Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Blu-ray Movie Review

Less than human.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 13, 2022

Famously plagued by the chilly working relationship between lead actors Bette Davis and Errol Flynn, Michael Curtiz's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex still ended up being a critical and commercial smash for Warner Bros. in 1939. This early three-strip Technicolor production, based on Maxwell Anderson's 1930 play Elizabeth the Queen and adapted by Norman Raine and Aeneas MacKenzie, dramatizes the real-life historical relationship between Elizabeth I (Davis) and Earl Robert Devereux (Flynn) while reminding us that bangs can be pretty cute under the right circumstances.

Opening in late 16th Century London, the Earl of Essex is fresh off a rousing naval victory in southwestern Spain with high casualties... but while he's admired by most of the ladies including lovely Penelope Gray (Olivia de Havilland), the jealousy of Sir Walter Raleigh (Vincent Price, in a breakout role) and Sir Robert Cecil (Henry Daniell) cools his pride. Somewhere in the middle is Elizabeth: she's madly in love with the Earl but publicly downplays the victory, fearing his already excessive level of pride will be a threat to himself and others. Humiliated, the Earl retreats to his homeland of Wonstead and his only friend in court, Francis Bacon (Donald Crisp), attempts to smooth over the situation.

After a bloody uprising in Ireland, Elizabeth appoints the Earl as "Master of the Ordnance", a safe court position that will keep her love off the front lines. But at the urging of jealous Raleigh and Cecil, who are all to eager to separate the two, the Earl is goaded in leading their forces into battle. Torn between her personal feelings and royal responsibilities, Elizabeth is faced with difficult decisions as the Earl's pride and thirst for power may lead to an early death.

Densely layered with emotional drama but still perfectly accessible, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a fiercely well-made production that stands surprisingly tall more than 80 years after its theatrical debut. Its lead and supporting performances are uniformly good -- none more so than Davis and Flynn, especially considering their infamous on-set friction and that the latter typically played lighter roles -- and it's paced just about perfectly, from the rousing opening battle all the way to its heartbreaking climax. Also working in its favor are exceptional production design, the massive original score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and, of course, those early three-strip Technicolor visuals by frequent Curtiz collaborator Sol Polito that shine brightly on Warner Archive's outstanding Blu-ray. Armed with another of their spotless 4K-sourced restorations, this well-rounded catalog release also includes lossless audio and a decent collection of light but enjoyable bonus features. Not surprisingly, the end result stands head and shoulders above previous home video editions (namely, Warner Bros.' own 2005 DVD) and will likely not be surpassed on disc in the near future.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archives' careful treatment of catalog material, combined with the film's built-in Technicolor strengths, all but guaranteed perfect results... but even with those lofty expectations, this Blu-ray still manages to impress at every turn. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a lavishly-produced film with perfectly saturated color, beautiful lighting and cinematography, and stylish costume designs that all attract viewer attention to create a visually stunning experience from start to finish. Warner Archive's exclusive 1080p transfer builds on that foundation with a new 4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives and extensive dirt and debris cleanup, resulting in another purist-friendly presentation that balances a clean, pristine appearance with natural film grain and noticeable textures that toes the line carefully and quite likely far surpasses original theatrical showings. Additionally, black levels and shadow detail are both nicely resolved with no obvious signs of posterization, banding, or compression artifacts, and the whole show is encoded nicely on a dual-layered disc that runs at a very high bit rate from start to finish. This is another absolutely beautiful restoration that fans will absolutely adore and easily stands as this Blu-ray's strongest highlight.

Last year, Warner Archive's now-quiet YouTube channel uploaded several clips showing off the new restoration including a full four-minute opening clip and a heated exchange in the throne room. Gorgeous work indeed!

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although the vast majority of this DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track sounds perfectly acceptable (and at the very least, preserves the modest original 1.0 mono mix faithfully), several short scenes and exchanges suffer from a tinny and sometimes gauzy distortion that renders portions of dialogue a little tough to decipher. This is likely an age-related or other source material issue and thankfully isn't too prolonged or distracting, but it's definitely noticeable at times; luckily, the included English (SDH) subtitles are on hand to clear up some of those issues. Aside from that -- and, of course, a somewhat strained high end during music cues -- it's a reasonably smooth and satisfying presentation, and one that carries an overall solid dynamic range with no other defects, drop-outs, or sync issues.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, but not the extras. This is pretty annoying since the DVD edition that most of them were sourced from did in fact have optional subtitles available. It's perhaps my only ongoing hang-up regarding Warner Archive releases, and one that I hope is addressed at some point.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts of any kind. A handful of vintage bonus features are on board, including era-specific pre-show entertainment and retrospective pieces; all are ported over from Warner Bros.' own 2005 DVD, and some have had additional restoration work done.

• Warner Night at the Movies 1939 - This grouped collection of pre-show entertainment and retrospective material acts as a nice little dose of nostalgia to set the proper mood before (or after) the movie.

• Introduction by Leonard Maltin (4:23) - The celebrated film critic offers a quick overview of the film's impact and legacy (as well as the forthcoming bonus features) for added historical context.
• "Dark Victory" Theatrical Trailer (3:15) - This vintage promotional piece for the excellent 1939 film starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart can also be seen here.
• Newsreel (2:07) - A vintage Movietone clip about the three most important things in American culture circa 1938: the ongoing conflict in Europe, hot summer fashions, and fishing.
• WB Cartoon: "Old Glory" (9:03) - A rare "serious" Merrie Melodies short that's also quite unusual for another reason: it features partially rotoscoped animation to bring American historical events to life, much to the delight of Porky Pig. It's already been released on Blu-ray as part of the excellent (and now out-of-print) Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One and looks more or less identical to that release but, like the other extras included here, gets a courtesy bump to DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio.
• WB Short: "The Royal Rodeo" (14:28) - This dated Technicolor short, directed by George Amy, concerns a bored young king (Scotty Beckett) who invites a rodeo to perform at his palace.

• Featurette: "Elizabeth & Essex: Battle Royale" (10:36) - This 2005 retrospective featurette talks briefly about the extremely strained working relationship between Bette Davis and Errol Flynn (who previously starred together in The Sisters), and includes comments by film professor Lincoln Hurst, film historian Rudy Behlmer, author Bob Thomas, actress Nanette Fabray ("Mistress Margaret Radcliffe"), and more.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:27) - This majestic black-and-white promotional piece can also be seen here.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A critical and commercial success in its day, Michael Curtiz's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a true "total package" film that's aged surprisingly well during the last 80+ years. This early Technicolor classic looks better than ever thanks to Warner Archives' stunning new 4K-sourced restoration, which also offers lossless audio and a nice little collection of bonus features to round out the package. Recommended to fans and first-timers alike, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex definitely stands in the upper tier of the boutique label's catalog releases to date.