The star has injured an ankle, but the show – and inexperienced stage assistant Polly Browne – must go on. Break a leg, kid. And don’t let the presence of Hollywood director and talent scout Mr. De Thrill add any pressure. And so begins this colorful tale of theater hopefuls with stars in their eyes and greasepaint in their veins, a work that, under the guidance of director Ken Russell, is not just an affectionate filmization of Sandy Wilson’s London/Broadway stage hit but also an homage to the movie stagings of Busby Berkeley – complete with imaginative use of kaleidoscopic top shots and rows of leggy chorines. Fashion icon Twiggy makes her screen debut as sweet-natured Polly, a role played earlier by Julie Andrews in her Broadway debut. Curtain up. Maybe someone will be discovered tonight.
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Video Quality
Warner Archive brought The Boy Friend to Blu-Ray uncut with a dazzling 1080p master transfer in 2.40:1 when it was released in 2017 sourced from a new 2K scan of the Interpositive. Director Ken Russell and director of photography David Watkin craft a sumptuous spectacle that this transfer embodies with bold colors within the costumes and throwback production design that shine off the screen. Highlights stay crisp throughout and black levels are admirably deep. The natural film grain has been retained which allows the picture to fully blossom. The film is nearly pristine with no exceptional instances of damage or dirt detected here. Compression artifacts, banding, and other such issues do not emerge as an issue in this transfer. In every sequence you are treated to great detail and clarity. Warner Archive treated this one with respect.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that sounds simply splendid with this material. Dialogue and background noises remain properly balanced along with the jaunty score from Peter Maxwell Davies. With this being a musical, it is important for the big numbers to come through with a ferociousness, and this track succeeds on every front. The tunes hold up with impeccable fidelity even in the upper registers. Dialogue comes through clearly with no sounds overwhelming the exchanges. The more exciting moments are handled well and give the track a bit of dynamism. There is no observable age-related wear and tear to the track such as hissing, dropouts, or popping. Warner Archive has provided a disc that is a winner. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included for the feature film.
Special Features
- Vintage Featurette – All Talking…All Singing…All Dancing..: A nine-minute featurette that gives a glimpse of the production along with interviews with the cast and creative team.
- Theatrical Trailer (2:47)
- Song Selection
Final Thoughts
The Boy Friend is a pretty insular yet inventive vision that plays with the musical genre in really rewarding ways. There is a sense of heightened reality as these characters oscillate between backstage and the tenuous onstage realm that uses the dreamy state to tap into true emotions. The movie is a bit overlong and the plot is somewhat overstuffed, but it is quite entertaining with fine performances. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a fantastic A/V presentation and some decent special features. If you are a fan of the talent involved or the genre at large, this is a good addition to your collection. Recommended
The Boy Friend can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or 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.

Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.