Desire Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Desire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 22, 2022

Frank Borzage's "Desire" (1936) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by film historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell; exclusive new audio commentary by critic Samm Deighan; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Would you help my husband?

Initially, it seems like Madeleine de Beaupre (Marlene Dietrich) is just a brilliant chameleon who works alone. In downtown Paris, she convinces the manager of an upscale jewelry store that she intends to purchase a very pricey pearl necklace and then requests that he bring it to the office of her wealthy husband, who is going to hand him a check for the sale. Shortly after, she visits the office of her ‘husband’, a famous doctor with an impeccable reputation, and arranges that he accepts as a patient the love of her life since he desperately needs help to overcome the odd phycological issues that have started altering his personality. She even warns the doctor that this won’t be an easy case because sometimes the love of her life could be frustratingly irrational -- for example, he could walk into his office and demand that the doctor cut him a check for the treatment he would receive from him -- so he must plan to be patient with him. She has certainly been patient, and understanding, and forgiving, and half a dozen other things that she does not feel comfortable mentioning before him. The great doctor truly is her last hope to reclaim the man she fell in love with and have their once beautiful relationship restored.

But at the right time, Madeleine only gets the very beautiful and pricey pearl necklace handed to her, and while her two ‘husbands’ exchange pleasantries in the doctor’s office, jumps in her fancy car and heads toward sunny Spain. Fate then arranges that Madeleine crosses paths with American auto engineer Tom Bradley (Gary Cooper), who is on his way to Spain as well, and without having his consent she uses him to smuggle the pearl necklace into the country. Shortly after, Madeleine and Tom become an unlikely couple, but the former’s associates, both even better chameleons than her, appear to claim their share of the stolen pearl necklace and instantly declare their disapproval of the latter.

The vintage trailer for Frank Borzage’s Desire repeatedly emphasizes the fact that the film was the second big collaboration between Dietrich and Cooper for a good reason -- the chemistry between the two is simply superb, which isn’t a small accomplishment given how great they were in Josef von Sternberg’s Morocco. Obviously, Borzage needs to be given credit for his predictably stellar direction as well, but Desire is undoubtedly as enjoyable as it is because of how well Dietrich and Cooper engage each other before the camera.

Desire is loosely broken into two contrasting parts. In the first, Dietrich is a strikingly elegant chameleon whose ability to outsmart anyone that stands between her and the expensive pearl necklace very much reminds of the one revealed by David Niven in Bedtime Story. Dietrich’s playground is certainly quite different, but the tactics with which she makes the people around her look like dimwitted amateurs are undoubtedly borrowed from the same grand book Niven had studied. For a while, Cooper is one of these people too, though it is his heart that is primarily responsible for his struggle to judge her right.

In the second part the competitiveness between Dietrich and Cooper is greatly minimized and their romance becomes the focus of attention. John Halliday emerges as Dietrich’s ambitious and slightly jealous older mentor and repeatedly fails to break their relationship, but all of the quality material is still with the lovebirds. The finale is entirely predictable, but it comes naturally and wraps up the film with authority.

Because Desire was produced by Ernst Lubitsch, it is frequently said that it carries the so-called Lubitsch Touch. But it does not. Lubitsch’s great comedies ooze very particular wit and have an equally specific rhythm. Desire has a lot of very funny moments, especially early on after Dietrich goes to work, but it is a genuine old-fashioned romantic film that melts the heart.

Desire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Desire arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master with very pleasing organic qualities. Now, there is certainly room for various cosmetic improvements that would have given the film an all-around more consistent appearance, but the basic characteristics of the visuals are solid. For example, despite minor density fluctuations, delineation and depth range from good to very good. Clarity is pretty nice too, even in darker scenes where not all fine nuances are exposed as well as they need to be. There are no traces of problematic digital work. Image stability is good. I noticed a few small blemishes and even tiny dark spots, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, this is a very nice organic presentation of Desire that makes it a treat to revisit the film at home. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Desire 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.

Excluding some extremely mild distortion that is noticeable during the opening credits, the lossless track sounds really good. Yes, there are a few areas with very minor unevenness, plus a very light buzz occasionally sneaks into the music, but it is difficult to tell if these fluctuations are introduced by aging or are entirely inherited. My guess is that there is a bit of both, but the quality of the audio is still very good. Dynamic contrasts are modest, but this is to be expected from a film that was completed in the early 1930s.

Desire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Desire. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary One - this audio commentary was recorded by film historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell exclusively for Kino Lorber's release of Desire. It is a very good commentary with plenty of interesting information about Frank Borzage and Ernst Lubitsch's careers as well as their styles and the type of films they made. Also, the two commentators discuss in great detail Marlene Dietrich's work in Hollywood, Gary Cooper's image, and of course the manner in which they connect before Borzage's camera.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Samm Deighan.

Desire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is strange that Desire isn't better known because it could easily be placed amongst Frank Borzage's best films. Is it an unusual Borzage film? Yes, but only because it emphasizes romance in a very direct manner. On the other hand, there is nothing unusual about Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper's performances in it. They both look terrific together, and despite Borzage's stellar direction, this really is the main reason why Desire is so enjoyable. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release is sourced from a solid exclusive 2K master, and features a very good new audio commentary recorded by film historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.