The Handmaid's Tale Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Handmaid's Tale Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson April 18, 2017

It is fitting that Canadian author Margaret Atwood won the PEN Pinter Prize, which was the literary award that she received last year. Atwood and the late great playwright/sometime screenwriter Harold Pinter both have shown an avidity for grappling with human rights abuses in their work. The two worked together in 1989 when Pinter adapted Atwood's dystopian science fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale (1985), which German director Volker Schlöndorff brought to the big screen a year later. The story is set in the near feature and the United States has been replaced with a monotheocratic state known as the "Republic of Gilead." Kate (Natasha Richardson), her husband, and their young daughter set off for the snow-capped mountains for a vacation. As they get out of their car and begin their trek, they are targeted with spotlights by armed security guards and ordered to disperse the area. Kate's spouse disobeys the order and is promptly shot down. Kate is reprimanded by the border agents and separated from her child, who is sent away to live in one of the Colonies. Kate and other women are placed in an indoctrination camp and subjugated to sex labor. As a film critic for Newsweek observed of this fascist theocractic system, women have been color-coded into green-clad Marthas (domestic servants), blue-clad Wives (smiling, blathering homemakers), and red-clad Handmaids (conscripted child-bearers). Because she is fertile, Kate is selected to become a Handmaid for the state security Commander (Robert Duvall), a former televangelist. Kate moves into the Commander's house where she gets acquainted with the Commander's outwardly pleasant former spouse, the Wife Serena Joy (Faye Dunaway). Serena can't conceive with the Commander so the impregnation ritual is assigned to Kate, who will bear his child. Kate adopts the new name of "Offred," signifying of-Fred since Fred was the Commander's name in Atwood's novel with Kate becoming his property and concubine.

In his review of The Handmaid's Tale, Roger Ebert claimed that Schlöndorff's film was not an Orwellian political fable, but merely a feminist tale. (Other reviewers actually scorned the movie for de-feminizing Atwood's novel and sacrificing its subtext for more overt symbolism.) Cold and harshly lit images throughout The Handmaid's Tale permeate the screen with an Orwellian atmosphere. Gilead has become an epicenter for mass surveillance as seen by the several screen monitors that track the captives' every movement in the camp. The women are trapped within this highly rigid and discriminatory outfit run by Aunt Lydia (a steely Victoria Tennant).

Two redeeming characters that represent a way out for Kate/Offret's plight are Moira (Elizabeth McGovern) and Nick (Aidan Quinn). Moira is a proud gay woman whose "gender treachery" teaches Kate that a transgressive and assertive nature can buck a system, even if it means that she cannot completely escape its repressive confines. Quinn plays the Commander's gardener/chauffeur and takes a liking to Kate. But the character of Nick is used as a pawn by the scheming Serena and an intermediary by the Commander, who exploits Offret at nightclubs and in his bedroom. Even if the romantic subplot between Nick and Kate is perfunctory and a bit predictable, it makes for riveting viewing during the third act.

The Handmaid's Tale Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Handmaid's Tale makes its Blu-ray debut worldwide courtesy of Shout! Factory's imprint, Shout Select, with this BD/DVD combo pack. The 1990 film is labeled #15 on the spine. Shout obtained video distribution rights through MGM, which first put the Schlöndorff work on DVD in late 2001 under its misleading and wrongly labeled banner, "Avant-Garde Cinema." I haven't seen the MGM disc but reviews suggest that Shout had a very nice-looking print to work with, if it in fact derives from the same source elements (the BD begins the MGM logo). Jeff Ulmer of digitallyOBSESSED! notes, for example, that the MGM transfer sports well-rendered and fine grain, making for "a very film-like appearance. Colors have good saturation, and black levels are solid. No signs of edge enhancement." Additionally, DVD Talk's Brian Boisvert compared the MGM picture with the VHS and Image Entertainment LaserDisc versions of The Handmaid's Tale, which he noticed "were soft and had a distinct brownish tinge to the colors. This new transfer is much sharper and the color palette is more accurate -- colder and much more appropriate to the film."

Though the Shout Blu-ray probably derives from either the same print or similar archival elements as the MGM DVD, this is not to imply that the SD transfer is simply upconverted to high-def on this BD. Shout's AVC-encoded BD-25 boasts a legitimate 1080p transfer. The film is presented in 1.85:1, which mirrors the aspect ratio that it was shown during its theatrical run. While this may not be a new 2K scan, Shout preserves the cold and muted look that Schlöndorff and cinematographer Igor Luther likely intended on the theatrical release prints. Skin tones are fairly pale on the faces of Richardson, McGovern, Dunaway, Duvall, and Tennant. (See some representative examples in the Screenshots.) However, flesh tones are warmer, if a bit redder, on Aidan Quinn's face (#6) and on the musicians' faces (#15). I'm surmising that this accords with the original color timing. The color spacing and grain structure is a little erratic during the first reel or so but becomes more consistent and well-balanced throughout the rest of the picture. There are few black and white speckles that only occasionally creep into the frame. There is also a relatively unobtrusive tramline later on in the film but this should not detract from a very clean and generally pleasing presentation. The average video bitrate carries a solid, if modest, 24999 kbps. I think a maxed out bitrate on a BD-50 could have enhanced the film's judicious use of primary colors and the more vibrant hues.

Shout Select has given the main feature its standard twelve scene selections. (The original MGM DVD supplied access to sixteen cues.)

The Handmaid's Tale Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout Select has only ported over the film's original Dolby Stereo, rendered here as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (2086 kbps, 24-bit). The movie's lossless mix sounds solid, if a bit flat, though. Although there is very good balance, there isn't much in the way of spatial depth or dynamic range. While uncompressed, the sound track comes across as standard lossy hi-fi sound on a LD (at times) without any distinguishing traits. Audio reviews of the DVD underlined that dialogue was very center-channel focused and that pattern is maintained here. Oscar-winning composer Ryûichi Sakamoto's score shows some range on the fronts. However, gunshots, truck engines, and other sound effects don't demonstrate distinctive separation. Ideally, Shout could have created a new 5.1 remix of the original sound track to expand the sonics and open up the acoustics. This is a just an adequate DTS-HD MA 2.0 mix.

Shout has equipped the feature with optional English SDH.

The Handmaid's Tale Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:16, 1080p) - an unrestored but decent-looking trailer for The Handmaid's Tale. The image looks slightly cropped, possibly because the black bars on the top and bottom of the frame are unequal in width. However, some picture information seems to be masked on the edges. In English, not subtitled.

The Handmaid's Tale Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Handmaid's Tale received predominantly mixed to unfavorable reviews during its theatrical span but I think it plays better on home video, especially since so many of its themes still resonate with us today. Shout Select delivers a rock solid transfer but improvements could have been made in the audio department to make it more surround immersive on an alternative track. It's also disappointing that Shout did not create a new making-of-doc or conduct new interviews with the filmmakers and cast members. I would have given this BD/Combo a more ringing endorsement with added bells and whistles but it still comes RECOMMENDED for fans of Richardson, Dunaway, Duvall, and Schlöndorff.