Raw Wind in Eden Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Raw Wind in Eden Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 5, 2023

Richard Wilson's "Raw Wind in Eden" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics David Del Valle and Daniel Kremer and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It is easy to critique Raw Wind in Eden because it is very easy to tell that it could have been a better film, possibly even a great one. It looks good but it does not excite because it casually goes through a series of cliched situations and then wraps up its story in the most predictable of ways. It unites a couple of very good actors but they do just enough to earn their paychecks, too. The obvious question one would ask is: Why? There are several very good reasons, but below are the ones that appear to have been the most consequential.

In the 1950s, films that looked and attempted to impress like Raw Wind in Eden were quite popular, which is why Hollywood and European producers funded plenty of them. These films were enthusiastically made by American and European directors until the late 1960s, but quite a few were made later as well. They were romantic films for adults mixing equal doses of light humor and drama that loved to visit exotic locations while producing visuals any respectable tourist agency would have proudly used in a promotional campaign. Many European islands were popular destinations for these films, but some were made in South America and even Africa.

Richard Wilson completed Raw Wind in Eden in 1958. He shot the bulk of it around Rochette, a picturesque village in Tuscany, and then did the rest on the Universal lots in Southern California. However, while frequently breathtakingly beautiful, the footage from Rochette is difficult to describe as diverse. Also, Wilson shot Raw Wind in Eden with six actors, only two of whom were legit stars -- Esther Williams and Jeff Chandler.

Dan Lundberg, a virtually unknown writer, delivered the original story that Wilson and his wife, apparently a hopeless romantic, turned into the screenplay that was used to make Raw Wind in Eden. How much of Lundberg’s original story was retained in this screenplay is unclear, but it seems fair to speculate that it was not much because nearly two-thirds of the story that is told in Raw Wind in Eden downgrades the romance and focuses on the beautiful visuals from Rochette.

The rest of this story is predictably one-dimensional. Pushy playboy Wally (Carlos Thompson) convinces frustrated model Laura (Williams) to walk away from her married boyfriend and follow him to the Balearic Islands. However, an odd malfunction forces Wally to crash his private plane on a tiny Mediterranean island near Sardinia. Even though Wally seriously injures his leg, both easily emerge from the plane and encounter Mark (Chandler), Costanza (Rossana Podesta), and her father Urbano (Eduardo De Filippo), the island’s only inhabitants. While Wally recovers, it is revealed that Mark is in a complicated romantic relationship with Costanza, who is desired by a hot-blooded local bachelor (Rik Battaglia) that routinely attempts and fails to reach the island with his boat. Under the scorching sun Laura then slowly begins to fall in love with Mark, but the clearer it becomes how she feels about him, the more she irritates Costanza. Around the same time, Wally accidentally discovers that Mark is trying to protect a past that he is not proud of.

On paper, Raw Wind in Eden must have looked like a very promising project. At the time when it was conceived, Williams and Chandler were madly in love, and the possibility of shooting in Rochette must have been incredibly exciting. Unfortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, the production has too many critical limitations that appear to have predetermined the type of film Wilson could deliver. For example, Williams and Chandler are expected to generate all of the excitement but their characters are underdeveloped, so the catalyst behind this excitement, which was supposed to be their chemistry, never materialized. Because of the repetitive nature of the beautiful visuals from Rochette, which only a modest budget would have ensured, Wilson could not have created a special atmosphere as well.

Raw Wind in Eden Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Raw Wind in Eden arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master, which is quite nice. However, to look as it should Raw Wind in Eden needs to be fully restored because there are several transitions with small registration issues that impact delineation and color stability. In other areas, there are small surface imperfections that could be addressed as well. Nevertheless, I think that the visuals have a very attractive organic appearance that makes it quite easy to enjoy the film. My main criticism pertains to the grading of the new master. The bulk of the film looks very, very good, and while saturation could be improved, I think that balance is convincing. However, there are areas that need more pronounced blues rather than the light turquoise that begins to sneak in (see screencapture #18). To be clear, there are some very light shades of blue/turquoise that need to overlap, but it is not difficult to tell that a few times the balance is shaky because blues are not handled as well as they should. A few nicks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no large cuts, warped, or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Raw Wind in Eden Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The dialog is easy to follow. However, if you turn up the volume a bit more than usual, you will notice that the upper register is not as immaculate as it could be. For example, some very light background hiss makes its presence felt, plus some unevenness can be noticed as well. So, while there are no serious issues, a proper restoration could produce meaningful improvements.

Raw Wind in Eden Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Raw Wind in Eden. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics David Del Valle and Daniel Kremer.

Raw Wind in Eden Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is a bit strange that Raw Wind in Eden turned out such an underwhelming B-film. At the time when Richard Wilson shot it, its two stars, Esther Williams and Jeff Chandler, were madly in love, so the chemistry between them should have been spectacular. But, sadly, it is not, and all Raw Wind in Eden has to offer are a few breathtaking visuals from Rochette, a picturesque village in Tuscany. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master. RECOMMENDED only to fans of the two leads.