Major Movies Only on British BluRays

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Staff Writer

Two notable classic Oscar-winning films from 1947 have been out on BluRay for over a year now, but so far are available only from Britain’s ITV. Since both are British productions, this is perhaps not surprising, but fortunately both are region-free discs that will run on BluRay players world-wide. One is a must-own, and the other is at least a must-see. Both can easily be purchased through Amazon.co.uk for the equivalent of about $14 each.

Both “Great Expectations” and “Black Narcissus” won the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction at a time when the awards were still split into Black & White and Color categories. “Great Expectations” was also nominated for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay (and probably should have won at least one of those awards, as well). Interestingly, both films feature the late Jean Simmons in early prominent roles while she was still a teenager.

“Great Expectations” was actually made in 1946 but got to the United States in the summer of 1947. Director David Lean’s meticulous adaptation is one of the best films made from any Charles Dickens novel. It captures the style and atmosphere of Dickens perfectly, expertly condensing the densely detailed story and coming up with a satisfying conclusion that is a bit different from either of the book’s two alternate endings.

A superlative cast is led by John Mills as “Pip” (with Anthony Wages remarkable as the young Pip), along with Finlay Currie, Francis L. Sullivan, Martita Hunt, Valerie Hobson (as the older version of Jean Simmons’ more memorable Estella) and a young Alec Guinness.

The high-definition transfer for the BluRay is nothing short of spectacular, reproducing the rich grayscale of the film stock and the fine textures of both the mise en scene and film grain with a vividness that would make you swear you were watching an original 35mm film print. There are a few sporadic moments where minor film wear shows through, light black or white lines and specks inherent in the surviving material, which otherwise looks as though it is brand new.

The audio is the original mono track and sounds fine for the era, although some may wish to boost the bass on their sound systems. This wonderful disc’s only drawback is the complete lack of any extra features, unless one counts a main menu and chapter stops as a bonus. Still, “Great Expectations” is a film that belongs in every serious BluRay collection.

“GREAT EXPECTATIONS” on BluRay:
Movie: A+ / Video: A+ / Audio: A- / Extras: F+

“Black Narcissus” is an odd but reasonably compelling melodrama that is aided immensely by the outstanding Technicolor cinematography of Jack Cardiff and its lush settings that reproduce a castle in the Himalayas and the surrounding landscape of India.

The plot deals with the emotional and personal conflicts of a small group of Anglican missionary nuns assigned to set up a school and hospital in a remote mountain village. The completely foreign atmosphere, the fact that their new convent was formerly used to house the local sultan’s harem and the handsome but worldly local British official, only serve to heighten the sisters’ isolation and loneliness, and eventually take a toll on their sense of discipline as they start to recollect their lives before joining the order.

Deborah Kerr is very good as the superior Sister Clodagh, with strong support from Kathleen Byron as her chief adversary, Sister Ruth, and David Farrar as the cynical Mr. Dean. Indian star Sabu is fine as a general’s son who falls for the charms of exotic and sensual beggar girl Jean Simmons.

This disc has the uncut 100 minute British release of the film. By the end of 1947, several minutes were deleted from the American release due to censorship concerns about the image of religious life it presented. The BluRay again has a magnificent film-like, hi-def transfer that brings out the luxuriant colors and textures of everything in the scene and preserves the fine grain of the film. Other than one or two brief color fluctuations, it looks like it could have been shot and released this year. The audio is good for its age, and may benefit from boosting the bass slightly during playback.

The only extras on this BluRay are a lovely hi-def transfer of the film’s original British trailer (which plays fine on American BluRay players), plus a brief documentary about the film that is unfortunately in the standard-definition PAL format, and thus may show a distorted image, audio with no image, or nothing at all on American players.

“BLACK NARCISSUS” on BluRay:
Movie: B / Video: A+ / Audio: A- / Extras: C-

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