Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Tulip Fever Blu-ray Movie Review

How many Dutch does it take to screw in a tulip bulb?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 5, 2017

Tulip Fever is one of those films with an impeccable "resume" on paper, with not one but three Academy Award winners listed prominently above the title in lead roles, a fascinating historical premise underlying a story based on a book by best selling author Deborah Moggach (whose novel These Foolish Things became The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), and with Moggach’s source novel adapted by legendary writer Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ). And yet — have you heard about this film, or at least heard very much, other than perhaps some withering critical comments that were lobbed at it during its brief and spectacularly unsuccessful theatrical exhibition (including by our own Brian Orndorf here)? According to some background information I researched in preparation for writing this review, Tulip Fever evidently had a long and tortured pre-production period, with a number of high profile stars and production crew being “attached” at various points, only to fall off as things progressed. When the film finally went into production, it was with Alicia Vikander, Dane de Haan and Christoph Waltz in lead roles and with Justin Chadwick assuming directorial duties, assignments rather radically different than some of the other, once announced, cast and crew choices. Even after the film was shot, it languished for what was reportedly years, subject to further editing and rejiggering in some sort of attempt to make it “better”. But perhaps the biggest obstacle facing Tulip Fever, at least in retrospect, was its shift from Dreamworks to the now embattled Weinstein Company. I recently mentioned in my Amityville: The Awakening Blu-ray review how a public relations email mentioned how unspecified “issues” with TWC had briefly delayed the Blu-ray release of that film, but it’s interesting to note that Lionsgate isn’t even promoting the Blu-ray release of this particular outing. In my not so humble estimation Tulip Fever is not the unmitigated disaster many folks have claimed it to be, and there’s no denying that it offers a sumptuous physical production supporting its tale of forbidden love in a time of bizarre manic intensity over “rare” flowers (more about that later), but it is an odd effort that never really manages to create much emotional resonance, despite a story of star-crossed lovers that would seem to be a near perfect lure for romantic types who love historically based sagas.

My sons, who are only too eager to inform their old man about his “geezer-dom”, have been deluging me with information about so-called “crypto- currencies” (like Bitcoin) lately, telling me I’m hopelessly old school to have my hard earned cash invested in “loser” propositions like, you know, the stock market. Tulip Fever might serve as a salient example to my boys of how unpredictable markets not based in cold, hard cash can be, since one of the underlying plot conceits of the film is the (to modern eyes) inexplicable love affair the Dutch had with the admittedly gorgeous blooms in the 17th century. While “investing” in tulips enters the story, at least tangentially, the “real” drama involves orphan Sophie (Alicia Vikander) who is more or less given to an elderly man named Cornelis Sandvoort (Christoph Waltz) in an arranged marriage, with the “payoff” for Sophie being first a comfortable life, but perhaps more importantly the knowledge that her sisters will be shipped off to “New Amsterdam” (i.e., New York), hopefully to find a better life themselves.

Sophie’s sole “duty” in her new role is to provide Cornelis with an heir, but she is unable to conceive, despite Cornelis’ nightly “adventures” with what he calls his “little soldier”. A vignette reveals that Cornelis is putting Sophie on a schedule to get pregnant, and that if she hasn’t conceived within six months, she may be out of a “job” (so to speak). Meanwhile, Sophie’s maid Maria (Holliday Grainger) is having a torrid affair with the local fish monger William (Jack O’Connell). When Maria finds herself “with child” due to this fling, a plot is hatched between Maria and Sophie to pass Sophie off as pregnant, with the endgame being a kind of weird decision to not just give the child to Cornelis as his own, but to also claim that Sophie has died in childbirth, thereby giving Sophie some semblance of freedom.

Now all of this might have been fine and dandy, but there’s a whole sidebar subplot involving a hunky young portrait painter named Jan van Loos (Dane De Haan) whom Cornelis hires to “do” him and Sophie. Without being too cheeky about it, Jan predictably starts “doing” Sophie in a different way, which is why in fact she wants to get out from under Cornelis’ thumb. This element, along with yet another convoluted subplot involving William getting conscripted into the navy, just stuffs Tulip Fever to the breaking point (and I will only mention in passing some “other” other subplots involving blackmail threats and a duplicitous “fertility” doctor).

What’s especially surprising about Tulip Fever is its kind of lackluster dialogue. Stoppard is one of the quickest wits writing, but his work here is largely pedestrian, and in fact kind of silly at times. I haven’t read the source novel, and so part of this proclivity may in fact be due to the source, but the film never really has the snap and crackle that it should, though some of the individual vignettes play out well enough. Another kind of odd element is the lack of an organic weaving of the whole tulip aspect into the main plot proceedings. There’s an attempt of sorts in the guise of an abbess character from Sophie's orphanage played by the imperious Dame Judi Dench, but it’s a metaphor aching for some context.

Tulip Fever Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tulip Fever is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot with Arri Alexas, I'm assuming this was finished at a 2K DI, though I haven't been able to confirm that. This is often a rather sumptuous looking film, with Danish cinematographer Einil Bryld's lighting often (appropriately) evoking the painterly look of such Dutch icons as Rembrandt and/or Bruegel. A lot of the production design emphasizes deep auburn or browns, but detail levels remain generally very high despite an overall burnished quality to sets and costumes. A lot of the interior scenes are rather duskily lit, but shadow definition remains quite high throughout the presentation. Fine detail is excellent in close-ups, delivering beautiful looks at the finely wrought costumes.

Tulip Fever Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tulip Fever features a generally immersive but sometimes rather subtly designed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Several outdoor scenes which feature boisterous crowds (sometimes in the background) offer a nice spill of sounds through the surround channels, but often things are relegated to discrete channelization, as in a kind of humorous montage detailing Sophie's nightly "trial" which features Cornelis relieving himself, placed left, which is followed by some supposed bedtime "frolicking", which moves the soundstage more toward the center channel. Fidelity is excellent throughout, with all elements prioritized smartly.

Tulip Fever Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Cast of Tulip Fever (1080p; 4:35) offers a bunch of clips from the film with very brief interstitial interviews with personnel that also features director Justin Chadwick, but who's counting?

Tulip Fever Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of hilariously, Lionsgate is evidently more or less dumping this film with Dane De Haan and Cara Delevingne just a couple of weeks after they were touting Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which for some may arguably be a bigger disaster than this particular film. In fact, Tulip Fever came at least relatively close to actually working for me. It's literate (if clunkily written at times), beautifully designed and well performed. But there's something not quite right with the finished product, resulting in a kind of listless but beautiful viewing experience. Technical merits are strong for those considering a purchase.