Pointed Heels Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Pointed Heels Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 2, 2026

A. Edward Sutherland's "Pointed Heels" (1929) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Reel Vault Inc. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by author and critic Richard Barrios, and a collection of Betty Boop shorts. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Don and Lora

Virtually all contemporary viewers will misjudge A. Edward Sutherland’s Pointed Heels for an obvious reason, which many of them would have also acknowledged. The obvious reason is this: Pointed Heels is an experimental film first, and then everything else. This is a crucial clarification because nine out of ten times, contemporary viewers identify it as a musical or romantic comedy. But how could they not? Pointed Heels was not conceived to impress as an experimental film.

Released only two years after The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length sound film, Pointed Heels is approximately an hour-long collage of uneven sequences, the majority of which do not contain any conventional musical acts. In fact, while several sequences contain some singing and dancing, the sum of it is not even remotely comparable to the type of work Busby Berkeley would become famous for just a few years later. There is quite a bit of improvisational work there, and none of it is particularly great.

While it is difficult to know the exact intentions of its creators, Pointed Heels does two things that are impossible to misjudge.

First, it intentionally enters the 1920s musical industry through the back door and, in the process, presents several slices of reality that any films from the same era displaying Berkeley’s name would not have tolerated. However, this material is effectively countered by comedic and melodramatic material, so Pointed Heels is not going to impress contemporary viewers as an illuminating time capsule.

Second, it consistently attempts to present sound as an authentic addition to its visuals. The intent is very obvious. However, this development visibly affects the quality of the comedic and melodramatic material. It is why the experimental work is rather intriguing, but the rest looks and feels underdeveloped.

The catalyst for everything that Sutherland’s camera captures is the fast-evolving relationship between Lora (Faye Wray), a beautiful, talented, and ambitious stage performer, and Donald (Philip Holmes), an overconfident, also talented, and ambitious composer. Shortly after they marry, the latter’s allowance is terminated, and the former becomes the provider. While they struggle to make ends meet and continue pursuing their goals, the wealthy producer Robert Courtland (William Powell) then sees an opportunity to convince Lora that he is the right man for her.

While on paper the cast is impressive, the quality of the performances is difficult to praise, though it is not because any of the leads are mishandling their characters. In Pointed Heels, the main attraction is the intent to legitimize the use of early sound in the most effective ways possible.

Pointed Heels Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Pointed Heels arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Reel Vault Inc.

The overall quality of the visuals ranges from mostly decent to relatively good. However, all visuals have an unmistakable dated appearance, and some also convey minor surface imperfections, such as blemishes and tiny marks. This is hardly surprising considering that Pointed Heels was completed nearly one hundred years ago. The most notable inconsistencies are present in wider shots, which can be quite soft, but even some close-ups reveal fluctuations. The grayscale is fine, though ideally, some gray and black nuances should be expanded and made more attractive. I did not see any traces of problematic digital corrections. However, grain exposure is not optimal and varies quite a bit. I would describe image stability as good, but some transitions are uneven, and in a few places, there are quick bumps. The release uses a BD-R 50. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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).

Pointed Heels Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All exchanges are easy to follow. However, the audio is very thin and has plenty of light hiss. I believe that some work could have been done to clean up the hiss and optimize it. At the same time, these are inherited limitations of a rather primitive, or at least by contemporary standards, very early, experimental soundtrack.

Pointed Heels Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by author and critic Richard Barrios.

• Betty Boop Colorize Cartoons -
  
  1. Baby Be Good (1935)
  2. Stop That Noise (1935)
  3. The Hot Air Salesman (1937)
  4. Whoops! I'm a Cowboy (1937)

• Betty Boop B&W Cartoons - see complete listing here.

Pointed Heels Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The earliest feature-length sound films were all experimental films. If you keep this important detail in mind, it becomes a lot easier to understand why the quality of the material they featured varied so dramatically. However, it is also worth noting that in just a few years, this important detail became irrelevant because the people who made these early films figured out how to use the then-current sound technology as well as possible. If you view Pointed Heels and immediately after it Gold Diggers of 1933, you will be astonished by the progress that was made. This release of Pointed Heels is good to have, but it should have used a properly pressed Blu-ray disc.