This is a severely disappointing blu ray release. I've seen the film projected theatrically and it wasn't remotely this grainy; in fact, all reviewers who believe this is film grain are wrong. Pause any given image, especially a darker scene, and the picture falls apart, as if shot on Super 8. This is digital noise, not film grain, and I'm certain this is the same master used for the 2005 DVD release, which was quite beautiful on DVD but utterly unacceptable on BD, especially for a film of this caliber. The film was shot Super 35mm for blow up to 70mm and it looked great. The upconverted DVD looks better than this.

I contacted Jon Mulvaney of Criterion, whom I respect, and was told to recalibrate my television to make the BD look good, something I've never had to do with any other BD. I was told that perhaps my Panasonic Viera Plasma was set on "Vivid" mode and that I should change it and soften the picture. No self-respecting FILM editor would set his or her television to "Vivid" mode unless they knew nothing but video games. The clips from Howards End used in the BD menu and blown up to 16x9 are stunningly filmlike when compared to the atrocious mess of snow and noise when the feature starts. Yes, daylight scenes look beautiful, detail is better than the DVD, sound is much much better. But the overall image is appalling. A four year old master was used for this release and a new one should have been struck.

I've put the DVD back up on the shelf and have hidden the BD from view, hoping to forget it ever happened. Perhaps I can use it as a coaster for my tea.