Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 25, 2020

Ernst Lubitsch's "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" (1938) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the disc is an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I'll take the other piece

Have you ever wondered why the most honest people are usually dismissed as awful cynics? It is because they don’t spare the ‘ugly’ that is part of the truth they are revealing. They tell it as it is, which routinely offends those that believe that the truth ought to be delivered like a poem. Predictably, the offended are also the ones that would tirelessly argue that there are different shades of truth, which of course is an utterly ridiculous concept. The truth is the truth, it is neither ugly nor beautiful, and some people just can’t handle it.

Ernst Lubitsch’s film Bluebeard’s Eight Wife is a ‘truth speaker’ that deconstructs marriage while pretending to be a silly comedy. Why did the film play with multiple identities? Because its revelations are so cynical that in the late 1930s they could have been divulged only if a portion of its audience was tricked to believe that they were needed for the humor to flourish.

The film follows closely two characters that at least initially see the world around them differently. Michael Brandon (Gary Cooper) is an American millionaire who has arrived in Nice to enjoy the beautiful weather and do a bit of socializing without talking business. He is also a bachelor but isn’t shopping for a soulmate. The right type of pajama, without the pantaloni, is the only thing missing in his life. But while trying to purchase one Michael bumps into Nicole De Loiselle (Claudette Colbert), the single daughter of a penniless French aristocrat, and after she helps him make up his mind he begins pursuing her with the intent of starting a serious relationship that could lead to marriage. The relationship becomes a reality, then quickly blooms, and much to Michael’s delight eventually Nicole agrees to become his wife.

On the special day when Michael and Nicole’s union is supposed to be legitimized, however, the former accidentally reveals that he has been married and divorced seven times, forcing the planned family ceremony they have organized to be put on hold. Following a heated discussion with plenty of clarifications, Michael then agrees to sign a prenuptial agreement that grants his future wife an annual payment of $100,000 if for some reason he decides to part ways with her. After the financial arrangement is finalized, Nicole enthusiastically agrees to marry Michael. However, soon after the happy husband slowly begins to wonder if his wife might be on a mission to rearrange his entire life.

The sophistication on display is a key element of the narrative, but it is just a façade that allows Lubitsch to reveal how under the right circumstances the two sexes are perfectly comfortable using marriage as an arrangement to advance personal goals. Does this sound like a shocking revelation now? No. But in the film, the arrangement is crafted and later defended with arguments that actually effectively invalidate all of the civilized posturing that defines the two sexes.

Regrettably, the film’s cynicism, which sadly is entirely justified, makes it awfully difficult for the humor to be effective. There are a few nicely timed jabs that ridicule the role-playing that is underway, but the Lubitsch wit that is required for this type of material to be engaging is simply missing. Quite predictably, this also hurts the ability of the leads to make their characters even partially attractive. Indeed, there is nothing particularly wrong with Cooper and Colbert’s performances, but after the department store encounter, their characters are essentially required to behave as spoiled buyers and sellers with constantly evolving needs. It is a very straightforward theater and with the cynicism highlighting the ugly in their decisions, it becomes almost impossible to care about them.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older but good master. Indeed, there are no traces of problematic digital work and a lot of the visuals covey pleasing depth and delineation. Even density levels are quite strong, though a newer master will undoubtedly improve grain stability and exposure. The grading job is convincing. There is room for meaningful rebalancing work, but I can assure you that the current grading will not disappoint you. Image stability is good. A few minor specks, scratches, and dark spots can be seen, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, warped or torn frames to report in our review. All in all, considering the fact that the OCN is unavailable and the film isn't fully restored, the current technical presentation is actually very pleasing. (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).

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clear and stable. The upper register is also clean, though this is the only area where I think that some minor cosmetic work can still be done. Balance is very good. There are no audio dropouts or other similar encoding anomalies to report.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - new audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger.

• Trailers - trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Since You Went Away
  2. The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
  3. Beau Geste
  4. Separate Tables
  5. Man of the West
  6. A Foreign Affair

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There isn't enough of the Lubitsch wit in Bluebeard's Eighth Wife to make its cynicism compatible with the humor. The truths that emerge in it are admirable, but they are part of a predictable theater whose needy characters are awfully easy to forget. Frankly, I'd recommend Bluebeard's Eighth Wife only to Lubitsch completists or die-hard fans of Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert, and even then I would still suggest that you explore other titles before it. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but nice organic master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. RENT IT.