Since You Went Away Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Since You Went Away Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 3, 2017

While it’s fascinating to watch World War II movies produced after the global event, the ones made during the conflict carry a special atmosphere, with productions trying to manage the jingoistic needs of the war effort with the more sobering reality of military duty. 1944’s “Since You Went Away” is not a gritty offering of wartime observation, but the David O. Selznick-produced picture has its moments of honesty and concern, blending bits of reality in the overall melodrama, which gives itself a whopping three hours of screen time to take shape.

Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, and Shirley Temple lead an impressive cast in “Since You Went Away,” playing a family trying to keep up appearances and remain useful when the father/husband is sent away to war. The production prizes emotional outbursts most highly, and watching the lengthy feature feels like a binge dive into a television show, covering most angles of the War at Home subgenre, including lost loves, changed lives, and the constant awareness that everything could change with the arrival of a dreaded telegram.

Since You Went Away Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation handles original cinematography needs satisfactorily, delivering a filmic viewing experience that does just fine with screen detail. Softness remains with age and glamour lighting (Jennifer Jones being a primary recipient of careful photography), but textures emerge with some facial particulars and set decoration, and costuming enjoys some fibrous qualities. Delineation isn't problematic. Source has some wear and tear, but no major elements of damage are detected.

Since You Went Away Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides a basic listening event for "Since You Went Away," leading with dialogue exchanges that require a slight boost in volume to enjoy, but performance speeds and dramatic surges are easily understood. Scoring efforts deliver adequate instrumentation, supporting scenes as intended, while stronger orchestral swells never steamroll over the action. Crowd scenes retain bustle. Slight hiss and a few mild stretches of pops are heard.

Since You Went Away Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (1:39, HD) is included.

Since You Went Away Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Director John Cromwell (one of apparently multiple men who helped to steer the creative direction of the picture) pieces together a novelistic approach, which works in the film's favor, generating a grand sweep of challenges and life changes for the characters. However, the run time is excessive, with Selznick trying to taffy-pull the material into an epic, and it doesn't take. "Since You Went Away" is more about small charms (Joseph Cotten is tremendous fun in a brief supporting part) and in-the-moment war reminders than a grand design of suffering, but performances are appealing enough to get the effort through dead spots, and fatigue is generally mitigated by the material's need to please, going sudsy as much as possible.