Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Holly and the Ivy Blu-ray Movie Review

A Christmas film which takes a look at spirituality in the family

The Holly and the Ivy is a Christmas drama based on the original play written by Wynyard Browne (Hobson's Choice, Theatre Night). Exploring faith and the way it can shape someone, the film is a thoughtful examination of one family and their experiences together over the course of the holiday season. It allows viewers to find a way to examine their own respective faiths and spiritual journeys.

Rev. Martin Gregory (Ralph Richardson) is a devout Christian minister who reconnects with his family over the Christmas holiday season (though the sequence of events that unfolds may be more turbulent than one may initially expect to find). While many households have serene joy between the family members around the holiday season, others experience the opposite with unneeded dramatic confrontations and obstacles around the holiday season.

Martin's younger daughter, Jenny Johnson (Celia Johnson) wants nothing more than to get married and start a family of her own. The problem with the situation? Jenny needs someone in the family to agree to help care for her aging father, Martin. At the same time she wants to be able to receive his blessing (but everyone in the family seems to consider their holy minister father completely unavailable for guidance due to his profession).

At the backdrop of the story is the struggles of the family: with a alcoholic in the family and other personal problems becoming a central backdrop to the story. One daughter of Martin, Margaret Gregory (Margaret Leighton), struggles with her views as an atheist while her father is a devout minister. Michael Gregory (Denholm Elliott) is similarly struggling to grasp on to his faith and understand what it ultimately means to him. He ends up confronting Martin about faith and the two engage in a lengthy conversation about their views.

Christmas Love

There are effective production aspects that are worth mentioning: the black and white cinematography by Edward Scaife (The Dirty Dozen, The Ringer) makes the film more effective. So does the score by Malcolm Arnold (The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness). There seems to be a dreamlike quality to the photography that lulls one into the storytelling.

The screenplay by Anatole de Grunwald (Her Man Gilbey, Adventure for Two) is interesting to examine and contemplate. On the one hand, the story of The Holly and the Ivy is poorly structured and the film lacks the kind of screenwriting finesse necessary to be a true classic in every sense of the word. The storytelling could have been more fluid and it jumps around too much. On the other hand, the film certainly has some compelling sequences which confront ideas of spirituality that are very much expertly crafted with good dialogue on the subject. An uneven script but one with good ambition, there's still a lot of heart that went into the filmmaking.

George More O'Ferrall (The Heart of the Matter, The Woman for Joe) directs the film with a stoic craftsmanship that highlights the performances of the cast as central to the filmmaking. There is certainly much to appreciate about the pace and tone to the film. While I wouldn't call the film a outright classic, The Holly and the Ivy is a film with its own unique merits and one that many will consider worth watching around the holidays.

The Holly and the Ivy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from distributor Kino Lorber, The Holly and The Ivy features a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation. For the most part, The Holly and the Ivy is impressive in this high-definition debut. Black levels are reasonably deep and the photography is often striking to behold. The photography is impressive and is mostly well-preserved by the release.

The presentation isn't without flaws, though: there are occasional "warps" with minor fluctuations on the image which I would describe as a minor distraction from the viewing experience (though some may find the flaw to be a "blink or you miss it" detriment to the scan). There are also occasionally specks of dirt to be found on the print at times. All told, this release still represents a worthwhile presentation of The Holly and The Ivy and these relatively minor drawbacks on the print should not deter viewers from enjoying the film in the best available quality.

The Holly and the Ivy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented with a DTS-HD Master Audio mono soundtrack which capably reproduces the audio. The lossless audio track is a reasonably engaging sound presentation. The track isn't a total home run from start to end, but viewers will consider it to get the job done. There are a few moments during the presentation which are a little less crisp and detailed as is ideal but the track is still overwhelming sufficient.

The release is presented with a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio mono soundtrack which capably reproduces the audio. The audio track is a reasonably engaging sound presentation. The track isn't a total home run from start to end, but viewers will consider it to get the job done. There are a few moments during the presentation which are a little less crisp and detailed as is ideal but the track is still overwhelming sufficient.

The Holly and the Ivy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes an audio commentary track with film historian Jeremy Arnold.

Kino Lorber has also provided a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from the label: Pocketful of Miracles (SD, 3:00), Christmas in July (SD, 1:49), I'll Be Seeing You (SD, 1:51), and Since You Went Away (SD, 1:40).

The Holly and the Ivy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of Christmas season feature-films will find that The Holly and the Ivy is a adequate one that is more interesting to experience than it is entertaining. The performances are solid and the script asks the audience some questions about the nature of faith. The Blu-ray release features a generally strong presentation and is worth a pickup for fans of the film. Recommended.