Rating summary
| Movie |  | 4.0 |
| Video | | 4.0 |
| Audio |  | 5.0 |
| Extras |  | 2.0 |
| Overall |  | 3.5 |
Picnic Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 22, 2019
Joshua Logan's "Picnic" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and vintage interview with actress Kim Novak. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Travis Crawford. In English, with optional English SDH subtiles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
In the United States,
Picnic was first released on Blu-ray by Twilight Films in 2012, and now the release is out of print. To read an in-depth analysis of the film, please see my colleague Jeff Kauffman's review of the release
here.
Picnic Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.55:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Joshua Logan's Picnic arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The release is sourced from an older master, which I assume is the same master that Twilight Time worked with in the United States when they prepared this release of Picnic in 2012. It is a decent master, but with some noticeable inconsistencies.
Density levels for instance tend to fluctuate and during wider panoramic shots it is very easy to see that depth can be quite a bit better (see screencapture #6). Fine details and nuances also tend to struggle at times, and not only during wider panoramic shots (see screencapture 14). Color saturation and nuances can be improved, but the overall balance is convincing. The best news is that there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments, which is why the film has a slightly dated but still very attractive organic appearance. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
Picnic Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
When the master was prepared the audio must have been fully redone as well because clarity and depth are excellent. Also, the overall balance is great. As it is always the case with older films, however, the range of dynamic nuances that the original soundtrack promotes cannot compare to those of contemporary productions.
Picnic Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- Trailer - a remastered vintage trailer for Picnic. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).
- Kim Novak's Hollywood Picnic - presented here is an archival interview with Kim Novak which was conducted by journalist Stephen Rebello. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).
- Booklet - an illustrated collector's booklet featuring a new essay on the film by critic Travis Crawford.
Picnic Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
If you wanted to add Joshua Logan's Picnic but missed Twilight Time's release, you should consider this recent release from Eureka Entertainment, keeping in mind that it is Region-B "locked". It is sourced from the same older master Sony Pictures supplied for the North American release, and even has an interesting archival interview with actress Kim Novak that is not present on the OOP release. RECOMMENDED.
