One of the most well-regarded films of Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) finally makes its home entertainment bow, after having been absent from Fox’s DVD and VHS catalogs.
The 1956 movie
Bigger Than Life stands as a lacerating critique of the “average” middle-class family in 1950s America, as a typical husband and father (James Mason) is treated for a rare ailment with a “miracle drug” that turns him into a Nietzschean madman. Ray’s mastery of the Cinemascope image is fully apparent in this gorgeous restoration of the film, but diehard buffs will be just as interested in the package’s extras.
A commentary track on the DVD by critic Geoff Andrew historically situates the film and informs us that Marilyn Monroe shot a walk-on for Ray that Fox studio heads removed for contractual reasons.
In an on-screen introduction to the picture, novelist Jonathan Lethem dissects its themes and symbols thoroughly, while offering an eloquent defense of the casting of ultra-Brit James Mason as an average American dad.
An interview with Ray’s widow Susan Ray finds her reflecting on the film’s relation to her husband’s work, and his brilliantly stylized use of color.
The most welcome supplement is a 1977 TV interview with Ray that, while it focuses primarily on Rebel, underscores Ray’s fascination with the parent-child dynamic and finds him professing his devotion to two phenomena: moviemaking and youth.