Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Movie Review

The 35 year-old virgin.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 30, 2022

Paul Newman's emotionally barbed 1968 directorial debut Rachel, Rachel, starring his second wife Joanne Woodward, was inexplicably nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture, which it eventually lost to Carol Reed's musical Oliver!. Not that it's a bad movie, of course: it's a fitfully effective coming-of-age tale about a lonely woman's latent childhood trauma spilling over well into adulthood, laced with creative editing flourishes and internal monologues that really cram us into the main character's head. But it doesn't hold up to the competition during that strong decade of cinema, and one of the film's other nominations (Best Actress) may be the only one it truly deserved.

Timidly walking through a life that will surely aggravate more independent types, Rachel Cameron (Woodward) is an unmarried second-grade teacher stuck in her Connecticut hometown, still living with domineering mother May (Kate Harrington) on the second floor of her late dad's old funeral home now owned by Hector Jonas (Frank Corsaro). Rachel seems invested in her career, is patient with mom, and even has a best friend in fellow teacher Calla Mackie (Estelle Parsons)... but even these modest plusses can't soothe her general malaise, a result of Rachel's otherwise dormant social life and total inexperience with anything sexual. Summer vacation won't help either, with an empty classroom all but erasing one of her only real distractions from a decade or two's worth of stalled emotional growth.

Not surprisingly, things spiral further out of control when Rachel tries to emerge from her cocoon: her best friend's innocent invitation to a church revival meeting leads to terrifying results (as well as unwanted advances from Calla, even), her mother's regular Bridge club pokes and prods at their resident co-hostess and, perhaps most importantly, Rachel is pursued by childhood friend Nick Kazlik (James Olson), a visiting big-city teacher who's all too eager to help the innocent young "girl" achieve a long-overdue sexual awakening. It's one total or near-total disaster after another for Rachel, who remains uncomfortable in her own skin and is rightfully terrified of becoming an unwed mother in her small, deeply conservative town. (A potentially confusing moment also arrives with her mother's discovery of Rachel's crude feminine hygiene device, which Nick wrongly insisted would prevent conception after sex.)

Combined with her reaction at the later prospect of actual pregnancy, such once-shocking moments during Rachel, Rachel may not register with those not old enough to remember their parents' (or even grandparents') purchase of maxi pads, tampons, condoms, and the like in discreet brown paper bags. It's also likely part of the reason why this film was rewarded with so many award nominations upon its release; beyond the subject matter, Rachel, Rachel isn't much more than a somewhat uneven coming-of-age tale. Working in its favor are those visual flourishes and most of the internal monologues which, combined with a few flashbacks to Rachel's youth and interactions with her father Niall (Donald Moffat), paint a reasonably compelling portrait of a sympathetic character. Then there's Joanne Woodward's lead performance, which anchors most of the film's emotional weight and remains a career-defining role. Yet as a whole it relies too much on these episodic event to maintain overall interest and, even though we're eager to see how it all turns out, Rachel, Rachel's conclusion doesn't strike the full balance it so desperately wants to achieve.

Somehow feeling equal parts ahead-of-its-time and critically dated, Rachel, Rachel is nonetheless given new life on home video by the reliable team over at Warner Archive, whose new Blu-ray edition leads a somewhat thin month and meets or beats previous DVD releases in every department. Either way, Rachel, Rachel certainly has its fans and, despite my reservations, is still well worth experiencing for its characters and lead performance alone.

Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Not surprisingly, Warner Archive delivers the goods with another one of their trademark purist-friendly, no-nonsense 1080p transfers that make me wish they handled every catalog title. Although not specified in their recent press release or promotional materials, all signs point towards either a 2K or 4K scan of the original camera negative (or perhaps an interpositive), which once again has been carefully cleaned up to remove all traces of dirt, debris, and other age-related wear and tear while retaining an appropriate amount of natural film grain. I've had the pleasure of reviewing dozens of WAC Blu-rays of Technicolor films from this era and Rachel, Rachel competes with the best of them, sporting plenty of fine detail along with excellent color saturation and density, strong black levels, and no real signs of manipulation such as excessive noise reduction or edge enhancement. Aside from trace amounts of posterization, there are no real trouble signs to be found and make this yet another praise-worthy effort from the reliably great boutique label.

Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rachel, Rachel's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix obviously doesn't carry much flash or heft, although some of the film's stylistic flourishes do sometimes alter its overall sonic presence, such as sounding intentionally hollow or "ghostly" for dramatic effect during portions of flashbacks or the sporadic voice-over monologues by Rachel herself. But for the most part this is a straightforward, by-the-numbers presentation that balances crisp dialogue, background effects, and the original score by Jerome Moross, a prolific composer and orchestrator perhaps better known for his work in theater and television, especially Wagon Train. The usual suspects are here for a decently restored vintage mono mix: a respectable dynamic range overall, some tightness in the high end, and almost nothing down below. But within those boundaries this mix fits the bill perfectly, getting the job done with no real distractions or damage getting in the way.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only.

Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. Its minimal bonus features have been ported over from earlier DVD editions, including Warner Archive's own 2017 disc.

• A Jest of God (1:39) - This silent exhibitor's featurette presents a few clips from the film in rough format, back when it was still under its working title to match the source novel by Canadian author Margaret Laurence.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:52) - A very unusual promotional piece that can also be seen here.

Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Joanne Woodward's lead performance is the best thing about Paul Newman's directorial debut Rachel, Rachel, with its supporting characters and once-shocking subject matter running a somewhat distant second. Yet can be very effective from an emotional standpoint... and if you or someone you know was once the victim of a similarly stunted young life, it'll prove to be a tough but potentially cathartic experience. While both judgments might normally point towards a "try before you buy" recommendation, I'll go out on a limb and say that any new viewers interested in this one will likely enjoy it more than expected. Warner Archive's Blu-ray edition helps, of course: even with an almost painful lack of real extras, their typically exceptional A/V presentation makes for another definitive home video presentation.