Daniel Day-Lewis Triple Feature (How Many Miles to Babylon / The Insurance Man / Dangerous Corner)

Three British Television Productions From The Eighties Showcase A Young Day-Lewis
With Daniel Day-Lewis recently making history by winning his third Best Actor Oscar (Nicholson also has three Oscars, but one is in the Supporting category), this seems a perfect time to capitalize on the release of some of his earlier television work. I have long been a fan of Day-Lewis and distinctly remember his break-out year of 1985 where he turned heads in two wildly different film roles. Playing the homosexual punk in Stephen Frears' "My Beautiful Launderette" couldn't be further from the uptight fop he played in the Merchant/Ivory production of "A Room With A View." And his stunning film resume has continued to be as varied and complex. The three projects on this triple feature give us glimpses of this future potential and all, for differing reasons, are worth visiting. Note, though, he is only really the lead performer in one film.

DVD Presentation: This set has two discs with "How Many Miles To Babylon" on the first one and "The Insurance Man" and "Dangerous...

Early Daniel Day-Lewis
I bought this after reading about it on the New York Sunday Times last spring. The article got me interested in other Daniel Day-Lewis movies, so I have been on a quest to see them all. I realized this would not be in a library, so ordered it. There are three BBC short movies or plays. One does get to see how Day-Lewis is able to perform radically different characters. "How Many Mikes to Babylon" is an excellent piece of writing that is a beautiful testament to male friendship. Day-Lewis plays a "Christ" character. "The Insurance Man" is a bedlam sort of setting with the Day- Lewis character as the sane one in the midst of the chaos. There is complete nudity of both the male (not Day-Lewis)and female bodies, refreshing that it is not just the woman. "Dangerous Corner" has Day-Lewis playing a weak, sniveling character which he acts perfectly and detestingly. It is a clever bit of writing...a parlor drama with two endings for the viewer to...

Historical Interest
This is a terrific 3-pack of Lewis' early work. You can see the beginnings of his signature style, especially his facial responses, his head gestures and his vocal signature when speaking to women. It's a great treat to see one of the world's finest actors in his Thespian infancy.

Click to Editorial Reviews