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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"On Golden Pond" was a
moderately successful, off Broadway play until
Jane Fonda decided that it would be the ideal film
catalyst in shoring up a rift between her and
father, Henry Fonda. Henry is clearly one of a
handful of genuine and consummate professionals.
But his personal life is one so tragically marred
by an inability to bond or even feel close to
anyone, that in the latter half of the 1960s --
following Jane's very public protest against the
Viet Nam war -- he all but cut ties with his
daughter for nearly ten years. Despite this
separation, Jane remained one of her father's
ardent fans, employing producer, Lord Gray and
director Mark Rydell to reinvent the story for the
big screen. Under Rydell's command, the film
version of "On Golden Pond" became a tender,
poignant, loving account of the impending gloom
associated with old age, and the loving that
remains true throughout the ages.
Henry Fonda is Norman Thayer Jr., a weary
curmudgeon who seems unwilling to accept what the
years have done to his body. He tells his wife
Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) that he's thinking of
getting a job, but later, while walking down an
old town road in the country, he becomes
disorientated, panics and is forced to realize
that his memory is not what it used to be.
Norman's confusion is a bitter pill to swallow,
made all the more difficult when he learns that
his estranged daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda) is
coming up to the cottage with her new fiancée Bill
(Dabney Colman) and his young son, Billy (Doug
McKeon). When Chelsea and Bill leave Billy with
Norman and Ethel for a few weeks to run off and
get married, Norman and Billy take an instant
dislike to one another. But their temperaments are
quashed somewhat by Ethel's consistently
good-natured prowess at drawing the family
together. Gradually Billy and Norman become the
best of compatriots, especially after a near fatal
boating accident almost puts an end to their
friendship. When Chelsea returns she finds a
humbled Norman ready and willing to accept her
back into the fold. The resulting reconciliation
between the two is visceral and heartbreaking,
because one has the sense that both Jane and
Henry, as Chelsea and Norman, have put their
differences in the past.
Henry Fonda was not well at the time of production
to the point that, when Mark Rydell recalled Fonda
for a private screening of the film only several
months later, he suddenly realized that indeed
Henry was not long for this world. On Oscar night
Jane accepted his Best Actor statuette, simply
stating on her ailing father's behalf, "I'll bet
he's saying, hey, ain't I lucky…as though luck had
anything to do with it."
In contrast to Fonda's ill health, Katharine
Hepburn's viral toughness positively glowed. On
several occasions, her temperament collided with
Rydell's direction, particularly during a sequence
in which Hepburn grabs a canoe by herself, hoists
it overhead and carries it down to the lake. That
sequence does not survive in the final cut and
Rydell has commented that he doesn't believe that
Hepburn ever forgave him for the edit. During the
sequence in which Ethel discovers Norman and Billy
barely clinging to a rock after their boating
accident, it is Katharine Hepburn and not a double
that actually dives into the icy waters and swims
to their rescue. By all accounts, Hepburn was a
great lady. On this occasion she was also a tower
of strength.
"On Golden Pond" has been made previously
available on DVD in a regular edition and now, a
Special Edition. It is not often that I recommend
one buy both versions of a single film, but on
this occasion, I feel that recommendation is
justified. The original disc was not enhanced for
widescreen televisions and is therefore a
write-off in terms of its picture quality.
However, it does contain the very poignant, very
emotional recollections of the making of the film
entitled, "Loving Through Time." This documentary
is not included on the Special Edition. The
Special Edition is a genuinely handsome looking
transfer. Though plagued by hints of edge
enhancement throughout, it has been remastered in
anamorphic widescreen. Colors are far more rich
and varied than the previously issued DVD. Film
grain is still present but greatly reduced over
the previous DVD. Fine details tend to get lost
during the darker scenes, but over all, the film
elements hold up remarkably well. Blacks are
black. Contrast and shadows are bang on. The audio
has been remastered to 5.1 with impressive
results. The Special Edition includes a good
documentary on the film's camera operator and a
little nothing on Kate Hepburn's career that,
unfortunately, shows too little in the way of
clips from Hepburn's illustrious tenure as one of
Hollywood's reigning divas. The trailers included
on the previously issued DVD are strangely absent
from the special edition. My advice is to get both
versions of this film on DVD. Though the Special
Edition is clearly the better looking and sounding
DVD of the actual film -- the previous DVD is
essential for its extra features. |
