PROVO — Movies do more than tell stories.
Movies — at least the great ones — provide social commentary, document historical values and wrap universal truths around ordinary happenings, according to James D'Arc, curator of the Motion Picture Archives at Brigham Young University. "Every film you watch sets up this moral universe, a microcosm of lives that involve choices and what happens because of them."
"Brigham Young," produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and released in 1940, is one of those films.
Acclaimed at the time as "the most tremendous film undertaking" in the history of Twentieth Century Fox, it is a movie that still has a lot to offer, says D'Arc.
Which was why he went to Fox, "and gave us a lot of reasons to pull it out of our vaults," said Molly Madden, vice president for sales at Fox Home Entertainment. Madden and Todd Werdebaugh, regional sales manager for Fox, were at BYU Tuesday to celebrate the release of "Brigham Young" on DVD. (There is also a display of publicity materlals for the movie in BYU's Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium Gallery.)
In connection with the release, special screenings of the movie were presented at the Harold B. Lee Library. A crisp, clear 16mm print, one of five copies of the film in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections library, was featured.
"I love this film," said Madden. "It has such historical significance."
As a film, added Werdebaugh, "it has everything — a love story, murder. mayhem, conflict, persecution — and good-looking movie stars. It covers a compelling part of American history. One that a lot of people don't know about, but should."
Werdebaugh added that it's not something that just appeals to Mormons. "It's no different than 'Schindler's List.' But it's closer to our country's history."
Those were reasons Fox was interested in the release, said Madden. But what also made it such a unique opportunity for them were all the extras D'Arc brought to the table. "With our classic films, we often have a difficult time acquiring material for all the bonus features we like to include. But Jim had everything we needed."
The DVD includes commentary by D'Arc, as well as artifacts and images associated with the film. And there's a Movietone newsreel showing the world premiere of the film in Salt Lake City on Aug. 23, 1940, attended by Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Dean Jagger and others.
That premiere broke all previous records, notes Lowell Thomas on the newsreel. It attracted 215,000 people, requiring 17 trains to bring them into the city, and seven theaters in downtown Salt Lake for the simultaneous screenings.
Gordon Orgill was one of those people. As a 17-year-old boy from Wendover, Orgill sat on the third row of the Centre Theater — about five rows in front of Power and Darnell.
"I kept turning back to look at them," said Orgill, now almost 80, who also attended the DVD-release celebration. "I've always loved movie stars. Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn — they were my favorites. To sit in a theater and see Tyrone Power — oh my, that was amazing for a 17-year-old."
Of the movie itself, he said, "it was overwhelming. At that particular time in church history, I couldn't believe it was being brought forth."
And it still touches him today. "I sit there tearing up at different parts. My heart goes out to all the pioneers. You know they went through things like this, and you think, how did they do it? But the movie doesn't make them look perfect either. There's just enough in it to make you stop and think."
That's what makes a great movie, said D'Arc. And one of the significant things to think about is the context in which it was made.
Before that time, Mormons were featured in such movies as "Trapped By The Mormons," "Marriage or Death" and "A Victim of the Mormons." "Brigham Young" was a "watershed film as far as the image of the Mormons. Gone was the image of Joseph Smith as a wild-eyed fanatic. Instead, he was portrayed as almost Lincolnesque."
And Brigham Young, he said, "invites comparison to FDR leading America out of chaos into hope, promise, prosperity and peace. He was a character that even nonmembers could see as a credible, admirable, courageous leader."
The fact that Zanuck himself produced the film also says a lot, said D'Arc. Of the 50 or so movies the studio released each year, he personally supervised only a handful. "Brigham Young" was one of those. "Zanuck always had great instincts, a sense for drama and stories. He was once called the Plutarch of the movies." But, said D'Arc, "he also saw parallels in the persecution of the Jews in Germany."
And yes, said D'Arc, there are things in the film that make those who know the history sit up and gasp. Brigham Young did not defend Joseph Smith in court. He did not wander blindly in the desert. There was no Angus Duncan. "Zanuck took what is known as dramatic license. A lot that is pictured did not happen. But a lot did. And his overall aim was true. In the end, you understand where the Mormons came from and why they did what they did. He couldn't fit it all in. But he chose lies that told the truth."
How motion pictures deal with history is as fascinating as the history itself, said D'Arc. "And when they have to do with my people, my state's history, my faith and geography, they are even more fascinating."
That's why this project has been a labor of love from start to finish. "I love movies," he said. "I love the stories behind movies. They are so much more than entertainment. They are cultural and historical documents that inform as well as entertain. That's what has always fascinated me about film."
E-MAIL: carma@desnews.com