A Few Words About A few words about...™ Guess Who's Coming to Dinner -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Something new for "A Few Words..."

Yet another rating is being added to the score menu.

Adaptability to 4k uprez.

Rated 0 - 5, with 5 being a virtual 4k image, and 0 being, well...

And there may not be a more appropriate film to act as a first recipient of a rating than Stanley Kramer's 1967, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Anyone who knows anything about actors of the era, film history, and the interrelationships of those actors cannot help but get choked up watching the ending of this film -- in itself a superb closing sequence.

But add to the mix that one of the film's leading actors, the great Spencer Tracy was virtually unable to work, putting in a couple of hours in mornings, and being whisked away to save his strength. While everyone on set had to be aware of his condition -- he passed away only a couple of weeks after the end of production -- watching Katharine Hepburn's reaction shots to his acting, know what she knew...

That aside, and it's difficult to put it aside, the film is an extraordinary work. Groundbreaking for its day, with wonderful work by the cast, especially Mr. Poitier, and the newly struck Katharine Houghton.

Mr. Kimmel will attest that there are certain things that some of us recall about film, film density and color, and in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, at least for me, it was a bright red scarf that Ms Hepburn wore. One could call the shade, "Totally Technicolor Red."

In the work that Mr. Crisp and his minions have performed, not only is the image fully resolved, with stunning black levels and shadow detail, but the colorist nailed that red.

So the Blu-ray is just another run of the mill Colombia job, which means absolutely perfect.

Thanks to Twilight Time, their work can be yours.

In her monograph, standard with Twilight Time releases, Julie Kirgo makes note of the fact that the film not only stands the test of time, but as she puts it: "It's the rare film that manages to be timely both on the day of its release and again, nearly half a century later. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is such a rara avis... Tragically, the issues that dominate Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - American racism and, by extension, marriage equality - have not gone away..."

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a masterwork, that belongs in every serious cinema library.

Image - 5

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 5 - Brilliant and film-like

Pass / Fail - Pass

Very Highly Recommended

RAH

Fantastic blu-ray. I never felt the film worked that well, but I've grown to appreciate it more over the years. I've always owned it in every home video incarnation solely for the wonderful performances and the historical importance of the last Tracy-Hepburn pairing. But it was like seeing for the first time on this spectacular blu-ray. Kudos to Sony and TT!

Received my copy Wednesday, will be watching this weekend. Good to hear about the quality (not that I doubted it). One of my all-time favorite films.....

I guess by adaptability to 4K uprez you mean how it looks on a 4K tv? Are there good blu-rays that do not look good on a 4K tv?

JoeDoakes said:

I guess by adaptability to 4K uprez you mean how it looks on a 4K tv? Are there good blu-rays that do not look good on a 4K tv?

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Not certain. That are adequate Blu-rays, and how they will uprez remains to be seen.

This has always been one of my favorite films of the sixties, for its stellar cast, its articulate screenplay with moving drama laced with gentle humor, its mid-sixties studio lighting which made everyone look so glamorous, and especially the poignancy behind the last pairing of the Great Kate and Mr. Tracy. Sure, the movie is dated, but only in ways that Mr. Kramer and Mr. Rose would wish it to be dated fifty years hence.


Thank you, Sony and Twilight Time for excellent work on this one!

Mine arrived yesterday and I hoping to revisit it this weekend. This is one of my favorite movies EVER because of the message and performances. Herpburn and Tracy are always a delight together.

Only after multiple viewings, over years, did I finally begin to see the incredible humor in this film. The concept of, as Ms Kirgo puts it, limousine liberals, and how they react when Mr. Poitier's character lands in their living room...

I watched this Blu-ray today and just got done viewing it again with the audio commentary. A fabulous presentation and well worth the price of purchase. Looking at the film itself, it's probably one of the most important films ever made social-wise, but what else do you expect from Stanley Kramer. Mr. Kramer has always been one of my favorite filmmakers for tapping into subject matters that are nothing today, but back then, really opened some eyes.

Watched with wife tonight. A glorious transfer of one of my favorite films. Bravo to both Fox and Twilight Time....and a big thanks!

Rob_Ray said:

... its mid-sixties studio lighting which made everyone look so glamorous

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The scene after Matt and Christina return from Mel's Drive-In at sunset and she walks through the living room and out onto the terrace makes me almost swoon it's so gorgeous!

Robert Harris said:

Only after multiple viewings, over years, did I finally begin to see the incredible humor in this film. The concept of, as Ms Kirgo puts it, limousine liberals, and how they react when Mr. Poitier's character lands in their living room...

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Kinda like this: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bill-clinton-told-ted-kennedy-obama-coffee-years-game-change-article-1.197492. Some things don't change.

So great to see superlative scores here. My copy is ordered, as this is one of my all-time favorite films.


Given your comments, Robert, can we safely assume this Blu-ray was taken from a brand new 4K master? I know there are Sony BDs in Europe/Japan from 2013, which are said to be from the 2007/2008 HD master from the Collector's Edition DVD.

McCrutchy said:

So great to see superlative scores here. My copy is ordered, as this is one of my all-time favorite films.


Given your comments, Robert, can we safely assume this Blu-ray was taken from a brand new 4K master? I know there are Sony BDs in Europe/Japan from 2013, which are said to be from the 2007/2008 HD master from the Collector's Edition DVD.

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On another disc audio commentary I think Nick Redman does confirm this.

I watched this last night and I am so pleased with this blu-ray. A wonderful movie and beautifully presented. Ms. Hepburn's adoration of Tracy is apparent in every frame and brings me to tears by the end every time.


Out of consideration for family, I watched with earphones and I had never noticed before that the dialogue is vaguely directional. As one example, at 1:18, when Spencer Tracy is introducing everyone, the panning follows the voices of those speaking from middle of frame to side of frame. It is subtle, but with earphones is very apparent. Was it that way in 1967, or was that created for one of the previous DVD incarnations?


While the music is plainly stereo on the main soundtrack, to my ear it is mono on the isolated track.


I loved watching the theatrical trailer. It is hi-def and captures that dupey/grainy look of trailers before the digital era. I felt like I was back in time watching real film.

Robert Crawford said:

I watched this Blu-ray today and just got done viewing it again with the audio commentary. A fabulous presentation and well worth the price of purchase. Looking at the film itself, it's probably one of the most important films ever made social-wise, but what else do you expect from Stanley Kramer. Mr. Kramer has always been one of my favorite filmmakers for tapping into subject matters that are nothing today, but back then, really opened some eyes.

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Imagine if Blu-Ray, Twilight Time, and even the members here, could be regarded as being responsible for "rehabilitating" Mr. Kramer's reputation (at large).


I searched for a quote from Andrew Sarris:


"If Stanley Kramer had not existed," pontificated Andrew Sarris in The American Cinema, "he would have had to have been invented as the most extreme example of thesis or message cinema. Unfortunately, he has been such an easy and willing target for so long that his very ineptness has become encrusted with tradition."


That quote is part of a longer, more balanced article about Mr. Kramer:


http://www.movingimagesource.us/articles/rethinking-stanley-kramer-20100825

Dave B Ferris said:

Imagine if Blu-Ray, Twilight Time, and even the members here, could be regarded as being responsible for "rehabilitating" Mr. Kramer's reputation (at large).


I searched for a quote from Andrew Sarris:


"If Stanley Kramer had not existed," pontificated Andrew Sarris in The American Cinema, "he would have had to have been invented as the most extreme example of thesis or message cinema. Unfortunately, he has been such an easy and willing target for so long that his very ineptness has become encrusted with tradition."


That quote is part of a longer, more balanced article about Mr. Kramer:


http://www.movingimagesource.us/articles/rethinking-stanley-kramer-20100825

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I never knew Kramer's reputation had to be rehabilitated, at least, from the general public. I could careless what some snob-nose movie critics thought of him.

Is this transfer better than the Euro blu ray's transfer?

battlebeast said:

Is this transfer better than the Euro blu ray's transfer?

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It's much newer and is 4k. Similarly, Sony have just completed the brand new transfer of FAT CITY at 4k which premieres at screenings in LA this week and debuts on blu-ray via TT in Sept.

Rob_Ray said:

This has always been one of my favorite films of the sixties, for its stellar cast, its articulate screenplay with moving drama laced with gentle humor, its mid-sixties studio lighting which made everyone look so glamorous, and especially the poignancy behind the last pairing of the Great Kate and Mr. Tracy. Sure, the movie is dated, but only in ways that Mr. Kramer and Mr. Rose would wish it to be dated fifty years hence.


Thank you, Sony and Twilight Time for excellent work on this one!

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When this was originally released, I was only 17 and even then, while I could appreciate the intent and the great performances, I thought the film was unintentionally racist and I still do. Poitier's Dr. John Wayde Prentice Jr. character has to be "perfect". IIRC, he's a doctor who also was a U.N. executive who had also won the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize or something similar and had unbelievable credentials. So he was only acceptable because in essence, he was a Black Superman. What if he had just been a relatively successful accountant or business manager? Would that have made him unacceptable? This film was a limousine liberal's fantasy vision of what equality meant.


Also, I thought it was notable that his intended was played not by the typical Hollywood starlet, but by an unknown who was not beautiful by Hollywood standards and who dressed extremely conservatively. While having someone more 'ordinary' lends a bit of reality to a film, I always felt that the producers weren't ready to have a famous Hollywood starlet be engaged to a Black man because that would be threatening to white men. What I didn't know until now was that Houghton was Hepburn's niece in real life. Although she had a career on the stage, she only appeared in nine other movies after "Dinner", mostly in small roles.


Having said all that, there are still white people who would be upset if their child married an African-American. So I suppose the film still serves a purpose, as dated as it seems.