Oscar®-winners Anthony Hopkins (1991, Best Actor, The Silence of the Lambs) and Emma Thompson (1992, Best Actress, Howards End) reunite with the acclaimed Merchant Ivory filmmaking team for this extraordinary and moving story of blind devotion and repressed love. Hopkins stars as Stevens, the perfect English butler – an ideal carried by him to fanatical lengths – as he serves his master, Lord Darlington, beautifully played by James Fox (The Servant). Darlington, like many other members of the British establishment in the 1930s, is duped by the Nazis into trying to establish a rapport between themselves and the British government. Thompson stars as the estate’s housekeeper, a high-spirited, strong-minded young woman who watches the goings-on upstairs with horror. Despite her apprehensions, she and Stevens gradually fall in love, though neither will admit it, and only give vent to their charged feelings via fierce arguments.
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Video Quality
The new 30th Anniversary 4K UHD Blu-Ray of The Remains Of The Day offers a tremendous uptick in quality over the Blu-Ray from Sony in 2019 and the Twilight Time release from 2015. While the film has always looked nice in high definition, the film has never reached such blissful heights as this presentation. This new release does not contain an accompanying Blu-Ray, but we have access to the previous releases and can spot substantial improvements. This new release is derived from a 4K restoration in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio approved by Director James Ivory in 2160p HDR/Dolby Vision. You can always count on Sony to pull out all of the stops for their catalog releases, and this ranks high among their output.
This new transfer sports a picture that has the perfect amount of sumptuous film grain that resolves without any unnatural texture. There are some spots in the house which would seemingly be harder to resolve, but at no point does the presentation betray the picture with loose grain or unsightly banding. As per the usual, Sony has stayed away from any digital tinkering on this transfer, so this disc is free of DNR, compression artifacts and other encode issues. The period production design, makeup and landscapes are presented with absolute clarity and fine texture. In every new location you will find an array of subtle details that are newly visible thanks to the 4K resolution. The eye-popping textures of the costumes on display are simply astounding to behold with everything rendering without any issues.
A spotlight aspect of this transfer is in the implementation of Dolby Vision/HDR. With this being a stately period piece, the color palette is radiant and bright throughout with a very nuanced visual presentation. Colors are far more complex, natural and precise to what was intended by the creative team. This is especially true in elements of the Oscar-nominated costumes and production design which show a deeper representation of the hues. The command over the contrast is especially helpful throughout when it comes to the different environments. Black levels maintain a deep and inky look with grand detail in the shadows while the highlights present as more crisply defined with no instances of blooming to be found. Skin tones appear way more distinct and natural than the previous Blu-Ray with healthy doses of fine detail apparent on faces such as makeup. This is a fantastic upgrade which will make audiences fall in love with the film all over again.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray upgrades the audio with a Dolby Atmos track that gives the film a more spacious soundscape that opens up the environment. Audio purists should not worry, though, as the 4K UHD Blu-Ray provides the original soundtrack in glorious lossless DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio. All of these tracks on the 4K UHD really capture the beauty of this soundscape, but we remain grateful that Sony is one of the companies who realize original audio should be a choice for fans who want it while still delivering something special for audiophiles. The original DTS-HD 2.0 track is obviously not quite as all-encompassing as the Atmos track, but it handles the material with the purity of intention that is expected.
With the Atmos track, this track does not kick like an action-packed odyssey, but it remains every bit as complex from the opening moments. Dialogue is the star of the show, and it renders crisp and clear without ever getting overshadowed by the music or sound effects. The tremendous score conjures up stirring emotions for audiences, never tripping up when it comes to fidelity. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered deftly within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. Environmental activity extends to the surrounds, rears and overhead speakers to make the world feel more spacious and immersive in a way that is transportive. The sounds up above mostly handle light environmental effects such as the reverberation of light chatter and the gentle stirring of silverware, along with the aforementioned score. The low end effects from the subwoofer adds a bit of light texture to a few moments to add to the experience. Sony offers up perfection for consumers of this new release. There are optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish and an array of other subtitles included.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director James Ivory, Producer Ismail Merchant, and Actress Emma Thompson provide a really lovely commentary track in which they reflect back upon the production of the film, experiences on set, obstacles they faced, memories of the performers, the process of adapting the source material and more.
- Love and Loyalty – The Making Of The Remains Of The Day: A 29-minute archival featurette which focuses largely on the framework of the film including the historical influences on the narrative, the traits of the characters and more. There are some great interviews with the cast and creative team about the development of the film including Mike Nichols giving up his chance to direct to focus on Wolf, the provenance of the source material, the underlying themes and more.
- The Remains Of The Day – The Filmmakers’ Journey: A 30-minute piece which takes a more focused look on the process of adapting this story from author Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel including interviews with the author and the filmmaking team. It is fascinating to see how this team works together to build exactly what is needed.
- Blind Loyalty, Hollow Honor – England’s Fatal Flaw: A 15-minute look at the era in which the film takes place and the willingness for so many to hold decorum in higher esteem than many more formative issues.
- Deleted Scenes: Seven scenes totaling 15 minutes of unused material are provided here with optional audio commentary from James Ivory.
- Theatrical Trailer: This disc provides a Theatrical Trailer (2:23) and International Trailer (2:44).
Final Thoughts
The Remains Of The Day is one of the most rewarding works from the entire Merchant Ivory stable of films with its thoughtful exploration of servitude and self-sacrifice. The script is beautifully crafted to gently yet deliberately take you on a highly emotional journey that will leave you a bit stunned at points. The performances on display here are beyond reproach as you have some of our greatest performers in their prime. This is simply a classic. Sony Pictures has released a splendid new 4K UHD Blu-Ray in celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary featuring a dynamite A/V presentation and a great selection of special features. This should be considered an essential upgrade for fans of the film. Recommended
The Remains Of The Day is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sony 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.