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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (March 2023): Indicator have transferred Ernst Lubitsch's Broken Lullaby to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "2021 restoration from a 2K scan". I wish I had the 2020 Kino 1080P to compare as this must appears to be a newer transfer. Regardless, it still has some of the weaknesses of a film made 90--years ago. We can see marks and warping in scenes shifts. The image is generally quite soft but strong black levels raise the HD presentation. Without a film-level restoration this is the best we are likely to get. 

NOTE: We have added 46 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Broken Lullaby has aggressive battle-related sounds. It suffers from its production era in being slightly scattered and hollow but it is consistent. The score was by W. Franke Harling (By Candlelight, The Kiss Before the Mirror, Blonde Venus, Trouble In Paradise, Shanghai Express.) It supports the film well in the uncompressed transfer. Indicator offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Indicator Blu-ray offers the, previous, Kino commentary by Joseph McBride (author of How Did Lubitsch Do It?) He discusses the term 'shell shocked' (we now call PTSD), the director's ellipses, quoting some of the reviews of Broken Lullaby, the flamboyant theatrical approach of the film unlike standard, subtle, Lubitsch and much more. It is excellent. While watching the film you also have the option of listening to an archival audio recording of a presentation by Scott Eyman, author of Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise, presented as part the British Film Institute’s 2001 Lubitsch retrospective at the National Film Theatre, London. It is from 2001 and entitled The Films of Ernst Lubitsch - running 1 1/4 hours. The Men I Killed is a new video essay on Broken Lullaby and Francois Ozon’s 2016 film Frantz, comparing their different cinematic approaches to adapting Maurice Rostand’s 1930 play, L'homme que j'ai tué, and its 1931 English-language translation, The Man I Killed, by Reginald Berkeley. It runs shy of 1/4 hour. There is Indicator's usual image gallery of promotional and publicity materials and the package has a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Christina Newland, archival profiles of director Ernst Lubtisch, star Lionel Barrymore and screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits.

Ernst Lubitsch's Broken Lullaby is a brilliant example of the director's poetic sincerity. Mordaunt Hall of The NY Times stated about Broken Lullaby; "further evidence of Mr. Lubitsch's genius, for, while it is tearful, its story is unfurled in a poetic fashion, with unexcelled performances..." It's another Lubitsch film that deserves more coverage from the opening montage sequence to his warning of WW2 and singular anti-war expression. Not a typical Lubitsch film but a great one. I am very happy the Indicator Blu-ray - the McBride commentary, Scott Eyman audio, new video essay and liner notes booklet. Our highest recommendation!

Gary Tooze