Adapted from Noel Coward's one-act play Still Life, David Lean's atmospheric 1945 love story about a chance meeting at a train station between a middle-aged doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) that ripens into love followed by guilt, has aged fairly well. The excellent digital transfer, presented, as they say, in glorious black and white, looks luminous, thanks to the usual intensive clean-up work from the Criterion crew, and the monaural soundtrack is crisp throughout. While some of the dialogue will sound a little clunky to 21st century ears, true romantics will still delight in the story, while film buffs will appreciate film historian Bruce Eder's knowledgeable and insightful audio commentary. Recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Apr. 19, 2016—Criterion, 86 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1945's Brief Encounter sports a great transfer and an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary from 2000 by film historian Bruce Eder, the 1971 TV documentary David Lean: A Self Portrait (59 min.), a 2000 “making-of” featurette (25 min.), an interview with Noël Coward scholar Barry Day (17 min.), a trailer, and an essay by historian Kevin Brownlow. Bottom line: a Hollywood Golden Age classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]
Brief Encounter
Criterion, 86 min., not rated, $39.95 Vol. 15, Issue 5
Brief Encounter
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