Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Washington Square Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 18, 2019

The Heiress was a considerable triumph in 1949, garnering eight Academy Award nominations, and winning trophies for Best Actress Olivia de Havilland, Best Original Score for Aaron Copland (!), Best Costume Design (Black and White) for Edith Head and Gile Steele, and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Black and White) for John Meehan, Harry Horner and Emile Kuri. (The film’s non-winning nominations included Best Picture, Best Director — William Wyler, Best Supporting Actor — Ralph Richardson, and Best Cinematography (Black and White) — Leo Tover.) In what is perhaps an example of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, 1997’s Washington Square, based on the 1880 novel by Henry James bearing that name and which also provided the source material for The Heiress, didn’t connect with the public or the award certifying cabals in the same way the 1949 opus did. That’s perhaps a little mystifying, since Washington Square is well made and extremely well performed, but the film’s lack of recognition may actually say more about 1997 audiences than it does about any perceived inherent deficits in the film itself.

Henry James’ novels were often exercises in psychology, a field where Henry’s brother William made some pioneering efforts as well, and so some nascent Freudians may want to make what they will out of the fact that at least some of James’ works, like this one and The Aspern Papers, featured “plain Jane” women suddenly under the spell of a dashing male stranger, a stranger whose motives may not be entirely pure, let alone romantic. Here a somewhat dowdy woman named Catherine Sloper (Jennifer Jason Leigh) finds herself (perhaps willingly) under the thumb of her imperious father (Albert Finney), who is not exactly approving of a suitor named Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin), who pretty much fits snugly into that description of a maybe / maybe not unscrupulous guy on the hunt for riches rather than true love.

There are strong performances all around here, including by a colorful supporting cast that includes a scene stealing Maggie Smith as Catherine's Aunt, who may have eyes for Morris herself. Jennifer Garner and Betsy Brantley are also on hand in minor roles. I'm personally not entirely sure director Agnieszka Holland's "modernizing" tendencies really serve the material all that well. Some stylistic flourishes, as in the opening shot that begins somewhere in the clouds, before descending to a town and then inside the Sloper house without any discernable cuts, are enjoyable if kind of weird (is the camera supposed to a bird or something?). Others, like a bizarre cliffside showdown between Catherine and her father seem like they are Holland's attempts to work in a little Wuthering Heights into the proceedings.

Washington Square Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Washington Square is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics, an imprint of Kino Lorber, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is a largely pleasing looking transfer, one that boasts a generally healthy looking palette that delivers some especially vivid reds and blues, but which offered flesh tones that looked slightly pinkish to me at times. Detail levels on fabrics on costumes and furniture and draperies are often nicely precise looking. There are some minor nicks and blemishes along the way, but nothing major. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation.

Washington Square Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Washington Square features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that offers excellent support for a rather ravishing string drenched score by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, one which reminded me personally of both Debussy's and Ravel's string quartets at times. Dialogue is also rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this presentation, and several outdoor scenes have realistic sounding ambient environmental effects.

Washington Square Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Director Agnieszka Holland


• Washington Square Trailer (480i; 1:59)

Trailers for several other Kino Lorber releases are also included.

Washington Square Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Criterion Collection recently released The Heiress, and this might make an interesting double feature for fans who picked up the old William Wyler classic. I'm not sure Holland's more stylistically overt tendencies really help the film, and some may feel, as I did at least on a couple of occasions, that they're downright distracting. That said, performances here are superb, and the production design very handsome. Technical merits are solid, and with caveats duly noted, Washington Square comes Recommended.