Friendly Persuasion Blu-ray - Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

USA 1956

For two years the Civil War has been elsewhere. Now Confederate forces are nearby, looting and burning. It's time to fight back, Jess Birdwell's neighbors insist. Yet Birdwell, a Quaker, knows there must be a better way to settle things. In a role ideally suiting his stalwart persona, Gary Cooper plays Jess in William Wyler's beloved and acclaimed film of Jessamyn West's novel Friendly Persuasion. The film earned six Academy Award nominations. including Best Picture. Leading lady Dorothy McGuire was named Best Actress by the National Board of Review for her outstanding performance as Eliza Birdwell, and 24 year-old Anthony Perkins became a rising star, giving his first major film appearance in the integral role of the Birdwell's son Josh. Friendly Persuasion is a timeless classic, and a testament to the great artistry of all those involved in creating this masterful film.

***

This charming, gentle and perfectly crafted William Wyler film (produced with older brother Robert,) based on the Jessamyn West novel, revolves around the activities of a family of Indiana Quakers circa 1860. How the Mother ( Dorothy McGuire ), Father ( Gary Cooper ), son, Josh Birdwell ( Anthony Perkins ) , sister and younger brother deal with their traditional beliefs and way of life being challenged over the course of a few crucial weeks in their lives is the crux of this 1957 Palme D'or winning picture (which, to be fair, should have gone to Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria").

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Theatrical Release: November 25th, 1956

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Review: Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:17:54.641
Video	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 42,651,750,642 bytes Feature: 40,059,537,408 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.92 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 1861 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1861 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Archive 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 42,651,750,642 bytes Feature: 40,059,537,408 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • The Making of Friendly Persuasion (10:22) • Theatrical Trailer(1:51) Blu-ray Release Date: May 14th, 2024 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 29

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Warner Archive Blu-ray (January 2025): Warner Archive have transferred William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion to Blu-ray. The 2000 DVD that we reviewed HERE, was in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. This 1080P is in the 1.85:1 and IMDb says it was shown theatrically at 1.75:1. Flesh tones warm quite a bit from the 1/4 century old SD. Colors are vibrant but I would appreciate more grain textures. It can look a shade saturated but definitely improves of the much older DVD - which I still owned waiting for an upgrade. This is it.

NOTE: We have added 74 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Warner Archive use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Friendly Persuasion has few aggressive moments that come through with modest depth and score by One of the highlights is the memorable score of the iconic Dimitri Tiomkin (High Noon, Gunfight at the OK Coral, Angel Face, Strangers on a Train, The Men, Dial M For Murder, The Thing From Another World, Portrait of Jennie, The Dark Mirror etc. etc.) conducting his own score. Included is "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" a popular song with music by Tiomkin and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The best-known version of the song was recorded by Pat Boone.

"Thee I love, more than the meadow so green and still
More than the mulberries on the hill
More than the buds of a May apple tree, I love thee"

It all sounds flat and authentic in the lossless. Warner Archive offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The film on Blu-ray really deserved a commentary but alas we have nothing except the older featurette "Wide Wide World" from Nov 27th, 1955 showing behind the scenes sequences of making the film. According to show host Dave Garroway, it was the first live broadcast from a movie set. There is also a trailer. A missed opportunity to talk about this Wyler masterwork.

William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion was in development for eight years. It was based on Jessamyn West's novel The Friendly Persuasion. In an extremely benign and passive way, (mimicking the Birdwell family themselves) the film touches on a number of relevant inter-personal and political issues such as: Slavery - the black stable hand must flee for sanctuary from the invaders. The Civil War - in the film's most poignant moments Anthony Perkins, in his only Academy award nomination, is brilliant as the son, Josh who opposes his family's "turn the other cheek" philosophy and strives to build the courage he needs to face and fire his gun at the encroaching guerilla band of Confederates. His inner turmoil as he wrestles both the decision and the foreign act of violence is one of his greatest performance moments. This mounting quiet resistance is felt to a lesser degree by the family patriarch, played by Gary Cooper, who is outstanding as he brings his unique nobility to this sensitive role. Religion - The various extent(s) that each family member follows or deviates from the often stringent edicts of the Quaker religion. It deals with family issues as divisive as the purchase of an organ, and as complex as fighting in the Civil war. Their farm and lifestyle are threatened by Confederate raiders and they make difficult choices to defend their farm using force or resist the call to arms. It's warm and complex dealing with conflicting issues. The Warner Archive Blu-ray is still a must own for the a/v upgrade despite the lack of supplements upgrade. William Wyler wins the Palme d'Or folks.