Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Mildred Pierce 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 5, 2023

Winner of Oscar Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Michael Curtiz's "Mildred Pierce" (1945) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new filmed conversation between critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito; Peter Fitzgerald's documentary "Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star"; archival interview with author James. M. Cain; archival Q&A session with actress Ann Blyth; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The entire film is like a giant puzzle whose key pieces can be arranged in a number of different ways. Eventually its story -- the majority of which is told via various uneven flashbacks -- is wrapped up with a logical finale, but before it there are multiple twists that could have easily been used to accomplish the same.

The first important piece in the puzzle is the cold-blooded murder of a man in a lavish house. Moments after the man collapses and dies, a car drives away into the night. Soon after, Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) is approached by two policemen and asked to meet Inspector Peterson (Moroni Olsen) in his office. She is told that the dead man is her husband, Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott), and that the killer is almost certainly her ex-husband, Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett). But, is he really the killer?

A series of flashbacks now begin reconstructing Mildred’s past and her relationships with Monte and Bert. Her transformation from a frustrated housewife into a successful businesswoman is the second important piece in the puzzle. The transformation is inspired by Mildred’s inexorable desire to give her daughter, Vida (Ann Blyth), the type of life she couldn’t have. There is a special bond between them, but their wildly different expectations of each other gradually push them afar.

The last crucial piece is the significance of Mildred’s success. As her business continues to grow, she finds herself surrounded by people that have far stronger feelings about her finances than she does. Then naturally her success becomes a litmus test of sorts that pulls off their masks and forces them to reveal their ambitions.

The resolution is hardly surprising but the events leading up to the murder are presented in ways that make it impossible not to ponder a number of different scenarios. The true strength of the film, however, comes from the excellent characterizations as they basically eclipse the mystery and push the film in an entirely new direction. (Critics frequently and easily place the film in the noir column, but such profiling essentially ignores all of its other strong qualities that make it equally effective as an uncompromising critique of the American class system and values).

Crawford’s performance is impressive but to single her out as the star of the film is rather unfair. Scott and Bennett are equally good and Blyth looks like she was born to play the spoiled daughter. Jack Carson also leaves a lasting impression as the pushy womanizer Wally Fay.

Director Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Ernest Haller (Gone with the Wind) chose some spectacular locations in Southern California and the film has that very classy early Hollywood look and ambience that are now irreversibly lost. The soundtrack was composed by multiple Oscar winner Max Steiner (Casablanca, Since You Went Away).

Mildred Pierce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Midlred Pierce is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. The Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked".

Please note that all of the screencaptures that are included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content.

Criterion released Mildred Pierce on Blu-ray in 2017 after the film was fully restored in 4K. (You can see our listing and review of this release here). This release offers a native 4K presentation of the film, which can be viewed with HDR. A 1080p presentation of the same 4K restoration is included on a separate Blu-ray disc as well.

I think that the film looks wonderful in native 4K. On my system, the HDR grade strengthens virtually all of the darker footage where different ranges of blacks and grays now appear more pronounced. How much exactly? Enough to make the dynamic range of the visuals better, which is precisely what you should expect from a good HDR grade. What about improvements in delineation? The softness that is present on the 1080p presentation is retained, which is hardly surprising because it is inherited from the original source. However, in native 4K, these fluctuations appear better balanced -- this is the only way I can describe what I saw -- and the visuals have more appealing filmic quality. Also, I was paying very close attention to how lighting affects the visuals because when the overall dynamic range of the visuals is better many highlights tend to look more convincing. I think that there are meaningful improvements, but I still like a lot how the film looks in 1080p as well. Image stability is very good. All in all, on my system, the upgrade in quality was very easy to see and appreciate, so I assume that folks with larger screens will be very happy with how the film looks in native 4K. My score is 4.75/5.00.

Mildred Pierce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

This is the same lossless audio track that was available on the previous Blu-ray release of Mildred Pierce. Naturally, I do not have any new comments to add here. I think that it is excellent.

Mildred Pierce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features on this disc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Trailer - original trailer for Mildred Pierce. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Molly Haskell and Robert Polito - in this filmed conversation, critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito discuss the original novel by James M. Cain that inspired Mildred Pierce, the noir/other qualities of the film and versatility of the character played by Joan Crawford, Michael Curtiz's direction, etc. The conversation was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 1080p).

• Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star - this archival documentary produced by Peter Fitzgerald examines the life and career of Joan Crawford. It is narrated by Anjelica Huston, and includes interviews with the star's biographer Bob Thomas, actors Diane Baker, Betsy Palmer, Cliff Robertson and Anna Lee, columnist Liz Smith, and playwright/Crawford historian Charles Busch, amongst others. The documentary was produced in 2002. In English, not subtitled. (88 min, 1080i).

• David Frost and Joan Crawford - presented here is an archival excerpt from The David Frost Show in which Joan Crawford discusses her contribution to Mildred Pierce and work with director Michael Curtiz. The episode was broadcast on January 8, 1970. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080i).

• Ann Blyth - presented here is an archival Q&A session with actress Ann Blyth (Veda Pierce) which was filmed after a screening of Mildred Pierce at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in 2006. The session is presented and moderated by film noir expert Eddie Muller. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 1080i).

• James M. Cain - presented here is an archival interview with author James. M. Cain conducted by Hugh Downs for the Today show. The two gentlemen discuss the role of violence in American literature and culture, the relationship between TV and violence, and Cain's decision to leave Hollywood and return to Maryland. The interview was conducted on November 26, 1969. In English, not subtitled. (11 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Imogen Sara Smith's essay "A Woman's Work" and technical credits.

Mildred Pierce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are reading this article, it is practically guaranteed that you have Criterion's Blu-ray release of Midlred Pierce and wish to know whether the film looks better in native 4K. I liked what I saw on my system a lot. The difference in quality was not dramatic, but I thought that the overall appearance of the film in native 4K was very attractive. So, if enjoy Mildred Pierce and think that you will be revisiting it many times in the future, you should plan to pick up Criterion's upcoming 4K Blu-ray release because the best technical presentation of the film is on it. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.