On Golden Pond Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

On Golden Pond Blu-ray Movie Review

Norman Thayer's not getting older, he's getting bitter.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 30, 2014

They say that old age isn’t for sissies, and those of us who have (probably) passed the midway point in our lives, or who perhaps are dealing with aged parents well past their primes, can concur that sudden onslaughts of physical infirmities and mental fuzziness seem to augur a rather uncertain future. But how to react to these ineluctable forces of time is the question On Golden Pond seems to be asking. Should one “not go gentle into that good night,” kicking and screaming instead (or, to further paraphrase Dylan Thomas, “rage, rage, against the dying of the light”)? Or should one simply resign oneself to the fact that being mortal necessarily means coming to grips with one’s mortality—and that therefore it’s probably best to simply make the best of a situation that offers at most a bittersweet denouement? Both of those responses are on display in this touching if deliberately calculated film, one which famously finally brought Henry Fonda a Best Actor Academy Award in what turned out to be his final film performance. Co-star Katharine Hepburn also triumphed in the Best Actress race that year, but of course she already had a shelf full of trophies to ogle in her spare time. Ernest Thompson, who adapted his own play, also took home an Oscar, though it should be noted that the source material was really not an outright smash on the boards, ultimately doing better in a kind of boutique engagement offering after its initial Broadway run closed after a little more than 100 performances. New York audiences may have been too inherently cynical to cotton to Thompson’s somewhat homespun (if occasionally foul mouthed) approach toward the trials of the Thayers, Norman (Henry Fonda) and Ethel (Katharine Hepburn), as they prepare in their own ways to shuffle off this mortal coil and make peace with each other as well as their contentious daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda).

There’s an unabashedly sentimental, elegiac quality to On Golden Pond which may dissuade overly cynical types from giving in to the film’s perhaps overly calculated attempts to tug at the viewer’s heart strings. Norman is the very definition of a curmudgeon, an often surly, unrepentant sort who is nonetheless using his very brusqueness to divert attention from his growing dementia. Ethel on the other hand is all sweetness and light, a calm, nurturing presence, albeit with a spine of steel. The two elders have been journeying to a summer cabin on Golden Pond for years, and they’re both well aware that their time in their idyll may be drawing to a close.

Things become relatively more combative when the Thayers’ estranged daughter Chelsea shows up at the cabin, with her new boyfriend Bill (a surprisingly restrained Dabney Coleman) and Bill’s young son Billy (Doug McKeon) in tow. There’s obviously a lot of history between Chelsea and Norman especially, which is doled out in a number of discursive but still revelatory vignettes. Chelsea is still nursing years of resentment of having grown up under what she sees as Norman’s martinet tendencies, and she’s still struggling to find a way to break free. Ethel is, as always, calm and reassuring. Ultimately Chelsea and Bill depart for a private vacation, leaving little Billy to fend for himself with two “geezers” whom he doesn’t know and doesn’t especially like.

Not all that surprisingly, a bond slowly begins to form between the cantankerous Norman and young Billy, forged in the time honored male tradition of fishing. There’s nothing especially innovative in Ernest Thompson’s unspooling of these characters, but there is an undeniably heartfelt and ultimately quite affecting ambience to the film, brought to life with precision and even grace by the stellar duo of Fonda and Hepburn (who rather incredibly had evidently never met before the shoot took place).

On Golden Pond is a film that frankly wallows in a certain saccharine sensibility (despite its somewhat acerbic language), but surprisingly it doesn’t ever drown in bathos. Despite taking place in summer, there’s an inescapable autumnal air to the proceedings, with hints of reconciliation and forgiveness suffusing the final act, in another predictable but no less emotionally uplifting development. The film is absolutely gorgeous to watch courtesy of the dappled light that cinematographer Billy Williams captures at every possible opportunity. Also adding to the melancholy sweetness of the film is the richly melodic score by Dave Grusin, offering up one of his most popular and enduring film achievements. Having grown up somewhat obsessed with Brasil ‘66, I had long lionized Grusin as one of the outstanding orchestrators of pop-jazz music (he orchestrated several of the most popular Sergio Mendes albums), but here he stretches out into a more lyrical string and piano sound (somewhat reminiscent of his equally evocative score for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter) that is perfectly in tune with the emotional underpinnings of the story.

On Golden Pond Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

On Golden Pond is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1, one of Shout!'s recent slew of acquisitions from the Sir Lew Grade catalog. This is a solid upgrade for the most part, though at times it's somewhat modest, with some minor crush noticeable in some dark scenes and also some relatively unhealthy, yellow-tinged grain clumps apparent at other times. The grain field is actually fairly substantial throughout this presentation, something that should come as a relief to those looking at the film's Universal logo and fearing the worst. When the film ventures out of doors (which is quite often), things take a notable uptick in clarity and tonal range, with some nicely vivid hues (within the somewhat intentionally subdued palette), and in fact the brightly lit sequences pop with excellent detail. Cinematographer Billy Williams uses filters for some shots, obviously lending a gauzy appearance at times (notable in some of the Hepburn close-ups). There's good depth of field in the scenes shot on Golden Pond, and the play of light and shadow which Williams captures so magically translates very well to high definition. Elements are in generally very good condition, though there's noticeable telecine wobble and minus density throughout the opening credits sequence. However, there are no signs of aggressive sharpening or denoising (it should be noted that Williams tends to back light several scenes, leading to effulgent "halos" around objects which should not be mistaken for the more pejorative use of that term).

On Golden Pond Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

On Golden Pond features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that ably supports the film's (fairly nonstop) dialogue, as well as the many ambient environmental effects in and around the lake, not to mention Dave Grusin's celebrated score. There's good reproduction across all frequencies, with a nicely full sounding midrange. No damage is evident in this problem free track which also sports excellent fidelity.

On Golden Pond Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Featurette - Reflections On Golden Pond (480i; 30:03) is a good vintage piece that includes a lot of interviews interspersed with scenes from the film.


• Featurette - A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (480i; 15:53) is perhaps a bit disappointing, given the iconic nature of its subject, but it does include some interesting comments from some of Kate's collaborators.


• Theatrical Trailer (480i; 2:53)


• Audio Commentary with Director Mark Rydell. Rydell is not exactly the most dynamic speaker in the world, but he provides a good low key account of what it was like to work with the acting legends in the film.

Note: This is the latest in a string of Shout! releases that is either authored weirdly or has some kind of compatibility issue with PowerDVD (I check the resolution of supplementary material on my PC drive). When playing supplements on my PC drive, the disc would return to the Main Menu, but without those options apparently being selectable. Pressing the down arrow finally revealed the cursor, though it should be stated that no content was selected (i.e., when any given supplement ended, the bonus submenu wasn't still on screen), making the down arrow a nonintuitive choice to get back to square one.

On Golden Pond Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those with the same curmudgeonly tendencies as one Norman Thayer may be prone to decrying On Golden Pond as a lachrymose, hackneyed and overly sentimental paean to both the strictures and graces of aging, as well as the vagaries of longstanding family dysfunction finally giving way to reconciliation. But the film has an ineluctable emotional resonance that's hard to ignore, partly due to the real life subtext between father and daughter Fondas, but also due to Ernest Thompson's adroit writing and the expert performances of the stars. Mark Rydell directs unobtrusively and wisely utilizes the talents of cinematographer Billy Williams and composer Dave Grusin. Technical merits here are generally strong, the supplemental package is decent, and On Golden Pond comes Recommended.