Lovers and Other Strangers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Lovers and Other Strangers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 11, 2019

Cy Howard's "Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers and an exclusive audio commentary by critic Lee Gambin. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The wedding? Maybe I've changed my mind.

It is a very simple truth, but like most simple things in life it is actually incredibly difficult to explain to a lot of people. It is especially difficult, and sometimes flat-out impossible, to explain to people that are convinced that they are different. You can’t miss them. They have different rights, or at least they do in their heads, and they can only compromise if at the end you are the one that always agrees with them. It is when you become a good person, worthy of their respect and admiration -- you learn to respond and do things as they expect you to and for that you are rewarded with their genuine attention. Does this sound like a good description of your ex?

So, back to the truth which Frank Vecchio (a terrific Richard Castellano) and his wife Bea (Bea Arthur) spell out halfway through this film: “You’ve got to take the good with the bad”. It is so, so simple. If you do, you have a very realistic chance of living a life that will be free of profound emotional disasters. Life will hit you with some ugly surprises and you will be forced to deal with them, but the sooner you understand that it is inevitable, the more fulfilling your life will become. You need some bad in your life because it will teach you to appreciate and be protective of the good that follows. It really is this simple.

But it isn’t for Mike (Michael Brandon) and Susan (Bonnie Bedelia) who are just days away from tying the knot. They have had second thoughts and it is all because they have started to question the many compromises that ‘happy’ members of their families and relatives have had to make to stay together. Susan’s father Hal (Gig Young) and her mother Bernice (Cloris Leachman) have been ‘happily’ married for years, but only because they have both become clever actors. In fact, Hal has become such a pro that he has also been doing an awful lot of acting with Bernice’s sister, Kathy (Anne Jackson), who has allowed him to enter her life and convince her that one day, very soon, when he is finally ready and divorces Bernice, the two will no longer have to hide their true love. Susan’s sister, Wilma (Anne Meara) and her husband Johnny (Harry Guardino) have had a bit more success with their marriage, but only because they have been able to define happiness for each other -- for Johnny it is the recognition that he is the undisputed boss in the family, while for Wilma it is a steady supply of sexual experiences that her aging body desires. Then there is Mike’s older brother, Richie (Joseph Hindy), and his wife Joan (Diane Keaton), who are actually getting ready to declare their marriage a failure, and best friend Jerry (Robert Dishy) who is about to make the virgin bridesmaid Brenda (Marian Hailey) experience happiness in his tiny bed.

Cy Howard’s directorial debut, Lovers and Other Strangers, is truly a dream first effort. Given Howard’s extensive writing experience the end result isn’t exactly surprising, but because the narrative is fractured into multiple sections and there are so many different characters that have major parts in them the consistent quality on display is perhaps a bit unusual.

The film has many of the good qualities that made the ‘70s such a special decade for American cinema. It is very loose and funny but overflowing with intelligent observations about the different insecurities and flaws that define the two sexes. At times it is cynical but in that honest and extremely refreshing way that was typical for the ‘70s. Also, the chemistry between the actors is so good that the film does not need to build an atmosphere; it is there from the get-go.

Andrew Laszlo’s lensing gives the film a very nice chamber quality but without the theatrical aridness that plenty of David Mamet’s work is known for.

Petula Clark’s wonderful rendition of “For All We Know”, which was also a huge hit for The Carpenters, won an Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song.

Lovers and Other Strangers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cy Howard's Lovers and Other Strangers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video.

The release is sourced from a wonderful new 4K remaster -- it is not a restoration because a few minor blemishes remain -- which I like a lot. In fact, I like it so much that I would have given the presentation a perfect score if the encoding was optimized a tad better. I am not implying that there are some awful encoding anomalies, but there are segments where it is rather easy to tell that grain exposure and stability should be more consistent. The remaster has a solid organic appearance and depth, clarity, and fluidity are lovely. There are a few areas with small density fluctuations, but they are inherited. The color grading is very convincing. The primaries are healthy, properly balanced, and stable. The ranges of supporting nuances are equally healthy and nicely balanced. Image stability is excellent. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Lovers and Other Strangers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean, stable, and free of conventional age-related anomalies. It also has a very nice range of dynamic nuances, which is a tad surprising because there is a lot of dialog throughout the film. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report.

Lovers and Other Strangers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, critic and film historian Lee Gambin deconstructs Lovers and Other Strangers, and comments on the original play by Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor that inspired it as well as some socio-cultural trends that are reflected in film. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Video.

• Trailers - a collection of trailers for other releases from Kino Video's catalog.

Lovers and Other Strangers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

These types of loose but very intelligent films are forever gone because political correctness has created such a vast minefield between the two sexes that they can no longer make fun of each other as they used to. Perhaps from time to time there would be minor independent gems like John Turturro's Fading Gigolo that would sneak through and find a few theaters that are willing to screen them, but the more likely scenario is that they will be forced into oblivion as well. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am because this sad state of affairs is something that even Jerry Seinfeld has publicly acknowledged. Anyhow, Kino Video's upcoming release of Lovers and Other Strangers is sourced from a lovely new 4K remaster, so please consider picking up a copy for your collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.