Produced by and starring Star of the Month James Mason, Nicholas Ray's BIGGER THAN LIFE ('56) was not a commercial or critical success upon its initial release. Mason believe Ray's use of the relatively new CinemaScope format contributed to its failure. However, its reputation as one of the best films ever made has grown steadily over the years. In 1963 Jean-Luc Godard named it one of the ten best American sound films ever made and Martin Scorsese included the film in his 1995 documentary A PERS