Masquerade Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Masquerade Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 8, 2021

Bob Swaim's "Masquerade" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by the director as well as vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The player

I am willing to bet big that Eddie Muller has seen Bob Swaim’s Masquerade and likes it a lot. It is shot as a contemporary thriller, but it is immediately obvious that it was inspired by the great American film noirs. You don’t believe me? Well, imagine what Masquerade would have looked like if it was shot in black-and-white and all of the clothing and cars in it came from, say, the 1950s. It would have been a classic film noir, and Muller would have already recorded a commentary for it.

But in its current form Masquerade is a lot easier to compare to Mark Rydell’s Intersection. It has a distinct contemporary style, it is very sexy, and it introduces a range of smart twists that can make your head spin. I actually could not guess correctly how Swaim will wrap it up because for a substantial period of time I was convinced that the dominos were falling as they should. Well, they were falling alright, but there were a lot more pieces than I had initially counted. Needless to say, when the final credits rolled on my screen, I was genuinely surprised.

I will do my best to give you a basic idea of what to expect from Masquerade, but I am unsure if I could do it without providing at least a few minor spoilers. It is just how Masquerade was scripted, folks. There are tiny spoilers that begin emerging almost immediately after Rob Lowe’s character pulls out the black box with the panties for his secret lover, and this happens very early into the film. Then again, many of these spoilers that I thought were revealing the resolution of the drama tuned out to be quite misleading.

At the Hamptons, the young and very handsome yacht captain Tim Whalen (Lowe) meets and instantly steals the heart of the single but shy Olivia Lawrence (Meg Tilly), whose recently deceased mother has left her over two hundred million dollars. They agree to see each other again and then a few weeks later become a couple. But Olivia does not know that Tim is an experienced player who has been seeing another married woman (Kim Cattrall) and promised to help her stepfather, Tony Gateworth (John Glover), pull off a scam that would transfer her wealth to them. A childhood friend who has recently become a cop, Mike McGill (Doug Savant), warns Olivia to be careful, but the criticism has the exact opposite effect on her, and when Tim accidentally kills her abusive stepfather while trying to protect her, she asks him to marry her. While the tragic accident is investigated, Tim convinces Olivia that he isn’t interested in her money, but Mike begins keeping an eye on the couple and eventually intervenes to stop them from going away to Florida.

The main reason why Masquerade works so well is the quality of Swaim’s direction. Indeed, the film is very sexy, but it remains intelligent and convinces that its flawed characters are human. This could not have happened without Swaim expertly controlling the cast and the drama so that the end product does not resemble a late-night Cinemax production.

The other very obvious strength of Masquerade is the casual manner with which it introduces some breathtakingly beautiful vistas from the Hamptons and the surrounding areas. This is how the coast of Southern California was frequently shot when it needed to make an appearance in various film noirs that are now considered timeless classics.

Masquerade greatly benefits from a fittingly lush orchestral score courtesy of Oscar-winning composer John Barry as well.

Masquerade 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, Masquerade arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very old master that was supplied by MGM. It is a mostly serviceable, occasionally even decent looking master, but it is awfully easy to tell that Masquerade should look vastly superior in high-definition. As I was revisiting the film, I kept thinking about The Hot Spot and the two drastically different releases this film received -- the first release was from Shout Factory, while the second release came from Kino Lorber -- and how the latter offers an all-around superior presentation that ensures a completely different viewing experience. If the folks at Kino Lorber had remastered Masquerade in 2K, you would be looking at an identical scenario. The current master for Masquerade simply cannot give the film the consistently strong organic appearance it needs to impress the right way. For example, some close-ups can look quite good, but then there are outdoor panoramic shots that simply lack proper delineation and depth. Yes, it does help that there are no traces of problematic digital adjustments, but you will keep noticing how highlights, darker nuances, and shadow definition are not optimal. These are typical limitations on older masters, folks, and on this master they tend to stick out a lot. The entire film should have vastly superior ranges of healthy colors as well. Again, there are parts of it that could look decent, even good, but saturation and balance must be better. Image stability is good. I noticed quite a few dark spots, flecks, and even a couple of blemishes, but there are no distracting large cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Masquerade 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 lossless track handles dynamic contrasts quite well, but I think that there is some room for minor improvements. For example, a couple of the more dramatic sequences -- like the one where Rob Lowe is seen driving off with the red Ferrari and then heading toward the pier, or the one where he navigates the yacht-- sounded a tad thin on my system. This isn't an issue you should worry about because I think that the current audio track was actually done right, but my gut-feeling is that a brand new remix will deliver some meaningful upgrades. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in our review.

Masquerade Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this exclusive new commentary, director Bob Swaim goes down memory lane and recalls how Masquerade came to exist and explains why he loves the film so much, and discusses the evolution of his career and style.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Masquerade. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Masquerade Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It isn't easy to direct an intelligent thriller with seemingly endless twists that is also incredibly sexy. Bob Swaim's Masquerade is that kind of a thriller, and one of the best that I have seen. If it was shot in black-and-white and emerged during the 1950s, right now it would have been considered a genre classic. I am very grateful that the folks at Kino Lorber brought it to Blu-ray, but I would have loved to see it remastered in either 2K or 4K. It is just a gorgeous pearl that has the potential to look astonishing on the high-definition format. Regardless, the current presentation is decent enough, so I am going to recommend this release. RECOMMENDED.