On Golden Pond Blu-ray Review
Adapting his stage play for the screen, Ernest Thompson has fashioned a masterful blend of comedy and drama delving deeply into the human emotions of these damaged individuals and offering them at the film’s conclusion some blissful islands of solace. There isn’t much action in the piece (a minor boating accident and an accidental momentary fire in the living room are about as lively as things get), but the beauty of the movie is in the shared moments between Norman and Billy on the lake, between Norman and Ethel as they contemplate their ever-closer mortality, and individually between Chelsea and her mother and Chelsea and her father as they all strive to bring their frustrations and disappointments from the past into some kind of understanding. Some of Chelsea’s vicious potshots early-on seem perhaps a bit too whiny and childish, less realistic than most of the other moments in the dramedy, but there is genuine emotion present in the movie from the start, and Mark Rydell’s careful direction, capturing nuances in reactions to others’ behaviors and carefully pacing the story so that nothing drags or feels rushed, clearly represent his best-ever screen work. And because the film was shot completely on gorgeous locations at a real lake house (in New Hampshire, not Maine) with no Hollywood sets, the sense of reality present is palpable. You can sense these people being revitalized by the beauty which surrounds them and by the sizzling chemistry that the ensemble shares.
Not only had Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn never worked together before, they didn’t even know one another prior to filming, but you’d never know it from the easy, loving camaraderie they share throughout. When she calls him an “old poop” over his forgetfulness and mind games nonsense and he calls her a “beautiful old dame,” you know they’re words spoken with utmost affection and sincerity. Both actors won Academy Awards for their performances (Fonda also won the Golden Globe and the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor), and you’ll seldom see old age portrayed with more honesty and virtuosity than it is here (Fonda’s climactic heart attack seems vividly real, and Hepburn’s fright over his being lost on the lake with Billy likewise rings totally true). Not getting nearly the credit that he has deserved for the film is young actor Doug McKeon playing Billy who not only holds his own with these two old pros but often expertly pulls focus with his own virtuoso display of emotional release. Jane Fonda playing a poignant variation of her real-life relationship with her father also registers strongly especially in the scenes after she returns from Europe with a fierce determination to settle things once and for all with her father in a last ditch effort to mend fences before it’s too late. Dabney Coleman has a wonderful one-on-one thrust and parry sequence with Fonda as his Bill Ray tries to establish early-on a rapport with his recalcitrant soon-to-be father-in-law. As the only member of the original stage cast in the movie, William Lanteau as waterway postman Charlie Martin offers regional charm and lots of heart.
Reflections On Golden Pond (30:03, SD): Billy Williams’ exquisite Oscar-nominated cinematography which contributed so much to the film’s great critical and public success is discussed by the man himself and also by director Mark Rydell, writer Ernest Thompson, and others.
A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (15:53, SD): the four-time Oscar-winning actress and her storied career are recalled not only by the film’s director Mark Rydell, writer Ernest Thompson, and cinematographer Billy Williams but also by director Anthony Harvey (who directed her to an Oscar for The Lion in Winter) and film historians David Thomson and Richard Schickel.
Theatrical Trailer (2:53, SD)
Ernest Thompson’s thoughtful, moving ruminations on the fripperies and vagaries of old age with individuals fighting for one showy last stand before the end are brought beautifully to life in Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond. With an expert cast, superb location photography, and a story that, with only a few bumps along the way, plays like a harmoniously nuanced chamber piece, On Golden Pond marks career milestones for many in the cast and crew and points to a time when movies that solely combined small moments of domestic comedy and drama weren’t all that rare but now seem like precious diamonds meant to be cherished.
Studio: Universal
Distributed By: Shout! Factory
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English SDH
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1 Hr. 49 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
keep caseDisc Type: BD25 (single layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 01/20/2015
MSRP: $24.97
The Production Rating: 4.5/5
Adapting his stage play for the screen, Ernest Thompson has fashioned a masterful blend of comedy and drama delving deeply into the human emotions of these damaged individuals and offering them at the film’s conclusion some blissful islands of solace. There isn’t much action in the piece (a minor boating accident and an accidental momentary fire in the living room are about as lively as things get), but the beauty of the movie is in the shared moments between Norman and Billy on the lake, between Norman and Ethel as they contemplate their ever-closer mortality, and individually between Chelsea and her mother and Chelsea and her father as they all strive to bring their frustrations and disappointments from the past into some kind of understanding. Some of Chelsea’s vicious potshots early-on seem perhaps a bit too whiny and childish, less realistic than most of the other moments in the dramedy, but there is genuine emotion present in the movie from the start, and Mark Rydell’s careful direction, capturing nuances in reactions to others’ behaviors and carefully pacing the story so that nothing drags or feels rushed, clearly represent his best-ever screen work. And because the film was shot completely on gorgeous locations at a real lake house (in New Hampshire, not Maine) with no Hollywood sets, the sense of reality present is palpable. You can sense these people being revitalized by the beauty which surrounds them and by the sizzling chemistry that the ensemble shares.
Not only had Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn never worked together before, they didn’t even know one another prior to filming, but you’d never know it from the easy, loving camaraderie they share throughout. When she calls him an “old poop” over his forgetfulness and mind games nonsense and he calls her a “beautiful old dame,” you know they’re words spoken with utmost affection and sincerity. Both actors won Academy Awards for their performances (Fonda also won the Golden Globe and the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor), and you’ll seldom see old age portrayed with more honesty and virtuosity than it is here (Fonda’s climactic heart attack seems vividly real, and Hepburn’s fright over his being lost on the lake with Billy likewise rings totally true). Not getting nearly the credit that he has deserved for the film is young actor Doug McKeon playing Billy who not only holds his own with these two old pros but often expertly pulls focus with his own virtuoso display of emotional release. Jane Fonda playing a poignant variation of her real-life relationship with her father also registers strongly especially in the scenes after she returns from Europe with a fierce determination to settle things once and for all with her father in a last ditch effort to mend fences before it’s too late. Dabney Coleman has a wonderful one-on-one thrust and parry sequence with Fonda as his Bill Ray tries to establish early-on a rapport with his recalcitrant soon-to-be father-in-law. As the only member of the original stage cast in the movie, William Lanteau as waterway postman Charlie Martin offers regional charm and lots of heart.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4.5/5
Special Features Rating: 3.5/5
Reflections On Golden Pond (30:03, SD): Billy Williams’ exquisite Oscar-nominated cinematography which contributed so much to the film’s great critical and public success is discussed by the man himself and also by director Mark Rydell, writer Ernest Thompson, and others.
A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (15:53, SD): the four-time Oscar-winning actress and her storied career are recalled not only by the film’s director Mark Rydell, writer Ernest Thompson, and cinematographer Billy Williams but also by director Anthony Harvey (who directed her to an Oscar for The Lion in Winter) and film historians David Thomson and Richard Schickel.
Theatrical Trailer (2:53, SD)
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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