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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Hal Ashby
USA 1970

 

Legendary filmmaker Hal Ashby (Coming Home, 8 Million Ways to Die) makes his directing debut with this acclaimed social satire starring Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys) as a wealthy young man who leaves his family’s estate in Long Island to pursue love and happiness in a Brooklyn ghetto. When Elgar Enders (Bridges) buys a Park Slope tenement, he fully intends to evict the occupants and transform the building into a chic bachelor pad. But after meeting the tenants, Elgar adopts a “love thy neighbor” policy instead: first he falls head-over-heels for a sexy young go-go dancer… then he begins an affair with the sultry, married “Miss Sepia 1957.” Featuring brilliant performances by Lee Grant (The Balcony) in an Oscar®-nominated role, Pearl Bailey (Porgy and Bess), Louis Gossett Jr. (The Laughing Policeman), Robert Klein (Hooper), Trish Van Devere (Where’s Poppa?), Hector Elizondo (The Flamingo Kid), Gloria Hendry (Black Belt Jones) and Susan Anspach (The Big Fix), and with a potent script by Bill Gunn (Ganja & Hess) based on the novel by Kristin Hunter (Boss Cat), The Landlord is one of the most original and provocative screen comedies to deal with race relations in urban America. Produced by Norman Jewison (The Thomas Crown Affair) and shot by Gordon Willis (The Godfather).

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Wealthy, insensitive young Beau Bridges buys an inner-city tenement, planning to evict the present occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. But once he ventures into the tenement, he grows quite fond of the low-income ethnic types who dwell within. He even kicks over the traces of his WASP upbringing by romancing black tenants Diana Sands and Marki Bey. Though essentially a comedy, The Landlord offers several painful truths about ghetto existence. Essentially, Beau Bridges acts as the audience's "eyes:" we learn as he learns, we grow as he grows. The Landlord represents the first directorial effort of Oscar-winning film editor Hal Ashby.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 20th, 1970

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:50:08.476        
Video

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 41,913,464,098 bytes

Feature: 29,213,792,256 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.94 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1555 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1555 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 41,913,464,098 bytes

Feature: 29,213,792,256 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.94 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• The Racial Gap - New interview with star Beau Bridges (25:01)
 • Reflections - New interview with star Lee Grant (25:53)
 • Norman Jewison and Hal Ashby - Style and Substance: New interview with producer Norman Jewison (28:58)
 • Theatrical Trailer (02:32)
 • "Coming Home" trailer (02:03)
 • "Where's Poppa?" trailer (02:55)


 Blu-ray Release Date: May 14th, 2019
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 8

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (May 2019): Hal Ashby's directorial debut (and produced by Norman Jewison) "The Landlord" premieres on Blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber. The film is transferred on a dual-layered disc. The 1.85:1 HD image is given a high bitrate. "The Landlord" features many varied locations, and as such, certain shots look better than others. The black levels sadly aren't too varied or strong, resulting in some rather unremarkable shadows. Whites seem to be frequently teal leaning as well, which is unfortunate. Closer inspection of the image also sadly shows a rather soft, undefined detail.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray of "The Landlord" contains only a 16-bit DTS-HD Master Audio track. No linear uncompressed version, but this lossless track will suffice. Great to hear all that music from Al Kooper and The Staple Singers. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray.

"The Racial Gap" is a new 25-minute interview with Beau Bridges, star of "The Landlord". "Reflections" is a new 25-minute interview with star Lee Grant. "Norman Jewison and Hal Ashby - Style and Substance" is an all new interview with producer Norman Jewison, talking about the late director. Also included is the film's theatrical trailer, as well as trailers for "Coming Home" and "Where's Poppa?".

Hal Ashby's "The Landlord" is a film that gets more interesting the longer it goes on. What at first seems like a rather lifeless joke, takes on new meaning and deeper layers by the end of the film. Still not as good as some of Ashby's later work. Kino's Blu-ray is not all that stunning, in A/V quality, but it is still nice to see Kino getting out some of these sought-after titles on Blu-ray nonetheless.

Colin Zavitz

 

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Box Cover

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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