Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

An Unmarried Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 8, 2020

Paul Mazursky's "An Unmarried Woman" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new interviews with actors actors Michael Murphy and Lisa Lucas; new video interview with author Sam Wasson; vintage audio commentary by Paul Mazursky and Jill Clayburgh; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Angelica Jade Bastien and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Paul Mazursky’s film An Unmarried Woman is liked and disliked for the exact same reason. It does some very specific things that essentially place the viewer in a temporary friendship with its heroine and uses their emotional connection as its main attraction. But if this emotional connection does not materialize the entire film quickly evolves into something of a forced blind date with an awfully superficial atmosphere.

After being a married woman for nearly two decades, Erica (Jill Clayburgh) is told by her husband, Martin (Michael Murphy), that he is breaking up their family because he has fallen in love with someone else. The mysterious person, Martin confesses, is a much younger sales rep from Bloomingdale’s who approximately a year ago sold him a shirt. The shocking announcement instantly turns Erica’s world upside down and pushes her on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown.

A local psychiatrist helps Erica realize that she can choose a new and meaningful direction in her life and continue living it without Martin. Her girlfriends also provide emotional support and gradually she regains her confidence. Soon after, at a party Erica meets Saul (Alan Bates), an established British artist who has parted ways with his wife, and they begin seeing each other. At the right time Erica introduces Saul to her teenage daughter (Lisa Lucas) and he makes a good impression, but the girl also makes him realize that he would never be able to fill Martin’s shoes. Erica’s relationship with Saul then quickly blossoms and they become convinced that they could be a real couple, but a previously planned move to New Hampshire where Saul must finalize a project again forces Erica to reconsider her priorities in life and ponder what it means to be happy.

The events that are chronicled in the film are obviously not meaningless, but the coherent story they produce is nothing more than a foundation for the friendship that is mentioned at the top of this article. In other words, what ought to make perfect sense for the film to work well is the logic behind Erica’s choices.

This logic, however, is an extension of a very particular concept of what the liberated independent modern woman ought to look and sound like, not a reflection of her rationality. Indeed, almost immediately after Erica permanently exits her broken marriage the new woman that emerges from it reveals a wide range of needs that actually make her far less independent than she was as a married woman. Consider the following needs: to maintain her cozy Upper East Side lifestyle while taking care of her daughter, the new woman must ask her ex-husband to continue paying a large portion of her bills; her new instincts are such that openly egoistic players that she was able to avoid as a married woman suddenly become attractive partners; her friends’ group approval also begins to have a permanent effect on the choices she makes while moving forward with her life. So, what is the big picture that emerges from Erica’s transformation? The clarity that independence is supposed to bring in her life isn’t there, plus the ‘right’ choices she makes are routinely the ‘right’ reactions she is expected to have so that she fits a specific image.

The finale is entirely predictable and sadly very unrealistic. The new woman is left pondering whether to start a new chapter of her life with a man that might want her for the person she is, or choose her independence because it is just a matter of time before she might discovers that he is just a different, slightly more exotic version of her ex-husband. You see, once again it is all about the big picture, only this time the new woman literally gets one and then slowly drifts away with it.

An Unmarried Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, An Unmarried Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new 4K digital restoration was supervised by the Twentieth Century Fox Film Restoration Department. A new digital transfer was created from the 35mm original camera negative and restored at Cineric in New York. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm DME magnetic master at Audio Mechanics at Burbank, California."

I found the technical presentation quite frustrating. The entire film looks spotless and boasts the type of consistent density that usually only very high-quality 4K masters deliver. Predictably, fluidity is exceptionally strong as well. However, the new master is also graded in a very particular way, emphasizing a light golden hue that frequently destabilizes the primaries and supporting nuances and ultimately the film's native dynamic range. Many darker areas, for instance, become uncharacteristically flat, and in some areas fine nuances are completely lost. (You can see examples in screencaptures #3, 9, and 21). While viewing the film, I also spotted tonal shifts that appear completely unnatural. (For reference, Fox's 4K restoration of 3 Women and remaster of Porky's appear to have been done with extremely similar LUT settings, which is why they appear equally unconvincing). Grain exposure is very even and stable, but because of the flatness that I mentioned above there are some noticeable fluctuations that are unnatural. (See darker areas again). All in all, while the majority of viewers will likely conclude that the technical [presentation is quite strong, I find the color grading job problematic. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

An Unmarried Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is outstanding. I had the volume turned up just a tiny bit more than usual and on my system the dynamic contrasts sounded terrific, which is slightly surprising because even with Bill Conti's wonderful jazzy score the film has very few legit opportunities to impress. Clarity, sharpness, depth, and stability are all solid.

An Unmarried Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for An Unmarried Woman. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080i).

• Michael Murphy - in this new video interview, actor Michael Murphy remembers his work with Paul Mazursky and Jill Clayburgh on An Unmarried Woman and how for years the character he played haunted him. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Portland, Maine in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

• Lisa Lucas - in this new video interview, actress Lisa Lucas discusses the lasting impact her work with Paul Mazursky had on career as well the director's creative instincts and personality. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Portland, Maine in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Sam Wasson - in this new video interview, author Sam Wasson (Paul on Mazursky) explains what makes Paul Mazursky's work unique and some of the key themes that define it. There are specific comments about the conception of An Unmarried Woman as well. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Los Angeles in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080i).

• Paul Mazursky at the AFI - presented here is an audio version of a lecture with Paul Mazursky that was part of a Harold Lloyd Master Seminar at the American Film Institute, which was recorded on June 4, 1980. The director discusses his background, the evolution of his career, the particular ways in which he prepares before he shoots a new film, a fight he had with a camera operator on An Unmarried Woman, etc. In English, not subtitled. (75 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary features Paul Mazursky and Jill Clayburgh. The bulk of the comments address the staging and shooting of key scenes from the film -- a lot was apparently done impulsively -- the identities of the main protagonists and the dilemmas they are presented with, the film's straightforwardness and sense of humor, his fondness for shooting scenes with food, etc. The commentary was recorded in 2005.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Angelica Jade Bastien's essay "The Business of Being a Woman" and technical credits.

An Unmarried Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman will work only for those of you that temporarily become so close with Jill Clayburgh's character that you begin to feel it is your duty to support her transformation. Why? Because the transformation is largely shaped up by the recommendations and expectations of various people wishing that she fits a specific image, which emerges from an affluent environment where life happens in a very particular way. I did not dislike the film, but I found large parts of it disappointingly artificial. Criterion's release of An Unmarried Woman is sourced from a new 4K master, but if you plan to add it to your collections I recommend that you rent it first because its color scheme isn't very convincing. Make your purchasing decision after you test it. RENT IT.