Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Timothy Hutton give powerful and moving performances as a family being torn apart by tragedy and the unrelenting pressure to maintain a façade of normalcy. ORDINARY PEOPLE marked Hutton’s first film role and his performance not only earned him the Oscar® for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, but it also made him the youngest person to win in the category.
For thoughts on Ordinary People, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
Ordinary People finally debuts on Blu-Ray with a stellar 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K film transfer overseen by director Robert Redford. This presentation is a knockout that preserves the filmic look with proper film grain and texture throughout. The level of clarity and detail on this release is truly something to behold. There are very subtle details in the production design that are visible here for the first time from minute details on outfits to some of the complexities of the environments. The black levels are extremely deep and allow for true detail to come through. There are a lot of strong colors in the film that pop off the screen with an immaculate vibrancy. Skin tones are natural and lend themselves to showcasing an amazing amount of detail. Paramount has done an excellent job of restoring this, as all print damage has been cleaned up without messing with the natural look of the film. Those who have been waiting for this one to be treated with the proper respect on Blu-Ray should feel it was worth the wait. The only way to improve upon this would be a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 lossless soundtrack that sonically represents the film perfectly. The mono origins suit the film well with the thematically evocative score from Marvin Hamlisch filling the room appropriately. Music is used skillfully throughout the presentation, but it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The classic dialogue comes through clearly and never falls victim to any digital anomalies. Environmental noises and ambient sounds add some texture to the track, but it is not a standout in that regard. This track accomplishes everything it needs to do really well.
Special Features
- Swimming In The Rose Garden: A new 11-minute featurette in which Timothy Hutton reflects on his experiences with this project including how he got involved, his feelings about the material, the directing style of Robert Redford, the isolation he felt on set, the work of his co-stars, how he felt winning the Academy Award and more.
- Feeling Is Not Selective: A new six-minute interview with novelist Judith Guest in which she discusses first getting in contact with Robert Redford, the process of having her material adapted for the screen, her involvement with the screenwriter, her thoughts on the scenes not featured in the novel, the casting of the feature and more.
- Theatrical Trailer: This disc provides the Theatrical Trailer (2:29).
Final Thoughts
Ordinary People gets unfairly maligned sometimes due to winning Best Picture over Raging Bull, but the success of one film does not take away from the artistry of another. The truth is, the film is really quite a beautiful achievement itself with an impeccable sense of pacing and thoughtful character moments. Robert Redford delivers a knockout debut behind the camera as he shows that his skills expand beyond performing. This is the type of well-crafted adult drama that rarely gets made by big studios these days. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a new Blu-Ray through their Paramount Presents line with a stellar new A/V presentation and a couple of great new supplements. If you are a fan of the film, there should be no hesitation with picking this up. Recommended
Paramount Presents Ordinary People is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
