|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
"A Room with a View" is the
sumptuous Merchant/Ivory production of E.M.
Forster's novel about a young woman, Lucy
Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter), who longs to
escape her claustrophobic life. To this end she's
drawn to two men of varying virtue: George (Julian
Sands) a fiery, passionate dreamer, whom she meets
while in Venice, and Cecil (Daniel Day Lewis), the
snobbish and stale, though socially acceptable,
man about town from London.
This is a fabulous production, elegantly mounted
and rich in stellar performances that sadly, are
in very short supply in today's cinema. Dame
Maggie Smith is simply charming as Lucy's spinster
and prattling aunt. But particularly with
Bonham-Carter, one simply wishes that she would
play more such roles.
At long last, "Room with a View" is preserved
properly on home video. After a previously issued
disc that frankly, wasn't worth the cheap piece of
plastic it was minted on, this new 2-disc version
does right on all accounts. The picture is
stunning in a new 16:9 anamorphic transfer. Colors
are rich and well balanced. Contrast and shadow
levels are bang on. There is some slight
shimmering but nothing to terribly distract. The
audio is 5.1 and nicely represented. The music is
the real kicker here.
Extras include some interesting archival footage,
a truncated BBC featurette that inexplicably just
stops in the middle of an interview, a bit about
the author and a very informative audio
commentary. Regardless of the extra features
shortcomings, the view from this room is stunning.
Recommended! |
