Movie Reviews

‘Madame Curie’ Blu-Ray Review – A Fascinating Examination Of A Scientific Luminary

By Dillon Gonzales
June 21, 2021
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Although biographical films have always been a fixture of cinema, it is always heartening to discover one of these early films that put a much-deserved spotlight on some of the accomplishments of women. One of the most awe-inspiring women to make a mark on history is Polish-French physicist Marie Curie who pioneered the research on radioactivity. Her contributions to science are innumerable, but given the depictions of women in cinema, especially in the earlier days, it seems reasonable that you might be the slightest bit surprised Hollywood made a film about this legend so soon after her passing in 1934. After many years of trying to get the production off the ground, MGM finally succeeded in bringing Madame Curie to the screen in 1943 with the autobiography of Ève Curie as inspiration. The film featured the reunion of Oscar-winning Greer Garson (Pride & Prejudice) and Walter Pidgeon (Forbidden Planet) on the heels of their Best Picture-winning Mrs. Miniver. With Mervyn LeRoy (The Wizard of Oz) behind the camera, the film became another big Oscar contender and a box office success.

The beloved Garson takes on the role of Marie Sklodowska, a young student in Paris studying at the Sorbonne while trying to survive on very little money. Marie is not the best about keeping her own health at the forefront of her mind, but luckily she has a tutor and eventual-friend Professor Perot (Albert Bassermann) around to offer her a helping hand after realizing she has no one in Paris to be there for her. Perot invites Marie to a little gathering of intellectuals where she meets physicist Pierre Curie (Walter Pidgeon), a man who is typically lost in his own mind to dreams of work. Pierre is sweet-talked by Perot into allowing Marie to study in his lab before ultimately realizing the student he is bringing in is a woman. Despite some slight reservations, Pierre comes to really admire Marie for her intellectual prowess and becomes deeply unsettled by the prospect of her returning to Poland. Pierre has fallen in love with Marie, and she has done the same. It is all rooted in mutual respect, though.

Madame Curie the feature film is not one that can claim to be completely accurate, but it is one that is severely less fictionalized than many of the feature biopics that were released during this era. Yes, the movie conveniently overlooks the family that Marie had in Paris and it chooses not to dive deeply into many of the political convictions that Marie held, but it does a nice job of not reducing her to an inconsequential woman who thinks of love over science. The relationship between Marie and Pierre Curie is one that is handled with care and conjures an emotional attachment, but there is no doubt that they both have an equal love of science that is not dimmed by family. Over the years, there have been versions of the film that edited out many of the scientific aspects, but this unedited version thankfully shows the thrill of discovery as these two go from a curiosity about a rock generating curious amounts of energy to a full-blown research project for which Marie is known today. Marie is never presented as anything but the brains behind the operation, but it is nice to see how well the couple worked as a team, both in science and in their personal lives.

This film is not one filled with great feats of action, but the thrill of discovery is one that maintains the excitement throughout the two-hour runtime. Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon do not attempt to put on an appropriate accent for these roles, but as performers they do a really stellar job of bringing these characters to life and quickly getting you invested in their story. The relationship between these two may not be what landed them in the history books, but it aids in supplying the emotional depth of the film that makes you cheer on their success and wince at their failure. The direction from Mervyn LeRoy is assured and consistent throughout the runtime as he makes what could be considered mundane crackle with suspense. This is a story that so easily could have gone awry during this period of history by taking away Marie’s agency. Much to our delight, Madame Curie avoided this fate and provided a worthwhile version of this amazing story.

Video Quality

Madame Curie makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Warner Archive with a brand new 1080p master from what I will assume is a 4K scan, but these details are lacking on the press release. This Best Picture-nominated film has been granted a truly marvelous presentation. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s varied production design. The setting of the film shifts between different lab and domestic situations, along with some distinct exterior settings that are pretty busy. There is a fantastic amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing, especially in a magnificent dress sported by Marie near the end of the film. The stunning black-and-white photography shot by Joseph Ruttenberg sparkles in high definition with natural grain intact. Black levels are very deep with no trace of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and there is virtually no print damage to be found. Warner Archive continues its hot streak of restorations with another brilliant effort.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a lovely DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie perfectly well. The stirring nature of the Herbert Stothart score sounds as lovely as ever here. Despite the strength of the music, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other important information. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements. This track shows little discernible age related wear and tear outside of a small amount of hissing that likely dates back to the source elements. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. Warner Archive has delivered a rock solid effort here.

Special Features

Pete Smith Specialty Short – Romance on Radium: A ten-minute MGM short directed by Jacques Tourneur which gives a very condensed version of the discovery of radium via voiceover narration over wordless visuals. This is more focused on the scientific rather than the emotional. There are some very striking images when this takes a detour to Africa.

Theatrical Trailer: A two-minute trailer that plays up the acclaim of the performers and the historic nature of the narrative with some allusions to the romance.

Final Thoughts

Madame Curie deftly tells the story of one of the most important scientists that the world has ever known. While the film is fictionalized in many respects, it does an admirable job of both honoring the achievements of this incredible woman and getting you emotionally invested in her journey. Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon once again prove to be an irresistible pair as they bring these scientific figures to life. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray that presents a stunning A/V presentation and a couple of fun supplemental features. Whether you come for the scientific or the personal story, this is a film that is a rewarding experience for anyone. Recommended

Madame Curie can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or various other online retailers. The release will be available on June 29, 2021.

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

Disclaimer: Warner Archive 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.