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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (April 2021): Indicator have also transferred Ronald Neame's The Chalk Garden to Blu-ray. It is, likewise, on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. It has slightly cooler skin tones and is marginally brighter. It compares well but the Indicator may advance in some people's eyes - if so, it would not be a major discrepancy. This looks marvelous in 1080P.

Indicator advance on the audio with a linear PCM 24-bit mono track. Aside from a bonfire and beach ocean the soundstage is not very demanding but has a good score by Malcolm Arnold (The Night My Number Came Up, The Captain's Paradise, The Holly and the Ivy, Tunes of Glory, No Highway in the Sky. The Bridge On the River Kwai, Island in the Sun, Stolen Face, Hobson's Choice) sounding atmospheric with subtle depth. It is authentically flat carrying minor depth. Indicator add optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

Where Indicator take the most definitive strides over the Kino are in the supplements. There is a new (2021) audio commentary with film historians Lucy Bolton and Josephine Botting that examines the film's deeper themes and much more. I really enjoyed the 67-minute BEHP Interview with director Ronald Neame from 1991 talking about his career. It is an archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the acclaimed director in conversation with Roy Fowler and plays to the film. He reveals quite a lot here and I found the discussion fascinating. Fertile Ground is a new 7-minute interview with assistant production accountant Maurice Landsberger remembering filming at Eastbourne. Indicator include some brief 8mm location footage from 1963 taken from John Mills’ home movies shot at Beachy Head during production. Clever Conversation is a new 20-minute appreciation of Malcolm Arnold’s score by author and musician David Huckvale. Loved and Envied spends 10-minutes with Josephine Botting talking about the life and career of Enid Bagnold who wrote the play The Chalk Garden. There is both an original theatrical trailer and image gallery of promotional and publicity material plus the package has a limited edition exclusive 32-page booklet with a new essay by Melanie Williams, extracts from interviews and autobiographies, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits.

Ronald Neame's The Chalk Garden has some unusual qualities - which is fitting for the less-conventional story (original play as a comedy?) with Hayley Mills as the undisciplined adolescent granddaughter who is confused, testing her limits as well as challenging the adults caring for her. The sub-story of Deborah Kerr as the mysteriously ambiguous murdering-suspect Miss Madrigal adds keen curiosity. The Chalk Garden is wonderfully realized by Neame. A beautiful film that I was pleased to revisit on this stacked Indicator Blu-ray. The new commentary and interviews, booklet etc. make this the definitive edition of the film on Blu-ray. Strongly recommended!

***

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (September 2020): Kino have transferred Ronald Neame's The Chalk Garden to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Colors are vibrant and deep and aside from a shade of, what I call 'thinness' - almost imperceptible digitization-like frailness - as opposed to a heavy image. I don't believe it was manipulated and overall the 1080P looked very impressive on my system - bright, fine contrast and consistent film textures. Most will be very pleased with the occasionally lush garden and seaside locations (Beachy Head) for those two prominent scenes.

NOTE: We have added 40 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language.  Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Tim Lucas. He does an efficient job discussing production details, Enid Bagnold's play, Ross Hunter's production, Dame Edith Evans, writer John Michael Hayes, Hayley Mills and her Disney contract, Neame's disappointments plus much more. It's filled with small details that he has pulled from a variety of sources exporting a cornucopia of information you aren't likely to find in one place. There is also a theatrical trailer. A strong package that we endorse.    

Gary Tooze