7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A playwright and an artist both fall in love with an American living in Paris. The girl can't make up her mind between the two men, however, so the threesome decide to move in together.
Starring: Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins, Edward Everett Horton, Franklin PangbornRomance | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Ernst Lubitsch's "Design for Living" (1933) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include selected-scene commentary by film professor William Paul; short segment of the 1932 omnibus film "If I Had a Million", starring Charles Laughton and directed by Ernst Lubitsch; exclusive new video interview film scholar and screenwriter Joseph McBride; and a 1964 British television production of the original play "Design for Living", introduced by Noel Coward. The disc also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kim Morgan. In English and French, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Strangers on a train
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ernst Lubitsch's Design for Living arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 1K Datacine from a 35mm fine-grain master positive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image Systems' DVNR was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction. Image Mill's Steady was also used to reduce film weave.
Telecine supervisor: Maria Palazzola.
Telecine colorist: Gregg Garvin/Modern Videofilm, Los Angeles."
I think it is fair to say that time has not been kind to this classic Hollywood film. I think it is also fair to say that there wasn't a whole lot Criterion could do to have the film look better than it does. Clearly, there are a number of limitations with the existing master which the company had to work with.
Some close-ups look quite pleasing (see screencapture #19), but elsewhere the image is rather soft and textures are problematic (see screencapture #6). Clarity, however, is mostly adequate, and, with a few minor exceptions, contrast levels stable. Some extremely light grain has been retained, but some of it is quite inconsistent and some also mixed up with light noise (see screencapture #5). The good news is that there are no traces of serious post-production sharpening. Unsurprisingly, the film does have a pleasing organic look. It is often a weak organic look but nevertheless certainly a preferable one. Finally, some small damage marks and tiny horizontal lines are occasionally present, but I assume that they could not have been removed without dramatically affecting the integrity of the image. All in all, considering Criterion's strong record and dedication to high quality presentations, I think it is fair to speculate that this is likely the best Design for Living could look at the moment. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 0r SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Generally speaking, the dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. The few sequences where the music becomes prominent - such as the piano solo during Tom and George's preparations right before Gilda's visit - are also convincing. There is, however, some light background noise that occasionally pops up here and there. It is definitely not distracting, but its presence is certainly felt. For the record, there are no sync issues or audio dropouts to report in this review.
Ernst Lubitsch's Design for Living is a light, energetic and witty farcial comedy with an unusually bold for its time message. The film looks good in high-definition but it is obvious that time has not been too kind to it. Let's hope that eventually Lubitsch's arguably best film, Trouble in Paradise, will also be made available on Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED.
1948
L'amour l'après-midi / Chloe in the Afternoon
1972
1945
1971
La règle du jeu
1939
1943
1942
1937
1945
1930
1925
Jules et Jim
1962
2012
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1975
1934
1963
1937
1978
Collector's Edition
1988
2011