This Property is Condemned Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

This Property is Condemned Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 15, 2025

Sydney Pollack's "This Property is Condemned" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Sydney Pollack; new program with Peter Bogdanovich; new program with screenwriter Gavin Lambert; and new audio commentary by filmmaker Gillian Wallace Horvat. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Powerplay

Natalie Wood is not the authentic Southern character that Tennessee Williams penned. If one acknowledges that it is so, it is much easier to recognize the things that Wood does well in Sydney Pollack’s film This Property is Condemned. Because Wood does look impressive in some parts of it, and because some of the emotions she conveys in other parts of it are convincing, too. However, ultimately, Wood remains Wood, and this is an unmissable, consequential flaw, one that keeps This Property is Condemned far away from Williams’ original material.

The Great Depression. Shortly after arriving in the sleepy town of Dodson, Mississippi, railroad official Owen Legate (Robert Redford) encounters Alva Starr (Wood), the local belle that every man with a healthy pulse desires. While Legate initiates the town’s permanent demise – his employer is closing all railroad operations there, which have been keeping the local economy alive – the two quickly warm up to each other and then fall in love. Sensing that Starr is drifting away, her mother, Hazel (Kate Reid), who has benefited tremendously from her popularity, attempts to coax her into a lucrative arrangement with a significantly older, married man capable of supporting both of them. But Starr refuses to cooperate, realizing that a romantic relationship with Legate is her best chance to escape the town’s misery, and instead declares her intention to leave. While the drama unfolds, Legate is roughed up by a couple of local boys, and J.J. (Charles Bronson), who has been regularly bedding Starr’s mother, sees an opportunity for an upgrade he has been dreaming of for years.

All events are recalled by Starr’s younger sister, Willie (Mary Badham), whose grasp on their impact seems far more accurate than that of the adults participating in them, even as they are in progress. Also, in the present, the older Willie acknowledges, correctly again, that all crucial outcomes made possible by these events were unavoidable. This element of inevitability in the narrative is what gives This Property is Condemned its authenticity.

However, a lot, too much, of the authenticity is countered with very heavy melodrama that ultimately transforms This Property is Condemned into an old-fashioned theater play. It is just done on a grander scale and brought to the big screen, producing carefully shot and arranged visuals for maximum effect. Virtually all films inspired by Williams’ writings indeed have some such visuals, but in This Property is Condemned they become essential for its identity.

The chemistry between Wood and Redford is uneven. In some sequences, such as the one where they walk on the railroad tracks, the two look good and convincing together. However, elsewhere, especially when they clash, there is a great deal of artificiality in their actions and words. Wood can look better than Redford, but her performance is more problematic because she has to be convincing as the free-spirited belle and, as noted earlier, she is not.

The screenplay was worked on by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe, and Edith Sommer. It is probably why it often feels like too many different ideas are fighting for dominance throughout This Property is Condemned.

This Property is Condemned Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, This Property is Condemned arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The release is sourced from an older master, supplied by Paramount Pictures. I do not know when this master was prepared. However, I have this R1 American DVD release of The Property is Condemned in my library, and after performing several comparisons with it, I must say that the overall appearance of the high-definition visuals is extremely similar to that of the standard definition visuals. To be clear, I am not implying that the Blu-ray release brings an upscaled presentation of the film. I am pointing out that the DVD release I have may be sourced from the same older master that the Blu-ray release is, or another master prepared at the same time.

The overall quality of this master is pretty decent, even good. Its biggest strength is that it is not polished with digital tools to produce 'better' and more even visuals. However, while virtually all close-ups look pleasing, the wider shots with nuanced background details tend to be underwhelming. It is not because there isn't sufficient detail there, but because it is easy to tell that there could be quite a bit more. As a result, on a larger screen, some of these areas of the film could appear a bit soft. Shadow nuances, while often appearing rather thick, tend to be pleasing, but this is another area where meaningful improvements can be introduced. Color reproduction is fine. However, if the film is fully restored in 4K, you will see rebalancing improvements in the color scheme, affecting select primaries and several supporting nuances, which will ensure that all visuals have a superior dynamic range. At present, it is rather obvious that the current master was graded a long time ago. Grain exposure is satisfactory, but it can be healthier and more pleasing, too. Image stability is very good. I noticed a few small blemishes, but there are no large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report. 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).

This Property is Condemned 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.

While performing comparisons with my DVD release of This Property is Condemned, I tested several areas where Kenyon Hopkins' score is prominent. There is an obvious gap in quality between the lossy track from the DVD release and the lossless track from the Blu-ray release. However, at the same time, if I turn the volume slightly more than usual, the lossy track performs very, very well. It is logical to assume that the film's original sound design does not provide too many great opportunities for the lossless track to impress. (There is no busy action material). On the other hand, I suspect that if the original audio is remastered, some new and meaningful improvements will be introduced.

This Property is Condemned Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Personal Investment: Sydney Pollack on American Cinema and 40 Years in Hollywood - in this archival program, Sydney Pollack discusses America's dominant role in the business of popular entertainment, and comments on whether it is good or bad for America and the rest of the world. Pollack also highlights the tremendous role of the westerns and the ideas and characters they promoted, and how, over the years, Hollywood altered both. Later, Pollack discusses his relocation from New York to Los Angeles and the evolution of his directing career, which Burt Lancaster initiated after a casual conversation, and declares that the best decade for American films was from 1965 to 1975. Pollack also confesses that the heart of all the films he made is a love story between a man and a woman. The program was created by Robert Fischer and Eckhart Schmidt for Fiction Factory. The program was produced in 2021 and updated in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (44 min).

• Natalie Wood: A Tribute by Peter Bogdanovich - in this new program, Peter Bogdanovich recalls his initial encounter with Natalie Wood and declares that "she was better than most of her movies." Bogdanovich then explains why Wood was a special actress and comments on her career and tragic death. The program was created by Robert Fischer and Eckhart Schmidt for Fiction Factory and Raphaela Film in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• The Times of Natalie Wood - in this new visual essay, screenwriter Gavin Lambert (Sons and Lovers, Inside Daisy Clover) discusses Natalie Wood's life and career. In English, not subtitled. (32 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by filmmaker Gillian Wallace Horvat.

This Property is Condemned Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Several individual performances in This Property is Condemned are predictably good and easy to like. However, the team effort they are part of is, unfortunately, rather underwhelming. For different reasons, too. For example, Natalie Wood looks lovely, but she is not the Southern belle that Tennessee Williams penned, and the drama that flourishes after Robert Redford arrives to permanently reshape the town where she lives depends on her successful transformation. Much of this drama is also stretched in different directions by competing themes that ultimately make This Property is Condemned look like a bloated Hollywood remake of an existing, vastly superior theater play. I still think that The Property is Condemned is worth seeing, but considering all the talented people who worked on it, it should have been a vastly superior film. Imprint Films' Blu-ray release is sourced from an acceptable old master and has several very good bonus features. It is worth picking up because it is the only one on the market. RECOMMENDED.