THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT [1997 / 2018] [Twilight Time] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
The Romance of Passion and Power!
Directed by Charles Jarrott [‘Anne of the Thousand Days’], and ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ is a spectacularly epic adaptation of Sidney Sheldon’s melodrama focusing on the rise of a French shop girl, Noelle Page as the great Marie-France Pisier. After a torrid World War II-era love affair with an American pilot, Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas [John Beck], leaves her abandoned and pregnant, and Noelle Page vows revenge – which includes becoming a fashion model, an international movie star, and the mistress of a staggeringly wealthy Greek tycoon Constantin Demeris [Raf Vallone]. Susan Sarandon co-stars as Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas’s perky post-war wife Catherine Alexander Douglas, and Clu Gulager as Bill Fraser is thankfully around, too. But once Noelle Page’s plan is set in motion, Noelle Page and Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas fall in love again and plot Catherine Alexander Douglas's death. Appropriately the fabulous music score by Michel Legrand is available on this Twilight Time Blu-ray release as an isolated track.
“Gloriously restores the era of Now, Voyager…the movie equivalent of a good long bad read.” – Time Out London
“Quite fabulous…spectacular style details.” – Maegan Tintari, www.lovemaegan.com
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1978 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Costume Design for Irene Sharaff.
FILM FACT No.2: According to the TV documentary “Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy” [2004] the “The Other Side Of Midnight” book's popularity was anticipated to translate to success at the box office, and 20th Century Fox heavily promoted the film. At the same time, the studio was promoting ‘Star Wars,’ which was gaining controversy for its growing expense. Fearing that ‘Star Wars’ would flop, the studio 20th Century Fox made a peremptory decision to grant prints of ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ with a 2 hour 45 minutes long feature film with lots of sex and nudity and only to those cinemas that agreed to book ‘Star Wars’ as well. The film was remade in India as the Hindi film ‘Oh Bewafa’ [1980] Sidney Sheldon wrote a 1990 sequel, “Memories of Midnight,” which was adapted into a 1991 television miniseries starring Jane Seymour as Catherine Alexander.
Cast: Marie-France Pisier, John Beck, Susan Sarandon, Raf Vallone, Clu Gulager, Christian Marquand, Michael Lerner, Sorrell Booke, Antony Ponzini, Louis Zorich, Charles Cioffi, Lilyan Chauvin, George Keymas, Lidia Kristen, Denise DeMirjian, Mathilda Calnan, Dimitra Arliss, Jan Arvan, Josette Banzet, John Chappell, Eunice Christopher, Roger Etienne, Howard Hesseman, Garrie Kelly, Curt Lowens, Peter Mamakos, Jacques Maury, Louis Mercier, Lina Raymond, George Skaff, George Sperdakos, Roger Til, Titos Vandis, Than Wyenn, Miles Jonn-Dalton (uncredited), John Blackwell (uncredited), Ken Carpenter (uncredited), George DeNormand (uncredited), Hermann Göring (archive footage) (uncredited), Bob Harks (uncredited), Adolf Hitler (archive footage) (uncredited), Harry Holcombe (uncredited) and Charles Siebert (uncredited)
Director: Charles Jarrott
Producers: Frank Yablans, Hawk Koch, Howard W. Koch,Jr. and Jack B. Bernstein
Screenplay: Sidney Sheldon (based upon the novel), Daniel Taradash (screenplay), Herman Raucher (screenplay) and Barry Sandler (uncredited)
Composer: Michel Legrand
Cinematography: Fred J. Koenekamp, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Jewels: Cartier
Furs: Ben Thylan
Costumes: Irene Sharaff
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
English 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 166 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox / Twilight Time
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ [1997] In the spring of 1977, 20th Century-Fox was preparing what it believed to be a sure-fire box office dynamo. The powers that be had good reason to be this enthusiastic. The picture was based on a best seller by noted author and beloved of Hollywood, Sidney Sheldon – a pulpy romance in the best vein of a classic Bette Davis weepy, lushly photographed on locations all around the world with an international cast of newbies, seasoned hams and wannabes all vying for screen time.
Spanning the course of several years, the movie charts the passionate yet ill-fated love affair between roguish American pilot Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas [John Beck] and seemingly innocent French girl Noelle Page [Marie-France Pisier]. When they first meet prior to WWII in Paris, they fall madly in love, with Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas promising to marry her when he returns; when he doesn’t and finding herself pregnant, Noelle Page begins a dramatic transformation from innocent to steely femme fatale. Rising from model to international movie star, Noelle Page eventually finds herself being the object of affection for Greek tycoon Constantin Demetris [Raf Vallone] and becomes his mistress; Noelle Page now has the means to seek revenge against Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas for his betrayal, but Noelle Page doesn’t expect him to rekindle their romance and begin to plot a sinister fate for Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas’s wife Catherine Alexander Douglas [Susan Sarandon].
Now that more than 40 years have passed since its initial release, it’s time to see the movie for what it truly is: an enjoyable throwback to the lush pictures of the 1940’s that were also based on popular novels. The style of those pictures are matched by the grittiness of 1970’s filmmaking, which also seemed to have a fondness for the nostalgia of the 1930’s and 1940’s in quite a few of the films released during that decade; that convergence of two different styles and eras is equalled in the crew members working on the film.
Long-time 20th Century Fox production designer John DeCuir worked on the sets, recreating the WWII-era scenes of Paris, Washington, D.C., and Greece to great effect. Costume designer Irene Sharaff – who would receive the film’s lone Oscar nod for her work her here – brilliantly captures the glamour of Noelle’s rise to fame and power and contrasts it to the more subdued tones in Catherine Alexander Douglas’s wardrobe. Cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp, still a relatively few years fresh off of winning an Oscar for his work on Irwin Allen’s ‘The Towering Inferno’ [1974], captures the locales with a stark beauty that’s appropriate for these globetrotting adventures involving romance and power.
Director Charles Jarrott already had some experience with a story involving power and romance and his work on the Oscar-nominated ‘Anne of the Thousand Days’ [1969] immediately comes to mind and manages to maintain our interest in the story throughout although some scenes stand out better than others and the case in point, the harrowing abortion scene that still makes this viewer wince and the scene involving the ice cubes is better experienced than talked about here. The combination of these talents, along with composer Michel Legrand’s beautifully lush score, makes for a visually sumptuous romantic epic combining both grit and glamour in balanced doses.
The decision to cast those who weren’t seen in the Hollywood type does help the film to some degree. Marie-France Pisier, who was fresh off an international smash with ‘Cousin, Cousine’ [1975] and selected out of a group of several other French actresses considered for the part, make for an appropriately luminous Noelle Page. John Beck, who had a handful of interesting appearances in the films of the 1970’s, has probably one of his best roles as the roguish cad Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas. Although both Marie-France Pisier and John Beck made for an attractive looking couple.
The best performance by far in the film has to go to then up and coming actress at the time and was Susan Sarandon, making Catherine Alexander Douglas both sweet natured and steely when her life is put on the line in the second half of the film. As to the Greek tycoon Constantin Demetris clearly modelled after the real life Aristotle Onassis, Raf Vallone exemplifies the man of power and privilege who is both the user and the used and especially when it comes to Noelle Page. Other notable appearances include Clu Gulager as Bill Fraser, Howard Hesseman as O'Brien, Michael Lerner as Barbet, Titos Vandis as Presiding Judge, Christian Marquand as Armand Gautier the French director, and Sorrell Booke as Lanchon.
‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ did very well, because it grossed just under $25 million at the box on a budget of about $9 million. ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ became an overnight success and grossed a then-record $775 million. And to my mind it is a brilliant film, and do not get persuaded by the vacuous critics who gave it the thumbs down, boy, what they know about commented on a film of this calibre, is written on the back of a box of matches.
THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT MUSIC TRACK LIST
PROLOGUE (Noelle's Story) (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
I KNOW WHY (And So Do You) (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) [Played during the scene with Larry and Fraser at the bar]
THE MORE I SEE YOU (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) [Played during the scene with Larry and Catherine having dinner at home]
CHASON POUR NOELLE (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
(I've Got A Gal In) KALAMAZOO (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) [Played during the montage of Larry and Catherine in Washington]
LARRY’S RETURN (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
LAST DINNER AT DEMERIS’ (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
PARIS MONTAGE (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
BLUE MOON (uncredited) (Music by Richard Rodgers) [Played during the restaurant scene with Larry and Catherine]
THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (Noelle's Theme, Reprise) (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
DRIVE TO DEMERIS’ (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
LARRY AND NOELLE (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
AFTER DINNER AT DEMERIS’ (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) [Whistled by the flower delivery man]
DEMERIS’ PARTY (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
EPILOGUE (Adieu Noelle) (Written by Michel Legrand) [Performed by Michel Legrand Et Son Orchestre]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Twilight Time in cooperation with 20th Century Fox presents us the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ in a sparkling 1080p transfer, with an equally impressive 1.85:1 aspect ratio to perfectly authenticate the appeal of Fred J. Koenekamp’s cinematography. The colour palette is fairly robust, reds in clothing, lipstick and the occasional Nazi swastika, bound off the screen, as do the lush emerald hues in outdoor greenery scenes. Flesh tones are accurately represented. The image is not razor sharp; as I suspect Fred J. Koenekamp has used some sort of diffusion filter to add yet another layer of faux realism to amplify the picture’s romantic elements. Still, overall detail is quite good, as is contrast, with a light smattering of film grain looking very indigenous to its source. There are virtually no age-related artefacts to worry about either. This is a very smooth and pleasing visual presentation.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Twilight Time in cooperation with 20th Century Fox brings us the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ with a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. Dialogue and sound effects have strong clarity and ambiance along with Michel Legrand’s score and additional source music, which has strong fidelity without being too overpowering. An optional 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio is also available as well. Again, the film hasn’t sounded this good on this excellent Blu-ray release and both audio tracks are very good.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Features: Isolated Music Track: Presented in 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track, viewers can choose to experience Michel Legrand’s lush music score with some occasional sound effects now and again; like most of the isolated music score tracks from 20th Century Fox, this sounds like it was taken from the original scoring sessions done for the film. The only negative aspect of viewing this film with the Isolated Music Track, is that there are far too many long gaps of silent sections throughout the film.
Audio Commentary with Producer Frank Yablans, Director Charles Jarrott, Author Sidney Sheldon and Film Historian Laurent Bouzereau: Here first up is Laurent Bouzereau who is a French-American documentary filmmaker, producer, and author to introduce himself, who is the moderator and informs us that this audio commentary is via the inferior DVD release of the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ and Laurent Bouzereau informs us that he wanted to approach this audio commentary very differently, but not to describe what they are viewing of the film, but instead preferred to do a recording of personal interviews with each person individually, especially about the history of the novel, and of course all aspect of the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT.’ First up is author Sidney Sheldon and was recorded in his home, and Sidney Sheldon informs us that is a great honour to do this interview, and is very delighted that Laurent Bouzereau is there with him. Sidney Sheldon informs us that the novel “The Other Side of Midnight” was released in 1973 and was his second novel, and informs us that his first novel was “The Naked Face” which was released in 1969, and is asked how he became a novelist, and it all happened sometime in the 1960’s when he wanted to start writing books, and it was by pure accident, and the inspiration was to do with someone trying to murder a psychiatrist and because it was a very complicated plot, eventually gave up with writers block, but eventually over time kept coming back to the novel in the hope of finishing it, and eventually finally got it published, and then his next project with the novel “The Naked Face.” Other jobs he went onto tackle was being a screenwriter, and is asked to compare writing novels compared to screenplays, and says that novels is his first love, because of the freedom it gives him and finds doing novels and getting them published is far easier than writing a screenplay, as there are lots of logistic problems with people interfering throughout the process. Sidney Sheldon is asked how he tried to tackle the novel “The Other Side of Midnight” and comments that it was influenced by another novel entitled “Orchids For Virginia” which the RKO Studios bought the rights to make the film and again was all to do with a man who is trying to murder his wife. Laurent Bouzereau asks Sidney Sheldon how he goes about writing his novels and how the outlines are also achieved and says that when he starts out with a new novel, it has to be good, then eventually the ideas start to flow. Sidney Sheldon is also asked how the title for the novel “The Other Side of Midnight" came about, because all of his other novel titles are amazing, and does not how this particular novel title came about and Laurent Bouzereau feels the novel’s title “The Other Side of Midnight" is really beautiful and gives the impression of the division between good and evil. Sidney Sheldon informs us that the novel “The Other Side of Midnight" took about 18 months to complete, and only got a deal when he showed the novel to his publisher when completed. On top of all that, all the countries mentioned in the novel and what we see in the film, Sidney Sheldon actually visited them, and especially to get the flavour of these countries personally, and in those particular countries and especially in Paris, France, Sidney Sheldon actually contacted French people who lived through the occupation of the Nazi’s and of course incorporated these people’s experiencing under the Nazi occupation of Paris, to incorporate in the novel and of course eventually into the film. But Sidney Sheldon wanted the novel to be controversial, especially with the abortion setting and people felt the novel was very honest and true, and totally applauded the novel, and it was for a full year, top of the New York Times best-selling novels. Sidney Sheldon is asked, that when he wrote the novel “The Other Side of Midnight” did he think it would turned into a film and replies that when he writes a novel, he has a movie in mind and it is true in substance, and that he has been trained to write for the screen, for television, motion pictures so that is the format, and especially if he was going to make a film. Sidney Sheldon what he thought of the actress Marie-France Pisier as Noelle Page’s character and replies that he thought Marie-France Pisier was wonderful, and he also thought Susan Sarandon was also wonderful, and he also thought John Beck was also perfect for his character. Sidney Sheldon is asked what he thought of the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ and comments that there were some parts of the film that he really liked and there were some parts of the film he really did not like, but does not go into specific details about what he has been asked, but he did get a massive amount of fan mail that gave the same amount of comments about the film that Sidney Sheldon has just said. But Laurent Bouzereau comments that he feels the film was very well made and was also very beautiful, and also gives great tribute to Sidney Sheldon’s writing of the novel “The Other Side of Midnight,” and is asked if that novel was his favourite, and replies that it was, but his other favourite novel he wrote was “If Tomorrow Comes,” and is also asked, “Why those two books,” and goes into great detail. We find out that he dedicated the novel “The Other Side of Midnight” to his wife, because his wife always believed in Sidney Sheldon’s writings, but was also a good critic towards his novels. But because of the success of the novel “The Other Side of Midnight,” decided to do a sequel and was entitled “Memories of Midnight,” because of the massive amount of fan mail and wanting to know what happened to the character Catherine Alexander Douglas. One thing Sidney Sheldon gest such wonderful joy, is again the amount of massive fan mail he receives and to put the icing on the cake, Mothers would come up to him and inform him that their baby daughters would name them Noelle. But on the other hand, Sidney Sheldon has had a lot of hate mail from his readers about the novel “Rage of Angels,” that was a worldwide bestseller first published in 1980, this novel tells the story of Jennifer Parker, a successful lawyer who is loved by two men, one a politician, the other, a mafia don, because there was a lot of shocking details throughout the novel, and especially with the major TV miniseries based on the bestselling novel by Sidney Sheldon entitled “Rage of Angels” [1983] and at that point in the interview ends and Laurent Bouszereau says, “I can’t thank you enough, for taking the time to meet with us, and I can’t tell you what an honour it has been to meet you finally in person and I want to thank you on behalf of all your readers and for all those great stories who love you back and thank you so very much,” and Sidney Sheldon says, “It has been a great pleasure.” Next up to be interviewed by Laurent Bouszereau is producer Frank Yablans is so happy to be in his office, who Laurent Bouszereau thinks is a legendary producer, and informs Frank Yablans that he has produced one of his favourite movies and that was ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ and he is curious about, and especially at the time he was involved with the film ‘Silver Streak’ [1976] which became a big box office success, and at the same time he was involved with the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ but was also at the time stepping out of being the head of Paramount Studios, and that he was becoming at the same time an independent producer, and asks Frank Yablans if he can tell us about that time in his career and how easy or difficult was that transition, and Frank Yablans informs us that it is never easy to make that transition, especially when you are the head of a big company, where you are everyone’s beck and call, but being independent you do not have to rely on other people, and it makes you feel very free, and on top of all that, there are plus’s and bonus’s in life and feels producing films the ultimate life style. At that point Frank Yablans starts to talk about when he was a young boy, and use to go to the local cinema quite a lot, and especially watching all of the romantic and love story types of films, especially with stars like Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and all other actors who appeared in those types of genre films and always wondered what they got up to when not acting in films. Frank Yablans is asked about being an independent producer on his own and especially working on the film “Silver Streak” and especially as he had just completed that film, and how he decided to tackle the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ and explains that he bought the rights to that film while still at Paramount Studios and Frank Yablans then contacted Sidney Sheldon he sent Frank Yablans a 60 page treatment for the film and immediately fell in love with the treatment, because it was a great love story, and of course Paramount Studios were not interested in the 60 page treatment for the film, so when Frank Yablans moved to 20th Century Fox, he took the treatment with him, and of course in the 1970’s period, films were changing in style, and is asked how he was sure that the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ would be a success, and of course he realised things were changing and the critics were making the changes in the style of films being made, and at that time Alan Ladd Jr. had just started his career in the film business, who was head of the motion pictures at the studio, and Dennis C. Stanfill [1971 to 1981] as chairman and chief executive officer, and liked what Frank Yablans had been doing ay Paramount Studios, and Frank Yablans thought Dennis C. Stanfill was a wonderful man and again Frank Yablans says that he thought Dennis C. Stanfill was a wonderful man and really like him a lot, and Dennis C. Stanfill thought Frank Yablans had a lot of showmanship in him, but there was a lot of nasty negative attitude towards Frank Yablans by Alan Ladd Jr. and feels it still exists today, but Frank Yablans overcame the negativity. Frank Yablans is asked what was his initial attraction towards the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ which Laurent Bouzereau thinks is a wonderful title and says it was all in the lap of the gods. But at the time of the film’s release it had a lot of controversy, especially over the abortion scene and with a lot of sexuality, as well as in the novel, and Frank Yablans felt the film was explicit sexually, but feels nowadays you can see these scenes in TV soap operas, and the actual sexual scenes you view in the film were not overtly sexual, and you have to understand that when you make a film like ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ you have to be true to the novel as best you can, and with the novel you have four hundred pages that has to tell a story, but with the screenplay you have three hundred pages of dialogue. Frank Yablans knew that Europe would love the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ as was Sidney Sheldon’s novel, which was a huge success. Frank Yablans, informs us that when he bought the rights of the book “The Other Side of Midnight” when he was at Paramount Studios, that the Sidney Sheldon’s second novel and the film ‘The Naked Face’ got re-released because of the success of ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ the film ‘The Naked Face’ got a re-birth and the novel was born again. Frank Yablans feels the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ is primary a woman’s film and when the male asks the female whether to watch ‘Debbie Does Dallas’ [1978] or ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ the woman of course would rather watch the latter film. With the novel “The Other Side of Midnight” it covered many years, in fact it covered decades, and Frank Yablans is asked how he went about adapting the novel to the film, and it helped because he had Daniel Taradash and Herman Raucher who were two brilliant screenwriters who had done other brilliant big box office success films, and says that he always wants to work close to the screenwriters, and the most satisfying process in making movies is the screenplay, and informs us that he has written a few screenplays himself, and feels that the most underappreciated person is the screenwriter, and Frank Yablans would prefer to work with the screenwriter than the director any day, because the screenwriter truly creates the menu and he is the chef. Frank Yablans was originally based in New York while he was developing ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ and when he moved out to California he was able to condense the novel into a screenplay, and was able to give a proper structure and when Daniel Taradash came to work for Frank Yablans he informs us that he was totally brilliant and a really great collaborator, and we would work close together in my office every day and I just knew he would capture that purity we needed desperately for the film, and so when I get something I really like, I am desperate to make that film, and again that is why I like to work close with screenwriters. Frank Yablans is asked if he ever met Sidney Sheldon in person while working on the film and he could not remember ever meeting him, and especially working on the character of Noelle Page, who was so different in the film, as Frank Yablans wanted her character vulnerable in the film, but at the same time strong, but also someone who was beautiful, but who was also unreal. Frank Yablans had a reason for not working with Sidney Sheldon, because the novel was his baby and might have objected how the film was being made and there could have been clashes, but luckily Sidney Sheldon basically liked the treatment of his book being turned into the finished film. Frank Yablans is also asked that when you have finished the adaption, especially nowadays movies get the green light before the screenplay is finished, and how different was it way back in the 1970’s, well he feels the process is still basically the same, and you get a green light that you have a piece of material that fits the studio’s needs, and you have a budget that fits whatever their constraints are, but I think in those days they were more towards me, because they respected me, because they believed in me, and they believed I would bring the film in on time, and they believed I would make the film within the budget restraints and that they knew what I was doing. But the biggest problem comes into play with the cyclical problem, when the studio decides they don’t need producers, well when they get into that position, and eventually they start making junk films, that they have been turning out for at least for two to three years, because producers care about what they are doing when it comes to films, whereas movie executives are always moving on from one project, then to another project and then to another project and so they cannot nurture the screenplay, and if you do not have it down on paper you eventually will not get it onto the screen, and thinks it is the wrong type of approach. Laurent Bouzereau asks Frank Yablans that he knew he had to get a director for ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ and had read that Ronald Neame the English film producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter who had made ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ [1972] and other brilliant famous films that he had directed was considered for ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ film, but there was some kind of conflict, and Frank Yablabs really liked this very gentle director, because Frank Yablabs wanted a director that understood the old fashioned Hollywood kind of film, and especially with all the glamour, and when you have all that combination of all that sensitivity towards the screen, then that is the director you want. But Laurent Bouzereau was curious in asking Frank Yablans why he chose the director Charles Jarrott to direct the film, and it was because he had directed ‘Anne of the Thousand Days’ and ‘Mary, Queen of Scots,’ and at that pint of the interview it ends abruptly and what a shame Laurent Bouzereau could not of said thank you to Frank Yablans for the interview. Now finally, the last to be interviewed is director Charles Jarrott and at first introduces himself and informs us that he directed ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ and also informs us that he directed those two films I have just mentioned, and with ‘Anne of the Thousand Days’ it starred Richard Burton, Geneviève Bujold and Anthony Quayle and with the film ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ it starred Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson and Trevor Howard, and Charles Jarrott also directed the film ‘The Dove’ that starred Joseph Bottoms, Deborah Raffin and John McLiam, but of course directed a lot more very important films to add to his Curriculum Vitae, and was very pleased when Frank Yablans telephoned Charles Jarrott from New York, because at the time was living in France and was asked to come over to New York to read the novel “The Other Side of Midnight” and to decide whether he would be interested in directing the film, and so flew over to New York, sat down and read the novel and there and then decided he was very keen to direct the film and he really thought the novel was a really good thriller and a great melodrama, and at that point Laurent Bouzereau starts to interview him and asked him what attracted him to direct the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ especially with things shifting in all directions and says that it was because the film was a very old style genre, but despite this, there was not a lot of films going around in this type of storyline, and Charles Jarrott thought it had a good and interesting story, and that is the reason he was attracted to direct the film, but also it was a very difficult at the start to find actors for the film, and originally other well know actors were muted to play the three main characters, but unfortunately due to other commitments, they had to decline the offers. Charles Jarrott is asked about the talented Sidney Sheldon as an author for “The Other Side of Midnight,” especially compared to his other novels he has written, well Charles Jarrott thinks they all have brilliant plots and he also thinks the author is marvellous writer, and most of his novels could easily be turned into mini TV series, because the plots are so intricate and if you start tampering with the plot, and especially cutting out great chunks of the plot, it would not hold together, and that was the trouble with the novel “The Other Side of Midnight,” because it had huge complex plot, and the two women running side by side and it was impossible to know where to edit the plot, because it was a great story of revenge and that is why the novel was a massive best seller, particular about the two women characters and especially about a woman getting her own revenge on the man had betrayed her and to the women readers, it felt very true to their own experiences, and they devoured that novel and felt it pushed the envelope, and that is why the novel was so good. One thing Charles Jarrott was criticised very much in the film was the abortion scene of Nicolle Page and the way it was portrayed and he felt it was the only way Nicolle Page had to do it that way, and was important for him to shown what measures women had to go through with this particular situation because of the laws against abortion in the 1940’s, but of course in certain counties things have moved on in a much more civilised way with having an abortion, but sadly there are still countries in the world where an abortion is illegal and women could go to jail if found out. One of the big problems was who was going to play Nicolle Page, and insisted the part should be played by a French actress, and it took Frank Yablans and Charles Jarrott a very long time to find the right French actress and so Frank Yablans and Charles Jarrott walked the streets of Paris and visited all the cinemas and looked at all the photos that were displayed outside the cinemas and especially a female French actress, as they were desperate to find such an ideal female French actress to play the part of Nicolle Page, and eventually they were told about the actress Marie-France Pisier and they immediately scheduled a screen test for her, but suddenly out of the blue 20th Century Fox sent a telegram informing them that they had secured an actress, but Frank Yablans and Charles Jarrott said sorry, as they have found the ideal female French actress to play the part of Nicolle Page who was so ideal and totally perfect, but back in America, the actress had been given a screen test, and was informed they no long needed her service, as they had found the ideal actress and completely lost her temper and threw the script out of the window, and unfortunately Charles Jarrot had left France for home, but had to go back to Paris to inform Marie-France Pisier that she had got the part of Nicole page because her screen test was perfect, and Charles Jarrot had to perform with Marie-France Pisier in the screen test, but had to bend his knees because he was well over 6 feet tall, whereas Marie-France Pisier was around 5 feet tall and of course the rest as they say is history. Charles Jarrot was asked if there was a problem with Marie-France Pisier strong French accent, because at the time had not done a lot of acting in any English speaking films, and really worked very hard to secure her role in the film and Charles Jarrott did not have any problems with the French actress Marie-France Pisier, because she was the ultimate professional in her craft and her outlook on her character in the film, but 20th Century Fox were very reluctant to have her in the film, because the American audiences would not understand her French accent when speaking in English, but Charles Jarrott and Frank Yablans stood their ground against the studio because they said that Marie-France Pisier could act and of course they were proved 100% right. Charles Jarrott gets on to the subject of the brilliant actress Susan Sarandon who he thought was a great casting because Susan Sarandon because she was a terrific actress then and still today and she was also great fun to work with, and also had a great sense of humour, and felt she was a great bonus to the film, and of course Marie-France Pisier and Susan Sarandon were totally opposite in acting styles that really helped to make the film what it is, and on top of all that, Susan Sarandon did not mind playing her character in the film, and also Charles Jarrott did not have to talk to her a lot as he was very pleased with her performance, and did not have to interfere a lot, but in doing that, Susan Sarandon use to come up to Charles Jarrott a lot to ask why he does not make any remarks about her acting performance in the film and assured her that her acting performance was excellent. Now Charles Jarrott gets onto the subject of the actor John Beck, who at the time had not done a lot of acting and on top of all that, 20th Century Fox was not prepared to pay a massive fee for a well-known actor for the leading role in the film, and of course they wanted him to play the Lothario character who discarded women constantly and Charles Jarrott said that John beck was very good as his character in the film and was very good to work with him, but unfortunately John Beck at the start of the film felt uncomfortable with the sex scenes he had to do, because he had an English wife, who was very disturbed by what she had heard what sex scenes he had to do, but Charles Jarrot reassured John Beck that they were not making a pornographic movie, and what he was doing was right for the drama, and so John Beck felt very reassured and carried on doing the sex scenes he was required to do, despite being very concerned at the start of filming, but over time in doing the sex scenes, John Beck started to relax. Charles Jarrott now gets onto the subject of Fred J. Koenekamp the director of photography and what sort of dialogue they had between them on how Fred J. Koenekamp wanted to know from Charles Jarrott the style of cinematography he required, and the communication was good and Charles Jarrott was very positive where he wanted to position the camera for certain shots, and how he wanted it to be, and because of this they worked very well together, because they had good communication with each other, and Fred J. Koenekamp with Charles Jarrott’s set ups, and did not like lots of moving shots, that you would get with a lot of other directors, whereas with this film it was set in the 1940’s and needed long static shots to capture the actors performances. Charles Jarrott now gets onto the subject of the costume designer Irene Sharaff who Charles Jarrott thought her cloth designs were wonderful and especially for the character Noelle page who he thought had an amazing make over, especially from the middle of the film and right to the end of the film, but it also helped that Marie-France Pisier was a very talented actress, and Frank Yablans was also instigated in making a certain style of clothing that suited the period in the film in collaboration with Irene Sharaff and Frank Yablans wanted and insisted no synthetic clothing. Charles Jarrott talks about that they had a mixture of American and French crew members and they really worked well together, especially in France and always respected their culture. But where we see scenes that are supposed to be in Greece, this was actually filmed in California because Frank Yablans wanted to save money. When you see Noelle Page and Lawrence ‘Larry’ Douglas walking along the side of the The Seine in Paris, Charles Jarrott wanted to do one long shot of the couple walking, but on the day of the shoot there were far too many cars about and of course they were far too many modern cars driving about and not ones of the 1940’s period, so they decided to do the shoot on the 11th November at 11:00am precisely all traffic stops for two minutes to celebrate the end of the First and Second World War and remember all who lost their lives in those wars and so this was so ideal to get that one off pivotal shot. When it came to the filing of the cave scenes with John Beck and Susan Sarandon, which were actually filmed at the "Luray Caverns” which is situated in 970 US Highway 211 West, Luray, Virginia, USA, which of course was supposed to be in Greece and by chance Charles Jarrott heard about them by chance and actually went to check the out for himself and to plot the route the actors would go deep into the caves and Charles Jarrott found the terrain very difficult and especially checking out each parts of the cave, and by checking out the caves extensively, it helped to cut down the shooting schedule in record time, and as the studio always quote “time is money.” Charles Jarrott is asked about the way the film is shot in allowing the actors to be flexible in their performance in front of the camera and to allow the camera to capture their performance, and Charles Jarrott says that he is of the old school director of filming of the actors like his favourite directors like David lean and Fred Zimmerman, where they gave you a sense of a big canvas and to also do the very intimate scenes in style and to never ever rush around with the camera of shoot lots of scenes in lots of weird angles, and to let the audience feel there was no camera there filming the action, and Charles Jarrott also feels this film was not conscious of a camera filming the scene, but you saw what you wanted to see subconsciously, but there were some big shots in the film that you experienced, but visually I think it was very interesting at the same time. Charles Jarrott is asked whether he prefers to shoot on location or in the studio, especially with the actors, and especially with this film, and says that he always loves shooting on location because it brings reality into the shooting, but he does like shooting in the studio when it is needed and especially the very real nitty gritty intimate scenes, especially with the actors and the close up shots, but even though he loves filming on location, it does have its distractions and especially when recording the sound with the actors, because they cannot control the environment around them. Also when you have big sets for indoor shooting for this particular film, as it really shows off the film at its best, because it adds to the story and especially showing off the wealth, especially of the Greek magnet, Constantin Demetris. Charles Jarrott talks about the scene where Susan Sarandon is tossed about in the small boat and being thrown out into the water and not knowing if Catherine Alexander Douglas had survived and it was filmed at Paramount Studios, as it is the only studio with the biggest water tank available in Hollywood and of course that had to rent it out and it seems Paramount Studios were very welcoming for them to use it, despite Frank Yablans not working with them anymore, and Charles Jarrott says it is a really wonderful set, and especially it has a villa right next to the water tank, and of course to get the choppy scene you see, they have some really enormous fans to create the scene with the very choppy water, and was something really extreme to experience. Also the jail scene you see at the start of the film and near the end of the film was filmed in down town Los Angeles in an abandoned jail. Charles Jarrott is asked about the final scene at the end of the film and heard that two other alternative scenes were shot, but when the rushes were viewed, they decide the actual ending was the right choice to end the film. Charles talks about the editing process which he really loves to work with the editor and finds editing the film is a lot of fun, but of course it is now done on a computer, because that way it speeds up the editing process so much quicker, but when he edited the film he informs us over that period he had smoked a 1,000 cigarettes all through the editing process, and he finds editing film totally fascinating, and when he is directing any of his films, he is editing the film in his head, but of course when it comes to actually editing film, he of course can be very flexible when working with his editor, and again when has shot a scene, he knows exactly how is going to put the scene together when editing the film, and in the process of having the film edited, if he cannot be in the editing room with is editor, he leaves notes with his editor in what he wants to achieve with a certain scene, and of course he informs us that it is a two way street with the director and editor to achieve the desired edit. Charles Jarrott is asked about the composer Michel Legrand and why he preferred to have this composer, and he knew straight away he would be prefect for this film, because of all the other wonderful films he has worked on like ‘Atlantic City’ [1980], ‘Les Misérables’ [1995], ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ [1964], ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ [1968] and of course the wonderful ‘Yentl’ [1983], but as to the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ this was of course recorded on the big sound stage at 20th Century Fox and they had some of his original musicians that have worked on Michel Legrand other film music scores, and Charles Jarrott thought the opening music for the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ was totally fabulous and when you have the complete film score it really brings the film alive because of the amazing composed film score. Charles Jarrott is asked whether he ever reads critics reviews of his films, and yes was the answer, and he is always very sad when he reds critics that savage the films he has directed and especially when it came to the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,’ because they felt it was very old fashioned picture, but at the same time some critics said the film was done well, but luckily the Los Angeles Times gave the film a good review and of course when the film is your baby and you put your heart and soul into the film and when you see your film mauled by the insensitive critics, you feel very sad about it, and of course it was meant to be an old fashioned melodrama picture anyway, ad personally I think we did the film very well, but sadly some critics it just didn’t appeal to them, but at least the audiences who saw the film really enjoyed it. But of course at the same time the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ was released, it was up against the release of ‘Star Wars’ and of course when Charles Jarrott saw the massive cues around the block of the cinema and also seeing people come out of the cinema and wanting to go back inside to view the film again At this point, Charles Jarrott mentions that he has not viewed the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ in a very long time and he is very happy that the DVD has been released as they get to see the films in their right ratio, whereas he is extremely unhappy when his films were released on the very inferior VHS releases, as the widescreen films were either cropped and also were done with the ultimate crime of doing the films in pan and scan, and of course the film is totally ruined and it is not the same film, so with ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ released on the DVD format you get to see how the director wanted you to see the film, especially in the right aspect ratio, and again it lets the audiences see the film as it is intended to be viewed. Charles Jarrott is asked why the film was entitled ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ and has to admit he has no idea why, but on the other hand he does love a good story, but they are very few and far between, but feels the film was very faithful to the novel and at this point in time, this very special audio commentary comes to an end and I feel I have given you a very deep insight into all aspect of author Sidney Sheldon, producer Frank Yablans and the brilliant thoughts of director Charles Jarrott and the reason the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ came to fruition and I also feel what you have read with all of their comments, you can see why the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ is such a big beautiful epic old fashioned melodrama picture, that I have loved ever since I viewed it way back in time on British television and also when I purchased the inferior quality DVD, but now with this Blu-ray release I can view the film with the 1080p image presentation on how the director wants you to view this film, and ad again brought back such joyous memories when I first viewed this film, and this brilliant audio commentary is the icing on the cake and definitely a must listen, as you hear such fascinating information about all aspects of the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ and this audio commentary definitely gets a top five star rating.
Theatrical Trailer [1997] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:12] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT.’ This is a very unusual Theatrical Trailer, because instead of showing scenes from the film, instead you just get still images from the start of the film to the end to give you a flavour of the film and it also has a wonderful dramatic voice over that really enhances the film.
PLUS: Here we get a wonderful little booklet supplied by Twilight Time and consists of 8 pages that includes a full in-depth look at the film ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ by Lulie Kirgo. It also includes lots of rare publicity images from the film and the film poster.
BONUS: Reversible printed Blu-ray sleeve featuring wonderful and delightful colour images from the film.
Finally, ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT’ is a huge great melodrama that's on a par with Douglas Sirk in his heyday, especially ‘A Time To Love’ and a ‘Time to Die.’ Based on a novel by Sidney Sheldon, it runs for nearly three hours, and covers the whole of the Second World War and its aftermath, and flits between the continents without pausing for breath. It has the courage of its clichés, so sometimes we laugh as the characters bump into each other across the years, tears and oceans. Maybe major stars would have deflected from the story, but Marie-France Pisier, John Beck and Raf Vallone are more than adequate, as is the brilliant Susan Sarandon in an early role. But to some people feels it may not be a classic, which I totally disagree, and for me this film is definitely my all-time “guilty pleasure,” and it certainly deserved better recognition than what it got at the time of the initial release from some vacuous critics who classed it as a very old fashioned film, which it is not. Twilight Time, through their distribution deal with 20th Century Fox, has produced a beautiful Blu-ray release with a wonderful presentation of the film that will allow folks to rediscover what a wonderful epic melodrama film it is and hopefully find enjoyment in this ultimate cinematic epic. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
