Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Bartleby Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 26, 2022

Anthony Friedman's "Bartleby" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio interview with the director; vintage promotional materials; documentary short; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

I am not quite ready, Sir.

I don’t recall the last time I spent a night with a film I had not seen before that turned out to be absolutely perfect. It is true that these days I usually revisit older films I already know, but there are still quite a few ‘new’ films I see each year and from time to time I make some rather special discoveries. Anthony Friedman’s Bartleby, however, is unlike any of the special discoveries I can recall as I write this article. It is a pitch-perfect film that I think should be considered one of the greatest made during the ‘70s -- and on both sides of the Atlantic, too.

The main protagonist, Bartleby (John McEnery), emerges from the London Underground and shortly after applies for an office job in the city’s business district. He does it in person, so moments after he hands his application another man, The Accountant (Paul Scofield), welcomes him in his office and begins interviewing him. But Bartleby seems unwilling to speak and makes it awfully difficult for The Accountant to acquire personal information that he hasn’t already seen in the application. Nevertheless, he decides to quickly test Bartleby and after he meets his expectations asks if the position might be “his kettle of fish”. It is and Bartleby isn’t even interested in discussing the salary that The Accountant would be willing to pay him. “Anything reasonable will be all right”, he calmly declares. “Anything”.

Soon after Bartleby begins working in the company, however, it becomes clear that he prefers not to do plenty of work The Accountant and his colleagues expect him to do. His attitude instantly confuses The Accountant and annoys his colleagues, so in a matter of days the environment in the company drastically changes. While trusting his proven leadership skills and intuition, The Accountant then attempts to restore proper order, but instead faces even greater resistance from Bartleby that leaves him utterly perplexed.

After a series of failed attempts to force his new employee to change, and especially after he discovers that he has started living in his office, The Accountant finally gathers the courage to sack him. But Bartleby refuses to leave, so it is The Accountant that ends up moving the entire company to a new building in a different area of the city. When the police finally remove Bartleby from the building where he was once employed, he collapses and is promptly taken to a local hospital.

The simplicity and accuracy with which Bartleby was able to predict the disastrous consequences of political correctness before rational people in the West could even begin to imagine that it would become a mainstream phenomenon is nothing short of astonishing. This film was a huge red flag and the sad part is that it was misinterpreted by pretty much everyone that saw it at the time when it was released.

All of the drama that is at the center of Bartleby is fueled by the rejection of the obvious, which is that McEnerey is seriously ill and urgently needs medical care. Indeed, rather than promptly parting ways with him Scofield’s businessman invents a myriad of reasons to accommodate him, which ultimately force him to move his entire company so that he can continue to operate his business. Predictably, the easiest fix for the drama is framed as the most extreme fix, so the police are called in only after McEnerey has effectively distanced himself from it.

The finale is entirely predictable as well. While McEnerey’s feelings are the key factor that determine Scofield’s decisions as he deals with the drama, the former is denied a chance to survive. In other words, Scofield’s compassion, almost completely devoid of any common sense, effectively dooms McEnerey and he slides into the abyss of madness. Scofield’s sad, utterly clueless face during the final sequence provides the perfect exclamation point as well.

The two leads are fantastic and to see that their efforts were not recognized with any major awards is beyond disappointing. Both produce career-defining performances. Sadly, Bartleby was the one and only film Friedman directed as well.

Bartleby Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-AVC and granted a 1080p[ transfer, Bartleby arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master struck from the original camera negative. Excluding one rather short sequence where for some reason the background produced a bit of very light shimmer, Bartleby looked magnificent on my system. Indeed, delineation, clarity, and depth were outstanding, plus the entire film looked simply spotless. I liked the color grading job a lot as well. There are very fine and attractive natural primaries, while the supporting nuances were balanced perfectly. Needless to say, on my system Bartleby looked exactly as a film I would have expected to be made during the '70s. There are no traces of problematic digital work. (The minor density fluctuations you would notice during the memory flashbacks and some of the outdoor footage are inherited). The encoding was excellent as well. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Bartleby Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film has a very unique soundtrack that boasts some quite special jazzy themes. They benefit the most from the lossless treatment. Clarity, sharpness, and balance are excellent. Also, there are absolutely no traces of age-related imperfections.

Bartleby Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a remastered theatrical trailer for Bartleby. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional materials for Bartleby.

• Script Gallery - presented here is the complete shooting script for Bartleby.

• Bartleby's London - this short program identifies some of the key London locations that are seen in Bartleby. With music. (4 min).

• Audio Interview with Anthony Friedman - in this recent audio interview, Anthony Friedman discusses his background and recalls how he fell in love with cinema as well as the conception and production of Bartleby. The interview was conducted on December 7, 2021. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Bartleby (2017) -
  
  1. Stop-motion animation version of the Herman Melville story, directed by Kristen Kee and Laura Naylor. (12 min).
  2. Timelapse videos -animation timelapse footage from Bartleby. (1 min).
  3. Trailer. (1 min).
  4. Image gallery - original promotional material.

• Beat the Bomber (1975) - an archival documentary about anti-terrorism written and directed by Anthony Friedmann in 1975. In color. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (17 min).

• Booklet - a limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet featuring a new essay by Jeff Billington, archival interviews with star Paul Scofield and writer-director Anthony Friedmann, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing on Beat the Bomber and Bartleby (2017), and film credits.

Bartleby Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Anthony Friedman's cinematic adaptation of Herman Melville's story "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street" is very clearly not the most accurate one. However, it is brilliant and timeless. Also, John McEnery and Paul Scofield's performances are simply magical, so it is rather astonishing to see that they were effectively ignored by the many parties and institutions that could and should have recognized them as such with major awards. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release of Bartleby is sourced from an excellent, exclusive new 4K master. It is Region-Free as well, but keep in mind that there is also an identical North American edition. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.