The Lost Weekend is a safe buy, right? (1 Viewer)

[Evan Case]

Hey folks,

Even having won the Best Picture Oscar in 1945, I've always had that distinct impression that Billy Wilder's classic drama about alcoholism is an underrated film, in that it's rarely mentioned among his many masterpieces.

Personally, it might just be my favorite, if not exactly for its entertainment value.

Anyway, my point in starting this thread is that I'm wondering about the quality of the current DVD release.

As I've stumbled across it for $10, it would be a no-brainer purchase as long as there are no serious defects or transfer aberrations. That, and no plans for Special Edition release in the near future.

Thanks,

Evan

 

[Robert Crawford]

Evan,

This film which won AA's for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay is not underrated in my book and it should have been named to the AFI's top 100 films. Anyhow, the dvd transfer is very good and I doubt you'll see it released again on this format. For the price you quoted, you can't go wrong in buying it.

Crawdaddy

 

[Craig Cunningham]

It's a steal at $10. I gave this disc an overall rating of C-. Enjoy!

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's a steal at $10. I gave this disc an overall rating of C-. Enjoy!

Based on video presentation or lack of extras? I think that grade is low if it's based on video presentation. Considering the film's age, I would give it a B for video presentation.

Crawdaddy

 

[Mitchell Kaufman]

The picture quality is not good. The source material is soft, with poor contrast and greyscale. It is not (to paraphrase Gary Reber) "sure to please."

The disc has at least one amusing subtitle faux pas: in the scene early in the film at Ray Milland's apartment, Jane Wyman mentions she's going to Carnegie Hall and that "Barbirolli's conducting." (That would be John Barbirolli, onetime principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic.) The subtitle: "Bob Roller's conducting."

Anyway, I suppose if you really want to see the film (it's worth it alone to see Milland's performance and also to see how seedy Third Avenue in New York looked in the '40s), for ten bucks you can't go wrong.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Here's a dvd review from DVDFile:
http://www.dvdfile.com/software/revi...stweekend.html

 

[Craig Cunningham]

Based on video presentation or lack of extras? I think that grade is low if it's based on video presentation. Considering the film's age, I would give it a B for video presentation.

Robert, my grade was for the disc as a whole. I would give it a B to B- for video.

 

[Evan Case]

Thanks guys, you've answered my concerns.

I'll be picking it up this evening.

Evan