This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Did European aristocrat Claus von Bulow (Jeremy Irons) try to murder his wife, Sunny (Glenn Close), at their luxurious Newport mansion in 1980? Tabloids of the day had their opinions. “You have one thing in your favor,” defense attorney Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) told von Bulow. “Everybody hates you.” Written for the screen by Nicholas Kazan (Fallen, At Close Range), directed by Barbet Schroeder (Single White Female) and based on Dershowitz’s book, Reversal of Fortune is the acclaimed filmization of events that had all of America talking. For his precise portrait of icy brittleness, Irons won the Best Actor Academy Award * as well as the Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics Awards. Think you know the truth? Until you watch you have no idea.

For thoughts on Reversal of Fortune, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/_oNSi9QIWEE?si=GuatDsPkZ1aIw3Pa&t=885]

Video Quality

Reversal of Fortune gets a resplendent upgrade on Blu-Ray courtesy of Warner Archive with a new 2020 1080p master. The transfer provides the lush natural film grain absent of any compression artifacts or other such digital anomalies. This disc wonderfully showcases the various settings from the opulent abode where the alleged crime takes place to the courtroom where sentencing is handed down. There are elements in the production design that are clearly visible for the first time ever on home entertainment. There are some rich, vibrant colors that make the film pop visually in an exciting way, despite the overall reserved nature of the feature. Skin tones look natural, and the presentation offers up deep black levels. Warner Archive has provided a practically perfect transfer that fans will cherish.

Audio Quality

Warner Archive brings this new Blu-Ray to audiences with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that is just as worthy of praise as the video presentation. Dialogue emanates clearly even in the rustling in the courtroom or other noises from the urban setting. There are some welcome environmental effects that give the track a bit of a kick, but mostly things are low key and talky. The score from Mark Isham comes through with a dynamic quality that compliments the narrative favorably. There are no age defects to the track such as hissing or audio dropouts. This is a well-balanced track that gets the job done without any hiccups. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are provided on this disc.

4Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Barbet Schroeder and screenwriter Nicholas Kazan provide a pretty decent commentary track in which they discuss the development and the structure of the film, the challenge of adapting the Alan Dershowitz book, the feedback they received from preview audiences, the casting of the ensemble, the shooting locations and more.

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

Final Thoughts

Reversal of Fortune is a fairly engaging courtroom drama, but the film spins its wheels a bit too much in spots to be considered a classic. The reason to tune-in to this one is the magnetic performance from Jeremy Irons, and we only wish Glenn Close could have been given as much to work with in her relatively small role. The care that went into crafting this one is impressive, even if we don’t rank this incredibly high among our crime dramas from this era. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a top tier A/V presentation and a good archival commentary track. If the concept intrigues you or you count yourself as a fan of the ensemble, give this a whirl.

Reversal of Fortune 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: 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.