Hollywood screen couple Doris Day and Rock Hudson light up the screen with laughter in three delightful comedy gems! Join them as they fall in, out, and back in love again in a series of misadventures including Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, and Send Me No Flowers. Co-starring the hilarious Tony Randall, the Doris Day and Rock Hudson Romantic Comedy Collection captures one of cinema’s most popular and enduring couples at their very best!

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Video Quality

Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, and Send Me No Flowers arrive in this collection on Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer in their original aspect ratios that are pretty decent from Universal. These three discs are the exact same ones that were used when the set was first released in 2016, which itself used the Pillow Talk disc released in 2012. While these transfers may not be refreshed, we are glad this set is getting a re-release to be more widely in circulation for fans. There is room for improvement, but what we are working with thankfully shows only small signs of damage and digital tinkering. The mild speckling of nicks and scratches is unobtrusive and unlikely to lessen anyone’s experience. In terms of quality, Pillow Talk seems to be in the best shape with Send Me No Flowers looking the least impressive.

These transfers look fairly clear and detailed for much of the runtime with only a couple of moments exhibiting density fluctuations in the grain field, most likely due to poor source elements. Image quality is stable with some detail in the environment and texture of clothing. Colors are not quite as robust as you wish as the source seems to suffer from some fading. Black levels are acceptable in their depth, even if a few moments struggle with depth and delineation. Compression artifacts and other digital anomalies are not an unforgivable occurrence at any point. We will be thrilled if any of these ever get a new master, but they do the trick for now.

Audio Quality

Universal brings us these three Blu-Ray discs with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that holds up better than the video side of things with a only handful of deficiencies. Dialogue holds up nicely, coming through clearly without being overshadowed by the music or fleeting elements. The environmental effects are not implemented in a showy manner, and they begin to swirl together somewhat within the channels. The sounds of certain bustling moments bring some texture to the mix, although sometimes things get too crunchy. The playful scores set the mood for the narratives, and you do not hear any weakness when it comes to fidelity. Universal has delivered a good audio experience here. There are optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

Pillow Talk

Audio Commentary: Film Historians Jeff Bond, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman provide a great archival commentary track in which they discuss the production background of the feature, the dated elements of the plot, the careers of the creatives involved, the collaborations between the main stars, and more.

Back In Bed with Pillow Talk: A 22-minute featurette that looks at the background and legacy of this feature

Chemistry 101 – The Film Duo of Doris Day and Rock Hudson: A five-minute piece on the collaborations between Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half-minute trailer is provided here.

100 Years Of Universal – Restoring The Classics: A nine-minute look at the preservation and restoration efforts at Universal which is not Pillow Talk specific.

100 Years Of Universal – The Carl Laemmle Era: A nine-minute overview of the career of the historic founder.
100 Years Of Universal – Unforgettable Characters: An eight-minute piece that shows off some of the most iconic characters from the Universal catalog.

Lover Come Back

Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half-minute trailer is provided here.

Send Me No Flowers

Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

The Doris Day and Rock Hudson Romantic Comedy Collection brings together the three outings for this dynamic duo, and the results are pretty entertaining. Pillow Talk is widely recognized as the best of the bunch, and it is hard to argue with that assessment. Send Me Now Flowers puts a different spin on the relationship between the performers, but the change suits them quite well. All of these offer at least a bit to put a smile on your face, even if there is a dated quality that keeps them from feeling vital. Universal Picture Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray set that sports a passable A/V presentation and a small amount of supplemental features. If you are a fan of either performer or old-school romantic comedies, this is worth trying out. Recommended

Doris Day and Rock Hudson Romantic Comedy Collection can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.