BLU-RAY REVIEW

Howards End

Featured In Issue 145, December 2009

Picture4.5
Sound3
WSR Score5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
The Criterion Collection
(Catalog Number):
488
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$39.95
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
143
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
1992
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
11/03/09
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
James Ivory
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

Named Best Picture Of The Year by the National Board of Review and nominated for nine Academy Awards® (including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress), Howards End is a compelling adaptation of E.M. Forster's classic novel of Edwardian England. The story is about the Schlegal sisters (Thompson & Bonham Carter) and how their lives are shattered by Margaret's marriage to a rich widower (Hopkins). (Gary Reber)

Special features include the following featurettes/documentaries: Building "Howards End" (SD 42:36), The Design Of "Howards End" (SD 08:57), The Wandering Company (SD 49:37), James Ivory On Ismail Merchant, 2009 (HD 12:11), and Behind The Scenes (SD 04:31); the theatrical trailer; and a booklet.

The 2.35:1 1080p AVC picture is dramatically lovelier, compared to the previously reviewed anamorphically enhanced DVD in Issue 33. The picture is absolutely beautiful, with warm colors and naturally rendered fleshtones and deep, pure blacks. Images are extremely sharp and detailed, with fine background definition noticeable throughout the constant overcast English countryside setting. The imagery is filtered, to create a period effect. Contrast and shadow delineation are excellent, with superb visual information in the darkest scenes. This is a wonderful stylized picture that presents a period long past. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack fully realizes the sound production previously reviewed as a Dolby® Digital encoded matrix Dolby Surround soundtrack. The music score is nicely recorded, with an expansive soundstage and excellent fidelity. The music and occasional ambient effects provide surround envelopment, which at times is aggressive. Bass extension is wanting throughout, and the sound remains monaural-focused, with dialogue that is forward sounding and wanting in spatial integration. (Gary Reber)