A young woman struggles to keep her family together against all the odds in this deeply felt drama from producer Robert B. Radnitz (Sounder) and director William A. Graham (Change of Habit). Based on the Newberry Award-winning book by Vera and Bill Cleaver, and adapted by Earl Hamner Jr. (TV’s The Waltons), Where the Lilies Bloom tells the story of Mary Call Luthor (Golden Globe nominee Julie Gholson), who lives happily with her father and three siblings in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Her idyllic childhood ends abruptly, however, when her father dies. Though she is the second eldest, responsible and resourceful Mary Call emerges as the head of the family, determined to do what she must to fulfill her deathbed promise to her father to keep the orphans together. As they fight to earn their living, the children discover that the greatest treasure they possess is their love and devotion to each other. Featuring music by country legend Earl Scruggs and co-starring Harry Dean Stanton (The Missouri Breaks), Jan Smithers (TV’s WKRP in Cincinnati) and Rance Howard (Huckleberry Finn), Where the Lilies Bloom is a beautifully told story for all ages.

For thoughts on Where The Lilies Bloom, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/ElLVJUALgHE?t=4143]

Video Quality

Where The Lilies Bloom debuts on Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer derived from a new 2K master. The presentation is quite striking throughout with only the occasional lapse in quality. Colors appear stable with nice saturation and some of the hues in the clothing and country environment popping off the screen. Instances of print damage have been cleaned up with great care with only the occasional specks and marks visible. Overall clarity and detail is pleasing with natural skin tones and subtle facial features that are easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels are admirable in their depth with only some of the darker moments lacking some precise detail. This transfer preserves the natural film grain of the presentation and only runs slightly on the soft side in optical shots due to limitations of the original source material. This new presentation from Scorpion Releasing is a fetching effort for the long-unavailable film, which should please those who have been eagerly anticipating a proper release.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that captures the intended soundscape of the film effortlessly. The score and music of the film provides the perfect homegrown atmosphere for this story that maintains excellent fidelity. There is never a sense that this one is suffering from wear and tear to the recording. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, as elements work together in harmony. Dialogue comes through clearly even with the strong southern accent, and it does not get lost among the excited chatter of the school house. Environmental sounds such as truck sounds and various animal noises are rendered well alongside everything else. Scorpion Releasing has treated this one well from an audio perspective. There are optional English subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer provides a thorough commentary track in which he discusses the background of the project, the creative forces at the helm, its place as a “kids film”, the output of United Artists at the time, the music featured in this one, the use of non-professional actors, the aesthetic of the feature and more.

Trailers: The three-minute trailer for Where The Lilies Bloom is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Change Of Habit and 21 Hours At Munich.

Final Thoughts

Where The Lilies Bloom is a compelling country drama which takes time to get you invested in these young characters and their struggles. A few moments are a bit too far removed from the realism of the rest of the picture, but overall the story treats its characters with honesty and compassion. The performances are very strong, especially Julie Gholson and Harry Dean Stanton. The structure is more so episodic as our characters face various obstacles, but it fits together well as a cohesive whole. Scorpion Releasing and Kino Classics have released a new Blu-Ray with a top-tier A/V presentation and a great commentary track. This movie has long been difficult to find, so fans who have been awaiting this one should be thrilled to finally be able to own this in such great quality. Recommended

Where The Lilies Bloom is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Scorpion Releasing and Kino Classics have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.