Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Friendly Persuasion Blu-ray Movie Review

"What in thunderation is all this thee-ing and thou-ing about?"

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 24, 2024

A sturdy classic Hollywood melodrama that clearly built the foundation for films like Witness, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion follows a religious family's struggles with faith after outside forces threaten their otherwise peaceful way of life. Rather than a young Amish boy being in the wrong place at the wrong time, though, Friendly Persuasion deals with Quakers living in the age of the American Civil War; it does so in way that's as restrained (read: family-friendly) as you might expect out of the 1950s, taking its time to build momentum in a manner that rarely feels boring or extraneous. As far as I know, it's also the only film to ever feature an actual goose listed in the opening credits.

Shout out to Samantha.

If that little aside seemed out of place, Friendly Persuasion probably isn't for you. It's deceptively light-hearted during the bulk of its relaxed 137-minute running time, taking extra care in the way it slowly introduces the Birdwell family and their ways of life: there's little goose-wary Jess (Richard Eyer) and lovelorn teenager Mattie (Phyllis Love), who's bound to Quaker tradition while not-so-secretly in love with cavalry officer Gardner Jordan (Mark Richman). Eldest son Josh (Anthony Perkins, in only his second big-screen appearance) has his own crisis of faith, a staunch hater of violence who nonetheless wants to protect the family. Straight-laced matriarch Eliza (Dorothy McGuire) is an emotional rock but seems blissfully unaware of certain aspects of her family's internal struggles. Then there's big Jess (Gary Cooper), less fervent in his religious beliefs while trying to support each member of the household. Even the unofficial sixth Birdwell, Enoch (Joel Fluellen), holds his own as a runaway slave who's now hired help on the family farm.

During its long introduction, we get hints of of future conflict with the arrival of a Union officer to their meeting house, while struggles with "the outside world" are again brought to light after a worldly festival outing featuring fire-easters, sword-swallowers, and (*gasp*) dancing. The insular lives of the Birdwells have already been tested, but it's not until actual violence -- in this case, the destruction of a nearby community -- is witnessed by Josh that we know things are about to change. While Friendly Persuasion generally avoids intense imagery and of course graphic bloodshed, which makes it suitable for even single-digit audiences, it nonetheless introduces plenty of drama in a realistic way.

But while darker visuals might have made for a truly compelling anti-war film, what I really admire about Friendly Persuasion is the even-handed narrative that finds solid middle ground between sterile religious sentiment and base-level bloodlust. Its sharp script, based of course on the eponymous 1945 novel by Jessamyn West, is supported by great characters and great performances from top to bottom; there are no weak links here, but Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, and especially Anthony Perkins get the meatiest roles of the bunch and they're played beautifully. You really get the sense of the Birdwells' internal struggles to maintain tradition during tumultuous times, all while trying to maintain a strong family unit and actually still finding enjoyment in life. A tricky balancing act indeed.

Nonetheless, Friendly Persuasion does a fine job keeping everything in the air. Much of its success should be owed to screenwriter Michael Wilson, who originally was not credited for his contributions to this film (as well as several others, including Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai) after being blacklisted by the nauseating House Un-American Activities Committee. Luckily, this crowd-pleaser was warmly received on both sides: Friendly Persuasion not only scored with audiences, but walked off with the Palme d'Or at Cannes and was also nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture in a rather stacked year. It's also received a nice Blu-ray upgrade from Warner Archive, which gives this film's great cinematography and Oscar-nominated sound recording the white-glove treatment.

Friendly Persuasion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Previous DVD iterations of Friendly Persuasion may have finally presented the film in its intended widescreen aspect ratio, but left viewers a bit cold with a somewhat noisy image that featured worn-out colors and occasionally lackluster fine detail. All that and more has been fully rectified by Warner Archive's sterling new 1080p transfer, which has been sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative and treated to a round of the boutique label's proprietary manual cleaning process. The result is, quite simply, as good as catalog releases from this era can hope to look like in high definition, with a buttery-smooth and film-like presentation that deftly supports Friendly Persuasion's gorgeous cinematography. Colors, fine detail, black levels, depth, and disc encoding are all perfectly rendered, and of course the entire picture looks to be clean as a whistle here. It's top-tier work and worth the price of an upgrade alone, as in many ways die-hard fans will feel as if they've been transported all the way back to an original theatrical showing.

Friendly Persuasion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As mentioned before, the Oscar-nominated sound recording, as well as the original score by Dimitri Tiomkin (which technically includes the title song "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)", also nominated), are standouts and two of many reasons why Warner Archive's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track is deceptively robust for a split-channel mono track. It's very clean and crisp throughout, balancing crystal-clear dialogue with well-mixed background effects and appreciated depth in crowded locations and occasional scenes of danger. Though it won't be confused for a full-fledged surround track any day of the week, it's pitch-perfect work for this format and has been thoroughly cleaned of age-related damage while preserving the film's ideal dynamic range. Again, more perfect work from the boutique label.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Friendly Persuasion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork (which features both a terrible tagline and in no way hints at what the actual film is about); no inserts or slipcover are included. Bonus features are minimal and mirror those found on earlier releases dating back to WB's 2000 DVD.

• The Making of Friendly Persuasion (10:22) - Hosted by Dave Garroway, this promotional piece is actually a rough black-and-white kinescope segment from the 1950s Sunday-afternoon NBC docu-series, Wide Wide World. Among other items, it features a staged live scene rehearsal for audiences and a tone-deaf song performance by Gary Cooper. This is interesting from a historical perspective, but you probably won't learn much.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:51) - This unrestored but enjoyable piece can also be seen here.

Friendly Persuasion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's not quite emotionally potent enough to be an all-time classic, but William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion stands tall as an entertaining and effective 1950s melodrama about a family's resilience in difficult times. Well-cast with a solid script loosely based on the 1945 novel by Jessamyn West, this one's still a career highlight for all involved and clearly worth (re)discovering on home video via Warner Archive's stunning new Blu-ray. Led by a glorious 4K-sourced restoration of the original camera negative, it deserves a spot in your ever-growing library. Firmly Recommended.