Jezebel Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Jezebel Blu-ray Movie Review

Southern discomfort.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 7, 2019

Bette Davis was already no stranger to playing mischievous, unsympathetic characters by 1938, but just the name of William Wyler's Jezebel tells to all you need to know. This caustic melodrama stars Davis as sharp-tongued Southern belle Julie Marsden, whose engagement to banker Preston "Pres" Dillard (Henry Fonda, just one year away from Young Mr. Lincoln) is a disaster waiting to happen. During preparations for the upcoming Olympus Ball -- a social event where unmarried women are expected to wear white dresses - - she passive-aggressively picks out a red one after their most recent argument. It's the latest in a string of petty actions by Julie, who stubbornly wears that fiery dress to the ball but realizes her mistake when the party grinds to a halt. Pres refuses to take her home, dancing alone with mortified Julie as her friends and neighbors gawk in horror. Literally and figuratively, the engagement is over.

That's just the setup, of course, with their broken relationship being the catalyst for everything that happens next. Before she knows it, Pres is gone for a year and, not surprisingly, Julie grows to resent her childish behavior and the nasty habit of perpetually wanting to make him jealous. In true genre fashion, of course, Pres returns with...well, let's just say "a special guest" on his arm, which naturally means that the back half of Jezebel travels the now-well-trodden territory of will they or won't they? Simply put, Julie wants desperately to repair the broken string of her turbulent relationship with Pres...but the harder she tries, the more it just looks like a tangled knot.

Jezebel's excellent screenplay (based on a hit 1933 Broadway play by Owen Davis), first-rate performances, and outstanding production design make it much more than the soapy, predictable melodrama that it sounds like on paper, with the result being a largely satisfying period piece and a lightweight, well-paced historical epic. It's surprisingly swift and breezy at just 103 minutes, but feels a little bigger and more ambitious than that for all the right reasons. In more ways than one, Jezebel even feels like a close cousin of Gone With the Wind...although in my opinion it's not only more entertaining and accessible, but has aged much better from a purely social perspective. If that weren't enough, it's also been strongly suggested that Bette Davis was given top billing in Jezebel as a result of losing the role of Scarlett O'Hara to newcomer Vivien Leigh. Much like Julie Andrews landing the title character in Mary Poppins after Audrey Hepburn took the reins of My Fair Lady, Davis may have accidentally gotten the better deal.

Jezebel was released at least twice on DVD by Warner Bros., first in 2000 and again 2006 as a "newly restored and remastered edition". Not surprisingly, Warner Archives' brand-new Blu-ray easily leaves both in the dust with a very impressive 1080p transfer, clean lossless audio, and (almost) all of the same great bonus features from the 2006 DVD. Without question, this is a definitive release for Jezebel and one of WAC's most well-rounded discs of the year.

Jezebel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Jezebel absolutely shines on Blu-ray courtesy of the reliably great Warner Archive Collection. Although Jezebel's original nitrate negative was long thought to be unusable in recent decades (partially due to studio-mandated cuts made during the 1940s), this Blu-ray is advertised as being sourced from a 4K scan of that original source element. It was undoubtedly a difficult task...but as even a few modest screenshots prove, their hard work was certainly worth it. Image detail and texture are near-flawless with wonderful depth and plenty of natural, silvery film grain. Blacks are nice and deep, while the transfer's refined contrast levels go a long way towards showing off the inherent details in Jezebel's outstanding production design. There are no obvious signs of wear and tear to be found, nor do compression artifacts or banding appear along the way. As usual, the encoding is flawless and the film itself gets plenty of room to breathe with a very high variable bit-rate from start to finish.

This is yet another fantastic job by Warner Archive that outshines their parent company's DVDs by a very wide margin. Although it may sound like hyperbole, die-hard fans will feel as it they're seeing this one for the first time.

Jezebel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner Archive Collection serves up a crisp and clean DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that stays true to the film's one-channel roots. Dialgoue and background effects are well-balanced and sound extremely good for a film from this era. Max Steiner's dramatic and at times rousing score also enjoys a strong presence and occasional depth. It's just a very solid and straightforward that calls very little attention to itself, allowing viewers to enjoy Jezebel's period-specific atmosphere without any distractions. No obvious pops, hissing, or sync issues were detected along the way.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature. Unfortunately like most Warner Archive Collection Blu-rays released during this time frame, they're formatted in ALL CAPS and ugly yellow to boot; more recent releases have suggested they might finally be getting away from this unfortunate tend.

Jezebel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Jezebel arrives on Blu-ray in a standard keepcase with attractive poster-themed cover art. Most of the on-disc extras are ported over from Warner Bros.' excellent 2002 DVD, albeit with a few substitutions and technical upgrades.

• Audio Commentary - This feature-length track by film historian Jeanine Basinger covers a decent amount of ground but is somewhat inconsistent; it's well-organized during long stretches but often devolves into on-screen narration as it wears on. Topics of interest include the film's reception and awards, comparisons to Gone With the Wind, the production design, Ernest Haller's cinematography, supporting characters, filmographies, subplots and pacing, the screenplay and source material, Max Steiner's original score, and other items.

• Jezebel: Legend of the South (23:57) - A well-rounded retrospective piece with contributions by Jeanine Basinger, USC professors Drew Casper and Rick Jewell, David Wyler (son of the director), film historians Rudy Behlmer Alain Silver, conductor John Mauceri, and others. Among other topics, it details the source play, the casting process, costume and production design, Wyler's direction, and the film's legacy.

• Melody Masters: Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra (9:13) - Rather than a retrospective featurette, this is a vintage Vitaphone musical performance directed by Lloyd French in 1938.

• Daffy Duck in Hollywood (8:04) - This restored 1938 Merrie Melodies short doubles as the last Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Tex Avery. Vintage animation fans should also know that this also marks the short's Blu-ray debut, as it was last seen on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 back in 2005. Please note that "Daffy Duck in Hollywood" replaces "The Mice Will Play" from Warner Bros.' 2006 DVD edition of Jezebel.

• Ramblin 'Round the Hollywood Studios with the Candid Cameraman (1:45) - This rare promotional teaser, featuring Bette Davis on the set of Jezebel, makes its home video debut here. It's been fully restored and looks outstanding; like the other included extras, it's presented in 1080p with lossless audio.

• Theatrical Reissue Trailer (1:57) - Perfectly watchable, but this trailer is in much rougher shape than the main feature. It's also available on Warner Archive's YouTube channel if you haven't seen it yet.

Jezebel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

William Wyler's Jezebel may not be the best-remembered film starring Bette Davis, but it offers one of her strongest leading performances. Long considered a "consolation prize" for her losing Gone With the Wind's main role to Vivian Leigh (released the following year), her turn as Southern belle Julie Marsden is every bit as effective and iconic. Though surprisingly short at just 103 minutes, Jezebel has the well-paced story and ambitious atmosphere of an epic drama but with a much lighter framework...and it's aged very well to boot. Warner Archive's new Blu-ray is a little late to the film's 80th birthday party, but worth the wait: we get an outstanding A/V presentation and almost all of the same extras from Warner Bros.' 2005 DVD. It's a must-have for fans and even recommended as a blind buy.