America—and the world—fell in love with Marty, the first film to win both the Best Picture Oscar® and the Cannes Film Festival’s Golden Palm. “I’ve been looking for a girl every Saturday night of my life,” says Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine, The Vikings). Yet, despite all his efforts, this 34-year-old Bronx butcher remains as shy and uncomfortable around women today as on the day he was born. So when he meets Clara (Betsy Blair, A Delicate Balance), a lonely schoolteacher who’s just as smitten with him as he is with her, Marty’s on top of the world. But not everyone around him shares Marty’s joy. And when his friends and family continually find fault with Clara, even Marty begins to question his newfound love—until he discovers, in an extraordinary way, the strength and courage to follow his heart. Nominated for eight Academy Awards and winner of four, including Best Actor for Borgnine, Best Director for Delbert Mann (Separate Tables) and Best Screenplay for Paddy Chayefsky (Network), Marty is a masterpiece of warmhearted storytelling.
For thoughts on Marty, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Marty returns to Blu-Ray with a brand new 1080p transfer from a 4K master thanks to Kino Classics. The label first released the film on Blu-Ray in 2014 before allowing it to go out of print in recent years. That original release was a lightning rod for controversy due to the decision to release the film in the “intended” 1.33:1 instead of the widely desired 1.85:1 due to the state of the elements. The debate on what aspect ratio is correct and which one should have been included has been raging since before the old disc even arrived to consumers. With this second attempt at the title, fans should be much more pleased to have both the 1.85:1 and 1.37:1 versions of the film as an option, both looking excellent.
Especially when you compare to the old disc, the difference in quality is nearly night and day. For a film that is pushing 70 years old, this is a truly spectacular presentation. The gorgeous black-and-white photography shines in high definition with natural grain intact. There is a pleasing amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the meticulous production design. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels are very deep with no notable occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and the track experiences next to nothing in the way of flicker or other instability. This presentation has been lovingly restored to eliminate pretty much all damage. Kino Classics has done some marvelous work here to a classic.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a solid DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie incredibly well considering its vintage. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements. Moments at the social club with various voices overlapping are delineated well where things do not become a sonic mess. This track does present with a very minor amount of age related wear and tear including some hollowness in the music that likely dates back to the source elements. The score from Roy Webb at least never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. The good folks at Kino Classics have done a nice job of getting this one into fighting shape.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry deliver a great, informative commentary track in which they discuss the importance of the location to the narrative, the background of the performers, the television adaptations of the material, the inspiration for the material, the submission the the Cannes Film Festival, the thematic resonance of the material and more.
- Trailers: A three-minute trailer is provided for Marty. There are also trailers provided for The Lost Weekend, The Apartment, In The Heat Of The Night, Separate Tables, Fitzwilly and The Pink Jungle.
Final Thoughts
Marty is not typically the first Best Picture Oscar winner that comes to mind for modern audiences, but if you take the time to watch this one you will quickly understand why audiences fell in love with it in the first place. Ernest Borgnine is a charming and sympathetic figure who will break your heart in one moment before he has you cheering the next. The gentle romance he forms with Betsy Blair makes you swoon even as the busy-bodies of the world aim to ruin their joy. There are some elements that are not completely progressive, but overall it is hard to find fault in this one. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a truly stunning A/V presentation and a solid commentary track. Those who want the ultimate version of this film should look no further. Recommended
Marty (Special Edition) is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.