Notting Hill

In VL-11/99, Scott Renshaw wrote: "There are two very simple reasons so many romantic comedies are so bad: no romance, and no comedy. Fortunately, Notting Hill does everything a romantic comedy is supposed to do right in its story of a London bookseller (Hugh Grant) who gets involved with an American film superstar (Julia Roberts). The romantic side works because writer Richard Curtis and director Roger Michell develop the relationship in stages, from abstract attraction to personal understanding to jarring dose of reality, and both stars give assured, engaging performances, while the versatile comic scripting glides from the broad (Rhys Ifans as Grant's slovenly flat-mate) to the silly to the subtly satirical. Although Notting Hill makes the mistake of clocking in at a weighty 125 minutes, sports a dragged-out denouement and some occasionally disjointed editing, these are easily surmountable objections." Universal's "Ultimate" edition doesn't really add much over the already released "Collector's Edition"--except this: the widescreen and full frame editions on each disc give you the option of either Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS. Recommended, if you don't already own the "Collector's Edition," but hardly worth the upgrade. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 22, 2013—Universal, 124 min., PG-13, $19.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1999's Notting Hill features a nice transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras include audio commentary by director Roger Michell, producer Duncan Kenworthy, and writer Richard Curtis, a “Spotlight on Location” featurette (15 min.), deleted scenes (12 min.), a “Seasonal Walk on Portobello Road” (4 min.), “Hugh Grant's Movie Trips” (4 min.), the music videos “She” by Elvis Costello and “You've Got a Way” by Shania Twain, a photo montage, and trailers. Bottom line: a beloved rom-com makes a welcome North American debut on Blu-ray.]