The Mirror Crack'd 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Mirror Crack'd 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 23, 2026

Guy Hamilton's "The Mirror Crack'd" (1980) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thomson, and vintage promotional materials. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"I'm the director, and if I want three dozen poker-playing kangaroos with PhDs, then you'd better damn well go out and find them."

In 2014, StudioCanal released The Poirot Collection which contained three films with the famous Agatha Christie character: Sidney Lumet's Murder on the Orient Express (1974), John Guillermin's Death on the Nile (1978), and Guy Hamilton's Evil Under the Sun (1982). In 2017, all three films were fully restored, and the studio re-released them with new transfers. A year before the three-disc box set was released in the United Kingdom, however, elsewhere in Europe a four-disc box set emerged that also contained Hamilton’s The Mirror Crack’d (1980). In 2017, this film was also fully restored by StudioCanal and released, at the same time, with the remaining three films from the first box set.

The time is the early 1950s, and the location is the picturesque provincial village of St. Mary Mead. Life has a steady rhythm here, and people feel like they belong to one big family. Occasionally, tourists pass through the area, but they very rarely find it exciting enough to spend time there and get to know the locals. So when a big American company announces that St. Mary Mead is the perfect location for its next project and then tech workers and stars descend upon the area, the locals are suddenly forced to change their daily routines -- but they could not be more excited. The charming director Jason Rudd (Rock Hudson), for instance, quickly energizes the older ladies and inspires them to want to look attractive again, while his wife, the famous actress Marina Rudd (Elizabeth Taylor), and her elegant outfits further solidify their conviction that age truly is nothing but a number. The local businessmen are also pleased to hear that the folks making the movie are not exactly of the frugal type, and as a result, many of them also suddenly rediscover their passion for classic films.

A few days before the film shoot is set to begin, however, a bizarre event dampens everyone’s enthusiasm. During a lavish reception where the visitors and the locals gather to get to know each other better, a big fan (Maureen Bennett) of Mrs. Rudd guzzles a fresh cocktail and immediately drops dead. The tragedy occurs shortly after producer Martin Fenn (Tony Curtis) meets director Rudd, and he introduces to the guests Lola Brewster (Kim Novack), another aging star, and then, much to Mrs. Rudd’s displeasure, announces that she is going to have a major role in his film. In the ensuing chaos, the village’s brightest mind, Miss Marple (Angela Lansbury), goes to work to find out if initial reports that Mrs. Rudd’s fan was accidentally poisoned are true.

It instantly becomes clear that the large group of stars that made this film with director Hamilton had a great time working together. There is playfulness and energy on display that are so attractive that the few rough spots of the original script basically become insignificant. Unsurprisingly, the whole film feels like a big masterclass session in which seasoned pros are happy to reveal some of their best skills.

Lansbury’s performance, however, deserves special praise because it infuses the film with that distinct sense of period finesse that Christie’s best work is known for.

The Mirror Crack'd 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of The Mirror Crack'd is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc. Screencaptures #1-19 are taken from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #25-34 are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.

The combo pack release brings to America StudioCanal's new 4K restoration of The Mirror Crack'd. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with HDR. I also viewed the 4K restoration, in its entirety, in 1080p on the Blu-ray.

In 2020, in America, this film received a wonderful Blu-ray release, sourced from a very strong 2K master, also prepared on behalf of StudioCanal. The new 4K restoration brings several very small adjustments. For example, there is a tiny but meaningless adjustment in the framing. Also, there are some sporadic tweaks in the brightness settings, but they are also cosmetic adjustments. Color balance and reproduction are virtually identical. In some areas, the color temperature of select visuals is adjusted a bit, but the discrepancies are minuscule. Most new 4K restorations easily improve density levels, but the previous 2K restoration already had them maxed out. This being said, the new 4K restoration and its presentations on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray have more consistent optimal quality. This becomes particularly obvious on the native 4K presentation, where the higher resolution and superior encoding help the visuals appear tighter and marginally more attractive. The HDR is good. However, I prefer how select sequences with indoor footage look in 1080p. In native 4K, they are a tad too dark, and some of their more delicate darker nuances appear flattened. Image stability is outstanding.

The Mirror Crack'd 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The lossless track is very healthy. I suspect that it is the same track that was included on the previous Blu-ray release of The Mirror Crack'd, which was redone when the 2K restoration of the film was completed. If any additional work was done on it, I could not tell. All exchanges are very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. I would say that in areas where the music is prominent, there are pretty good dynamic contracts, or at least considering the nature of the production, as well as the decade from which it emerged.

The Mirror Crack'd 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thomson. It initially appeared on Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of The Mirror Crack'd.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thomson. It initially appeared on Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of The Mirror Crack'd.

• Trailer - vintage trailer for The Mirror Crack'd. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• TV Spots - a few vintage TV spots for The Mirror Crack'd. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Cover - a reversible cover with vintage poster art for The Mirror Crack'd.

The Mirror Crack'd 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Virtually everything that makes The Mirror Crack'd enjoyable is in some way hilarious, so it is probably why Agatha Christie loyalists have never been too enthusiastic about it. Additionally, even though Angela Lansbury brings some of the classic finesse that Christie's work is known and praised for, her character is not a match for Hercule Poirot. I think that The Mirror Crack'd can make a fantastic double bill with Blake Edwards' The Party, but I can also understand why some people may conclude that its playfulness is somewhat mismanaged. Kino Lorber's combo pack brings to America StudioCanal's new 4K restoration of it on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.