Born Yesterday

The Columbia DVD release of Born Yesterday isn't swimming in meaningful extras because the film itself is so entertaining. The DVD chapters feature allows viewers to go directly to the movie's many comedic set pieces (nobody plays gin rummy like Judy Holliday). There is no faulting the DVD transfer, so don't be bothered that Born Yesterday doesn't come in a letterboxed version. The picture was made before the widescreen process was widely available, so its original aspect ratio actually conforms to the average TV set. The print transfer is clean and clear, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is in the original monophonic sound. Since the key members of the cast and crew who helped make Born Yesterday such a comic triumph are no longer with us, it makes having a commentary track pretty difficult. Peter Bogdanovich really knows his George Cukor movies and always offers insightful DVD audio commentaries; perhaps he can do one for a future release. Holliday deservedly won the Best Actress Oscar for Born Yesterday and her work here has aged extremely well. Viewers who have any doubt of this can compare her inspired performance with Melanie Griffith's work in the pointless 1993 remake.