Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Heat and Dust Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 7, 2017

Have you ever walked through a historic site, one that is hundreds or perhaps even thousands of years old, and wondered if some iconic figure associated with the place had stood where you were standing, or maybe even touched a wall or facade that you placed your hands on? There’s a sense of history like that running through Heat and Dust, one of the arguably lesser known or perhaps more accurately lesser remembered Merchant Ivory films, at least on this side of the pond, despite the fact that the film was a substantial hit in the UK and across Europe at the time of its release. The "kinship" of one place uniting two disparate characters is perhaps properly more familial in Heat and Dust than the connection between a “mere” tourist and some iconic locale which may have once "housed" a famous person. Heat and Dust regularly segues between two timeframes, with only shared locations providing a sense of stasis, and in fact several of those segues are almost “magical” as one set of characters from the twenties is replaced by another, linked, set in the eighties (or vice versa). The main thrust of this bifurcated story deals with the investigative pursuits of Anne (Julie Christie), a modern day (meaning circa 1980s) woman looking into the life of her long ago great aunt Olivia (Greta Scacchi). At least some of Olivia’s adventures are shrouded in mystery, something that leads Anne to the exotic climes of India, where her great aunt had also lived in the 1920s. Heat and Dust is based on a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, long celebrated for having provided the screenplays for many legendary Merchant Ivory films (including A Room with a View and Howards End, taking home Academy Awards for both), but here adapting her own work for the screen. This is a typically literate effort from Jhabvala, one that at least dances around some of the same class and culture aspects that informed A Passage to India, a film that kind of feels like a Merchant Ivory production even though it isn't, perhaps due to having been based on a source novel by E.M. Forster.

There’s a whole so-called “Raj genre” in British film and television that explores the convoluted relationship between the English, especially upper crust types, and denizens of their erstwhile colony, which was famously nicknamed “The Jewel in the Crown” (the link points to one of the more famous entries in this particular genre). Heat and Dust may not really break any significant “new” ground as it explores the intercultural relationships in two radically different (but in some ways surprisingly similar) eras, drawing its power instead from the reflections and refractions of the two timeframes. Anne in a way seems predestined to follow Olivia’s footsteps, both figuratively and literally, and if there’s one drawback in the film’s ping ponging presentational style, it’s that Anne often “recreates” aspects of Olivia’s own life, perhaps unwittingly at times.

Cross generational changes seem to afflict the Indians in this film more than the Brits, perhaps because both Anne and Olivia are depicted as “free spirits” who tend to chafe at societal norms. Therefore, there are some kind of interesting developments vis a vis “coed” relationships in the 1920s, when a kind of libertine prince called Nawab (Shashi Kapoor) doesn’t mind flirting (and then some) with Olivia, whereas in the 1980s a tour guide of sorts named Inder Lal (Zakir Hussain), freaks out at even being seen with Anne since he’s afraid their relationship will be perceived as sexual. It’s in little character tidbits and almost subliminal comparisons like this that Heat and Dust tends to have its greatest impact, rather than in any huge sweeping plot arcs.

The film does suggest that certain social morés have “improved” (at least according to some) over time, though Heat and Dust does so in the perhaps provocative context of unwanted pregnancies and “half breeds”. The film is kind of remarkably languid a lot of the time, despite its somewhat florid and overheated romantic entanglements. As almost always tends to be the case in Merchant Ivory productions, performances from the multicultural cast are top notch, and there’s a palpable sense of time(s) and place. Though the “jewel” may no longer be in the crown, Heat and Dust makes it clear that British people on a spiritual quest of sorts may still want to touch it in their own way.

Heat and Dust Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Heat and Dust is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Cohen touts a new 4K restoration with this release but doesn't provide any further information in any documentation I received. The results here are nicely organic looking, but as can be seen in many of the screenshots accompanying this review, a lot of Walter Lassally's cinematography is intentionally soft and dewy looking, meaning fine detail levels can vary even in relatively bright lighting conditions. The grain field is fairly pronounced throughout the presentation (perhaps surprisingly so), but resolves naturally with no real compression problems. While the palette generally looks warm and inviting, I personally found it just a tad on the brown side and even slightly desaturated looking at times, especially in some of the 1920s material.

Heat and Dust Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Heat and Dust features a nicely nuanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. There's enough pomp and circumstance in several key scenes in the 1920s era especially that help to provide good immersive opportunities, but even some of the more "travelogue" aspects of the 1980s material has excellent placement of ambient environmental effects. A typically evocative score by Richard Robbins and Zakir Hussain also resonates warmly in the surround channels. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

Heat and Dust Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Feature Length Audio Commentary Track features Ismail Merchant (who can be a bit hard to hear at times), Greta Scacchi and Nickolas Grace.

Note: Though it's not officially listed anywhere, pressing Play on the Main Menu actually boots to a promotional Introduction (1080p; 2:39) touting Cohen's library of Merchant Ivory productions.

Disc Two

• Introduction to Autobiography of a Princess (480i; 1:01) features Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (with Merchant and Ivory on either side of her).


• Autobiography of a Princess (1080p; 58:16) is the 1975 short written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that covers some of the same plot machinations as the feature film. This kind of annoyingly begins with the same promotional Introduction (1080p; 2:39) mentioned above in the Disc One supplements. According to information provided by Cohen, this was sourced from the 16mm negative.


• Merchant Ivory's Royal India (1080p; 33:18) is a new piece featuring a conversation between James Ivory and writer/director Chris Terrio (Argo).


• Greta Scacchi and Nickolas Grace Remember Heat and Dust (1080p; 41:56) is a kind of sweet piece hosted by Clair Monk in London.


• New Onstage Q & A with Madhur Jaffrey (1080p; 21:44) is from September 2017 at the Quad Cinema in New York City.


• Conversation with the Filmmakers (480i; 17:35) features Ismail Merchant, James Ivory, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Richard Robbins.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:38)


• 2017 Re-Release Trailer (1080p; 2:00)

Heat and Dust Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm not sure if there's a real narrative "target" in Heat and Dust, and as such the film tends to wander a bit, though the changing timeframes continually offer intriguing refractions that tend to present new understandings as the eras are compared and contrasted. Performances are uniformly excellent, and the film has the same burnished production design excellence that has typified many other Merchant Ivory productions. Cohen has assembled an attractive package here with strong technical merits and excellent supplementary material. Highly recommended.