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

ADDITION: Paramount Blu-ray (August 2021): Paramount's 1080P transfer of George Stevens' A Place in the Sun looks almost identical to Imprint's Blu-ray from the previous year. The US rendering has a slightly higher bitrate (max'ed out) and may get a negligible edge in-motion. Audio-wise, Paramount offers only the 5.1 surround bump, that purists may turn their nose up at, and they include some foreign-langauge DUBS. It has English (SDH), and standard English as well as French, German and Spanish subtitle options. Extras are almost duplicated including the audio commentary with George Stevens Jr. and associate producer Ivan Moffat, the 22-minute, 2001-produced featurette “George Stevens and His Place in the Sun” with input from George Stevens Jr., Ivan Moffat, Elizabeth and Shelley Winters. Also repeated is the 3/4 hour “George Stevens: The Filmmakers Who Knew Him” with Frank Capra, Rouben Mamoulian, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Alan J. Pakula, Robert Wise, Fred Zinnemann etc. also made in 2001. There is also a theatrical trailer.

What is new is Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on A Place in the Sun running 40-minutes where he discusses the filmmakers, the cast, the production design and his appreciation for A Place in the Sun.

NOTE: I don't know if mine is simply a review copy but I don't have the bells and whistles of the Paramount accouterments (slipcase etc.) seen above.

Outside of cover/packaging preferences, and lack of mono audio option, the Paramount is the more desirable and only 1/2 the price of the limited edition Imprint.       

***

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (September 2020): Imprint have transferred George Stevens' A Place in the Sun to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "1080p presentation taken from the latest 4K restoration of the film". It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. How does it look? Frequently not great. It's another of those instances where it advances beyond SD (DVD) but either the source condition or other factors inhibit it from achieving the type of dynamic appearance we have come to expect from this HD format. Now, it does have instances where it looks very strong with depth, grain and fine detail. These are more the exception though. It does lean to the black levels having some degree of being crushed. Contrast is not premium. This presentation does have a nice film-like textures - better exposed than SD, but only comparing it to another 1080P will further observations reveal the adeptness of this transfer. I'm not overly displeased and, sort of, expected it looking mostly flat and a bit video-y. The DVD was no prize in terms of visual appeal either and it may just be one of those films that doesn't translate well to digital. Perhaps this is the reason it has not been released on Blu-ray until now.  

NOTE: We have added 74 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint offer a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround bump (as found on the 2001 DVD) but thankfully a linear PCM dual-mono track (both 24-bit) in the original English language. This is quite impressive as the DVD did not offer original mono at all. It's now authentically flat with the emotional score by Franz Waxman (Rear Window, Untamed, Rebecca, Dark Passage, Bride of Frankenstein, Rear Window, Sunset Boulevard) with other music, ex. Mona Lisa played as background music and Out of Nowhere played on the radio. It sounds clean with some minor buoyancy. Imprint offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

Beyond an extensive 'Stills Gallery' and their own short trailer for products, the Imprint Blu-ray offers only the exact supplements of the 2001 DVD. We get the audio commentary with George Stevens Jr. and associate producer Ivan Moffat, the 22-minute, 2001-produced featurette “George Stevens and His Place in the Sun” with input from George Stevens Jr., Ivan Moffat, Elizabeth and Shelley Winters. Also repeated is the 3/4 hour “George Stevens: The Filmmakers Who Knew Him” with Frank Capra, Rouben Mamoulian, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Alan J. Pakula, Robert Wise, Fred Zinnemann etc. also made in 2001. There is a theatrical trailer and a limited edition slipcase (1000 copies.)

George Stevens' A Place in the Sun is a total masterpiece. It's a film I was thrilled to hear was coming to Blu-ray. Imprint's package is a bit underwhelming with no new substantive extras, a modest 1080P image (even if from a 4K restoration) but the original audio option. The jury is still out on these guys and for the exorbitant price of this release - only the very serious fans of the film, Monty or Liz should consider indulging. It'll be a keeper for me and its superiority over the (almost 20-year old) DVD - and original audio inclusion - is appreciated by this reviewer. I also like the slipcase. To each his own. I'm leaning, at present, to these guys being the 'real deal'. Time will tell.

Gary Tooze