Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

An Inspector Calls 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 4, 2024

Guy Hamilton's "An Inspector Calls" (1954) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with actress Jane Wenham; archival audio commentary by author and film historian David Del Valle; and new program with critic Anna Smith. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The overwhelming majority of An Inspector Calls takes place inside the lavish home of a wealthy British family, the Birlings, whose members have gathered to celebrate the engagement of the eldest child, Sheila (Eileen Moore, The Green Man), to the handsome businessman Gerald Croft (Brian Worth, Million Dollar Manhunt). As they dine and discuss important matters, such as the distant possibility of a war on the Old Continent, a man knocks on the door and politely introduces himself. The man is Inspector Poole (Alastair Sim, Innocents in Paris, The Belles of St Trinian's) and he wishes to speak with everyone in the house -- preferably one by one. Rather reluctantly, the head of the family, Mr. Birling (Arthur Young, Paid to Kill), invites the Inspector to sit down and explain what brings him to his home.

The rest is broken into five uneven episodes. In each episode, a member of the Birling family and Sheila’s future husband meet a young girl named Eva Smith, who has died after taking some sort of strong disinfectant.

In the first episode, Mr. Birling meets Eva after she leads a deputation of women working in his factory to his office where they demand better wages. Mr. Birling quickly rejects their request and after consulting with his assistant fires Eva.

In the second episode, Eva loses her new job in a chic clothing store after Sheila becomes upset with her while trying a fancy hat. Before she leaves the store, Sheila also threatens to close her affluent mother’s account there.

In the third episode, Gerald meets Eva in a smoky inn. She is starving and can barely stay on her feet. Gerald treats her to a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant and then lets her stay at his bachelor apartment until she finds a new job. He promises not to bother her, but soon after the two become lovers. When eventually he decides to marry Sheila, Eva is asked to leave.

Eva and Mrs. Birling (Olga Lindo, Make Mine a Million) meet sometime after the poor girl’s affair with Gerald. As the leader of a group of wealthy women who enjoy helping the unfortunate ones, Mrs. Birling discovers that Eva fell in love with a rich and handsome man, but after she became pregnant he quickly abandoned her.

In the final episode, Eva meets the friendly but rather unpredictable Eric Birling (Bryan Forbes, The Colditz Story), who loves to drink and have a good time. On a cold and rainy night, the kind bachelor buys her fish and chips and then walks her to her place.

Based on the classic play by J.B. Priestley and directed by Guy Hamilton, An Inspector Calls is a witty and genuinely moving period drama that is guaranteed to appeal to a wide range of viewers. Indeed, it has numerous very effective twists that could easily fit in an Agatha Christie adaptation and serious social overtones that remind of David Lean’s classic romantic drama Brief Encounter. (In An Inspector Calls, right and wrong are just as successfully misplaced).

The title is rather misleading. The well-mannered Inspector very effectively manipulates his hosts and then arranges the scattered pieces of a fascinating puzzle, but the true star is the poor girl who just can’t seem to get a break. The entire cast, however, is fantastic.

Hamilton was assisted by cinematographer Ted Scaife, who lensed Robert Aldrich’s timeless classic The Dirty Dozen.

An Inspector Calls 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

StudioCanal's release of An Inspector Calls is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. At the moment, I only have the 4K Blu-ray with me. When a proper market version of the combo pack arrives, which will include a Blu-ray as well, we will update our review. (A separate Blu-ray release streets with the combo pack as well).

Please note that all screencaptures included with our review are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray.

In the United Kingdom, An Inspector Calls made its high-definition debut with this Region-B Blu-ray release in 2014. I have it in my library and think that it offers a lovely presentation of the film. However, the combo pack introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration sourced from the film's original camera negative. The 4K presentation can be viewed with HDR and Dolby Vision grades. I viewed it with HDR.

The difference in quality between the previous 1080p presentation and the new 4K presentation is quite obvious and easy to appreciate. Both well-lit indoor footage and darker outdoor footage boast superior delineation and clarity, sharpness and depth. Where light is properly balanced, background information looks particularly good, so on a larger screen there is simply more to see in these areas. The grayscale is superior, too. In fact, some of the most effective improvements that impact the perception of depth are introduced by the better grayscale. The HDR grade is wonderful. It handles darker areas with outstanding precision, never introducing blacks that are too strong or flatness. Even some of the darkest nighttime footage looks great (see screencaptures, #3, 11, and 15). Grain exposure is very good, and yes, grain reproduction is superior as well. However, I think that in a couple of areas minor encoding optimizations could have been introduced. There are no stability issues. The entire film looks immaculate. My score is 4.75/5.00.

An Inspector Calls 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is very healthy. I do not know if any new restoration work was done on it, but if there is, it is impossible to tell. I still think that the music sounds a bit thin, but this is most likely an inherited limitation. All exchanges are very clear, crisp, and easy to follow. While viewing the film, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

An Inspector Calls 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, author and film historian David Del Valle discusses in great detail the cinematic adaptation of J.B. Priestley's play and some key differences (specifically the absence of the girl), the nature of the dialog, the structure and efficacy of various twists and revelations, Alastair Sim's performance, etc. The commentary first appeared on U.S. label Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of An Inspector Calls.

• Jane Wenham - in this archival program, actress Jane Wenham (Eva Smith) recalls her collaboration with director Guy Hamilton on An Inspector Calls as well as her interactions with the rest of the cast during the shooting of the film. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Anna Smith on An Inspector Calls - in this new program, critic Anna Smith discusses An Inspector Calls and J.B. Priestley's play that inspired it. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

An Inspector Calls 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

StudioCanal are celebrating the 70th anniversary of Guy Hamilton's An Inspector Calls with brand new 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases of it, which will street next month. Both will introduce an exclusive new 4K restoration of the film, sourced from the original camera negative and completed at Filmfinity in London. I was sent an early 4K Blu-ray screener and last night viewed the new 4K restoration. It is very beautiful. At the moment, I do not have a Blu-ray screener, but when a market copy of the 4K Blu-ray release arrives, which will include a Blu-ray disc, we will update our review and publish a separate one for the standard Blu-ray release. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.