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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (February 2022): Criterion have transferred Leo McCarey's 1939 Love Affair to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration by The Museum of Modern Art and Lobster Films". A text screen before the presentation further states: "LOVE AFFAIR was, for a long time, only available in poor 16mm syndication prints. This restoration was produced by The Museum of Modern Art and Lobster Films, from an original 35mm nitrate print and a safety 35mm duplicate negative, both from the MoMA collection. 4K Scan: Blackhawk Films, Burbank (USA), 2019 4K Image restoration: Lobster Films laboratories, Paris (France), 2020 Sound restoration: LE Diapason, Paris (France), 2020."

So much was put into the restoration and the Criterion 1080P transfer is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. It has some inherent softness, which can look waxy at times, but the improvement is immense. There is some inconsistency but overall the image has moments of deft contrast and even depth. This has to be considered a triumph, not knowing the extent of the 35mm density.

This is also available in a Lobster films, a French Blu-ray HERE - released in December 2020. We don't own it to compare. 

NOTE: We have added 48 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. The audio has likewise been restored. Love Affair has consistent dialogue and an occasionally dramatic score by Roy Webb (They Won't Believe Me, Crossfire, Clash by Night, I Married a Witch, This Is Cinerama, Easy Living, The Window, Fixed Bayonets, Journey Into Fear, I Walked with a Zombie etc.) sounding supportive in the lossless transfer. Leo McCarey offered Irene Dunne the opportunity to choose and perform the film's "theme" and she decided upon "Wishing" which was a huge hit in 1939. The orphans were dubbed by Robert Mitchell's Boys Choir (reprised by the them at the conclusion.) "Sing My Heart", at a Philadelphian night-club, and "Plaisir d'Amour", at Michel's grandmother's home, were also performed by Dunne. Sound quality is a leap beyond the poor DVDs we have heard. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' / 'B' Blu-ray.

My friend, David, feels the lyrics of "Sing My Heart" are a key to understanding a key plot point of the film; explaining Terri's reluctance to rendezvous. He feel certain that song writer Ted Koehler indeed intended this as a perfect foil for the storyline. (Thanks David!)    

The Criterion Blu-ray offers supplementary material. First up is a new 24-minute interview with film critic Farran Smith Nehme about the movie’s complicated production history. Best known today for Duck Soup (1933) and The Awful Truth (1937), Leo McCarey made Love Affair (1939) at the height of his career, and it received rave reviews and was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. In this interview, recorded by the Criterion Collection in October 2021, Farran discusses the making of the movie, including the fraught screenwriting process, and its lasting influence. There is also a with new 6-minute interview with Serge Bromberg, producer, film preservationist, and founder of Lobster Films. He discusses the restoration of Love Affair and explains why the film was long available only in poor quality renditions. There are two 50-minute radio adaptations. A huge success on its release in theaters, Love Affair was a natural choice for adaptation on the popular program Lux Radio Theatre, produced by Cecil B. DeMille. The first radio version, starring Irene Dunne and William Powell, aired April 1st, 1940. The second program has Dunne and Charles Boyer reprising their screen roles and aired July 6th, 1942. Criterion include two silent short films, directed by Leo McCarey and starring Charley Chase, were made for Hal Roach Studios, where McCarey got his start in the industry. They are Charley Chase: Looking for Sally from 1925 running just short of 25-minutes and Mighty Like a Moose from 1926 running 23-minutes. There is a liner notes booklet with an essay by author Megan McGurk. 

Leo McCarey was getting tired of directing comedies - notably those of the screwball variety - and he took a break with his wife, Stella. They settled on a relaxing cruise. Love Affair was born from that shipboard vacation and revisited by McCarey's in his 1957 remake, the absurdly popular, An Affair to Remember, starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. It brought forth further remakes with 1994's Love Affair, starring Warren Beatty, Annette Bening and Katharine Hepburn in her final film role. Plus there have been a handful of Bollywood adaptations. Fans should greatly appreciate the 4K restoration if you were aware of what has been previously available. The Criterion Blu-ray is marvelous to expose this romantic film masterpiece that fans would never have been able to see in such improved a/v. The extras are revealing and this is a wonderful 1080P package. It is absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze