Our Town Blu-ray Review
“Our Town” is creaky, but poignant.
Based on the iconic award-winning play by Thornton Wilder, 1940’s “Our Town” is a feature film adaptation by Thornton Wilder, Frank Craven and Harry Chandlee. Narrated by an all knowing character known as “The Stage Manager,” the story takes place in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire in 1901. It’s a quintessential tight knit small town in America. The story primarily revolves around two families- the Gibbs and the Webbs. The Gibbs are comprised of Dr. Gibbs, his wife Julie, and their 2 kids George and Rebecca while the Webbs are made up of Charles, Myrtle and their 2 kids Emily and Wally. The central story revolves around the blossoming romance between George and Emily who eventually marry.
The romance may be the focal point of the story, but at its heart, this Sam Wood directed adaptation is about small town America, dreams, daily routines, families, generations, life and death, and embracing everyday life and the journey it takes us on. It all seems a bit quaint and old fashioned by today’s standards, but the messages hold true. Sure, it’s a little rocky and about as slow as George courting Emily, but it’s nothing if not thematically rich. Perhaps the most engaging aspect of “Our Town” (which was nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture) is the narrator known as The Stage Manager. He’s mysterious and potentially a higher powered being who breaks the fourth wall, knows about the past and present, knows about people’s entire lives, etc. Framing it through his perspective gives the film a sort of dreamlike quality to it.
It should be noted that the film version does deviate from the ending of the play (no spoilers as to what those changes are for those who haven’t seen it). With that said, the original author (Thornton Wilder) did approve the changes and is a screenwriter on this film. Make of that as you will, but it is an effective change.
The cast impresses here with some big name stars of the time such as a VERY young William Holden (who has not found his form quite yet), Martha Scott (who earned a deserved Oscar nom for her role as Emily), and “It’s A Wonderful Life” stars Thomas Mitchell and Beulah Bondi who are always divine in whatever they do.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.37:1 1080p. How does it look? I wish I could say this print is phenomenal, but it’s in rough shape. There are scratches, flickers, jumps, dirt specs and the print itself sometimes appears too dark.
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The audio fares better here. It’s a little low and snowy to be sure but passable enough.
No extras.
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