DVD: All About Eve (2-disc special edition)

You have a point—an idiotic one, but a point. -Addis on DeWitt

Remember great screenplays? Remember character actors? Remember movies for adults?

I'd bet you do. The line for the cineplex forms that way, thank you very much, for anybody who wants to fork over 10 bucks for computer-generated images, explosions, and the studios' minimum weekend requirement of rude humor.

But if you crave on-screen cocktail parties where tough dames and urbane gents trade quips amid a haze of cigarette smoke, and nobody dresses like a slacker, come and sit by me. It's time to channel your inner George Sanders or Thelma Ritter and indulge in the DVD edition of All About Eve.

And what an indulgence it is. This is very nearly the one-stop shop for classic movie buffs: Edith Head costumes, an Alfred Newman score, a screenplay by Joseph Mankiewiecz, and Bette Davis—oddly enough, not the first choice for the role of Margo Channing—leading a memorable cast that includes the aforementioned Ritter and Sanders, plus Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, and even a very young Marilyn Monroe.

There are lots of extras in this set, too, from audio commentary (including from surviving cast member Celeste Holm) to multiple featurettes to vintage news clips. So whether your interest is geared to personal glimpses or cultural/historical context, you're bound to find satisfaction here.

What a story! Everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end. -Birdie

Confession time: It's a safe bet that I first saw All About Eve at the student union back in the day, though well before that I'd actually caught the musical version, Applause, when it toured Ohio. But it had been a long time since I'd looked at the movie properly.

I had forgotten what nasty fun it all was.

You know the basics: The games begin when Davis, as 40-ish grande dame of the American theater Margo Channing, takes adoring fan Eve (Baxter) into her entourage and very nearly into the midst of a personal and professional crisis. From there on in, you'll need to observe closely to determine who's playing the cards close to the vest, who's laying them on the table, and who's got the poker face to beat everyone—or not. The players in this high-stakes game include Margo's lover, Bill (Gary Merrill); her best friends (Hugh Marlowe and Celeste Holm); and, most memorably, Addison DeWitt (George Sanders), a critic with ice water coursing through his veins and a stream of bons mots issuing from his lips.

Sanders had to have provided Alan Rickman, Charles Dance, and the late Ian Richardson with a lot of inspiration.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every classic movie fan secretly adores the quotable second bananas that populate the films of the '30s, '40s, and '50s, and Sanders and the always great Thelma Ritter (Birdie) prove it here. But damn, the dialogue in All About Eve is quotable all the way through, from the stars as well as supporting players.

I'll admit I'm more of an early Bette Davis fan—give me Now, Voyager, The Bride Came C.O.D. or even The Man Who Came to Dinner, rather than What Happened to Baby Jane?

But here, in her early 40s, Davis is one tough dame, magnificent to watch, even if the screenplay has her spouting some very pre-Betty Friedan talk about what real women want. The character, of course, recovers nicely for the film's denouement, and of course this two-disc set also includes some interview footage where Davis leaves no doubt about who's really in charge.

All About Eve belongs to another era, yes. But the quest for fame, power, and attention is more relevant than ever in the age of YouTube and inter-demographic clashes.