Ein Blick in die Dunkelheit

This ten minute piece mainly consists of Alan Arkin and Mel Ferrer reminiscing on the production of the 1967 horror-thriller, Wait Until Dark. Despite the complaints of the previous review, the entire piece is not all about praising Hepburn's performance (which I actually find to be one of her most effective from both a technical and character standpoint, but I digress). A good part of it is dedicated to Arkin's performance as the drug-addled psychopath villain: how the savagery of the performance baffled critics and audiences, his approach to the role, and his experiences working with both Hepburn and Jack Weston. Time is also dedicated to Jack Warner's reaction to the film, why Ferrer pushed Hepburn to take up the project, and why the film's scares still hold up even in our age of blood and gore.

That being said, the piece leaves you hungry for more information. As a big fan of this film, I would have loved something a bit longer. I do understand Hepbrun, Terence Young, Jack Weston, Charles Lang, and Henry Mancini were all passed on by the time this interview was made (I do think Richard Crenna and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. were still alive though), but I would love to know more about the making-of the film outside of Hepburn's preparation for the role. It's surprisingly hard to find much information about this particular movie's production. The 2017 bluray release looks great, but this featurette is ported over from the older DVD edition. An audio commentary would have been nice, maybe get a film historian, but for now, this video is serviceable.

With the passing of Alan Arkin recently, I thought I'd get this movie out of the library in his memory which I hope to review next. In this extra on the DVD, he and producer Mel Ferrer tell of their experiences making it especially concerning star Audrey Hepburn's performance. Ferrer was still married to her at the time and he recounts how his wife was never satisfied with her performances thinking she could have done better each time. Arkin himself considered it quite a challenge to terrorize such a lovely person on screen and his performance at the time puzzled some viewers. This was quite a fine tribute to both the film and Ms. Hepburn's performance. I should post a review of the actual movie sometime soon...