Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

[Akijama]

Courtesy of Olive Films

Kiss Me, Stupid Blu-ray





Source

Kiss Me, Stupid Original Trailer - YouTube

[L.A. Guy]

Good comedy.

[Brad1963]

The torch has been passed from Kino to Olive for the MGM/UA catalog.

[RICKBONDOO7]

I hope Olive releases some Adventure,Period UA films like The Vikings !!! No more UA Films from Kino ???

[javi92]

Been a while since I've seen this one, but I remember it being funny. Will definitely pick up.

[The Great Owl]

More Billy Wilder on Blu-ray... Count me in!

[RCRochester]

I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was fun and hilarious. Very underrated. I can see why it would have been controversial on its original release, but it's relatively tame nowadays and can be enjoyed on its own merits. It still has some great dialogue including some wonderful double-entendres, like when Walston is describing his house "it's small, but it's clean" and Novak thinks he's talking about *something else*. It's not as good as The Apartment or The Fortune Cookie, but I think it's one of the better Wilder-Diamond comedies.

Jack Lemmon would obviously have been better suited for the Walston role though (he was apparently unavailable), but I can't really see Peter Sellers working well as that character. Still, it would be interesting to see some of the footage he shot if it's out there somewhere.

The rest of the cast are all great though. Dean Martin is just the best for poking such fun at himself and his image.

Fans of those Wilder-Diamond comedies of the 60s should really give this a chance.

[CelestialAgent]

My order of the French release of Kiss Me, Stupid (Embrasse moi, idiot) released by Rimini arrived from amazon.fr and I can confirm it has the option of playing the film in English without forced subs, in addition to the option of French.

Unlike the barebones Olive Films release, it has several extras, including a French language booklet, trailer (2:33, English), Conversation entre M. Macheret & F. Mercier (36:07, French), Billy Wilder, La perfection Hollywoodienne (54:19, English with forced French subtitles, though some of Wilder’s interview excerpts are in German) - features interviews with Tony Maietta, John Landis and Paul Diamond, and Billy Willder - I.A.L. Diamond, ecrire à quatre mains (21:33, English with optional French subtitles) - interview with Paul Diamond.

[WaverBoy]

I still need to pick this up. Ray gets one of the best lines in Hollywood history, hilarious on multiple levels when placed in context:

“If it wasn’t for these Venetian blinds, it’d be curtains for all of us!”

[BernardDB]

Unfortunately, no subtitles! Olive, do something next time!

[latehong]

Originally Posted by BernardDB

Unfortunately, no subtitles! Olive, do something next time!

I'm patiently waiting for a UK Eureka release exactly because of that. (Not that there has been an official announcement or a hint, by the way. It's just that Eureka has released a lot of Billy Wilder movies in the UK, so...)

[bonehica]

Originally Posted by latehong

I'm patiently waiting for a UK Eureka release exactly because of that. (Not that there has been an official announcement or a hint, by the way. It's just that Eureka has released a lot of Billy Wilder movies in the UK, so...)

I'm holding out on it as well for that same reason. However, last year I finally broke down and picked up Olive's release of John Ford's "The Sun Shines Bright", which I had held off as well because of the lack of subtitles. Then, a couple of months later, Eureka went and released a superior version with subs. So, maybe I need to take one for the team with "Kiss Me, Stupid" and see if lightening strikes twice

[Beckford]

I generally love Kim Novak. Her four in a row streak of amazing performances from 1958 to 1960 ("Bell Book and Candle", "Vertigo", "Middle of the Night" and "Strangers When We Meet") remain absolute knockouts for me. But I've never found her to be quite right in "Kiss Me Stupid". The actress's comedy instincts were somewhat problematic. She needed just the right sympathetic director to coax an effective comic performance from her. Richard Quine elicited brilliant work from Novak in "Bell Book and Candle"; and she registered quite appealingly in Britisher Terence Young's "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders". But Wilder - for all his lauded skill with actors in comedies - seemed unable to mine much from her in "Kiss me Stupid". She's beautiful, of course. Always ranked among the all-time screen beauties. But that loveliness was always apparent no matter who directed her.
Everything about the Walston and Novak roles seems to suggest that Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine should have played them. What naturals they'd have been at nailing both the funny and sympathetic sides of these characters. And both pretty much at the height of their box office appeal.
As someone indicated above, Dean Martin's work in the picture is spot on. And Felicia Farr (the real-life Mrs. Lemmon) is good too. But I can't help thinking that a Lemmon/MacLaine/Martin "Kiss Me Stupid" would have not just played infinitely better - but that it would have been a big box-office hit too. Sadly it seems that just wasn't meant to be.

[latehong]

Originally Posted by bonehica

I'm holding out on it as well for that same reason. However, last year I finally broke down and picked up Olive's release of John Ford's "The Sun Shines Bright", which I had held off as well because of the lack of subtitles. Then, a couple of months later, Eureka went and released a superior version with subs. So, maybe I need to take one for the team with "Kiss Me, Stupid" and see if lightening strikes twice

Nothing dramatic as your experience, but I had to double or triple-dip Bullfighter and the Lady (Indicator), Cloak and Dagger (Eureka), Force of Evil (Arrow), High Noon (Eureka), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (BFI), Johnny Guitar (Eureka), Secret Beyond the Door (Arrow), Twilight's Last Gleaming (Eureka) and of course, The Sun Shines Bright. I also had a close call with One of Our Aircraft is Missing (BFI) and Rio Grande (Eureka).

Well, I still hope there will be another superior, subtitled release of Body and Soul, Caught, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Men on War, Pursued, etc... but at this point, I can't imagine myself buying another no-sub release from Olive.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by latehong

Nothing dramatic as your experience, but I had to double or triple-dip Bullfighter and the Lady (Indicator), Cloak and Dagger (Eureka), Force of Evil (Arrow), High Noon (Eureka), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (BFI), Johnny Guitar (Eureka), Secret Beyond the Door (Arrow), Twilight's Last Gleaming (Eureka) and of course, The Sun Shines Bright. I also had a close call with One of Our Aircraft is Missing (BFI) and Rio Grande (Eureka).

Well, I still hope there will be another superior, subtitled release of Body and Soul, Caught, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Men on War, Pursued, etc... but at this point, I can't imagine myself buying another no-sub release from Olive.

Letter From An Unknown Woman has an Olive Signature release that not only looks better, but has subs.