Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Lady in White Blu-ray Movie Review

The Maternal Figure in White

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson April 6, 2017

Throughout the eighties and early nineties, Lukas Haas established himself as one of the top child actors in Hollywood. Haas delivered key supporting performances as well as bit parts in such films as Testament (1983), Witness (1985), Rambling Rose (1991), among many other titles. However, in nearly all his early movies, Haas took a subordinate role to a star. In Lady in White (1988), Frank LaLoggia's autobiographical ode to small-town America, Haas became the centerpiece as he carries the film on his shoulders. Haas plays Frankie Scarlatti, a spunky and imaginative boy who dons a Dracula mask for his school's Halloween party in the fictional New England town of Willowpoint Falls circa 1962. Frankie is different from the other kids, including pranksters Donald (Jared Rushton) and Louie (Gregory Levinson), who lock Frankie up in the cloakroom after hours. Save for breaking the window open and jumping out, Frankie is entrapped there for the night. Perched atop the cloak rack near the corner window, Frankie notices a child ghost (Joelle Jacobi) go through the door. She has things to tell Frankie but he has trouble making sense of them. Shortly thereafter, a masked figure breaks open the door, frightening Frankie and knocking him out. After awakening and returning home, Frankie discovers that this girl may be connected to a series of child murders that have ravaged the town over the last several years. There is quite a bit of racism and bigotry in Willowpoint Falls and the school's black custodian, Harold Williams (Henry Harris), is soon arrested and identified as the prime suspect.

Frankie Scarlatti on his way to school for a Halloween party.

As LaLoggia explains in his commentary track, Lady in White is a film about loss, particularly the mother. LaLoggia deftly weaves Frankie's childhood memories of his mother and him attending her wake along with surreal images of Melissa Montgomery's mother, Anne (Karen Powell), who is the Lady in White. Melissa is like a kindred spirit of Frankie's who keeps reappearing in front of him, including a confrontation between the two at a graveside in an enchanted forest. Lady in White often evokes the supernatural and the fantastical while occasionally interspersing moments of suspense and horror. The ethereal Lady in White reminds me of the fairy Cherlindrea in Willow (1988), released a month later. LaLoggia did not have the budget and production resources that George Lucas and Ron Howard had on their picture so the optical effects, process shots, and matte paintings are not as convincing nor do they hold up as well as the ones in Willow do. However, Lady in White works well as a study of an extended Italian-American family and a boy's odyssey in discovering the truth behind a town's mysterious history.

Lady in White Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lady in White makes it Blu-ray debut worldwide with this two-disc set courtesy of Shout! Factory. The package includes the Original Theatrical Cut (113 minutes), the Director's Cut (118 minutes), and the Extended Director's Cut (126 minutes). The theatrical release version and Director's Cut of LaLoggia's film were previously the only versions available on home video. Virgin Vision released the 113-minute cut on VHS in 1988, followed by Anchor Bay's videocassette in 1993. Four years later, Elite Entertainment unveiled a Widescreen Special Edition of the DC on LaserDisc with many bells and whistles. A year later, Elite reissued the same contents on a DVD-9. MGM licensed the film and put out its own special edition in 2005. LaLoggia worked on all the LD, DVD, and BD editions. On the Elite discs, LaLoggia oversaw a "Digital SuperScan Transfer" of his DC. Ben Satory of IVC Digital Film Center in Burbank, CA served as telecine colorist. According to Shout! on social media, LaLoggia was "heavily involved" with the supervision of all three versions. Nonetheless, Shout! needs to include detailed notes about restorations and transfers on their packaging. How about including leaflets or booklets with material on a/v restoration à la Arrow, Criterion, and Eureka? Prior to the star of the EDC, however, Shout! does provide explanatory text in a white intertitle about the composite print: "This new extended director's cut, assembled with the help of Director Frank LaLoggia, was created using the inter-positive of the longer cut and a film print held at George Eastman Museum in New York. You will notice some hiss and pops that were present in the film print."

All three versions of Lady in White appear in the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with AVC encodes. The movie definitely looks the best it has ever looked, with the EDC showing the most anomalies. Color saturation and detail appear as the most improved areas compared to prior editions. Cinematographer Russell Carpenter bathes the outdoor scenes with warm autumnal colors, which stand out on these frame grabs. There are some source defects that crop up but the movie looks very good on Blu-ray.

Since LaLoggia supervised the color timing on the Elite discs, I have included a handful of screen captures from that letterboxed transfer. Although non-anamorphic and horizontally stretched, the purpose of including frame enlargements here is to give the reader a visual sense of the film's original color temperature and the improvements made on the HD transfer.

Screenshots 1-5 = Original Theatrical Cut
Screenshots 6-10 = Extended Director's Cut
Screenshots 11-15 = Director's Cut (Shout! Factory)
Screenshots 16-20 = Director's Cut (Elite Entertainment)

Lady in White Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! Factory has equipped all three versions with a English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 remix and a English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 rendering of the film's original stereo. Lady in White doesn't have the sonic clarity of twenty-first century film productions but fidelity is decent and dialogue is usually comprehensible. The 2.0 track doesn't show a lot of range or separation so the 5.1 option is preferred.

For the score that he composed, LaLoggia made notations of the synthesized sounds he came up with as he ran the film on video playback. He had his music supervisor transpose the analog strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion so it could be performed by a 70-piece orchestra. The score is a highlight on the 5.1 remix, exhibiting good bass and demonstrating some terrific separation on the front and surround channels.

Shout! has supplied optional English SDH for the main feature.

Lady in White Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

DISC ONE: DIRECTOR'S CUT (1:57:50, 1080p)

• Introduction by Frank LaLoggia (0:46, upconverted to 1080p) - this video intro was originally recorded by MGM for its 2005 DVD. So when LaLoggia refers to a "beautiful widescreen transfer," he's referring to the anamorphic print on that disc. In English, not subitled.

• Audio Commentary with Frank LaLoggia - this commentary was originally recorded by Elite Entertainment in 1997. LaLoggia delivers a nostalgic talk about his upbringing, the parallels between the film's characters and his real-life family, and anecdotes about his experience filming Lady in White. In English, not subtitled.

• Behind-the-Scenes Footage with Introduction and Optional Commentary by Frank LaLoggia (16:21, upconverted to 1080p) - VHS-sourced footage of LaLoggia on the set with his crew directing actors and consulting storyboards as well as call sheets. In English, not subtitled.

• Deleted Scenes with Introduction and Optional Commentary by Frank LaLoggia (36:13, upconverted to 1080p) - nine excised scenes taken from the film's work print. The picture and sound survive in subpar condition but feature some nice moments that landed on the cutting room floor. Several consist of extended scenes but others contain different material not present on the three cuts. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Extended Behind-the-Scenes Footage – Production and Post-Production (1:13:21, upconverted to 1080i) - over an hour's worth of exclusive footage taken during the production and in post. In English, not subtitled.

• Promotional Short Film (7:18, upconverted to 1080p) - a promotional short prepared by LaLoggia in storybook style. It features several different actors than The Lady in White and was completed in 1987. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:57, 1080i) - the official trailer for the film released by the New Century Vista Film Company. In English, not subtitled.

• Alternate Trailers (7:10, upconverted to 1080i) - two additional trailers for the movie that were presumably not shown circa 1988. They appear in poor shape and contain a mixture of color and black and white shots. In English, not subtitled.

• TV Spots (1:34, upconverted to 1080p) - three TV spots presented in 1.33:1. In English, not subtitled.

• Radio Spots (2:21) - four audio-only radio spots.

• Behind-the-Scenes Photo Montage (2:29, 1080p) - a slide show presentation of color and black-and-white stills from The Lady in White's marketing campaign.

• Extended Photo Gallery (1:54, 1080p) - some more pictures that were captured during the making of the film.

DISC TWO: EXTENDED DIRECTOR'S CUT (2:06:33, 1080p) & ORIGINAL THEATRICAL CUT (1:53:35, 1080p)

Shout has dropped the three tracks from the out-of-print CD soundtrack album that Elite included on its DVD. The running time was 61:23 and the cues played while photographs from the film were shown. Also missing are various still pictures found on the Elite and MGM DVD photo galleries. There is some overlap between the snapshots on the three editions but also exclusives on each.

Lady in White Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shout! Factory has put together as close to a definitive package of Lady in White that we can hope for. It is a treat to have three different versions of the film on this two-disc set. The LD and DVDs are still legitimate because LaLoggia either supervised or approved the image transfers. This BD, however, eclipses the others with its superiority in color density and sharpness. Shout! also ports over most of the old bonus materials and adds a chunk of previously unavailable behind-the-scenes footage. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.