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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
USA 1949
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Directed with a keen sense of ambiguity by William Wyler, this film based on a hit stage adaptation of Henry James’s Washington Square pivots on a question of motive. When shy, emotionally fragile Catherine Sloper (Olivia de Havilland, in a heartbreaking, Oscar-winning turn), the daughter of a wealthy New York doctor, begins to receive calls from the handsome spendthrift Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), she becomes possessed by the promise of romance. Are his smoldering professions of love sincere, as she believes they are? Or is Catherine’s calculating father (Ralph Richardson) correct in judging Morris a venal fortune seeker? A graceful drawing-room drama boasting Academy Award–winning costume design by Edith Head, The Heiress is also a piercing character study riven by emotional uncertainty and lacerating cruelty, in a triumph of classic Hollywood filmmaking at its most psychologically nuanced. *** Henry James based his 1881 novella Washington Square on a real-life incident, wherein a young actor of his acquaintance married an unattractive but very wealthy young woman for the express purpose of living the rest of his life in luxury. Washington Square was turned into a stage play in 1946 by Ruth and Augustus Goetz; this, in turn was adapted for the movies under the title The Heiress. Olivia DeHavilland won an Academy Award (her second) for her portrayal of Catherine Sloper, the plain-Jane daughter of wealthy widower Dr. Austin Sloper (Ralph Richardson). Catherine is not only unattractive, but lacks most of the social graces, thanks in great part to the domineering attitudes of her father. Excerpt from Barnes and Noble located HERE *** A soberly dramatic and polished version of Henry James's novel Washington Square, this shows some of its theatrical origins in situation and dialogue, having arrived via the Broadway adaptation by Ruth and Augustus Goetz. However, there are pleasures in the designs, score by Copland (winning an Academy Award) and performances. Oscar-winning de Havilland's portrayal of a plain-jane spinster who comes to the painful realization that her suitor's intentions are more mercenary than romantic is spine-chilling. As the dashing fortune-hunter, Clift brings a subtle ambiguity to one of his least interesting roles, and Richardson is also excellent. |
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Theatrical Release: October 6th, 1949
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Universal - Region 2,4 - PAL vs. Universal - Region 1- NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray
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1)Universal - Region 2,4 - PAL LEFT 2) Universal - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE 3) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT |
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| Distribution | Universal Home Video - Region 2,4 - PAL | Universal Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray |
| Runtime | 1:50:16 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:55:16 | 1:55:17.660 |
| Video |
1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.77 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.77 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,798,230,015 bytesFeature: 31,735,037,952 bytesVideo Bitrate: 3 2.68 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUB: German (Dolby Digital 2.0) | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit |
| Subtitles | English, German, None | English, French, None | English (SDH), None |
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Release Information: Edition Details:
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Release Information: Edition Details: • Robert Osborne intro
• Trailer |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,798,230,015 bytesFeature: 31,735,037,952 bytesVideo Bitrate: 3 2.68 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • N ew conversation between screenwriter Jay Cocks and film critic Farran Smith Nehme (22:46)• New program about the film’s costumes featuring costume collector and historian Larry McQueen (15:01) • The Costume Designer, a restored 1950 short film featuring costume designer Edith Head (8:58) • Appearance by actor Olivia de Havilland on a 1986 episode of The Paul Ryan Show (44:59) • Excerpts from a 1973 tribute to director William Wyler on The Merv Griffin Show (16:41), featuring Wyler, de Havilland, and actors Bette Davis and Walter Pidgeon • Wyler’s acceptance speech from the American Film Institute’s 1976 Salute to William Wyler (5:35) • Interview with actor Ralph Richardson filmed in 1981 for the documentary Directed by William Wyler (7:09) • Trailer (2:51) • PLUS: An essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson
Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 12 |
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NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (April 2019): Criterion's new Blu-ray is advertised as a 'New, restored 4K digital transfer'. The resulting image is beautifully rich and film-like with layered contrast and an inherent thickness that evokes the film's lush, and consistent, grain textures. It's a wide leap beyond the DVDs that suffered a variety of compression issues including some minor chroma. The Heiress looks fabulous in 1080P with even some minor scratches apparent in the SDs - now removed (see last matched capture). This plays wonderfully on my system. Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) and it too has been restored sounding flawless in supporting the Aaron Copland (The Red Pony, Something Wild, Armored Attack) score (see Dee's comments below.) It again advances beyond the lossy DVD transfers. The Criterion Blu-ray is Region 'A' (North America) or 'B' (UK / Europe) depending on your location and offers optional English (SDH) subtitles. Criterion supplements include a new 23-minute conversation between screenwriter Jay Cocks and film critic Farran Smith Nehme who discuss the adaptation for the film version of The Heiress of the 1947 play by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, which was itself inspired by the 1880 Henry James novel Washington Square. There is a new 1/4 hour program about the film’s costumes featuring costume collector and historian Larry McQueen about costume designer Edith Head who won an Academy Award for her work on The Heiress. Included is The Costume Designer, a restored 1950 short film featuring costume designer Edith Head running just under 9-minutes. We get a video from 1986, with Olivia de Havilland and talk-show host Paul Ryan (The Paul Ryan Show) in the extensive two-part 3/4 hour interview, in which she discusses her life and career, including her work in The Heiress. There are also excerpts from a 1973 tribute to director William Wyler on The Merv Griffin Show running 16-minutes, featuring Wyler, de Havilland, and actors Bette Davis and Walter Pidgeon plus Wyler’s 5-minute acceptance speech from the American Film Institute’s 1976 Salute to William Wyler. There is a 7-minute interview with actor Ralph Richardson filmed in 1981 for the documentary Directed by William Wyler and lastly a trailer. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson. To have this, often dark, William Wyler classic in restored 4K 1080P Blu-ray is immensely desirable. The Heiress is brilliantly acted and directed. The Criterion package is further augmented by their extensive supplements. This has our absolute highest recommendation! *** ADDITION: NTSC - January 07': The new dual-layered NTSC edition has a superior image (especially in contrast), with far less artifacts - but it is slightly cropped on the top and side edges. It boils down to a personal choice I suppose - whether you wish to give up image quality or information in the frame. For the most part, Wyler's framing was not especially tight and I didn't notice the image being compromised by the cropping (composition seemed fine). I also prefer the NTSC subs and although I could live without the Osborne introduction - it is better than nothing. The NTSC trailer is in rough shape. This is a great film - one deserved of an audience in the digital age. We recommend purchasing regardless of your choice of editions. They are both very reasonable considering the film's value. NOTE: (Thanks Dee) The music is by Aaron Copland, for which he won an Oscar. It's really extraordinary music, though there isn't very much of it overall, because he didn't like "illustrating" scenes with music. There's only about 15 minutes of real music, in total. But Wyler had a bit of a tin ear, and famously didn't not care for the magnificent score to The Best Years of Our Lives. He had asked Copland to work in the theme of "Plaisir d'amour" to the score off The Heiress -- it's the song Montgomery Clift plays and sings in the movie. Copland did work it into the score. Copland sent the notated score to Hollywood, where it was orchestrated to his wishes, and recorded. But Wyler had some of the title sequence removed and replaced by gushing versions of "Plaisir d'amour"! Even if one was unhappy with the music, this doesn't seem to be the way to treat our great composers. Copland expressed a huge amount of dismay, but won the Oscar anyway. What I've done (completely illegally) is make an edit of the music over the credits. I've used the end of what's there now, but added to it some of the original score as recorded by Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony, to give just a sense of what the original might have been. The Slatkin recording is much slower, so I've had to start the music before the actual credits begin. SEE HERE It's very rough, and if I wanted to, I could make it better, but I thought it might be fun for you to hear. The movie itself is some kind masterpiece, and I'm really surprised that it took this long for it to find its way to DVD. There is only a trailer as an extra, even though Olivia is still alive to do a commentary. (DeeF at HTF) *** RE: The PAL edition: Another bare-bones single-layered DVD from Universal (Europe) set to sell in English language Region 2, Germany and Australia (Region 4- PAL). The image quality is rather uninspired with some visible dirt (that resembles grain) and a few artefacts. I don't see excessive manipulations which is a positive and the subtitles appear to be well-done. Overall it is clear and detailed enough for a fine viewing experience. Another of my favorite Wyler films that I feel deserves so much more - but I suppose the trends these days are towards more modern films - how unfortunate. The price is acceptable for this release and we encourage purchasing on the strength of the film. |
DVD Menus
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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| Distribution | Universal Home Video - Region 2,4 - PAL | Universal Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray |
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| Distribution | Universal Home Video - Region 2,4 - PAL | Universal Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC |
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Gary Tooze
Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA |
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Thank You!
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