7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A French boy and an American girl, who goes to school in Paris, meet and begin a little romance.
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, Thelonious Bernard, Arthur Hill (I), Sally KellermanRomance | 100% |
Teen | Insignificant |
Coming of age | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A product of its time for all the right reasons, George Roy Hill's A Little Romance is a playful, charming celebration of first love. It's perhaps most famous for being the screen debut of Diane Lane, who holds her own against equally young Thelonious Bernard -- a promising young actor who abandoned his craft only a few years later -- and Laurence Olivier in a terrific late-career performance. Our story follows Lauren King (Lane), a gifted young girl who's living in Paris with her mother Kay (Sally Kellerman) and step-father Richard (Arthur Hill). Lauren mostly keeps to herself with only one friend, the awkward but sweet Natalie (Ashby Semple), and is happy to attract the attention of young Daniel (Bernard), a street-smart movie buff who's all too eager to show her the sights. Their adventures lead them to a chance encounter with kindly old gentleman Julius Edmund Santorin (Laurence Olivier), a kindred spirit to Lauren -- but it's her budding romance with Daniel that prompts the trio's spontaneous trip to Venice against her mother's wishes.
Equal parts intimate drama and picturesque travelogue, A Little Romance remains a textbook example of a film being slightly more than the sum of its parts. From the excellent cast to striking cinematography by Pierre-William Glenn and an Oscar-winning score by prolific French composer Georges Delerue, A Little Romance captures and maintains a very specific mood and holds steady from start to finish. It's not concerned with traditional plot twists, villains, or even a huge climax, instead basking in the warm beauty of its time period and landscape in a way that still feels fresh and inviting some 40 years later. While it does succumb to several plot conveniences and even includes a few slightly darker moments that feel more than a little out of place, A Little Romance largely maintains a light touch that keeps things light and breezy from start to finish. It also nicely showcases the theatrical presentation of several period-specific American productions, including director Hill's own The Sting and other films starring Robert Redford.
Those who saw A Little Romance in their younger years (and likely maintained a lifelong crush on Diane Lane) will enjoy revisiting this one
on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection, which includes another terrific A/V presentation that plays to the film's strengths. Even those late to the
party should consider it a solid blind buy -- if you're at all a fan of the cast or crew, you'll likely find it an irresistible slice of classic
drama that wears its heart on its sleeve.
Although Warner Bros.' 2003 DVD served up a very capable anamorphic transfer for its time, this brand-new 1080p effort by Warner Archive Collection is a clear upgrade in every sense of the word. Sourced from a recent 2K scan of the interpositive with extensive manual cleanup, the resulting image is easy on the eyes and contains no shortage of picturesque locals in and around central Europe. Fine detail and texture are handled perfectly, with close-ups looking especially nice and wide shots showcasing plenty of notable landmarks and "magic hour" landscapes. Speaking of which, A Little Romance's largely warm and inviting palette has been preserved extremely well with no obvious color timing issues or signs of revision. The healthy bitrate and excellent encoding also help to give this Blu-ray a very filmic appearance free from banding, edge enhancement, and compression artifacts. Overall, it's another purist's dream and, short of a full 4K scan of the original camera negative, this film won't look better on home video.
A Little Romance further benefits from a terrific DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, which preserves its one-channel roots and follows Warner Archives' usual commitment to authenticity. The memorable, Oscar-winning score by prolific French composer Georges Delerue (Platoon, The Day of the Dolphin) has never sounded better and, though similarly limited to one channel, is mixed evenly and rarely has to fight for attention -- if released by Twilight Time, this would have been a prime candidate for their trademark isolated music track. Dialogue is likely balanced nicely, but the regional dialects and other accents might necessitate the use of this Blu-ray's optional English (SDH) subtitles.
Sadly, the optional subtitles are formatted poorly in ALL CAPS (a pesky habit that I thought Warner Archive had kicked recently), although select lines of foreign dialogue include better-formatted but burned-in English subs.
A Little Romance arrives on Blu-ray in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art and no inserts. Unfortunately, two extras from Warner Bros.' 2003 DVD -- a poster gallery and a 10-minute retrospective featurette with Diane Lane -- are not included, despite the latter being advertised on the disc packaging (which I'm told will be corrected).
George Roy Hill's A Little Romance remains a charming romantic drama that perfectly captures the impulsive nature of young love. Shot on location in beautiful Paris, Venice, and the surrounding areas, it's still visually captivating and a great time capsule. This also extends the to cast, which includes the striking debut of Diane Lane, a memorable late-career turn for Laurence Olivier, and a singular performance by Thelonious Bernard. All told, it's a great film to revisit some 40 years later and plays just as well today, although younger audiences may find themselves lost in translation. WAC's Blu-ray serves up another terrific A/V presentation, but the lack of extras -- including two that were not ported over from Warner Bros.' 2003 DVD -- is disappointing. Still recommended for fans and curious newcomers alike.
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