Negatives Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Negatives Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 20, 2026

Peter Medak's "Negatives" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the release include recent audio interview with Peter Medak; audio commentary by novelist and critic Tim Lucas; recent program with actor Peter McEnery; video essay by critic Lee Gambin; archival materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The German visitor

In a crucial segment of Barbet Schroeder’s film Maitresse, Gerard Depardieu breaks into a posh apartment and discovers that part of it is a massive S&M chamber. Soon after, the apartment’s owner, Bulle Ogier, an experienced dominatrix, appears, and instead of calling the police, she invites Depardieu to participate in her next session. Depardieu’s utterly perplexed partner is cuffed, and Ogier begins abusing a man wearing a leather mask. This crucial segment reveals that Ogier is a genuine chameleon, fully in control of her transformations, not an actor in the S&M business, and the rest of Maitresse reveals that outsiders like Depardieu have no clue why her kind exists in the shadows.

It is because there are plenty of men who would pay to be treated like the masked man. For someone like Depardieu, this is the inevitable, obvious explanation. It is also the wrong explanation.

Helene Fillieres’ film Tied and Stephen Lance’s film My Mistress provide the correct explanation. The women who do what Ogier does in the S&M chamber are receivers as much as they are givers. Just as importantly, there is a natural emotional element in their work, which turns on and turns off their transformation, as well as the transformation of their clients.

Peter Medak’s film Negatives introduces a new scenario and provides additional food for thought. In Negatives, Peter McEnery and Glenda Jackson are a bored couple operating a lousy antiques shop who frequently engage in improvised adult plays. They dress up, borrow different personalities, and create various situations, hoping that each would produce memorable sexual fireworks. However, virtually all disintegrate into awful shouting matches.

The frustrating ratio changes when Diane Cilento enters the antiques shop. Playing a sultry freelancing German photographer, Cilento engages McEnery and, after a few short dates, begins participating in the adult plays. However, it is not long before Cilento carefully expands the playing field and permanently resets McEnery’s mind and identity.

The new chameleon that emerges in Negatives is undoubtedly a very dangerous one because its activities are focused on permanent change. It is not engaged in a carefully rehearsed, restricted act, like the secretive S&M acts, where the other chameleons terminate their performances at a particular time. It is engaged in a self-serving transformational act, one that also happens to be entirely improvised. On top of this, the new chameleon is virtually undetectable.

At the end of Negatives, the question that remains unanswered is the same one Depardieu ponders in Maitresse. It is what makes Negatives one seriously intriguing film. Are women like Cilento’s chameleon extremely rare social phenomena? Or are they the ultimate, and therefore perpetually elusive and underexamined, common type of chameleon?

Medak used the services of cinematographer Ken Hodges, who lensed several of his films, including the recently reconstructed and restored black comedy The Odd Job.

Negatives Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Negatives arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of the film, recently completed on behalf of Severin Films. The entire 4K restoration is very well done and produces fantastic organic visuals with a terrific period appearance. During the opening credits, I noticed some light wear and a few blemishes, but the rest is truly great. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to outstanding, and even in areas with inherited density fluctuations, the overall quality of the visuals remains very pleasing. Color reproduction and balance are very convincing. All primaries and supporting nuances are properly set. Saturation levels are set exactly where they need to be as well. I did not notice any traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Also included on this release is a recent 4K restoration of Sparrows Can't Sing, completed on behalf of StudioCanal. This 4K restoration is also very good. However, a few visuals retain small nicks and blemishes. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections on it. All visuals have a very attractive, stable organic appearance. Also, the grayscale is managed very well. The density levels of the visuals are great. Sparrows Can't Sing is placed on a second, dual-layer, Blu-ray disc, which is Region-A "locked". My score is 4.25/5.00.

Negatives Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Negatives is presented with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

When Negatives was restored in 4K, the audio track was remastered as well. All exchanges are very clear, sharp, and stable. I did not notice any unevenness or basic balance issues. Given the subject, dynamic intensity is surprisingly good, though the air battles are not shot/managed to impress. The upper register is very healthy. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Negatives Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE - NEGATIVES

• Audio Interview -presented here is a recent audio interview recorded by Peter Medak and critic Lee Gambin. Medak describes Peter Everett's novel that inspired Negatives as "a very odd piece of material" and explains precisely how his directorial debut came to exist. Medak also comments on his interactions with Peter McEnery, Diane Cilento, and Glenda Jackson, as well as some interesting choices he and cinematographer Ken Hodges made during the production process. Medak then declares that he is proud to have made Negatives.

• Commentary - this recent audio commentary was recorded by novelist and critic Tim Lucas.

• Role Playing - in this recent program, Peter McEnery discusses the character he plays in Negatives and his work with Peter Medak during the shooting process in London. McEnery also comments on his interactions with Diane Cilento and Glenda Jackson, as well as the film's reception. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Glenda Jackson: Working Class Wonderland - this exclusive video essay was created by critic Lee Gambin. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Positives From Negativeland - in this program, Peter Medak presets his production albums from Negatives through A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• The Doctor Will See You Now - presented here is a program with Dr. Clare Smith, historic collection curator at the Metropolitan Police Museum. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO - SPARROWS CAN'T SING

• Sparrows Can't Sing (1963) - presented here is a recent 4K restoration of Joan Littlewood's comedy about a sailor (James Booth) who returns home after a couple of years at sea. The sailor discovers that his favorite part of town is changing dramatically, and his girl (Barbara Windsor) has found another man to love and pay her bills. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. 1080p. (93 min).

• Commentary - in this recent audio commentary, critic Daniel Kremer discusses Sparrows Can't Sing with Peter Medak, who was an assistant director on it.

• East End Manifesto - in this recent program, Peter Ranking, friend and author of Joan Littlewood: Dreams and Realities discusses the career of the director of Sparrows Can't Sing. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• BFI Q&A with Barbara Windsor and Murray Melvin - in this filmed Q&A session, Murray Melvin and Barbara Windsor discuss their involvement with Sparrows Can't Sing. In English, not subtitled. (39 min).

• Murray Melvin - in this recent program, Murray Melvin discusses the character he plays in Sparrows Can't Sing. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Locations - in this recent program, critic Richard Dacre visits some of the locations seen in Sparrows Can't Sing. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a fully restored vintage trailer for Sparrows Can't Sing. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Negatives Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A sultry German photographer permanently resets the mind and identity of a bored Englishman operating an antiques store with his girlfriend in Peter Medak's unusually transgressive and thought-provoking directorial debut, Negatives. For me, the emergence of the deadly chameleon in Romeo Is Bleeding, which is neo-noir's greatest femme fatale, now makes perfect sense because Medak's understanding of the female psyche was, obviously, always impeccable. Severin's release presents a wonderful recent 4K restoration of Negatives, completed on behalf of Severin Films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.