Maurice 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Maurice 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 5, 2026

Note: Maurice was released on 1080 disc by Cohen Media Group several years ago. This review reprints parts of my 1080 review, as appropriate.

A lot of critical praise was heaped upon Brokeback Mountain when it was released in 2005, with many reviewers and even audience members lauding the film’s courage in depicting a homosexual relationship featuring probably the most stereotypically “manly” character type in American history — the cowboy. But how courageous was it, really, to offer an honest portrayal of a gay relationship in 2005, when societal morés had shifted enough so that so-called “forbidden” love like this was already at least beginning to be accepted by many? For real courage, Maurice perhaps provides a better example, since it was released in 1987 when tolerance for gay relationships was considerably less sanguine than it had become by 2005, not to mention the fact that the 80s were still reeling from the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic. It’s probably instructive to note that E.M. Forster originally wrote Maurice circa 1913-14 (with several reported revisions considerably later in his career), but that the noted author chose not to publish it during his lifetime, not necessarily due to its then quite shocking subject matter, but perhaps more due to Forster’s qualms about the book’s inherent literary qualities. I can only imagine the cause célèbre that would have ensued had Maurice been published around the time World War I broke out, or even somewhat later, in an era when “proper” British men simply didn’t discuss things like homsexuality, at least not in public. Even as late as the film’s 1987 release the fact that a film would not just portray gay relationships but offer a mostly happy (if somewhat bittersweet) ending is notable, and perhaps gave a morsel of hope for real life gay men who were still experiencing rampant discrimination and, possibly, the ravages of a horrifying disease. Maurice may not have aged perfectly, since some plot elements seem unnecessarily contrived, even if they’re based on what were undoubtedly events culled from Forster’s knowledge of his cultural milieu and “techniques” that were being utilized to “cure” homosexuality, but the film still packs a considerable emotional wallop as it details the travails of Maurice Hall (James Wilby), a middle class British lad who has to deal not just with his inner conflict at being attracted to males, but with the whole British class system, which in Forster’s formulation has probably arguably as much blame for Maurice’s psychological discomfort as anything to do with his sexuality.

Maurice is introduced as a young pre-teen boy on a visit to the seaside with a group which includes his teacher Mr. Ducie (Simon Callow). Mr. Ducie is aware that Maurice is fatherless, and decides to take advantage of some time alone with the boy to offer a brief lesson in “the birds and the bees”, replete with diagrams etched into the sand at the beach. It’s a scene that is both hilarious and intentionally awkward, but when the young Maurice says that he doesn’t think he’ll ever marry, there’s a hint that even at that tender age the boy knows he’s “different”, somehow.

The film then segues forward several years to find Maurice as a young man enrolled at Cambridge, where he’s interacting with people probably above his social status, including the arrogant and proto-Nietzschean Lord Risley (Mark Tandy), an officious sort who is in love with the sound of his own voice. When Risley rather unexpectedly invites Maurice to a get together with a bunch of other men Risley tells Maurice he’ll “find interesting”, Maurice is intrigued, ultimately showing up at Risley’s room, only to find Risley gone and another student named Clive Durham (Hugh Grant) rummaging around trying to find a score for one of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies. Clive and Maurice strike up a friendship, and soon enough the relationship morphs into something at least somewhat more intimate, though Clive, perhaps more aware of society’s strictures and England’s class requirements than Maurice is, insists they not “go all the way”.

While the whole illicit love angle informs the bulk of Maurice’s plot mechanics, there are broader social critiques that are offered. When Risley is arrested for “inappropriate” behavior, the whole discriminatory attitude that took down everyone from Oscar Wilde to Alan Turing is brought viscerally home to both Clive and Maurice. But there are perhaps none too subtle swipes at comfortable and conforming domesticity once Clive decides to get married, and, later, an even more overt allusion to Britain’s class system when a young groundskeeper named Scudder (Rupert Graves) has more than a passing interest in Maurice. The era’s ridiculous “cures” are emphasized by Maurice’s trips to a tough talking American hypnotist (Ben Kingsley), but the failure of such techniques is front and center in one of the film’s most emotionally overwrought scenes, when Maurice confides in a family friend, Doctor Barry (Denholm Elliott). There's also some interesting, if relatively tangential, content dealing with the fraying of Britain's Christian tendencies during the Edwardian Era.

Maurice is as handsomely appointed as any Merchant Ivory production, but it also is perhaps a bit too languorous for its own good, taking close to two and a half hours to get Maurice to something akin to happily ever after. The film is nonetheless a rather incisive critique of attitudes of its timeframe, though it perhaps doesn’t build to the emotional catharsis it’s obviously aiming for. The most notable thing about Maurice is that in fact has the courage to talk about “the love that dare not speak its name”.

Maurice 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

Maurice is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.66:1. As with the original 1080 release from some time ago now, some brief verbiage included on the back cover of the release touts "a gorgeous new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, overseen and approved by the director James Ivory and cinematographer Pierre Lhomme". That said, while the "new"-ness of the 4K restoration is now close to a decade old, Cohen has once again made the curious decision as with their release of Howards End 4K to only have an SDR presentation on the 4K disc. That means that the real difference here is probably more in terms of somewhat (though I'd argue never really drastically) improved fine detail on the often beautifully crafted costumes and sets. Quite interestingly, at least in terms of the actually kind of weird yellow undertone pervading this release, the opening Cohen mastheads on the 4K disc for promotional purposes are decidedly more red than the still orange-ish opening for the feature itself, though on the whole color timing may at least seem to be a bit better in this 4K edition even without the blandishments of HDR. All of the variances in clarity I mentioned in my original Maurice Blu-ray review are frankly still on display here, and without HDR I can't really say shadow definition is materially improved here, either.

Maurice 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Maurice's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track doesn't have a whale of a lot of opportunity to exploit over the top sonics, but there's a nice wash of sound in the string drenched cues that make up part of the underscore, as well as good placement of environmental effects in several outdoor scenes, as in the opening seaside sequence or the later aforementioned scene in the field between Clive and Maurice. Dialogue is always presented cleanly and clearly with smart prioritization. There are no issues of any kind with regard to damage, dropouts or distortion. Cohen has also provided a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which to my ears was identical to the 1080 disc's LPCM 2.0 offering. Optional English subtitles are available.

Maurice 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary by Film Critic Wade Major and Joseph Bristow, Distinguished Professor of English, UCLA

1080 Disc

Note: As with the original 1080 release, one 1080 disc has the feature with no supplements, with all of the supplements offered on a second Blu-ray disc, which has two submenus:

Extras

• James Ivory and Pierre Lhomme on the Making of Maurice (HD; 15:44) is an enjoyable sit down with the director and cinematographer, conducted by Gavin Smith at Cohen's New York facility.


• New On Stage Q & A with James Ivory and Pierre Lhomme Moderated by Nicholas Elliott, US Correspondent for Cahiers du Cinema (HD; 22:59) is another interesting conversation with the duo, conducted at the French Institute Alliance Francaise.


• The Story of Maurice (SD; 30:29) features some great interviews with everyone from screenwriter Kit Hesketh Harvey to co-stars James Wilby and Hugh Grant.


• Conversation with the Filmmakers (SD; 12:51) is an archival piece with James Ivory, Ismael Merchant and Richard Robbins interspersed with quite a few clips from the film.


• A Director's Perspective (HD; 40:08) offers a conversation between James Ivory and Tom McCarthy, the director of Spotlight.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:27)


• 2017 Re-Release Trailer (HD; 2:21)

Deleted Scenes

• Deleted Scenes and Alternate Takes (SD; 39:03) feature optional commentary by Director James Ivory.

Unfortunately this 4K release omits the older 1080 release's nice insert booklet with writing, along with a heavy cardstock insert reproducing the cover image along with a list of Cohen's holdings of Merchant Ivory properties. Packaging does feature a slipcover.

Maurice 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the most refreshing things I've experienced over the course of my lifetime is the increasing tolerance for those with "alternative" lifestyles, in what I personally commend as a "live and let live" philosophy. It's actually kind of remarkable that Forster first wrote his original version over 100 years ago, and perhaps only slightly less remarkable that this frank, unflinching look at "illicit" gay love was made in 1987. The film may come off as just slightly quaint from more open contemporary points of view, but it's bolstered by typically luxe Merchant Ivory production design and some excellent performances. Cohen is rather oddly deciding to release these Merchant Ivory outings without HDR, but at least this does have the original two disc 1080 release included with all of the interesting supplements, plus the commentary on the 4K disc. As a whole and with some caveats as outlined above, Recommended.