The Bostonians Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Bostonians Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 13, 2019

Who’d a thunk that a 1984 film based on an 1886 book could suddenly be capturing at least parts of our cultural zeitgeist better than decidedly more recent “ripped from the headlines” efforts? And yet that is indeed the case with The Bostonians, the Cohen Film Collection’s latest release in their ongoing collection of Merchant Ivory films. While The Bostonians was greeted with at least a reasonable amount of acclaim when it was originally released, and ended up garnering Vanessa Redgrave both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress (she won that designation from the National Society of Film Critics for her work in the film), it didn’t really seem to connect with audiences in the same way that some other Merchant Ivory offerings did. That may mean that the film is now more than ripe for a reassessment, something that makes its “relevance” to certain aspects of today’s society sort of serendipitous. The Bostonians actually focuses on at least one character not from the northeast quadrant of the United States, namely a southern Civil War veteran and attorney named Basil Ransom (Christopher Reeve), who as the film opens has journeyed northward (or perhaps westward, since he works in New York City) to visit his "distant" cousin Olive Chancellor (Vanessa Redgrave) in the iconic Massachusetts city. Olive is a mover and shaker in the then still nascent women’s suffrage movement, and as such, she is a kind of oddity to Ransom, a well to do, “traditional” southerner who, had he been born a century and a half later, probably would have been a big fan of right leaning pundits who espouse the need for “traditional family values”. And in fact a lot of The Bostonians ends up dealing with the disconnect between not just these “regional” behaviors, but the underlying tension of some people not willingly surrendered to what are perceived to be “proper” gender roles. That’s just part of the muddle, here, though as there’s a rather provocative love triangle at the core of the story which involves a young woman named Verena Tarrant (Madeleine Potter), a vivacious sort who catches the eye of Basil — and Olive.

Some kind of culture clash has often been at the forefront of many a Merchant Ivory production, but the situation here is somewhat different. There’s no “international” component, and most of the “debate points” hinge on a woman’s role in society, along with the probably unavoidably related issue of how those of different genders and regions define what is “proper”. What may chafe at the sensibilities of some modern day feminists is perhaps ironically the character of Verena, as she is posited as the prime mover in Boston’s suffragette movement, and yet she is also initially seen as a virtual puppet of her “mesmeric healer” Svengali like father, Dr. Tarrant (Wesley Addy). Potentially just as problematic to contemporary eyes may be one of the central conflicts of the film, namely whether Verena will eschew her burgeoning feminism for a more “traditional” role as the wife of Basil.

There’s also a rather curious tonal disconnect in the film, one which is in part at least based on certain ambiguities in the original James novel. James seemed to have a rather jaundiced eye about at least some elements of the women’s suffrage movement, and there are parts of his tome that are positively comical. Adaptive screewriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala seems to want to “go there”, at least a bit, especially with regard to some trenchant commentary by supporting characters like journalist Mr. Pardon (Wallace Shawn) or Dr. Prance (Linda Hunt), but a lot of the rest of the film plays considerably more melodramatically, especially with regard to Olive’s increasing feeling of isolation as she sees a romance developing between Basil and Verena.

Olive’s motives aren’t especially “hidden” as they were (probably necessarily) in James’ novel, though there is still a certain ambiguity to things. But that actually gives the film some of the emotional heft it’s frankly missing in the “central” romantic relationship between Basil and Verena. Reeve is rather good as a “southern gentleman”, even if he’s an unrepentant male chauvinist, but I’m not certain Potter really captures Verena, who admittedly is a hard character to pin down, with her being one part firebrand and another part submissive “puppet”. The film largely belongs to Redgrave, who makes Olive’s emotional angst virtually palpable. As is almost always the case with Merchant Ivory films, the physical production is immaculate, with Oscar nominated costumes by Jenny Beaven and John Bright.

The Bostonians Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Bostonians is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection, an imprint of Cohen Media Group, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Cohen is touting another of its 4K restorations with this release, and while large swaths of this transfer look rather ravishing, there are some variances here which may provide at least a few stumbling blocks for the most avid videophile. The first twenty minutes or so, and few interstitial moments later, look considerably grainier than the bulk of the presentation, to the point that it can almost look like there's a scrim or haze overlaying the image. Blacks can verge toward purples and contrast looks kind of anemic as well, leading to some noticeable crush. After this rough opening, though, things improve considerably, with a more robust looking palette (though things do tend to look fairly brownish throughout), and with what to my eyes looked like a more organic accounting of the grain field. Detail levels are generally very good to excellent, though cinematography Walter Lassally does use some diffusion filters which can obviously soften things up considerably. The film also has some almost montage like series of optical dissolves, and again understandably detail levels can momentarily falter. There is still some rather noticeable wobble in a couple of brief interstitial "labels" that offer archival maps of cities with a text overlay of what the city is and what year it is. My score is 4.25.

The Bostonians Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Bostonians features a nice burnished sounding LPCM 2.0 track which delivers the film's dialogue and music without any problems whatsoever. Richard Robbins' score and some source music, like the opening organ solo, sound full bodied and warm. Outdoor material (of which there is plenty) also features inviting and realistic ambient environmental sounds.

The Bostonians Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of The Bostonians (1080p; 11:10) is a wonderful discussion with James Ivory moderated by film critic Tim Robey.


• Conversations with the Filmmakers: The Bostonians (480i; 15:08) is an archival piece featuring more good interviews.


• Conversations from the Quad: James Ivory on The Bostonians (1080p; 17:23) features some more engaging comments by Ivory.


• The Bostonians Restoration Trailer (1080p; 1:23)


• The Bostonians Original Trailer (480i; 3:18)

The Bostonians Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When Verena gives an opening speech about the need for women to assume (political) control, she mentions several "talking points" that literally could have been lifted from speeches by any number of female candidates who have either run or who in fact are currently running for office. But The Bostonians perhaps tries to toe too fine a line between documenting two different women's reactions to "assuming power" and providing a story that involves an odd, and perhaps tragic, love triangle. This isn't my favorite Merchant Ivory film, but in revisiting it after several years for the purposes of writing this review, I have to say I was newly struck by how relevant some of its themes are to current day issues and discourse. Technical merits are generally strong, and the supplemental package quite enjoyable. Recommended.