7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Ella Peterson is a New York telephone answering service operator who can't resist getting involved in the lives of her clients. She falls in love with one of them, playwright Jeffrey Moss, but is afraid to meet him in person, because he thinks the voice on the phone belongs to an elderly woman he calls "Mom."
Starring: Judy Holliday, Dean Martin, Fred Clark (I), Eddie Foy, Jr., Jean StapletonRomance | 100% |
Musical | 74% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Judy Holliday achieved stardom playing dumb blondes who sometimes (but not always) turn out
to be not so dumb. Her performance in Born Yesterday
won her a Best Actress Oscar, but
Holliday soon became impatient with being typecast. Luckily for her (and us), Holliday's circle
of friends included Betty Comden and Adolph Green, two of the most successful writers of
musical comedy in the history of theater and film. (See, for example, Singin' in the Rain and On
the Town.) Comden and Green proceeded to write Bells Are Ringing as a vehicle for their show
biz pal, giving Holliday the chance to play a witty and intelligent answering service operator who
can't resist interfering in her clients' lives. With music by veteran composer Jule Styne (Gypsy),
the stage production premiered on Broadway in November 1956 and ran for over two years,
winning Holliday a Tony Award.
In June 1960, MGM released a filmed version of Bells Are Ringing, which retained much of the
Broadway cast and was overseen by the legendary team of producer Arthur Freed and director
Vincente Minnelli. Although the reception was enthusiastic in New York, where audiences
fondly remembered both the Broadway production and Holliday's lead performance, the rest of
the world was underwhelmed. The film lost money, and it also marked the final collaboration
between Freed and Minnelli. But Bells Are Ringing has retained a devoted fan base over the
years, in part because it was Holliday's last film, but primarily because it so richly showcased her
considerable gifts. Rarely have a performer and a part been as ideally matched. The role so
thoroughly belongs to Holliday that Broadway producers have, for the most part, left the original
play in the vaults. (An attempted revival in 2001 fizzled within weeks.) Fans and newcomers
alike can now experience Bells Are Ringing in a glorious new Blu-ray presentation from the
Warner Archive Collection.
Bells Are Ringing was shot in Cinemascope by veteran cinematographer Milton R. Krasner (All
About Eve), with director Minnelli exercising his usual fastidious control over the smallest
details of production design, costume and lighting. Minnelli's creative use of color is evident
throughout the film. An early example occurs in Ella's opening number ("It's a Perfect
Relationship"), in which her dress is a distinctive shade of light blue that, without being obvious
about it, pops her out of the frame by contrast with the kaleidoscopic palette of the
Susanswerphone set. When the scene switches to Jeffrey Moss's apartment, his sofa and chair
just happen to be the same shade of blue, thereby establishing a visual connection that
foreshadows the coming romance.
For this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, the Warner Archive Collection has newly scanned a
recently manufactured interpositive at 2K, which was then corrected by a senior colorist at
Warner's Motion Picture Imaging facility. By this point in cinema history, the problematic stock
that plagued such productions as Silk Stockings
had been supplanted by more stable emulsions,
and the image harvested by MPI is remarkable in both detail and clarity, despite the characteristic
softness imparted by early Cinemascope lenses. Minnelli's meticulously constructed tableaus can
be appreciated in all their splendor, especially in crowded frames like Pranz's meeting with the
bookies, Ella's and Jeffrey's walk through Times Square, the party given by Jeffrey's producer,
or the self-consciously hip café where Ella tracks down her Brando-esque actor-client. Colors are
varied, vivid and saturated, with bright reds and intense blues (the dress worn by Valerie Allen,
who plays an actress with amorous designs on Jeffrey, is especially memorable). Bells Are
Ringing is a feast for the eye on Blu-ray.
The alert viewer will notice brief fluctuations in color and density at some scene changes, which
appears to be an unavoidable side effect of the optical dissolves. The film's grain pattern is
natural and finely rendered. WAC has mastered Bells Are Ringing at its usual high average
bitrate of just under 35 Mbps.
Bells Are Ringing was originally released in four-track stereo, but Warner created a new 5.1 soundtrack for the film's DVD release in 2005. The 5.1 mix was sourced from original recording session masters, plus the dialogue and effects track, and it has been encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA. The expanded listening space gives ample breathing room to André Previn's Oscar-nominated scoring, so that the instrumentation effectively surrounds and supports the singers' performances. The dialogue is clearly and crisply rendered, as are critical effects such as ringing telephones. The dynamic range is impressive for a film that's almost 60 years old.
The extras have been ported over from Warner's 2005 DVD release of Bells Are Ringing. The
trailer has been remastered in 1080p.
You wouldn't know it from her performance in the film, but when Judy Holliday made Bells Are
Ringing, she was already suffering from the cancer that would end her life five years later at the
age of 43. The world lost a peerless comedienne far too early, but at least she was able to
complete one film that captured the full range of her unique abilities. WAC has brought
Holliday's last (and, arguably, best) work to Blu-ray in all its glory. Highly recommended.
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40th Anniversary Edition
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Director's Cut on BD
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10th Anniversary Edition
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