Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > British Telefilm > Brief Encounter (1974 British Telefilm/Network U.K./Region Two/2/PAL DVD)

Brief Encounter (1974 British Telefilm/Network U.K./Region Two/2/PAL DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Telefilm: C+

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: This DVD set can only be operated on machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Two/2/PAL format software and can be ordered from our friends at Network U.K. at the website address provided at the end of the review or at finer retailers.

 

 

Director David Lean will likely be remembered for his epic storytelling and gigantic films like Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, and yet some of his most passionate films are from his earlier years and British films.  He received great recognition on two literary adaptations in the 1940’s with Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, but perhaps one of his finer films is 1945’s Brief Encounter starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson.  The film is surprisingly at the top of the IMDB’s top 250 list, although has become a bit lesser known over the last few decades, despite incredible performances and a solid story. 

 

So what is it about Brief Encounter that is so magnetic for those who have had the luxury of seeing this incredible motion picture?  I think that there are many magical aspects to this film, the first is that it’s an honest film, set during a time when so many films had to skirt around the real truth or be evasive in their way of handling tough topics.  Here we have a love affair, which is never a polite situation and people would much rather talk about other things than this, but the film handles the love affair between two strangers with such brilliance and it’s very evident that a master like David Lean knew how to treat the material and direct it so that we are drawn to our characters. 

 

But unfortunately this is not the David Lean film, rather a 1974 made-for-TV version starring Sophia Loren and Richard Burton, which aside from the title resembles nothing like the David Lean masterpiece.  Instead we get an updated color version that is in many ways like Gus Van Sant’s desecration of Hitchcock’s beloved Psycho.  In this film we get a more intense love affair between two married people who meet at a railroad station and the suspense of their actions is never in question, we do not get the tension like in the David Lean film, rather we get one obvious move after another and this leads the film down a predictable path that is what set apart the David Lean picture from the beginning. 

 

In addition to being a very mediocre film, this release is presented in it’s original 1.33 X 1 full frame aspect ratio and while this is a PAL release, the softness and drab colors make it appear more like VHS quality than anything else.  Colors are muddy, blacks are poor, and the overall detail and definition is constantly lacking showing that little has been done to the original materials and since this film will never be sought after to the extent of the original, we know that there is little reason to bother.  Also, the 2.0 sound is very monophonic in nature and while the dialogue is clear, there is a distancing feel to the mix that makes it seem cluttered and lacking overall in definition. 

 

There is a still gallery included, but this is one encounter that should be kept brief, stick with the original.

 

 

 

As noted above, you can order this PAL DVD import exclusively from Network U.K. at:

 

http://www.networkdvd.net/

 

or

 

www.networkdvd.co.uk

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com