A Place in the Sun - Elizabeth Taylor

directed by George Stevens
USA 1951

The Blu-ray of "A Place in the Sun" is reviewed HERE

A Place in the Sun (1951) is a powerful social drama and romance from director/producer George Stevens. The black and white film plays on the audience's emotions, by involving and drawing them into complicity with the tragic resolution. Methodically, the film is stylistically dark, almost with film-noirish qualities, yet it has some of the most romantic and passionate sequences ever filmed - between the radiant debutante, 18 year-old Elizabeth Taylor (in her first adult role) and 29 year-old Montgomery Clift, who stars as a laboring wage slave.

Its theme emphasizes the wide gap between the frivolous rich and the downtrodden, outsider poor, and how fate heavy-handedly can control life. An aspiring, upwardly-mobile, lonely working-class protagonist with evangelical roots is obsessed with getting ahead and 'making it.' He mixes with a different upper social class through a passionate romantic relationship with a beautiful rich girl, and begins to climb the social and professional ladder. But then he becomes victimized by his environment, circumstances, the society of the time, and the loss of his own morals when he impregnates a lowly, disenfranchised, clingy, and plain co-worker.

This first-rate melodramatic film is an adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's lengthy, best-selling 1925 novel, An American Tragedy, and it was also based on the Patrick Kearney play.

Excerpt of Tim Dirks review on The Greatest Films located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 14 August 1951

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The Third Man (BFI Film Classics (Paperback))
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The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir: Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's
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DVD Review: Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Vincent LACOMME for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Paramount Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	2:01:50
Video	1.33 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5,84 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by George Steven Jr. and Ivan Moffat (no subtitles) • Georges Stevens: Filmmakers who knew him (English subtitles) (45:22) • Georges Stevens and his Place in the sun (English subtitles) (22:22) • Theatrical Trailer (no subtitles)(2:41) DVD Release Date: 14 August 2001 Amaray Chapters 13

Comments

The Blu-ray of "A Place in the Sun" is reviewed HERE

This dual layered transfer is only adequate. It has occasional muddiness, and exhibits indications of edge enhancement as well as chroma in a couple of spots. The whole image tends to look 'thick' at times. Contrast and black levels are acceptable, if heavy. It shines in the extras department with a commentary and two lengthy featurette documentaries, as well as a theatrical trailer. As opposed to a restored mono track, Paramount have only included a bumped 5.1, which sounds good, but the option of the original track should have been included. Subtitles are well done. out of

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Region 1 - NTSC

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