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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
 USA 1938

 

From Ernst Lubitsch, the legendary director of The Merry Widow, Angel, Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner, To Be or Not to Be and Heaven Can Wait, comes this classic romantic comedy starring screen icons Claudette Colbert (The Palm Beach Story), Gary Cooper (Beau Geste) and David Niven (Separate Tables) with a screenplay by Billy Wilder (The Lost Weekend) and Charles Brackett (A Foreign Affair). Those laughing eyes, those glorious cheekbones! The silver-screen queen of the ’30s and ’40s is as captivating as ever in this hilarious comedy set in the French Riviera! Colbert portrays Mademoiselle Nicole De Loiselle, the lovely daughter of a destitute aristocrat, who catches the eye of dashing millionaire Michael Brandon (Cooper). After a brief courtship, she accepts his marriage proposal, but the bride is shocked to learn that her betrothed has been down the aisle before… seven times. Determined to teach him a lesson, she makes a mockery of their matrimony in a variety of side-splitting situations; but alas, two can play the crazy game of love. Edward Everett Horton (Top Hat) co-stars as Nicole’s father, the Marquis De Loiselle.

***

US multi-millionaire Michael Barndon marries his eighth wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broken French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the row of his ex-wives and starts her own strategy to "tame" him.

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 23rd, 1938

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Coming to Indicator Blu-ray in the UK in March 2023:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:25:47.142        
Video

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 28,221,268,189 bytes

Feature: 26,885,965,824 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.91 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 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 28,221,268,189 bytes

Feature: 26,885,965,824 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.91 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Kat Ellinger
• Theatrical Trailers


 Blu-ray Release Date: March 31st, 2020
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (March 2020): Kino have transferred Ernst Lubitsch's Bluebeard's Eighth Wife to Blu-ray. It has frequent light marks and surface scratches but the grain textures are wonderfully preserved by the 1080P. It has nicely layered contrast and looks very solid in HD.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track (16-bit) in the original English language (with some French.) Dialogue is clear and consistent as is the score by Werner R. Heymann (as Werner Heyman) and Friedrich Hollaender (Angel, The Great McGinty, Christmas in Connecticut, Caught, Berlin Express, Background to Danger, The Verdict, A Foreign Affair) sounding light and playful in the lossless. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray treats us to a new audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger who brings up innuendo reading between the lines to now circumvent the existing Hayes Code enforcement - and the Screwball comedy era of which she is writing a book - identifying the tone of the genre, pacing, caustic energy etc. . It was not considered Lubitsch's best genre. She identifies the opulence of Paramount studio films (costume, sets etc.) made at this time that scream 'class', Billy Wilder's script contribution, she reads reviews of the 1923 Gloria Swanson version 'Bluebeard's 8th Wife" and how this Lubitsch film reminds her of two of her favorite vintage films; Robert Florey's Pre-code, 1934 effort "Smarty" (Joan Blondell), and the Screwball comedy - Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth. She's great covering so much that it makes me want to watch more from those genres right now. There are also some theatrical trailers but none for Bluebeard's Eighth Wife.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife has Ernst Lubitsch measured formalities and adept realization. It's been out of the conversation but deserves more kudos as a genuinely amusing Screwball comedy with some rapid-fire zingers tucked in with subtle precision. Kino's Blu-ray has the value of the Ellinger commentary as well as a cracker of a film that only suffers from its minimal romance.

Gary Tooze

 

Menus / Extras

 

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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Coming to Indicator Blu-ray in the UK in March 2023:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 


 


 

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