A Few Words About A few words about...™ A Farewell to Arms (1932) -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

I've been slowly wending my way through the latest (very interesting) batch of Kino (now Kino Lorder) releases, and quality-wise, the 1932 A Farewell to Arms is the best.


With an image harvested either from an original nitrate print (or a dupe struck from that print), the quality, especially coming from a final print element, is very pleasing.


Based upon the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name, I would presume that although the film is in the public domain -- this disc comes from a "studio" print -- that it may still be protected by underlying literary. Apparently no one cares.


An important note to this print, is that it represents the original release of the film at 89 minutes, as opposed to the re-issue at 80.


Most likely based upon the amount of silver in the 80 year old print, the gray scale on this Blu-ray holds up very nicely, with what appears to be proper shadow detail and an image of full rich grays. Audio is crisp, clean, and well represented.


This version of A Farewell to Arms has received short shrift over the past decades because of its public domain status. This quality Blu-ray release finally deals with past transgressions.


A very lovely Blu-ray, of an important film, starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes, directed by Frank Borzage, and photographed by Charles Lang.


Recommended.


RAH

 

[jaaguir]

Very pleased to read this,. I agree, this movie hasn't received its due. I own the Image dvd, which used the same source as this blu-ray (I guess, because it was also the 89 min version), and it came out in 2000 (if I remember right). An important movie only known until then in its public-domain version (which was Warner's re-issue cut of the '40s), and nobody seemed to care.

 

[Howard Tom]

I've never seen this film in its entirety, but do recall one TV showing that had the original ending, and the other ending that Paramount would have rather used but am unsure about the form: it was either the footage or stills of it in a book or online. I'm guessing this new release does not include any part of the alternate version. I also assumed that since this title and the new video release of Nothing Sacred was derived from the personal prints held by the Selznick estate, that the upcoming release of the Frederic March/Janet Gaynor version of A Star is Born has the same source?