Bell, Book and Candle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Bell, Book and Candle Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony has released 1958's Oscar nominated film 'Bell, Book and Candle' as part of its MOD (Manufactured on Demand) line of Blu-ray releases. The film was previously released to Blu-ray in April 2012 by Twilight Time. I did not review, nor do I have access to, that disc, which is out of print and exorbitantly priced on the secondary market; this review will include fresh video and audio reviews specific to this Sony release as well as a quick compare with Twilight Time's supplements (there is both new and removed content).

Bell, Book and Candle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

After watching the Sony disc, reading Jeffrey's review of the Twilight Time disc, and perusing the screenshots he's inserted, Sony's Bell, Book and Candle 1080p transfer appears to be pretty much identical, but below is a fresh take on the 1080p transfer, anyway. The picture is meticulously sharp and refined, naturally filmic with occasionally dense but largely consistent (if not slightly noisy) grain. It's complimentary and yields a handsome filmic texturing, vital in elevating the image to very impressive heights. Textural sharpness and fidelity are excellent and border on breathtaking; fine period attire, densely packed location details (books, wallpaper, furnishings, nicknacks, and the like), and skin are all revealing at medium distance and striking in natural sharpness and complexity. In close-up, each of these elements offer refined, intimate clarity that pushes the Blu-ray format to its limits. Sharpness holds for the duration; it's really a quite strong image. Colors are equally adept and faithful. The palette is balanced and vibrant. Warm woods, a fine cross-section of clothes, book spines and dust jackets, home furnishings, even a colorful parrot: everything enjoys firm, robust, grounded coloring that excels in every shot. Skin tones are a little pasty at times but more or less hold relatively true within the established color parameters. Black levels are handsomely deep, whether black attire or shadowy and low light elements. There are a handful of pops and speckles but are very rare and very light. No other source or compression issues of note are present. This is another looker from Sony; fans are going be thrilled to have this in their libraries. Note that even though there appears to be no difference between Sony's and Twilight Time's presentation, the score above reflects my own.

Bell, Book and Candle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bell, Book and Candle features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack, the same configuration found on the Twilight Time disc. Listeners will find a generally clear, detailed, and charitably aggressive track with only a few flaws confined to isolated moments, such as muffled applause in chapter two at the 18-minute mark inside a club. But moments before, and moments after, music presents with pleasantly rich, lively, detailed, and wide engagement. The entire front end finds coverage, out to the edges and imaging quite naturally towards the center, especially as the Jazzy music at the 22-minute mark crescendos to a deliberately shrilly rise to excess. Light ambient effects out around town offer nicely engaging moments of environmental fill. Dialogue images perfectly to the center, holding true to clarity and prioritization. The track is quite good in total, taking full advantage of both the two channels at it disposal as well as the movie's somewhat limited, but largely vibrant, soundtrack and sound design. As with the video, it certainly seems as if there's no difference between this and the Twilight Time disc based on the text within Blu-ray.com's review.

Bell, Book and Candle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sony's Blu-ray release of Bell, Book and Candle includes the two primary featurettes found on the Twilight Time disc and adds a third, which is marked as new below and reviewed. These are also presented in high definition on this disc; the Twilight Time review notes the featurettes are presented in standard definition there. Sony brings over the trailer but, as is customary with the Twilight Time to Sony conversions, drops the isolated score. For full supplemental content coverage of the carryover featurettes, please click here. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Bewitched, Bothered and Beautiful (1080p, 9:33).
• Reflections in the Middle of the Night (1080p, 15:03).
• NEW! Backstage and at Home with Kim Novak (1080p, 9:28): In voiceover above film clips, Novak discusses Jean Louis' costumes and not wearing bras or other restrictive clothing in films. It also features Novak touring her homestead and her passion for painting.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:36).

Bell, Book and Candle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sony's Blu-ray release of Bell, Book and Candle appears to be very similar to the Twilight Time disc in terms of its video and audio presentations; while I cannot confirm that both are identical they certainly appear to be based on the previously published review. Supplementally, Sony's disc adds a featurette but drops the Twilight Time staple isolated score track. Thew movie is great, too. Highly recommended.