7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Konrad, a handsome country boy in post-war Austria, charms his way into a butler position at the castle of a widowed countess who lost her fortune. Before long the opportunistic boy is running the entire household. As he starts affairs with both the countess's son and the daughter of a wealthy businessman, the idea grows to get his two lovers to marry each other and make the house rich again.
Starring: Angela Lansbury, Michael York, Anthony Higgins, Heidelinde Weis, Jane Carr (II)Drama | 100% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Famed screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) dissected what was in essence the annus horribilis of 1967-68 on Broadway in The Season, a book which is generally acknowledged to be one of the most incisive critiques ever written about how things work on The Great White Way. One of the more interesting chapters in Goldman’s book has to do with a musical which really should have been a gigantic hit, Mata Hari, a big budget extravaganza that had the imprimatur of one of Broadway’s most iconic producers, David Merrick, as well as the directorial acumen of one of the most legendary creators of film musicals, Vincente Minnelli. However, Goldman makes the case that one of the biggest problems facing Mata Hari was in fact Minnelli, a man without a ton of Broadway directing experience who wasn’t able to transfer his cinematic skills to the arena of the stage. Mata Hari was such a disaster, in fact, that it never opened in its planned Broadway version. If Minnelli wasn’t able to matriculate into Broadway after a long stretch in films, some might argue the exact reverse is true of Harold Prince, one of the most beloved producers and directors in Broadway history whose film output in nonetheless not all that impressive. If Minnelli had had at least some experience in theater back in his relative youth, Prince came to 1970’s Something for Everyone as a neophyte in the film world, and some curmudgeons may say it shows, though perhaps ironically not as much as it does in the only other film Prince directed, the kind of haphapzard cinematic adaptation of his huge Broadway hit A Little Night Music, which appeared several years after this particular film.
Something for Everyone is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a fairly variable looking presentation, one which looks really good at times, but which then tends to degrade for no apparent reason into something that's softer, grainier and with an at least slightly less pleasing palette. Some of these softer and grainier sections offer occasional compression issues (see screenshot 11). When the film looks good, though, it offers wonderfully vivid hues that bring to life the candy colored village and the surrounding countryside, even if sharpness and clarity are never outstanding. Even in the best looking moments, there are still regular occurrences of fairly minor age related wear and tear in the form of speckling and dirt. The variability of this presentation means this has an inherently heterogeneous look, but for those willing to get through the lackluster moments, the better looking sequences (which account for the bulk of the running time) are nicely organic looking with a well saturated palette.
Something for Everyone features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix which manages to deliver dialogue and music decently, but only with nearly constant crackling, hiss and what I would term as slight rolling rustling sounds. Once you become accustomed to the sound of the background damage, the actual soundtrack elements come through reasonably clearly, but this is a track that could use some significant cleanup.
The only "bonuses" on this disc are trailers for other Kino Lorber releases, which I don't consider scorable.
Something for Everyone may in fact only appeal to a certain niche demographic, but for those folks, especially the theatrically inclined who are eager to see what an iconic stage director and producer like Prince did once he got behind the camera, the film has some unique pleasures to offer. Technical merits aren't perfect by any stretch, but the fact that this cult item is even getting a high definition release is pretty remarkable. With caveats noted, Something for Everyone comes Recommended.
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Limited Edition to 3000
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Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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