All About Eve (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

In Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s devastatingly witty Hollywood classic, behind the curtain is where the true drama plays out. One night, Margo Channing (Bette Davis) entertains a surprise dressing-room visitor: her most adoring fan, the shy, wide-eyed Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter). But as Eve becomes a fixture in Margo’s life, the Broadway legend soon realizes that her supposed admirer intends to make use of her and everyone in her circle, including George Sanders’s acid-tongued critic, as stepping-stones to stardom. Featuring stiletto-sharp dialogue and direction by Mankiewicz, and an unforgettable Davis within the role that revived her career and came to define it, the a couple of-Oscar-winning All About Eve is probably the most deliciously entertaining film ever made in regards to the ruthlessness of show business. TWO-DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • 4K digital restoration • Two audio commentaries from 2010, one featuring actor Celeste Holm, director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s son Christopher Mankiewicz, and writer Kenneth L. Geist; the other featuring writer Sam Staggs • All About Mankiewicz, a feature-length documentary from 1983 in regards to the director • Episodes of The Dick Cavett Show from 1969 and 1980 featuring actors Bette Davis and Gary Merrill • New interview with costume historian Larry McQueen • Hollywood Backstories: “All About Eve,” a 2001 documentary featuring interviews with Davis and others in regards to the making of the film • Documentaries from 2010 about Mankiewicz’s life and career, the short story on which the film is based and its real-world inspiration, and an actual-life “Sarah Siddons Society” in line with the film’s fictional society • Radio adaptation of the film from 1951 • Trailer • PLUS: An essay by critic Terrence Rafferty and the 1946 short story on which the film is based