Written on the Wind Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Written on the Wind Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 12, 2022

Douglas Sirk's "Written on the Wind" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include archival program Robert Fischer; new interview with critic Patricia White; and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

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Approximately ten days ago, on a very gloomy Sunday, I made a double bill of Written on the Wind and The Carpetbaggers. Douglas Sirk’s film was first, then came Edward Dmytryk’s film. I spent the entire afternoon in front of my system, but after my viewing session was over, I genuinely felt better and went out for a walk with a big smile on my face. These films are so colorful, so brilliantly acted and directed, and so unafraid to unload all sorts of timeless truths about the two sexes that the serious critic’s perpetual desire to describe them as trash makes perfect sense. Oh, by the way, they are pretty darn funny, too.

I prefer The Carpetbaggers because it is the bolder and more direct film. It takes some liberties with the original material from Harold Robins’ novel, but it is certainly for the better. Viewing George Peppard expose the hypocrites on the way to the top and destroy the ones that question his intellect is an incredible spectacle. The best moments in the film are the ones where he instantly spots their weaknesses and uses them to manipulate them exactly like they have been manipulating the less fortunate and weaker ones around them. It is a jewel of a film, directed by Dmytryk with the type of fearless confidence that is no longer tolerated in Hollywood, and so brutally honest that it hurts.

Written on the Wind is a hard-hitting film too, but its truths are served in a more sensible manner. It is the one and only reason why it has not been quite as viciously dismissed as The Carpetbaggers. At the end Sirk also gives its characters a chance to fully redeem themselves by blaming their misery on true love and this ultimately makes it look like Written on the Wind was always meant to be a lighter satirical film about super wealthy grownups and difficult romance. But more than two-thirds of Written on the Wind tell a very different story, which has a lot in common with the one that is told in The Carpetbaggers.

The fireworks in Written on the Wind begin immediately after the Hadley Oil Company hires Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall) to work as a secretary in one of its many large offices in New York City. Kyle Hadley (Robert Stack), the wild and single son of the company’s aging owner, instantly falls in love with her, but so does his best friend, Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), who is also his father’s right-hand man. Soon after, during a trip to Miami Beach, Kyle reveals to Lucy how he feels about her, and after promising to change his lifestyle the two secretly tie the knot. However, their struggle to become parents eventually reveals that Kyle has a condition that needs medical attention, and instead of bringing them closer quickly and permanently destroys the foundation of their relationship. It seriously complicates Kyle’s friendship with Mitch and already difficult relationship with his father as well. In the midst of all the drama, Kyle’s equally wild sister, Marylee (Dorothy Malone), who has been trying and failing to convince Mitch to marry her, then makes a series of strategic moves to finally get what she desires.

Sirk was a much better visual stylist than Dmytryk, so it is not surprising that Written on the Wind provides a greater variety of indescribably colorful visuals. This seems to be one of the main reasons why some of the film’s greatest critics see kitsch in it -- it has a certain garish quality that was extremely uncommon for its era. I have never been able to spot the kitsch. What I see in Written on the Wind is a rather brilliant reconstruction of the glitzy world of the super wealthy, which I have always assumed is a place of striking garish contrasts and endless temptations.

The other reason that supposedly makes it easy to summarize Written on the Wind as kitsch is the behavior of its stars. It is true that it is frequently over the top and even off-putting in ways that may seem pretty artificial, but the super wealthy are usually out of touch with reality, so why would they behave like the rest of us?

When the smoke clears it becomes obvious that Written on the Wind, like The Carpetbaggers, is about incredibly privileged people going after what they desire and paying for it in different ways. Hudson’s character is one of them too, despite having emerged from a completely different environment. Do they deserve our sympathy? They have mine. Do you know why? Because as they go through some of the best and most of the worst life has to offer, it feels like they are sacrificing a lot to teach us how to avoid their mistakes.

Written on the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Written on the Wind arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner at NBCUniversal StudioPost in Universal City, California, from the 35mm original camera negative. A vintage 35mm dye-transfer print, courtesy of the Academy Film Archive, was used for color reference. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic master.

Transfer supervisors: Ed Lachman, Lee Kline.
Colorist: Joe Gawler/Harbor Picture Company, New York."

The only other release of Written on the Wind that I have in my library is Criterion's DVD release from 2001. I did only a couple of very quick tests with the DVD release and then put it away. Why? Because the Blu-ray release offers a humongous upgrade in quality and looking for specific discrepancies between the DVD and Blu-ray releases is a total waste of time.

Even if you have a standard size screen, around the 50-inch range, you will see some pretty big improvements in terms of delineation and depth. Some of the darker interior footage in particular looks much, much better on the Blu-ray and reveals ranges of smaller nuances that are either awfully difficult or impossible to recognize on the DVD. Instead of looking flat or/and blocky, and again particularly during darker footage, backgrounds are much better defined as well. Depth is very clearly superior as well. The new 2K master is very nicely graded. It has wonderful ranges of primaries and some very, very beautiful supporting nuances. However, this is one area of the presentation where I feel that Blu-ray does not quite make the film justice. Again, film's color palette is pretty spectacular and I think that this is about as solid of a reproduction that you could get on Blu-ray, but it is not that difficult to tell that with an expanded range of colors in a higher resolution everything will look even more spectacular. Image stability is excellent. Finally, the entire film looks spotless. All in all, this is a terrific organic presentation of Written on the Wind that will make its fans very happy. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Written on the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clear and stable. However, I noticed a couple of areas where it felt a tad compressed and as a result a bit weak. It is hard to tell if this effect is an inherited limitation or something that was introduced during the restoration process, but I had to turn up the volume of my system slightly more than usual just to be able to hear clearly all of the exchanges. There are no distortions, audio dropouts, or other similar anomalies to report in our review.

Written on the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is vintage trailer for Written on the Wind. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Acting for Douglas Sirk - this archival program takes a closer look at two classic films directed by Douglas Sirk, Written on the Wind and The Tarnished Angels. Included in it are clips from archival interviews with Douglas Sirk, Rock Hudson, Dorothy Malone, Robert Stack, producer Albert Zugsmith, and filmmaker Allison Anders. The program was produced by Robert Fischer for Fiction Factory in 2008. In English and German, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (24 min).

• Patricia White - in this new interview, critic Patricia White discusses Written on the Wind. The interview was conducted for Criterion in 2021. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Blair McClendon's essay "No Good End" and technical credits.

Written on the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Written on the Wind is neither a ridiculous trashy melodrama nor a brilliant social commentary on the lifestyle of the super wealthy in post-war America. Yes, its characters are incredibly privileged people, but they need to be because as they go through some of the best and most of the worst life has to offer it is easier to produce all kinds of different truths about the two sexes. I think that Written on the Wind is a spectacular, often breathtakingly beautiful film whose stars are at the top of their game. Criterion's Blu-ray release is sourced from a solid exclusive 2K master and has a terrific program featuring clips from archival interviews with Douglas Sirk, Rock Hudson, Dorothy Malone, and Robert Stack. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.