7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In 1930's Southern US, a widow and her family try to run their cotton farm with the help of a disparate group of friends.
Starring: Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, John MalkovichDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Though it has (incorrectly) entered the lexicon of famous acceptance speeches, Sally Field did not gush “You like me, you really like me” when she picked up her second Academy Award for Places in the Heart in 1985. The actress, who was perhaps understandably moved to be taking home a “follow up” statuette (after her previous win for Norma Rae), did seem to be somewhat amazed that the high-falutin’ film industry should be granting her such acclaim after a career that included lovable if hardly award bait material like television’s Gidget and The Flying Nun, not to mention a string of lightweight fare made with her erstwhile boyfriend Burt Reynolds. And while some curmudgeons may have felt (and perhaps continue to feel) that Field was simply doing “Norma Rae on a farm in the 1930s” in Places in the Heart, Robert Benton’s elegiac film nonetheless works up a considerable amount of emotion in its depiction of a hardscrabble life in rural Texas at the height not just of the Great Depression but the infamous Dust Bowl as well.
Places in the Heart is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Reportedly culled from a new 4K scan supervised by the typically unassailable team at Sony-Columbia headed by Grover Crisp, Places in the Heart may not "pop" in the traditional sense, due to Néstor Almendros' sienna tinged cinematography, but as an organic, accurate looking recreation of the original film, this transfer is top notch. While browns and other dusky tones tend to predominate, the film still offers brief splashes of brighter primaries and even occasional subtler pastel hues, but there's a certain drabness and even dowdiness to the palette here that is perfectly in character with the time and socioeconomics being portrayed. Detail is excellent throughout the presentation, and fine detail in close-ups is also abundant. There are no issues with resolving fine patterns as varied as checkered suits to swirling dust particles. Grain is completely natural looking and always resolves beautifully. Some curmudgeons may have momentary issues with what can verge perilously close to crush or at least a lack of shadow detail— keep an eye, for example, on the early wake scene, where some guys in black jackets walk through the night outside and their clothing does tend to merge in with the background.
Places in the Heart features a workmanlike DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which offers surprisingly robust support for effects like the big storm scene late in the film, as well as "calmer" elements like the ambient environmental sounds around the farm and dialogue. John Kander's roots inflected score is also reproduced with clarity and precision.
A widow who overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles through sheer grit and determination may seem like a veritable oft told tale, but in Benton's hands the story is a beautifully wrought character study, including the "character" of time and place. Benton obviously absorbed the "vibe" of Waxahachie whole cloth (to mix metaphors), and Places in the Heart is one of the most evocative recreations of a specific time and place ever committed to celluloid. The performances are astonishing in their breadth and nuance (Field's Oscar win is of course well remembered to this day—if not always accurately, but Malkovich and Crouse also were Academy Award nominated for their work.) With gorgeously understated cinematography by the legendary Néstor Almendros (who rather amazingly was not Oscar nominated) and a firm hand on both the writing and directing duties by Robert Benton, Places in the Heart is quite simply a lovely and incredibly touching viewing experience. This new transfer features superb video and excellent audio and comes Highly recommended.
1958
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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Limited Edition
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Warner Archive Collection
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Warner Archive Collection
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Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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Limited Edition
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Warner Archive Collection
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