Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

My Beautiful Laundrette Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 15, 2015

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, Stephen Frears' "My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original traler for the film; exclusive new filmed conversation with the British director; new video interview with cinematographer Oliver Stapleton; new video interview with writer Hanif Kureishi; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring Graham Fuller's essay "Postcolonialism in the Wash" and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Omar

A film like Stephen Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette cannot be made in 2015. A director that becomes involved with a similar project would not only destroy his entire career, but seriously damage the reputation of anyone that openly supports it. This is the era of political correctness and common logic dictates that it is wiser to be a coward than to be a brave fool.

The film follows closely Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a young and handsome Asian man from south London with big ambitions. Omar’s alcoholic father wants him to go to college so that he can have better opportunities in life, but he begins spending time with his enigmatic uncle, Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey). There is a good reason why. Despite being an immigrant, Nasser has become a successful businessman and is admired by his elegant English mistress (Shirley Anne Field).

While working for his uncle, Omar meets Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis), an old friend who has become the leader of a small neo-Nazi gang. There is an instant spark between them. The two begin seeing each other and eventually Omar hires Johnny to help him revamp an old laundrette which Nasser no longer wants to run. This angers Johnny’s gang mates because they are convinced that a “wog” should always strive to become a good servant.

Meanwhile, Nasser’s partner and right-hand man, Salim (Derrick Branche), who has been secretly dealing drugs and made a small fortune, decides to teach Omar an important lesson. But he is forced to improvise when Johnny’s mates disrespect him in front of the newly renovated laundrette.

My Beautiful Laundrette is a rude but painfully honest film. It was released during Margaret Thatcher’s era and it sees Britain not as its leader once promoted it, but as it was -- a country of extreme contrasts, full of dangerously disillusioned people.

What is unusual about My Beautiful Laundrette, however, is that it is also light, witty and strikingly uplifting. One can easily sense the static in the air, but unlike the 'kitchen sink' dramas from the ‘50s and ‘60s this film actually finds plenty of beauty and humor amidst the chaos and violence. In other words, instead of trying to force one to agree with its points, it allows them to gradually emerge in a sea of opposing views.

Without Hanif Kureishi’s brilliant script My Beautiful Laundrette almost certainly would have struggled to remain relevant during the years. Kureishi, who grew up in Bromley in south London, is a man who clearly understands that racism and discrimination have deep economic roots. It is not that skin colors are irrelevant, but economic inequality is very much what breeds the hatred that turns people against each other. Plus, the desire to reject one’s weak identity and imitate those who are responsible for its devaluation -- the same desire that has profoundly changed Nasser and Salim and has inspired Omar to follow their steps.

The cast is excellent. There is an outstanding chemistry between Warnecke and Day-Lewis that makes seemingly ordinary sequences look special. Branche and Jaffrey are equally convincing. Field leaves a lasting impression as well.

My Beautiful Laundrette was the first film Frears shot with cinematographer Oliver Stapleton. The two collaborated on seven more films, including the excellent Prick Up Your Ears and The Grifters.

My Beautiful Laundrette Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Stephen Frears' My beautiful Laundrette arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Supervised by director of photography Oliver Stapleton, this new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from a 16mm interpositive made from the 16mm original A/B camera negative at Sony Colorworks in Culver City, California. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, and splices were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise, management, flicker, and jitter.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline, Oliver Stapleton.
Colorist: Stephen Bearman/Deluxe London.
Scanning: Sony Colorworks, Culver City, CA."

The film looks fresh and very healthy. Color reproduction, in particular, is far more convincing now -- there is a wide range of richly saturated colors that actually have a positive effect on image depth. During the darker footage shadow definition is also greatly improved. Detail is very good, but there are some minor fluctuations. However, such is the film's original cinematography -- depending on where various sequences were shot and how light is captured by the camera, detail, depth, and even color exposure could fluctuate a bit (see screencaptures #2 and 19). Obviously, grain can also be over/underexposed at times. There are no traces of problematic degrainng or sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no large cuts, debris, scratches, or stains to report our review. All in all, this is a solid technical presentation of My Beautiful Laundrette that makes it very easy to appreciate the artistic vision of its creators. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

My Beautiful Laundrette 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.

Ludus Tonalis' score has primarily a supporting role throughout the film. Dynamic intensity is also rather limited, though there are a couple of sequences where the sound design is surprisingly flexible. The dialog is stable, clean, and very easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital digital distortions to report in this review.

My Beautiful Laundrette Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for My Beautiful Laundrette. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Stephen Frears - in this brand new filmed conversation, director Stephen Frears discusses the socio-political environment in the United Kingdom during the '60s when he began his career and his relationship with Lindsay Anderson (Stephen Frears was an assistant on If....), some of the films that had an impact on his life and career (Jack Clayton's Room at the Top), his work at the BBC during the '70s, how the world he was a part of changed after Margaret Thatcher came to power, the main themes and conflicts in My Beautiful Laundrette, etc. The conversation, which is moderated by producer Colin MacCabe, was recorded exclusively for Criterion in the spring of 2015. In English, not subtitled. (34 min, 1080p).

• Hanif Kureishi - in this brand new video interview, writer Hanif Kureishi explains what it was like growing up in south London during the '60s, and discusses the early stages of his career, some of the traditional values promoted by Margaret Thatcher, the fragmentation of British culture and how it is reflected in My Beautiful Laundrette, the way people communicate in the film, the casting of Daniel Day-Lewis and his performance, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in London in the spring of 2015. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080p).

• Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe - My Beautiful Laundrette was the first feature produced by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe, the founders of Working Title. In this video piece, the two recall how they became involved with Stephen Frears and his film, and discuss its production history and the the impact it had on their careers. The piece was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080p).

• Oliver Stapleton - in this brand new interview, cinematographer Oliver Stapleton discusses his professional relationship with director Stephen Frears and their work on My Beautiful Laundrette. In addition to My Beautiful Laundrette, the two collaborated on seven more films, including the excellent Prick Up Your Ears and The Grifters. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Devon, England, in April 2015. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring Graham Fuller's essay "Postcolonialism in the Wash". (The author has written about movies for Sight & Sound, Film Comment, Vanity Fair, and New York Times.

My Beautiful Laundrette Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stephen Frears' My Beautiful Laundrette is about a lot of different things: a young Asian man's struggle to fit in a country that does not want him, xenophobia, love, and an era that continues to divide a lot of people. I find it to be incredibly honest, to the point of actually being rude at times, and, sadly, still very much relevant today. It is based on a script by Hanif Kureishi, who has done some truly remarkable work during the years. The film has been recently restored in 2K and looks lovely in high-definition. The Blu-ray also has an excellent selection of supplemental features, including two outstanding new video interviews with Frears and Kureishi. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.