6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
An ambitious young executive chooses a loveless marriage and an unfulfilling personal life in exchange for a successful Wall Street career.
Starring: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Ina Balin, Leon AmesRomance | 100% |
Drama | 87% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
John O’Hara’s reputation is somewhat incredibly bifurcated in the annals of American literary criticism. Some rather well known writers have proclaimed O’Hara as one of the greatest American authors of his era, while others have routinely dismissed O’Hara as barely better than a pulp fiction hack. Several of O’Hara’s books and/or short stories provided the basis for well known properties like Pal Joey and Butterfield 8, the latter of which was disparaged by star Elizabeth Taylor as being basically “trash” despite the fact that it won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. That same disconnect may be in evidence for some viewers of From the Terrace, a pretty sudsy entry which beat Butterfield 8 to the big screen by a few months in 1960 but which according to some online sources only did around half the business the Taylor vehicle did, despite offering the blandishments of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, along with an eclectic and generally impressive supporting cast. The film will probably remind many of some of Douglas Sirk’s output from the 1950s, in general substance if not exactly in tone and/or style, and it’s kind of interesting to note that director Mark Robson was at that point relatively recently coming off another quasi-Sirkian affair, the 1957 adaptation of Grace Metalious’ Peyton Place . (There’s a bit of synchronicity here, as O’Hara evidently once took Yale to task for owning stock in ABC, citing the irony that the tony Ivy League school was “supporting” television blather like the small screen version of Peyton Place.)
From the Terrace is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is a nicely organic looking presentation, with a lush palette that may fall prey (rightly or wrongly) to some of those who complain about a supposed bluish tint to some of Fox's catalog Blu-ray releases. As I mentioned in the The Best of Everything Blu-ray review, some of this perception can easily be attributed to elements like production design (note the prevalence of blue in the Eaton home, especially in things like curtains and upholstery), costumes (see screenshot 2), or even that most blue of all things—Newman's eyes. However, to my eyes the palette looks generally accurate and quite beautifully saturated a lot of the time. The grain field is rather coarse looking at times, as can easily be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, and is also just slightly variable at times, some of which I attribute to second unit and/or location photography conditions (as in the rescue sequence). Close-ups support commendable fine detail. Elements are in excellent condition.
From the Terrace features a nice sounding lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, one which capably supports the film's sometimes florid dialogue and the sweeping score of Elmer Bernstein (also available in an isolated score track). The film doesn't offer a ton of opportunity for huge spikes in dynamic range (aside from a couple of Bernstein cues), but within the kind of tamped down ambience the film exploits, all elements are delivered cleanly and clearly and with excellent prioritization.
From the Terrace may not have the literary ambitions of, say, the film that co-starred Taylor and Newman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, but it wants to exploit the same kind of overheated interaction between spouses that the Tennessee Williams property did. More restrained, and without the provocative subtexts that often inform a Douglas Sirk film, From the Terrace is probably best enjoyed as a glossy, patently artificial melodrama that may not have much connection to the hoi polloi rank and file, but which offers a decently incisive look at an ambitious young man who finally realizes that climbing the corporate ladder may not bring him happiness. Performances are great all around, and a wonderfully luminous Balin makes the film quite moving at times. Recommended.
2008
2018
2015
50th Anniversary
1973
1970
2015
2008
Original Uncut Version
1986
Includes "Him", "Her", and "Them" Cuts
2014
2009
2017
Warner Archive Collection / Includes German-Language Alternate Version
1930
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1955
2010
1956
1946
1971
Flying Home
2014
1985
2015