Dodsworth

Bravo to all the entities that joined forces to restore this William Wyler masterwork, which doesn’t lose an iota of its excellence after 84 years. What had been lost are all the ravages of damage that plagued every viewing of this film in my life (on TV and DVD), and what we have is a thing of visual and aural beauty. A very mature and realistic slice of life from 1936 that holds up in 2020. The motion picture Academy and the Film Foundation are to be congratulated for preserving and restoring DODSWORTH. The Blu-Ray is outstanding, with a perfect presentation and a bonus radio adaptation added as a nice bonus.

This review is for the WarnerArchive 2020 blu ray release of Dodsworh.Dodsworth was originally a 1929 novel by Sinclair Lewis. It then became a 1934 play by Sidney Howard. Howard also wrote the screenplay for Samuel Goldwyn’s 1936 film, directed by William Wyler.Goldwyn was one of the major independent producers of that time. Unlike the major studios that produced thirty to forty films per year, Goldwyn produced a smaller number of productions each year. Dodsworth was third of four Goldwyn films that year.The movie is an adult drama starring Walter Huston as a retired automobile magnet, Ruth Chatterton as his disaffected wife and Mary Astor, a self confident divorcee.The film holds up well as an example of Goldwyn’s lavish attention to detail while maintaining the quality of the human drama. Some may find it a bit old fashioned but aficionados of classic films will enjoy it. Playwright David Mamet counts it as one of his favorite films.The new blu ray from Warner Archive is a 2019 restoration but there is one troubling aspect and it occurs during the opening credits. As the credits roll, there are pictures of various vintage cars pictured in the background. There is a smooth transition from one credit sequence to the next. However sometime in the 1950s the film changed distributors from United Artists to Film Classics. There is a jarring jump cut on the last transition to show that and it spoils the elegance of the credit sequence. This problem was on the earlier VHS tape and DVD releases. Since they they were taking the time and effort to restore the film it’s a shame they couldn’t have fixed this. It would have been relatively easy to do.But the rest of the film looks great and still comes highly recommended.

This is a wonderful drama about life. The acting and direction is excellent. The video and audio is excellent. This film held our interest from beginning to end. Five Stars.

Walter Huston gives a great performance. I have watched this movie numerous times and have enjoyed it equally each time. The quality of the film is wonderful. Restored beautifully.

This is an interesting and quit forward movie given when it was made. The writing, acting, directing was excellent and well worth watching more than once which I have done. The Blu-ray is worth the extra money. I have both copies so I can tell the difference......LD