Coming Home

Hal Ashby's 1978 domestic Vietnam War movie brought the conflict home with its focus on the relationship between a staunch Republican military officer's wife (Jane Fonda) and a paraplegic vet (Jon Voight), meaty roles which garnered Oscars for both leads. Meeting Luke Martin (Voight) at a veteran's hospital, where she's doing volunteer work, Sally Hyde (Fonda) slowly begins to see the war from his point of view, especially after visiting her husband (Bruce Dern) overseas, and discovering that he is a changed man--no longer the patriotic flag-waver of old, but confused and bitter. Coming home, Sally goes to Luke, and the couple begin a physical relationship which, unbeknownst to them, is being monitored by the FBI. When Dern finally returns, the three confront each other in an explosive climax. Unfortunately, the DVD transfer is less than optimum, with a rather grainy look, and--more importantly--a downright terrible Dolby Digital mono soundtrack that is both hollow and tinny sounding (in busier scenes it's almost impossible at times to understand exactly what's being said). Extras include a non-scene-specific, spliced together, audio commentary featuring Voight, Dern and cinematographer Haskell Wexler; and a pair of featurettes with the same trio--the 25-minute "Coming Back Home" and "Hal Ashby: A Man Out of Time" (which, despite the title, is almost entirely Coming Home-related). A great film, poorly treated, this is nevertheless recommended, with reservations (and hopes that the Criterion folk will eventually get their loving hands on  this one). (R. Pitman)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Dec. 16, 2014— Kino Lorber, 127 min., R, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1978's Coming Home features a nice transfer and a DTS-HD stereo soundtrack on Blu-ray. Extras include audio commentary by cinematographer Haskel Wexler and stars Jon Voight and Bruce Dern, a “Coming Back Home” retrospective featurette (25 min.), a “Hal Ashby: A Man Out of Time” segment on the director (16 min.), and a trailer. Bottom line: a ‘70s classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]