Review: Douglas Sirk's 'All I Desire' Gets A Fine Blu-ray Release

Few directors have matched Douglas Sirk's work during the 1950s. The man turned out some of the greatest Hollywood melodramas of all time, even directing two or three films per year in that decade. "All I Desire" may be one of his lesser works, but it's no less stunning and trenchant in its dissection of emotions being dictated by social codes. At what point are we allowed to act on our desires, and are those desires out of step with the manners of bourgeois American society? These are questions Sirk doesn't necessarily set out to answer, but rather to study by using Barbara Stanwyck and many other talented performers.

"All I Desire" arrives on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and their Studio Classics label with a finely-textured video presentation and a new audio commentary with film critic Imogen Sara Smith, who flexes her knowledge on Stanwyck and Sirk wonderfully. This under-seen drama gets the home entertainment release it so rightfully deserves here.

Naomi Murdoch (Stanwyck), a successful stage actress, returns to the small Wisconsin town where a scandal ten years prior forced her to desert her husband (Richard Carlson) and their kids. While her original intention was to visit the town to see her daughter perform in a play, the pettiness of the small town rears its ugly head - and Naomi's dreams of starting over fall apart at the seams.

I liken watching "All I Desire" to a car crash in slow motion, with disparate parts flying across the screen while the music swells. Sirk understands on a very deep level that every line of dialogue counts, and it's his work behind the camera that enhances the performances. Stanwyck is the kind of actress capable of handling long, drawn-out shots of emotional turmoil, her face scrunching and relaxing between clenched words. Yet, "All I Desire" doesn't offer the kind of introspection Sirk is better known for with "All That Heaven Allows" and "Imitation of Life."

If you're a big fan of old Hollywood melodramas, then picking up "All I Desire" should be on your to-do list. Stanwyck is one of the all-time great actresses, and it's never not a pleasure to see her deliver even the most sullen histrionics with tact and depth. Other special features include:

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"All I Desire"
Kino Lorber Blu-ray
$24.95
https://www.klstudioclassics.com/product/view/id/7163