‘The Loved One’ Blu-Ray Review – A Hilariously Dark Satire With Numerous Targets

The funeral business gets a giant raspberry in this wickedly wacky, resplendently ridiculous farce based on Evelyn Waugh’s macabre comic masterpiece and directed with inspired verve by Tony Richardson (Tom Jones). But the American way of death isn’t the film’s only target: sex, greed, religion and mother love are also in the crosshairs of its satirical shots. Robert Morse plays a bemused would-be poet who gets entangled with an unctuous cemetery entrepreneur (Jonathan Winters), a mom-obsessed mortician (Rod Steiger) and other bizarre characters played by such adept farceurs as John Gielgud, Robert Morley, Tab Hunter, Milton Berle, James Coburn and Liberace. If The Loved One doesn’t make you laugh, call the undertaker!

For thoughts on The Loved One, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/f5Hoen8ZPYE?t=1986]

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents The Loved One for the first time on Blu-Ray with 1080p transfer sourced from a 2K scan of a Fine Grain Master Positive. We are once again exploring another earlier effort from the label, and this presentation holds up more than favorably. Print damage has all but been completely eradicated, which shows the dedication to quality has always been a part of the brand’s identity. They often make a film look as good if not better than it did upon its theatrical debut. This black and white feature maintains its natural film grain throughout which reveals a terrific amount of detail in the image. The presentation has a solid amount of depth to it including in the shadows where you will find no evidence of black crush. This is a top tier presentation for this title. 

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray release comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that has been cleaned up and presented with care. The witty dialogue never falters at any point as it comes through clearly in harmony with the sound effects and the score. The music from John Addison holds up perfectly with no abrasive notes in the upper registers or other harsh elements. Thankfully, there does not appear to be any damage or age related wear and tear to the track. While mostly dialogue-driven, there are a couple sequences that are a bit more lively in the speakers, mostly involving rockets. This is a great audio presentation from the folks at Warner Archive. There are optional English SDH subtitles available on the disc for those who need it. 

Special Features

• Trying To Offend Everyone: A 15-minute vintage featurette in which members of the creative team and other notable participants discuss the source material, the unusual tone of the narrative, the journey to the screen, the direction of Tony Richardson, why he was the perfect person to tackle this project, assembling the cast, the difficulties of shooting and more. 

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

Final Thoughts

The Loved One is a pitch black satire which takes aim at a large swath of societal topics, and it succeeds in hitting many of them. The film is admittedly longer than it needs to be, but it rarely allows you to lose interest as you go from one hilarious moment to the next. Most of the performers in this ensemble are not extremely well known, but they all play their parts very well. While not quite as offensive as it presented itself to be at the time it was released, the film still has bite in all of the best ways. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a mighty A/V presentation and a brief selection of supplements. If you are a fan of well executed satire, this is worth adding to your collection. Recommended 

The Loved One 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.