Director John Schlesinger delivered a decisive sock to the gut to cinemagoers with his 1969 Midnight Cowboy earning Best Picture and Best Director Oscars along the way. He next turned to a more bittersweet slice-of-life chamber piece somewhat based on his own life and with a slight emphasis on the bitter, Sunday Bloody Sunday. In its day it was a revolutionary film filled with images of city life and sophisticated relationships which were at the time alien to films. Even now over forty years later, this kind of intelligent glimpse into the lives of busy, accomplished people that tries to be as true and honest picture of life without sensationalism in order to sell tickets seems almost too good to be true.
Sunday Bloody Sunday (Blu-ray)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1971
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 110 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: PCM 1.0 English
Subtitles: SDH
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.95
Release Date: October 23, 2012
Review Date: October 16, 2012
The Film
4.5/5
The picture covers ten days in the lives of three proficient Londoners: Daniel Hirsh (Peter Finch) is an accomplished doctor and Alex Greville (Glenda Jackson) is an employment broker. What they share is artist Bob Elkin (Murray Head), a bisexual bohemian who enjoys his no-strings-attached relationships with both Daniel and Alex even though they’re both deeply in love with him and must make do with only having him peripherally a part of each of their lives. There are no secrets involved in the dual affairs: both Daniel and Alex know about one another, and both are aware that they each serve as a refuge for Bob when things get dicey with one or the other pairings. Bob has an offer to go to New York to try to break into the art market there, and each of his lovers must begin to come to terms with his absence from his or her life.
Director John Schlesinger not only focuses on the uneasy triangle arrangement these three adults must deal with, but he makes sure that his camera and microphone also pick up additional unsettling circumstances all around them. The headlines are all about unrest, and radio news broadcasts continually report on the negative. Daniel’s patients unload a steady stream of unhappiness and displeasure. There are drugged-out hippies in the streets, and there’s even one horrifying moment where a dog and child are heading for a busy street with oncoming traffic bearing down. Amid this disquieting tumult are the families and friends of both Alex and Daniel putting pressure on them to find a mate, if not Bob then someone else (and Daniel’s relatives aren’t even aware he’s gay; they attempt to set him up with a woman at his nephew’s bar mitzvah in one of the film’s most celebrated sequences). Schlesinger skillfully balances these images and situations without the film ever feeling too crushingly burdensome, and with Penelope Gilliatt’s tart-tongued script which doesn’t back away from sex scenes (though done completely tastefully) and which offers a fair share of both Daniel and Alex’s lives (Alex’s more haphazard; Daniel’s more orderly and reserved), the movie is just whip-smart filmmaking at its very best.
Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson received glowing notices for some of the finest acting of their careers, and the performances do radiate a kind of reality that’s so rare in movies. These people seem as real as one’s own friends and neighbors. Murray Head has a more difficult job acting this fairly passive love object who switches from one partner to the other without blinking an eye, but he’s effective for his role in the lives of these two much more complicated and sophisticated people. In smaller roles, it’s a joy to see such brilliant British actors as Peggy Ashcroft as Alex’s mother and Vivian Pickles as Alex’s sister, and look carefully and you’ll see Jon Finch in a small part as one of Daniel’s former tricks.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The film is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and is offered in 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. The film has never looked this good on home video before with none of the dinginess and muddy color that have plagued earlier incarnations of the work. Here, the picture is crisp and very satisfying with lots of detail to be seen in hair, clothes, and facial features. Color never is obtrusive but seems natural and consistently applied. Flesh tones are likewise very true to life. Black levels aren’t the darkest, but they’re certainly acceptable. The film has been divided into 27 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The PCM (1.1 Mbps) 1.0 sound mix is very typical for its day with the dialogue, music, and sound effects all comfortably occupying the same channel. Dialogue is occasionally a little muffled, but that may have been true to the original recording, and the strains of classical music along with some special music cues by Ron Geesin have surprisingly good fidelity and come across quite nicely.
Special Features
4/5
A 1975 interview with John Schlesinger is presented as an audio recording with clips and stills as illustrative aids. It also features some comments by screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt and runs 13 ¼ minutes.
All of the video featurettes are presented in 1080p.
A series of 2012 interviews conducted with pertinent people in the story of Sunday Bloody Sunday are presented. They are:
- Co-star Murray Head (7 ½ minutes) talks about his role and some clashes with the director.
- Cinematographer Billy Williams (13 ¼ minutes) discusses his techniques for camera movement and lighting and his loving John’s adaptation of the story despite initial trepidation about it.
- Production designer Luciana Arrighi (9 ½ minutes) who appreciated Schlesinger’s bringing her in early in the production process and feeling like a true collaborator.
- John Schlesinger’s partner of many years Michael Childers (7 ½ minutes) discussing how important the movie was to John and his honor of winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for the movie.
“On Sunday Bloody Sunday” is author and film historian William J. Mann’s 23 ¼-minute video critique of the film also offering biographical information on the director and the importance of the film in his overall filmography.
The theatrical trailer runs 2 ½ minutes.
The enclosed 28-page booklet contains cast and crew lists, some appealing color stills, Penelope Gilliatt’s introduction to the published edition of her screenplay, and author Ian Buruma’s insightful comparison between John Schlesinger reality-based one/two punch of Midnight Cowboy and Sunday Bloody Sunday.
The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc and the title of the chapter you’re now in. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
4.5/5 (not an average)
A brilliant film from one of the best filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s, Sunday Bloody Sunday retains all of its reflections on society of that period with emotions that still ring true today. The Blu-ray release by Criterion presents the best-ever version of this adult drama that has ever been released. Highly recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
