The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Movie Review

Tacos al Pastor.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 2, 2022

Based on a stage play by the inimitable Tennessee Williams, John Huston's The Night of the Iguana is an intimate and dialed-in drama that ranked as the tenth highest-grossing film of 1964. Star Richard Burton, who infamously brought his soon-to-be wife Elizabeth Taylor to the set during production, lights up the screen as Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon, a defrocked Episcopal clergyman exiled from his church for inappropriate behavior including a relationship with a young Sunday school teacher. Now slumming it as a Texas tour guide, he leads a group of Baptist schoolteachers on their long-overdue trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where Lawrence has several connections from his past.

Tension arrives early on during their trip: the teenage ward of strict group leader Judith Fellowes (Grayson Hall), flirty Charlotte Goodall (Sue Lyon), continually throws herself at Lawrence -- which he resists for all too obvious reasons, but eventually succumbs to her charms -- so outraged Judith threatens to call American authorities and ruin him for good. Grasping at straws, Lawrence detours the bus to a remote seaside hotel formerly run by his old friend Fred; it's got no communication with the outside world, and thus a perfect way to stall for time. Upon their arrival, Lawrence learns that Fred's dead, the hotel's now run by his widow Maxine (Ava Gardner), and they just happen to be closed during for the month. She makes an exception in his case, but she also has to make an exception for like-minded prospective guests Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr) and her poet grandfather (Cyril Delevanti), who's in poor health.

What follows is thankfully much less of a sitcom-grade melodrama than its synopsis suggests, with Night of the Iguana fervently probing specific character relationships and dynamics that feel more layered and fulfilling than surface-level and soapy. Despite that rather long-winded setup -- which actually breezes by quicker than expected -- the bulk of its relaxed running time takes place at the seaside hotel and features mostly two and three-person interactions rather than a continuously chaotic group dynamic, which ultimately circumvents its initial whirlwind tone for better and for worse. I can't say I was less interested in where this emotional journey ended than the specific path it took to get there, but there's certainly a little room for improvement in its overall cinematic structure. Still, the stacked cast serves up largely memorable performances, the beautiful location footage gives it a great atmosphere, and if nothing else it's bolstered by frank treatment of taboo subject matter that you'd expect from Williams' brand of source material.

The result is a frequently captivating, occasionally uneven, but overall effective character piece that has slightly more lasting appeal than expected. (Not to mention an abnormally strong cast and crew lineup, which certainly helps.) Now approaching its 60th birthday, The Night of the Iguana was previously released on DVD by Warner Bros. in 2006 -- and recycled a few times on various multi-film collections -- but makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Warner Archive, which easily stands as the stronger half of their surprisingly slim December lineup. Featuring another top-tier A/V restoration and several DVD-era bonus features, it's a fine package that's slightly more than the sum of its parts.

The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archives' exclusive 1080p transfer of the primarily sun-soaked Night of the Iguana stems from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative. Suffice it to say this is a good-looking film -- great at times -- with solid depth, plenty of natural light, and well-composed scenes that are expressive without feeling too showy. Fine detail and textures are superb, from rocky cliffs and ocean waves to sweat and skin pores, clothing patterns, and even the rough scales of the hotel's poor iguana who's tied to a rope much like our central character. Black levels and shadow detail remain steady, gradients are perfectly smooth with no perceivable banding, and a very fine layer of natural film grain brings its own brand of organic appeal to the party. Perhaps the only slight speed bump I could spot along the way were trace levels of posterization, which is somewhat rare but not unheard of on Warner Archive discs, although the wide, wide majority of this nicely encoded dual-layer disc plays without a hitch. Without question, it's marks a solid leap beyond earlier home video editions and likely rivals or exceeds theatrical showings, so fans will be pleased for sure.

The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix is similarly clean and crisp for its age, exhibiting modest depth and good placement for a split one-channel track. Dialogue is prioritized but background activity, from crowded conversations on the rickety tour bus to wide-open atmospheric touches around the seaside motel, sound uniformly great with good dynamic range and very little straining at the high end. The somewhat low-key original score by composer Benjamin Frankel plays well too, enjoying a fairly robust presence while unavoidably sounding like a product of its time. Overall, a fine effort with almost no age-related wear and tear, which is all you can hope for under the circumstances.

English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only. This is fairly disappointing since Warner Bros.' 2006 DVD, which this Blu-ray's legacy extras were taken from, did include optional subtitles for all content.

The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with expressive poster artwork on the front cover and no inserts. All of its bonus features have been ported over from previous editions including WB's 2006 DVD.

• The Night of the Iguana: Huston's Gamble (9:54) - This short 2006 Turner Entertainment piece features interviews with Huston biographer Donald Spoto and film historians Lawrence Grobel and Eric Lax, who shed light on the director and playwright's separate careers while sharing stories from the film's unique location shoot including Elizabeth Taylor's presence. Lots of candid production photos are seen, as well as footage filmed on-set, and short audio clips are also played from a vintage interview with the director himself. It's a solid little featurette, all things considered, although somewhat overcooked in its tone and presentation style.

• On the Trail of the Iguana (13:40) - Of greater interest is this vintage piece, a beautifully-shot promotional reel that lightly details the production with fantastic location footage shot in and around the set. Director John Huston is frequently seen interacting with members of the cast and crew, and he even narrates a few bits and pieces. Of course, the arrival of Elizabeth Taylor signals that On the Trail is really meant to play up her presence for publicity purposes, but no matter -- this great little time capsule does its job perfectly. It's also been nicely restored and re-encoded in 1080p with beautiful colors and textures afforded by its filmic roots.

• Theatrical Teaser (1:08) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here

• Theatrical Trailer (3:21) - Also available for viewing here.

The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Huston's The Night of the Iguana is a solid on-screen adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play whose appeal will rest mainly on your acceptance of their style of work. As a somewhat lukewarm fan of the latter, it certainly falls victim to melodrama during key stretches but is bolstered by beautiful location footage, an interesting narrative path, and the inevitable friction that burrowed into its very public production coverage. It's not quite a "total package" picture but nonetheless holds plenty of appeal almost 60 years later, and Warner Archive's welcome Blu-ray treatment pairs a drop-dead gorgeous A/V restoration with several legacy extras. Recommended to the right audience.