Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Age of Innocence 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 14, 2024

Daniel Day Lewis, Michelle Pfieffer and Winona Ryder star in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993), which makes its domestic 4K debut courtesy of the Volume 5 box set of the Columbia Classics Collection, a terrific release that also features 4K versions of Robert Rossen's All the King's Men (1949), an unforgettable Marlon Brando's On the Waterfront (1954), Best Picture biopic A Man for All Seasons (1966), the still-hilarious Tootsie (1982) and Greta Gerwig's masterful adaptation of Little Women (2019). Each volume in Sony's ongoing collection not only highlights a spread of the best of the best of the decades, it gives each film a high quality video presentation, (when necessary) a striking remaster or restoration, cutting edge audio (typically an Atmos upgrade), and often new extras.

Olenska (Pfiffer) and Archer (Day-Lewis) meet in nineteenth-century New York, a booming city with big ambitions that has enthusiastically embraced old and new money and quickly produced its own elite class of aristocrats, just like the one that many of its new European residents have fled. Olenska is one of the many newcomers, but her story is different. She was born into wealth in America and after years of being married to a Polish Count and living in his home country she has left him and returned to New York to begin a new life. But it has not been easy. Her husband has stolen her wealth and is now refusing to finalize the divorce papers that would transfer some of it back to her. After initially standing by her, Olenska's relatives have also casually began expressing concerns over her decision to legally end her marriage to the Count as they have realized that it will eventually have an impact on their reputations. Archer crosses paths with Olenska on the day he announces his engagement to her cousin, May Welland (Ryder), a young and very beautiful but also somewhat shallow girl. Having heard plenty of demeaning rumors about Olenska's legal troubles and personality, Archer is quite surprised and overwhelmed by her elegance and striking personality, and after a few more casual encounters falls madly in love with her. Soon after, it becomes obvious that there is a mutual attraction, but with their lives heading in completely different directions the two are left to struggle with their feeling and emotions.

Click here to read the rest of Dr. Svet Atanasov's review of the film, which he calls "a very faithful and convincing take on Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel." Adding that it also "still has its own distinct cinematic personality."

The Age of Innocence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 4K edition of The Age of Innocence appears to be minted from the same remaster as the one featured on Criterion's 2018 2K release of the film, which was created on a wet-gate scanner using the original 35mm camera negative at Cineric in New York City. Fresh color grading was also approved by Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker at Sony Colorworks in Culver City, and it shows; skintones are lifelike and beautifully saturated, the primary punch of flowers, costumes and room dressing makes a lasting impression, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus's decadent palette and bold primary hues are gorgeous (even more so with Dolby Vision, especially when compared with Criterion's standard presentation), and black levels are bottomless. (Though crush is an occasional issue as a result.) Detail is even more extraordinary. Grain is refined and unobtrusive. Edges are clean and well-defined. And fine textures are revelatory, not only highlighting every stitch, fabric and luxury of the production design and costuming, but also revealing every freckle, errant hair and bit of stubble the image has to offer. There are a handful of shots that look jarringly out of place -- brief shots that struggle with clarity and appear worse for the wear -- but each one is obviously a product of the original photography and in no way a reflection of the remastering efforts or Sony's 4K encode. Speaking of, the encode is as proficient as they come, with nary an instance of blocking, banding or digital noise. I can't imagine The Age of Innocence faring much better than it does here.

The Age of Innocence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Never one to forget the living, breathing city of a picture, Scorsese infuses The Age of Innocence with an astute but never stately sense of place and time, made all the more breathtaking and believable with Sony's new Dolby Atmos audio track. Directionality is nuanced but invigorating, lending every interior, room or hall, acoustic realism and a convincing soundscape all its own. Pans are invisible, with speakers creating a transparent soundfield that allows the social gatherings, private rendezvous, and busy city streets to impress, be it by assertiveness or subtlety. Dialogue and voices blend seamlessly into the mix, never overwhelmed by the clamor of any given soiree or street walk, nor underprioritized in the swirl of activity that sometimes comes to bear on the lovers. Low-end output is equally grand and gracious, lending power and presence to numerous elements and sequences. Dynamics are positively excellent, without a single issue arising at any point in the film. (Unless you count the occasional use of ADR and the telltale thinness of its oh-so-90s tone and tenor, hardly the fault of the Atmos experience.) The Age of Innocence may be an oft-forgotten entry in Scorsese's filmography, but Sony has given it A-level treatment at every turn.

The Age of Innocence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Alas, whereas the 2018 Criterion release was brimming with extras, Sony's 4K edition of The Age of Innocence only offers an hour of content. Missing from are two additional filmed interviews (with the movie's production and costume designers), a 26-minute HBO archival production documentary, and a few lesser odds and ends. It's still a decent supplemental package, though completists will need to hang onto previous releases to suit their needs.

• Interview with Martin Scorsese (HD, 23 minutes) - The director chats all things Age of Innocence with filmmaker Kent Jones, touching on the challenge of capturing a period, commenting on the films that influenced his approach and execution, the inspiration to adapt Edith Wharton's novel, and more.

• Interview with Jay Cocks (HD, 23 minutes) - The film's screenwriter, meanwhile, discusses the themes of the novel, the brisk pace of completing the screenplay, capturing the feel of the era in dialogue and location, and his research with Scorsese.

• Original 1993 EPK (SD, 7 minutes) - An archive featurette

• Moments from the Set: B-Roll (SD, 6 minutes)

• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 minutes)

The Age of Innocence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Age of Innocence delivers a decidedly old-fashioned bit of moviemaking from one of cinema's masters, and the collision can be quite spectacular at times. It does drag a bit, though, and slathers on some of the melodrama you'd expect watching wealthy socialites indulge their lesser selves. Still, Sony's 4K release makes it all worthy of a rewatch thanks to a lovely video presentation and notable remastering and a terrific Dolby Atmos experience. New extras would have been a plus, or even a more thorough porting of previous releases' content, but so it goes. Recommended.