A Few Words About A few words about...™ Mildred Pierce -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Quintessential Crawford.

Released in 1945, the film version of James M. Cain's (Double Indemnity) novel, has arrived from Warner Bros. via Criterion, and it's a gorgeous Blu-ray.

Derived substantially from the original nitrate camera negative, with a bit of replacement from a fine grain master, this is a release with no "if only they hads..." attached.

A perfect image harvest, along with superior audio, allowing the entire gray scale to be viewed, and with all the extras one might wish, Mildred Pierce doesn't get any better than this.

Beautifully resolved, stable, perfect grain structure and black levels.

I'd never seen the David Frost interview with Miss Crawford, which is among the superb extras, but its an extremely interesting piece, as the star comes off as honest and self-demeaning, and thoughtful.

Is it acting, or are we seeing an actual side of the actress? Not a clue.

Criterion's Mildred Pierce is a must own for any serious collector.

Image - 5

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[JoeDoakes]

I never really liked Joan Crawford, but she knocks this one out of the park.

 

[Doug Otte]

OCN? Now I'm looking forward to this one even more.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I am a big fan of James M Cain but, alas, not Joan Crawford. Hopefully, Slightly Scarlet based on Cain's Love's Lovely Counterfeit, will also be released on blu ray.

 

[Robin9]

I am a big fan of James M Cain but, alas, not Joan Crawford. Hopefully, Slightly Scarlet based on Cain's Love's Lovely Counterfeit, will also be released on blu ray.

See JoeDoakes post No. 2. I'm no fan of hers either but she's far better in this film than in any other I can think of. Michael Curtiz was a strong director who got good performance from his actors even though many of them didn't like him at all! As a James Cain admirer, you might not like the changes from the source novel. People who know the film but not the novel are always amazed when I tell them that the daughter is even worse in the book!

Slightly Scarlet was released by RKO which might mean it's now owned by Warners. I'd love a Warner Archive Blu-ray disc of this. John Alton made Rhonda Fleming look even better than usual!

 

[J. Casey]

Great news! Had this one pre-ordered since the announcement. Looking forward to more Crawford on blu!

 

[Will Krupp]

I'm a huge fan of hers and this is one of my all time favorites. Can't wait!

 

[PMF]

[...] Is it acting, or are we seeing an actual side of the actress? Not a clue. [...]

Is this question referring to Crawford's performance in the film, or the David Frost interview?

Meanwhile, this is great news in terms of Criterion's continued excellence and in their being able to capture another OCN to work with.

 

[willyTass]

I am a big fan of James M Cain but, alas, not Joan Crawford. Hopefully, Slightly Scarlet based on Cain's Love's Lovely Counterfeit, will also be released on blu ray.

Neither was I till I saw her in Possessed

 

[Robert Crawford]

I am a big fan of James M Cain but, alas, not Joan Crawford. Hopefully, Slightly Scarlet based on Cain's Love's Lovely Counterfeit, will also be released on blu ray.

Yeah, but she's very good in Mildred Pierce.

 

[dpippel]

She's pretty good in Johnny Guitar as well.

 

[warnerbro]

This is one of the all time great film noirs. It's a very entertaining and fun film I never get tired of watching. Eve Arden is also fun in this. I love the artwork on the cover, too. Thanks, Criterion!

 

[old mole]

Fine, film, but I prefer the HBO Kate Winslet version. Much closer to the Cain novel-characters and story much more fully developed. As good as Crawford is, Winslet is better, and so are Guy Pierce and Evan Rachel Wood (so despicable). The fatherly police officer character as the excuse for the flashback story is just not believable at all. Only Eve Arden stands out as a better Ida.

 

[Will Krupp]

Fine, film, but I prefer the HBO Kate Winslet version. Much closer to the Cain novel-characters and story much more fully developed. As good as Crawford is, Winslet is better, and so are Guy Pierce and Evan Rachel Wood (so despicable). The fatherly police officer character as the excuse for the flashback story is just not believable at all. Only Eve Arden stands out as a better Ida.

To each his own, I guess. I wanted to love the Winslet/Haynes remake but found it too cold and too long (by half.) I'm glad they took it on but it won't ever replace the 1945 movie in my mind's eye as the go-to version of the story. I love Kate WInslet but her Mildred, for me anyway, remained a distant cipher for the entire running time.

 

[Doug Otte]

To each his own, I guess. I wanted to love the Winslet/Haynes remake but found it too cold and too long (by half.) I'm glad they took it on but it won't ever replace the 1945 movie in my mind's eye as the go-to version of the story. I love Kate WInslet but her Mildred, for me anyway, remained a distant cipher for the entire running time.

I enjoyed the Haynes remake, but it does seem like there was an emotional distance there that I couldn't quite overcome. I thought everyone involved did a fine job and tried to emulate the original novel. I've seen the original many more times, and that might color my opinion, but do think it had more impact. And, having read the novel, I thought both were fairly faithful. The remake had more time to include more details, but the original captured the essential themes quite well.

 

[Will Krupp]

It was clearly a labor of love on Haynes part and I really appreciated that. It was just, overall, too "much" in my opinion and the length blunted the impact of the story. WAR & PEACE it ain't.

The remake had more time to include more details

I was amazed at (and loved) how difficult and downright exhausting it was for Mildred to open her first restaurant, a fact that is glossed over quite a bit in the shorter original where all she had to do was count the cars that passed (as though no one else would think of that!) and she got the loan. I enjoyed being able to see how hard she worked to pull it off.

 

[WilliamMcK]

For me Curtiz's MILDRED PIERCE and Haynes' MILDRED PIERCE is a classic case of "apples and oranges." I liked them both, but prefer the earlier movie. Not because I think it's necessarily better, but because of nostalgia and a preference for the 40s style of filmmaking.

 

[bugsy-pal]

I absolutely love this movie. The cinematography is stunning. I thought the old Warner DVD was good, but can't wait to view the Criterion bluray.

This movie gave me a real appreciation for Crawford, and I have subsequently equally enjoyed her performances in POssessed, Daisy Kenyon and Sudden Fear (to name a few).

 

[Race Bannon]

I was amazed at (and loved) how difficult and downright exhausting it was for Mildred to open her first restaurant, a fact that is glossed over quite a bit in the shorter original where all she had to do was count the cars that passed (as though no one else would think of that!) and she got the loan. I enjoyed being able to see how hard she worked to pull it off.

The restaurant/business subplot was the most fascinating aspect of the story in the Kate Winslett HBO one. I sort of lost interest after she opened the nice restaurant and it was a success. The relationship aspects faded for me -- perhaps it was too long.

 

[Cranston37+]

This looks interesting...