8.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.4 |
Just as stage legend Margo Channing feels her star is dimming, she takes on a protege named Eve Harrington, a young and ambitious ingenue. With the help of sharp-eyed theater critic Addison DeWitt, this dreamy-eyed kid spins a deceptively cunning web around Channing's inner-circle, including Margo's director boyfriend Bill Simpson, playwright Lloyd Richards and his wife Karen—until she reaches her goal, which is Margo's spotlight on Broadway.
Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders (I), Celeste Holm, Gary MerrillDrama | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 2.0
Japanese: DTS 5.1
Music: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital=Latín American/DTS=Castilian / Music track is 768kbps
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Ukrainian
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
It’s been called “the bitchiest film ever made,” and though this may not sound like high praise, much of the allure of All About Eve—the 1950 film starring Bette Davis as a soon-to-be-washed up stage starlet—is found precisely in the catty, drama queen smackdowns that pepper the impeccably written script. This is the film that temporarily rejuvenated Davis’ career, immortalizing her as a camp icon, a cigarette in one hand, a martini in the other, pausing only long enough between drags and sips to dole out savagely witty remarks. And yet there’s more to the movie than just quickfire snark. This is a story of “insatiable ambition and talent,” one that explores obsession, manipulation, and the pressure put on women to be forever young and beautiful. It netted fourteen Academy Award nominations—besting Gone With the Wind’s thirteen nods and matched only later by James Cameron’s Titanic, in 1997—and eventually won six, including Best Picture.
Bette Davis as Margo Channing
With a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's absolutely pristine, it's clear that All About Eve has been given a thoughtful restoration. There's not a speck of debris or hint of damage on the print—okay, maybe one or two white flecks—and the image itself looks entirely natural, showing no evidence of excess DNR, edge enhancement, or contrast boosting. Director Joseph Mankiewicz was never known as a visual stylist, but there are some wonderful shots where he uses light and shadow to full effect, shots that really show off this transfer's deep blacks, crisp-but-not-overblown whites, and punchy gradient of grays. Sharpness is variable, but this seems to be a product of the way the film was shot. Some close-ups—especially of the female actors— feature flattering soft-focus, which removes finer details like pores or wrinkles. That said, there are also some fantastically crisp scenes that let you make out the fuzzy textures of fur coats and the individual stitches on herringbone wool blazers. Overall, it looks wonderful, and certainly a huge improvement on the DVD. Plus, sitting comfortably on a dual-layer 50 GB disc, there are no compression quirks or other encode issues to fret over.
20th Century Fox has expanded the film's original mono mix into a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, but purists will be pleased to note that there are no obnoxious new cross-channel effects or whiz-bang pans. Rather, the extra speakers are implemented to lightly expand composer Alfred Newman's score, and that's about it. You really have to crane your ears toward your surrounds to even tell that they're being used—most of the activity is contained up front. The music sounds excellent, with plenty of dynamic presence and none of the tinny quality you sometimes associate with mid- century audio. Likewise, dialogue is clean, clear, and balanced, with no hisses, pops, crackles, or drop-outs. Do note that while the back of the case only indicates English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles, there are additional tracks in a veritable U.N. summit's worth of languages.
There are no new bonus features here, but this Blu-ray release comes fully loaded with supplements, including two commentary tracks and several half-hour documentaries. The film comes packaged in a sleek 25-page digibook with actor/director bios and lots of photos.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz' script for All About Eve is one of the sharpest, most sophisticated examples of mid-century Hollywood screenwriting there is, and Bette Davis' performance—especially the scene were she gets drunk at Bill's party—is legendary. If that's not enough, the film remains incredibly relevant as an invective against the kind of shameless self-promotion that still rules the celebrity roost. 20th Century Fox has done a terrific job with this release, with an immaculate new high definition transfer, a crisp audio track, and a collection of supplements that, while recycled from previous releases, offer lots of insight into the making of the film. Highly recommended!
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