The Liberation of L.B. Jones Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Liberation of L.B. Jones Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 18, 2025

William Wyler's "The Liberation of L.B. Jones" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. There are no supplemental features on the release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

It's over.

The Liberation of L.B. Jones is everything In the Heat of the Night should have been and The Klansman could not have been. It is shot by a legendary Hollywood director, but without the customary Hollywood preachy messaging that would have made it easy to praise. It spells out many uncomfortable truths, but without implying that they are universal truths. It shows all the ugly the viewer could have handled at the time of its release, but retains a bold sense of humor that does not spare anyone. It truly is a one-of-a-kind film that only the 1970s could have produced.

In the fictional town of Somerton, Tennessee, middle-aged, wealthy undertaker L.B. Jones (Roscoe Lee Brown) has decided to part ways with his beautiful but cheating wife, Emma (Lola Felana). Jones has discovered that his wife, who is significantly younger than him, has a lover, and she has told him in his face that their marriage does not deserve a second chance. To get the divorce done quickly but right, Jones wants the best lawyer, Oman Hedgepath (Lee J. Cobb), who also happens to be the most influential man in town, to represent him in court. When the two meet, Hedgepath reluctantly agrees to take on the case because he has known Jones for years, but explains that it would be best if they take care of all the he-said-she-said mumbo jumbo without going to court. It is the smart thing to do because Hedgepath has earned a reputation for helping white folks, and Jones is not one of them. But after doing a bit of research on Emma, Hedgepath learns that she also intends to go to court with another lawyer, and her lover is Willie Joe Worth (Anthony Zerbe), a married white cop with a tricky past. Concerned that any court action will unleash racial fireworks guaranteed to split the town and attract undesired folks from all across the country, Hedgepath summons Worth and reveals that he knows about his extramarital relationship, and then urges him to terminate it so that Jones and his wife can get back together. Worth grasps the seriousness of the situation and proceeds to do the right thing, but instead learns that his mistress is pregnant. To fix the new problem, Worth then engages Jones, but quickly loses his cool and creates a much bigger problem that destroys Hedgepath’s chances of preserving his reputation. At approximately the same time, a black man (Yaphet Kotto) who has returned home after years of living away also gathers the courage to settle an old score.

The legendary director William Wyler recreates the explosive drama from Jesse Hill Ford’s novel with casual yet breathtaking efficacy. Part of the trick is Wyler’s ability to flawlessly mix the ugly, which is plenty, with light humor and produce astonishing contrasts. Also, instead of manipulating these contrasts so that the audience reacts accordingly at the right time, Wyler treats them as inevitable developments that all of the prominent characters in his film have learned to tolerate for various ‘good’ reasons. Needless to say, the ugly in the drama, which again is plenty, hits indescribably hard.

The other part of the trick is that Wyler directs an incredible group of actors whose grasp of the gray in the drama, which humanizes their characters, is impeccable. For example, there is racism galore in this film, but there are very different layers of it, created for different reasons. Some of the characters are classic bigots who simply believe that the color of their skin makes them superior human beings, and therefore, they have different rights. However, several more have learned to coexist with them because they have accurately determined that their reality is too strong to alter at once. These characters are not spared the shame they deserve, but Wyler’s direction correctly identifies them as a force that will slowly evolve and, at the right time, initiate the change. It would just take time and a lot more of the ugly drama that is chronicled in the film.

Other cast members include Lee Majors, Barbara Hershey, Chill Wills, Arch Johnson, Dub Taylor, Ray Teal, and Zara Cully.

Wyler worked with Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Surtees, who lensed the iconic Ben-Hur, The Sting, The Graduate, Quo Vadis, The Bad and the Beautiful, and several more legitimate classics.

The Liberation of L.B. Jones Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Liberation of L.B. Jones arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The folks at Sony remastered this film a while ago and produced this DVD release for its archive collection in 2011. I do not know if the Blu-ray release is sourced from the same remaster. However, the DVD presentation is the only other presentation of the film that I have seen since then, so if I had to guess, I would say that the folks at Imprint accessed the same remaster to prepare this Blu-ray release.

On the Blu-ray, the film looks pretty decent. Most visuals are a tad softer than I would have preferred them to be in 1080p, but they are not plagued by compromising digital corrections. Obviously, a proper new 4K master sourced from the original camera negative, as the many that the folks at Sony have prepared in recent years, will instantly give the entire film a healthier, far more attractive appearance. Its visuals will boast better delineation, clarity, and depth, too. However, the current presentation still has rather decent organic qualities. They are just not consistent, which really is the main weakness of the presentation. Color balance, for instance, is quite nice, though this is another area where various meaningful improvements can be made. Image stability is very good as well. After I revisited the film in 1080p, I also did some tests while upscaling it to 4K, and to be honest, I was very pleasantly surprised how well many parts of it looked. To sum it all up, the current presentation is not ideal, but it is pretty decent, making it quite easy to enjoy the film. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Liberation of L.B. Jones Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I have commented in various reviews that many old masters that emerge from Sony's vaults have outstanding audio tracks. On this release, the lossless audio track sounds fantastic, too. Indeed, while the film does not produce intense action material that could impress with top-notch dynamic variety and intensity, there are several areas that still sound fantastic. All exchanges are very clear and sharp, too. So, if the film is redone in 4K, the audio will almost certainly be revisited, but at the moment I cannot identify any areas where meaningful improvements might be possible to introduce.

The Liberation of L.B. Jones Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no bonus features on this release.

The Liberation of L.B. Jones Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The legendary director William Wyler recreates the explosive drama from Jesse Hill Ford's novel with casual yet breathtaking efficacy, and several cast members who step in front of his camera are so good they should have earned Oscar statuettes. So, as far as I am concerned, The Liberation of L.B. Jones fits between In the Heat of the Night and The Klansman, and convincingly outdoes both. Imprint Films' Blu-ray release is sourced from a decent remaster and is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.