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

ADDITION: Fun City Editions Blu-ray (November 2023): Fun City Editions have transferred Ted Kotchef's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. I suspect that most of the softness of the image is inherent in the production level of the film itself. It doesn't look like digitization but it has a similar smeary softness without much natural texture. Colors appear true with some richness and there are instances of depth. Outdoor sequences are beautiful. This is a film that was never going to look crisp and glossy. The 1080P is consistent and clean which is the best HD presentation we are likely to get. I don't even recall the film ever being on DVD.  

NOTE: We have added 64 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Fun City Editions use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz has few aggressive moments existing a lot of the character's energy and dialogue. There is music in the film; Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in c minor, Op. 67, the traditional When the Saints Go Marching In and Camptown Races by Stephen Foster and arrangements by Stanley Myers (Nightmare at Noon, The Wilby Conspiracy, Eureka, Cimino's The Deer Hunter, Roeg's Insignificance, Harold Becker's The Boost, Pete Walker House of Mortal Sin and Frightmare, etc.) including Mademoiselle from Armentieres. It supports the film reasonably well via the lossless transfer. Fun City Editions offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Fun City Editions Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Adam Nayman (author of Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks, "The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together"and David Fincher: Mind Games.) He notes that his great-grandfather was one of the extras in the opening scene. He identifies film and novel differences, that it was set in 1947 in Montreal's Jewish ghetto, and what that means, the star-maker performance for Dreyfuss, the character of Duddy and his insecurities, the statement "A man without land is nothing" and its reference to Zionism, Dreyfuss' career, Micheline Lanctôt (Yvette), Ted Kotcheff's friendship with author Mordecai Richler. He talks a lot about Canadian filmmaking, themes in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and much more. It's very informative. The package has a limited edition slipcover with rarely-seen vintage artwork, and a 12-page booklet with a new essay by Nathan Holmes and color photos.

Ted Kotchef's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is based on Mordecai Richler's 1959 novel of the same name. Duddy (Richard Dreyfuss) is always seeking respect from his Montréal-based Jewish community especially his unappreciative father. He's a tireless hustler - with a variety of get-rich-quick schemes from a resourceful gopher busboy to filming bar-mitzvah home movies to pinball machine mogul. All with the goal to purchase land on a nearby picturesque lake and develop a resort. Ted Kotcheff (First Blood, Wake in Fright) adeptly realizes The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz while the titular character exasperates us as Dreyfuss still allows him to hold a modicum of worthy sympathy. It's a film I've wanted to have on digital for as long as I can remember and I am very pleased with the Fun City Editions Blu-ray. This, almost, 50-year old Canadian film deserves an audience. Certainly recommended!

Gary Tooze