Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Lost Weekend Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 29, 2020

Billy Wilder's "The Lost Weekend" (1945) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer; exclusive new audio commentary by author and critic Joseph McBride; vintage radio adaptation; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The miserable man

Don Birnam (Ray Milland, Dial M for Murder, The Thief) has started drinking because he has stopped writing. His brother, Wick (Phillip Terry, Born to Kill), knows about his problem and has tried to help him, but has failed -- numerous times. His girlfriend, Helen St. James (Jane Wyman, Johnny Belinda, Magnificent Obsession), has also tried to keep him away from the bottle, but has finally come to realize that his desire for alcohol is stronger than his desire for her.

One day, after he refuses to accompany his brother on a weekend trip, Don ends up in his favorite bar and confesses to the bartender (Howard Da Silva, They Live by Night) that he has a great story in his head, one that he could turn into a great book. The story is about a drunk, who meets and falls in love with a beautiful girl from Ohio. The two arrange to meet her parents for lunch, but the drunk bails out and instead spends the rest of the day with a bottle of rye. Don also confesses to the bartender that he does not know yet how the story would end.

This story about the drunk and his girlfriend is a lot like Don’s life story -- a mess. The bartender knows it, but keeps quiet. He has seen a lot of guys like Don and they were all the same -- losers who couldn't stop drinking, slowly destroying themselves and often those around them.

Eventually, after he runs out of money, Don ends up in an alcoholic ward. There a nasty male nurse (Frank Faylen, Terror at Midnight) tells him straight in his face what has become of him. The wake-up call inspires Don to run away and end his misery -- but not before he has one last drink.

This is a rough film. It is completely free of melodrama and about as honest in its assessment of alcoholism as it could have been. The main protagonist’s angry outbursts and aggressive behavior are very convincing, especially during the second half where his life spirals out of control.

Even though there are a few scattered romantic overtones, the film is very dark and very depressing. Certain sequences, such as the one with the mouse trying to crawl out of the hole in the wall, are so intense and disturbing that they easily could have been used in a serious horror thriller. John F. Seitz’s (Double Indemnity, Sullivan's Travels) brilliant shadowy cinematography also adds plenty to the dark and depressing atmosphere.

Considering the socio-cultural norms of the era in which the film was conceived, the ending is rather surprising. There is a ray of hope, but the viewer is left guessing. It just does not feel right to be optimistic about the main protagonist’s future. Can love cure him? Probably not.

Billy Wilder completed The Lost Weekend in 1945. Initially, the film was given only a limited release, but after it generated strong reviews from the press Paramount Pictures began promoting it nationwide. According to Wilder, people with connections to the alcohol industry attempted to stop its release by offering the studio $5 million.

The film’s success was unprecedented. In 1946, it won four Oscar Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Milland). During the same year, the film also won the Grand Prix and Best Actor Award at the first ever Cannes Film Festival.

The Lost Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Lost Weekend arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 4K master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. It is a good master, but I expected it to be all-around better than the one Eureka Entertainment used in 2012 to produce this Region-B release -- and I can't say that it is. For example, the density levels of the two masters are virtually identical. This did not surprise me because the old master was very strong as well, but I would be lying if I wrote that I did not expect to see some minor yet notable improvements. Also, while there are some native density fluctuations that quite easy to see, on this release grain exposure is actually slightly inferior. I cannot tell with absolute certainty how much of the discrepancy can be attributed to the encoding, but it is something that is worth pointing out (see screencaptuure #14). On the other hand, you will probably have to project and know exactly where to look to spot the discrepancy, which is why I think that ultimately its presence is irrelevant. The gamma levels are not identical, but the difference is again very small and the marginally better balance that emerges on this release does not produce easy to appreciate superior detail. Image stability is very good. Lastly, some tiny white specks and dark spots remain, and not only during opticals, so some manual work could and should have been done to have the film look even healthier. Still, this is a very fine organic presentation of the film, and unless a 4K Blu-ray release emerges in the future, it will most likely remain the definitive one on the home video market. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Lost Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The dialog is easy to follow. Clarity and stability are good as well. However, due to the nature of the surviving elements and recording limitations, the audio is rather 'thin'. I don't consider this to be an issue because it is not a byproduct of problematic digital work or other recent artificial anomalies. There are no audio dropouts or distortions.

The Lost Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for The Lost Weekend. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Radio Adaptation - a vintage radio adaptation of The Lost Weekend, starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, and Frankie Faylen. The adaptation was initially broadcast on January 7, 1946. Audio only. In English, not subtitled. (30 min, 1080p).

• Trailers From Hell - an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with director Mark Pellington (Arlington Road). In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - author and critic Joseph McBride -- who is apparently a recovering alcoholic and has not touched the bottle since the '90s -- shares a lot of very interesting information about Charles R. Jackson's novel that inspired Billy Wilder to shoot The Lost Weekend; the nature of the transformation Ray Milland's character undergoes and his personal battle with alcoholism; contemporary Hollywood's obsession with likability; the similarities between The Lost Weekend and The Shining; a key scene from the screenplay that is not in the film; etc. Outstanding commentary.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Five Graves to Cairo
  2. A Foreign Affair
  3. Witness for the Prosecution
  4. Beau Geste
  5. Reap the Wild Wind
  6. Panic in Year Zero

The Lost Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend is a genuine hard-hitter that despite its age captures perfectly the essence of alcoholism. It is one of the famous director's best films, and I personally would not hesitate to place it above The Apartment and Sunset Boulevard. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release is sourced from a good 4K master that was supplied by Universal Pictures, and features an outstanding exclusive new audio commentary by author and critic Joseph McBride. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.