7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Humbert Humbert is a fastidious, middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter. In fact, his passion for the girl becomes so overwhelming that he is willing to accept Charlotte's intimations of marriage just in order to be close to her daughter. Humbert then plots to spend more and more time alone with Lolita, but his pursuit of his obsession soon becomes such that it leaves all their lives damaged.
Starring: James Mason (I), Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Gary Cockrell, Jerry StovinDrama | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 39% |
Dark humor | 27% |
Romance | 9% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital Mono
Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
"How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?" If Stanley Kubrick were still alive, he'd probably answer his own poster with a retort. "We didn't. The MPAA did." Treading oh-so-lightly, Kubrick's 1962 adaptation of Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel of the same name required the notoriously rigid perfectionist to make far more concessions than he would have liked. Substantial changes were made to Nabokov's novel: 12-year-old Dolores Haze became 14-year-old Lolita, the characters' personalities were altered significantly, key scenes were left on the writers' room floor, the book's more overt eroticism was exorcised (subtle as it may have been) and Nabokov's screenplay, a startling 400-page beast Kubrick and producer James B. Harris deemed unfilmable, was gutted. Kubrick's production woes didn't end there. His early casting choices, among them James Mason and Laurence Olivier, grew skittish and politely declined to work on such a controversial project, often at the behest of their agents. He chose Sue Lyon mainly for her age and older-than-her-years demeanor even though both were in opposition to Nabokov's envisioned nymphet, all the while wishing he was able to cast a girl with a more childlike face and features. And more and more comedy, while true to Nabokov's original text, seeped into the slowly developing screenplay; a direction an older, more defiant Kubrick -- perhaps fresh off of 2001: A Space Odyssey or Barry Lyndon -- might not have pursued.
So how does one approach a controversial film so far removed from Kubrick's original intentions that he said, "if I realized how severe the limitations were going to be, I probably wouldn't have made the film"? Much like Kubrick approached Lolita: very carefully.
Lolita features a handsome 1.66:1 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that preserves Kubrick's intentions well. A fine veneer of unobtrusive grain lingers overtop the image, lending it a admirably filmic appearance. Detail isn't entirely consistent but neither is Oswald Morris' original photography. The softness that seeps in isn't distracting or problematic, and the film's natural textures and clean edges will alleviate any persisting concerns. Contrast is also spot on. Whites are crisp and cool, midrange grays and mid-tone gradients are lovely, and black levels are quite deep. Yes, crush rears its head from time to time, particularly in Kubrick's shadow-draped interiors, but individual dark hairs and costume fur seem to be the only victims of note. Otherwise, the technical encode is a beaut. Artifacting, aliasing and banding keep their distance, smearing and ringing aren't present, and the whole of the picture makes the transition to high definition without incident, besting its previous DVD counterpart in every conceivable way. Like Barry Lyndon's Blu-ray debut, Lolita deserves any praise that comes its way.
Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix is certainly serviceable; a welcome addition to the release even. Its faithfulness is commendable, its dialogue is crisp, distinct and intelligible, and its music and effects, though a bit crowded, are given ample room to play. That said, there isn't really anything special about the track either. Whereas the Blu-ray edition of Barry Lyndon offers a subtle but strong 5.1 remix, Lolita doesn't venture beyond the bounds of 1962. Purists will be pleased, more casual filmfans will simply nod their heads and focus on the quality of the film's video transfer.
Standard definition theatrical trailer notwithstanding, the Blu-ray release of Lolita doesn't include any significant special features.
Lolita split audiences and critics upon its release and continues to do so some fifty years later. For me, it stands as one of Kubrick's weakest films; a project sullied by the MPAA and the social climate of the era. For others, it stands in stark contrast to his later work and demonstrates the director's ability to subdue and subvert any challenge he faced, censorship included. But both camps can agree on this: Lolita is a crucial milestone in Kubrick's evolution as a filmmaker that plants countless seeds the director would later cultivate in Dr. Strangelove, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut. Thankfully, Warner's Blu-ray release is less divisive. While it doesn't include any special features -- I'm sure a 50th Anniversary Edition is in the works for 2012 -- its video transfer is terrific and its DTS-HD Master Audio mono mix is a solid one. Proceed with confidence.
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