Something to Live For Blu-ray - Joan Fontaine / Ray Milland

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

(aka "Mr. & Mrs. Anonymous" )

Directed by George Stevens
USA 1952

Joan Fontaine plays a famous actress who descends into alcoholism in this classic melodrama directed by George Stevens (A Place in the Sun). Ray Milland in an unofficial extension of his classic Lost Weekend role; plays a reformed drunkard who comes to Fontaine’s rescue, encouraging her to join Alcoholic Anonymous while continuing to struggle with his own demons. The two lost souls fall in love, but they refuse to endanger his marriage; no matter how strong their feeling are for each other. Teresa Wright co-stars as Milland’s wife. Costume design by legendary designer, Edith Head (Sunset Boulevard).

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Aging advertising executive Alan Miller (Ray Milland) is a recovered alcoholic who now does interventions on behalf of Alcoholics Anonymous, is called by the elevator operator of a residential hotel to come and intervene in the case of one of the guests, struggling Broadway actress Jenny Carey (Joan Fontaine). The two find they have even more in common than their taste for drink. But Jenny wants to put an end to their romance because Alan is a married man, who moreover is the father of two children. How will Jenny and Alan resolve their feelings without destroying Alan's marriage? Joan Fontaine stars in her acclaimed role as a famous actress who descends into alcoholism in this classic melodrama from legendary American director George Stevens (A Place in the Sun). Costume design by legendary designer, Edith Head (Sunset Boulevard). Starring Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland, and Teresa Wright.

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 7th, 1952

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Review: Imprint - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Imprint - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:29:04.547
Video	1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,648,474,458 bytes Feature: 26,370,023,424 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.00 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	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Imprint 1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,648,474,458 bytes Feature: 26,370,023,424 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio commentary by film Historians Daniel Kremer & David Del Valle • Neil Sinyard on Something to Live For (19:03) Blu-ray Release Date: March 3rd, 2023 Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 12

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (May 2023): Imprint have transferred George Stevens's Something to Live For to Blu-ray. It is cited as being "from a NEW 2022 2K scan". We reviewed the Olive DVD from 2012 HERE. It is on a dual-layered disc with a very high bitrate and it is somewhat lighter than the SD transfer also showing more information in the 1.37:1 frame on the right edge. Like the DVD there are speckles and the decent source looks to be the same. There are textures and the HD presentation is a positive one.

NOTE: We have added 52 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Something to Live For has no sequences requiring intense bass but another wonderful score by Victor Young (Strategic Air Command, The Ghost Breakers, The Sun Shines Bright, The Accused, Johnny Guitar, China Gate etc.) sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Imprint offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Imprint Blu-ray offers a new commentary by two of my favorites, film historians Daniel Kremer and David Del Valle. They discuss Wilder's Lost Weekend as well as 1951's Night into Morning (why isn't this on Blu-ray? or even DVD?) where Milland also plays alcoholics, visual tropes, cross-dissolves, the way George Barnes camera captures relevant subtle items in the frame including some noir-like shadows, George Stevens, Joan Fontaine (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands), the restrained performances, among many other topics. They work so well together in this commentary. We also get 20-minutes of Neil Sinyard on Something to Live For. He talks about George Stevens' films A Place in the Sun, Shane and Giant - how they relate to Something to Live For regarding marriage - and that it was been unfairly neglected. He covers the performances, and many lesser-known details about the film. There is no trailer.

George Stevens's Something to Live For deals with life-changing decisions; marriage sanctity, adopting sobriety, career importance etc. It was the first film to address Alcoholics Anonymous as a means of conquering addiction. There are difficult unspoken observations by the characters at cocktail parties and bars. I loved the camera-work subtleties (alcohol frequently in backgrounds) - shadows and introspective glances while light plays on faces and Edith Head's wardrobe. I thought it was brilliant and I'm surprised it took this long for Something to Live For to reach 1080P. Milland, Fontaine, Wright give compelling performances without drowning in unnecessary dialogue. After revisiting, I'm very high on this films and the Imprint Blu-ray with new commentary and Sinyard's observations make it extremely desirable. Absolutely recommended!