In Celebration Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

In Celebration Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 30, 2019

If Eugene O’Neill or maybe Arthur Miller had been a Brit writing in the 1960s and 1970s, either one of them might very well have turned out something akin to David Storey’s In Celebration. As in at least a few of O’Neill’s most famous plays like The Iceman Cometh (the link points to another release from the American Film Theatre) or Long Day's Journey Into Night (a feature film produced by American Film Theatre’s Ely Landau), a reunion of sorts leads to a cascading series of revelations, with dysfunctional relationships unraveling with each new denouement. Also as with several Miller plays like Death of a Salesman or All My Sons, all sorts of family peccadilloes rise to the surface as a virtual miasma of memory overtakes "current" events.

The “celebration” at the core of this story is a 40th anniversary party for Mr. Shaw (Bill Owen) and his wife Mrs. Shaw (Constance Chapman). Arriving to “enjoy” the festivities are the three Shaw sons, Steven (Brian Cox), Colin (James Bolam) and Andrew (Alan Bates). Childhood traumas are slowly but surely revealed, and a couple of emotionally devastating revelations are trotted out in a typical “sibling rivalry” sort of way, making this at times less of a joyous occasion and more of a wrestling match. There’s a sadness to much of the proceedings, but kind of interestingly, much of it is played with that famous “stiff upper lip” that has become synonymous with the British character.

A lot of the tension here has to do with the parenting the boys received, as well as certain secrets all three of the boys have kept from their parents, and, to a certain degree at least, from each other. Andrew is the blowhard of the group, with both Steven and Colin kind of coming off as more passive and reticent to get involved in any big blow ups.

In Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In Celebration is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Classics, an imprint of Kino Lorber, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is overall one of the more pleasing looking releases of the American Film Theatre series on Blu-ray, with better saturation and general densities on display than have been seen in several other releases. While things can be just a tad pinkish (as has been the case in some other American Film Theatre releases), overall the palette pops quite nicely throughout this presentation, with little of the fade or at times kind of weird skewing that has been seen in some other AFT releases. Detail levels are generally quite good throughout as well, albeit limited to mundane items like the fabrics on costumes and upholstery. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation and I noticed no major compression issues.

In Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In Celebration features a fine sounding LPCM 2.0 mono track. Aside from a few brief piano cues, this is another "talk-athon" in the American Film Theatre series, and as such the track provided suffices perfectly well. All dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly, though a couple of fairly thick accents may mean that some listeners will want to opt for the available English subtitles.

In Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release repeats some of the supplements found on other Kino Blu-ray versions of the American Film Theatre series.

• Interview with Alan Bates (1080i; 39:32) finds an affable and talkative Bates giving nice overviews of his three collaborations with The American Film Theatre, Three Sisters, Butley and In Celebration.


• Interview with David Storey (480i; 21:09) is, like the Bates interview, culled from a 2003 conversation and includes quite a bit of biographical information.


• Interview with Edie Landau (1080i; 26:16) is an extremely engaging sit down with Ely Landau's widow, with both general background information on their producing careers as well as some fun anecdotes about American Film Theatre's relatively brief existence.


• Ely Landau: In Front of the Camera (1080i; 6:30) is a perhaps unintentionally funny promotional piece that Landau evidently filmed to show subscribers at the end of the first season. Let's just say that it's obvious what a showman Landau was from even this brief piece.


• AFT Trailers

  Butley (1080i; 2:58)

  
  

  A Delicate Balance (1080i; 3:25)

  
  

  Galileo (1080i; 3:30)

  
  

  The Homecoming (1080i; 2:36)

  
  

  The Iceman Cometh (1080i; 2:38)

  
  

  Jacques Brel is Alive and Well. . . (1080i; 3:26)

  
  

  Lost in the Stars (1080i; 2:10)

  
  

  Luther (1080i; 2:31)

  
  

  The Maids (1080i; 3:06)

  
  

  The Man in the Glass Booth (1080i; 2:44)

  
  

  Rhinoceros (1080i; 1:55)

  
  

  Three Sisters (1080i; 2:43)

In Celebration Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In Celebration is often compelling, but there's a certain disconnect here simply because the family is seen as both hyperbolically emotional and weirdly distant, at times simultaneously. Performances here are top notch (several of the actors are repeating roles they originated on stage, and director Lindsay Anderson also helmed the original British stage version). Fans of O'Neill and/or Miller may well take to this material more easily than the public at large, but anyone with an interest in slowly unraveling family dynamics presented by some ace actors and actresses will probably enjoy this piece. Technical merits are solid, and In Celebration comes Recommended.