Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Looking for Mr. Goodbar 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 31, 2025

“Looking for Mr. Goodbar” began its journey as a book by Judith Rossner, who was inspired by a true crime tale of murder involving a schoolteacher who was learning to experience life on her own terms. The story of Roseann Quinn and her violent end is extremely disturbing, tasking Rossner to best understand motivation, exploring the world of the victim and other professional and environmental influences. The 1977 film adaptation looks to dramatize this experience, putting writer/director Richard Brooks (“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Elmer Gantry”) on a mission to visualize an intense journey of self-exploration, and also sell the passage of time as the main character develops emotionally and sexually. “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” is a tough sit, and not always for the right reasons. The core study of pressure and pain remains intact, along with an understanding of empowerment, but Brooks generates an incredibly unwieldy movie at times, often losing sight of the central journey to deal with broad performances and unnecessary dramatic detours, which fail to contribute to the psychological profile being created here.

Theresa (Diane Keaton) is young and interested in experiencing the world around her, but she’s wrestling with literal scars from the past, having spent part of her childhood in a full body cast due to scoliosis. She’s also the daughter of Mr. Dunn (Richard Kiley), who maintains control over his household, expecting his children to make the right choices and live traditional lives. Theresa craves something more, enduring a secret relationship with her English professor, Martin (Alan Feinstein), who’s married and wants to maintain his lifestyle, only using his mistress for sex. Theresa’s older sister, Katherine (Tuesday Weld), is an influence on her life, following her sibling as she escapes from her father, embarking on a solo adventure in New York City, which offers her a taste of freedom she’s always craved. Becoming a teacher for deaf children, Theresa finds vocational fulfillment while making special connections to the kids, and she focuses on finding the same contentment and enthusiasm in her sex life, struggling with James (William Atherton), who wants a relationship on his own terms. And there’s Tony (Richard Gere), a male hustler who excites Theresa, despite his strong behavioral issues. Seeking pleasures and risk, Theresa plunges into the world of singles bars and drug abuse, on an odyssey to find herself during an era of female examination.

One of the most interesting elements of “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” is Theresa’s fantasy life. She frequently lives inside her own head, which is creatively sold by Brooks through sudden flashes of decisions and how they play out, often depicting Theresa as a victim of some sort. It’s a fascinating understanding of her thought process and secret feelings, which are initially put to the test by Martin, a dismissive man of education who takes on the young woman as an employee, only to end up in a sexual relationship he tries to hide. The fling ends coldly, leaving Theresa an emotional wreck, inspiring a change in her ways, partially motivated by reminders of the ERA movement, watching other women take command of their direction.

Carnal appetites are detailed in “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” putting Theresa on the hunt for partners who excite her. Brooks emphasizes a passion for control, as the single woman doesn’t necessarily want attachment, but experiences, finding a true thrill in Tony, a handsome halfwit emerging from Vietnam with energy to burn and mental issues to ignore. Brooks generates a vivid understanding of the bar scene and Theresa’s personal mission to lose herself a bit, sampling bedroom action with various men, learning to enjoy herself and the empowerment it triggers. There’s also work demands in “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” showing a softer side of the character as she deals gently with students, especially one who responds enthusiastically to such tenderness. The writing achieves an understanding of responsibilities and passions, creating periodic scenes of clear personality as Theresa handles challenges to her happiness, developing a thicker skin and reliance on substances to probe deeper into her psyche. Keaton’s performance largely sells the complexity of the character, able to play the kindness and hardness of Theresa to help the dramatic arc make sense.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Looking for Mr. Goodbar" arrives on UHD courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome, and the release is listed as "presented in Dolby Vision HDR and newly restored from its 35mm original camera negative." It's a terrifically film-like viewing experience, finding grain nicely resolved throughout. Colors are strong, carrying intended authority during bar and street visits, focusing on intense reds. And the shocking blues of strobe lighting are intact. Cooler hues with dingy apartment life and urban tours are preserved. Skin tones are natural, encountering a touch of redness here and there. Detail reaches about as far as possible with softer cinematography, delivering textured skin particulars, including scarring. Period outfits also maintain their fibrousness. Blacks are especially challenged during scenes with limited lighting, but maintaining depth and frame information. Highlights are tasteful. Source is in good condition.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA supplies fresh dialogue exchanges, balancing a few wild performance choices and hushed bedroom encounters. Soundtrack selections maintain clarity and some fullness as disco hits thump away. Sound effects are appreciable, along with atmospherics around crowded bars and street life.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historian Gillian Wallace Horvat.

• Audio Interview (13:04) is a 1976 clip from WFMT Radio, where host Studs Terkel welcomes author Judith Rossner to his program. The writer details the origins of her idea, picking up on a news articles about the murder of a "middle-class woman," aiming to develop the story, also drawn to the psychology of Vietnam Vets trying to reenter everyday society. The conversation turns to the characters and life of Theresa "Terry" Dunn, investigating her psychology and personal history, understanding certain personal choices. Rossner also reflects on the success of her book, understanding curiosity about the singles bar scene and the developing sexuality of the 1970s.

• "First Comes the Word: Richard Books and the making of 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar'" (23:32, HD) is an appreciation piece from author Douglass K. Daniel.

• "Defining Autonomy: The Trial of 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar'" (30:41, HD) is a visual essay by Brent Cowley.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:45, HD) is included.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Looking for Mr. Goodbar" occasionally finds its stride as a sharp inspection of personal choices and environmental influence. However, Brooks doesn't craft a taut feature, with the 136-minute-long run time frequently indulging misguided performances (Gere is absolutely ridiculous as Tony) and static scenes that periodically turn the movie into a filmed play. There's no flow to Theresa's journey, just visits to behavioral realism and shame that keep the viewing experience reasonably compelling, while the story's movement to a shock ending (which involves heavy use of strobe lighting) feels oddly rushed, almost disconnected from the rest of the picture. "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" is frustrating to watch, and isn't far from pure tedium at times, but enough of the tale's ideas are fascinating and dramatically potent, capturing a feel for needs and desires as Theresa slowly takes her mission to a point of no return.