Next Time We Love Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Next Time We Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 21, 2024

Edward H. Griffith's "Next Time We Love" (1936) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only supplemental feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by author and critic Lee Gambin and costume historian Elissa Rose. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

What happens if you miss your train and stay with me?

What is more important in life? Staying on the right path and pursuing a dream career, or following your heart and creating a family with your dream partner? It appears that answering this question in the early 1930s was just as tricky as it is today, so Edward H. Griffith directed Next Time We Love to explore a few interesting and realistic possibilities.

In the opening ten to fifteen minutes, Griffith provides ample evidence to the audience that Cicely (Margaret Sullavan) and Chris (Jimmy Stewart) genuinely care about each other and intend to spend the rest of their lives together. At Grand Central in New York, they reaffirm their commitment to each other, and a few later, with good friend Tommy (Ray Milland) acting as a witness, the two officially become a couple. Soon after, Lady Luck presents the newlyweds with an unexpected gift. At the newspaper where Chris is employed, the senior editor informs him that he has chosen him to be his foreign correspondent and is sending him to Rome for several months. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so Chris enthusiastically accepts the offer and shares it with Cicely. However, instead of following her husband to Rome, Cicely, who is trying her luck as an actress and has just started making progress, chooses to stay in New York. Knowing how important the assignment in Rome is for his career, Cicely also hides from him that she is expecting their first child.

This is where Griffith begins suggesting different but legitimate answers to the question asked at the top of this article. Chris is right to stay on the right path that will eventually take him where he wants to be in his career, so the sacrifice he makes by leaving Cicely behind is entirely justified. But it is also true that he is participating in a trade-off that is diminishing his chances of building a strong family, which is what he and Cicely want. Cicely is right to pursue her acting career, but she is participating in the same trade-off. By choosing not to reveal to Chris that they are soon going to be parents, she is also preventing him from making a different decision, which could be the best one for them.

When Cicely gives birth to a beautiful baby boy, the news immediately reaches Rome and Chris goes out celebrating, but at the same time he fails to report on a crucial development and his editor fires him. Several weeks later, Chris returns to New York, unsure what the future holds for him and Cicely. While struggling to make ends meet, Chris and Cicely are approached by their good friend Tommy with an offer to help, and after Cicely resumes her acting career, Chris is given a second chance to prove that he can be a foreign correspondent -- only this time on the other side of the world, in frozen Moscow, Russia. Once again placed on the right path to success, only this time as parents, Chris and Cicely slowly drift away from each other and grow older with memories of what their relationship could have been but never was.

Griffith directs Next Time We Love as a thought-provoking romantic drama for adults, not a soapy melodrama, which probably should not be surprising because the Pre-Code era had ended just a few years earlier. Indeed, the clarity with which Chris and Cicely describe their dilemmas and the rationale behind their choices are very similar to those observed in many excellent Pre-Code films. They show plenty of emotions too, but both remain authentic adult characters with many human vulnerabilities. (By the late 1940s, such characters will become extremely rare in similarly themed Hollywood films).

While the opening credits mention only Melville Baker, the screenplay was reportedly finalized with contributions from several writers, one of whom was Preston Sturges. However, the great wit and steady rhythm of Sturges’ classic work are impossible to detect in it.

*Kino Lorber’s release of Next Time We Love is sourced from a wonderful, recent 2K master.

Next Time We Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Next Time We Love arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K master that I like a lot. Excluding a few blemishes during the opening credits, the rest of the film looks either very good or excellent. Delineation, clarity, and depth, for instance, are always very pleasing. In fact, I was quite surprised by this consistency because I expected some areas of the film to reveal at least some signs of aging. But there are none. Also, the grayscale is wonderful. Blacks look rich and very healthy, without even a whiff of crush, while the grays and whites are equally healthy and nicely balanced. Density levels are very good, so on a large screen the entire film looks terrific. I noticed a few small frame jumps, but I would still describe image stability as very good. All in all, I do not think it is unrealistic to declare that this Blu-ray release will most likely remain the final home video release of Next Time We Love. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).

Next Time We Love 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 subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All exchanges throughout the film are clear, sharp, and stable. The only meaningful dynamic contrasts are created by Franz Waxman's score, but the limitations of the production are, as expected, quite obvious. The high register is healthy. It does not create the impression that it is brittle. Also, I did not notice any hiss or crackle.

Next Time We Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by author and critic Lee Gambin and costume historian Elissa Rose.

Next Time We Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It was the same trade-off in the 1930s, too. You can pursue your dream career, but you are risking your opportunity to create a great family with your dream partner. In fact, if you stay focused on your career, you are probably going to lose your dream partner, too. Can't you have both? You probably can, but you need to think long and hard about what your dream career should look like. Great success comes at a great personal price. It always has. A lot of very successful men and women who have claimed otherwise have been incredibly dishonest, and this is also true for those around them who have supported them. Next Time We Love tells a simple story about two young people madly in love with each other who are presented with choices that can irreversibly redirect their lives. The choices and their decisions have not aged one bit. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release is sourced from a wonderful recent 2K master. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.