expect is very well researched/ observed- though on one or two occasions he does full back into describing what’s going on-screen. He begins by talking about how the film was released at an odd time in Hollywood history when financial backers were being looked for around the world. He talks about Maurice Chevalier career- we find out that during the 1930s he was the highest-paid actor at Paramount- though shortly after this he left for Europe to join the communist party, as it was against the Nazis. He returned to Hollywood in 1957 for the Billy Wilder film Love in the Afternoon. He talks about the film to hand being very ‘cute’ and European in its humour. He chats about the career of Angie Dickinson during this time, and how this was way more light-hearted than many of the films she was involved with at this time. He gives bios of actors as they appear, and we find out the film didn’t get the audience the studio hoped. Later on, he discusses the great use of shot composition in the film, and the relaxed/ gentle way of telling a story. Points out the little twists ‘n’ turns in the plot, and more.
Otherwise, we get Angie Dickinson: Looking Back( 46.50) this is an in-depth/ on-film interview with Ms Dickson, moving from the start of her career up to Dressed To Kill( 1980).
Jessica is a charming and light blend of drama, gently saucy-to-slapstick humour, and romance- all filmed in bold & bright Technicolor. It’s nice to see Imprint Films releasing the film, with a wonderful 2k scan & small/ but good selection of extras.