325 Kind Hearts and Coronets

[Gregory]

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but it's a shame Criterion didn't get Charles Barr to participate in any of the special features on this. Does he never do DVD commentaries or have I overlooked something? Anyway, I recommend his book Ealing Studios to all.

[souvenir]

the beaver review seems a little disappointed due to the "pictureboxing" or borders around the image that's becoming a trend for 1.33:1 releases

[denti alligator]

the beaver review seems a little disappointed due to the "pictureboxing" or borders around the image that's becoming a trend for 1.33:1 releases

Godammit! they need to stop this "pictureboxing." I've sent my very polite note to Mulvaney, have you?

[Theodore R. Stockton]

Anyone else's disc 2 freeze and skip ahead about a half hour into the Guinness intervies?

[domino harvey]

could it be a bad layer switch?

[Paul Moran]

Anyone else's disc 2 freeze and skip ahead about a half hour into the Guinness intervies?

My copy shipped from CD-Wow today, so if you can be a bit more precise about the time, I'll be happy to test mine as soon as it arrives. (In normal circumstances, the extras disc would join the end of a 370+ queue.)

[Gigi M.]

Anyone else's disc 2 freeze and skip ahead about a half hour into the Guinness intervies?

I just watched it last night and didn't notice anything wrong. And what's up with the packaging? First Lincoln and now Hearts.

[Theodore R. Stockton]

I've tried it on two players the Guinness freezes at 29:14 right as he mentions Richard III in Canada and jumps to 35:50. On another player it pixelates and the audio gets stuck in a loop at 28:45 that turns into something that can only be equated to a bad DJ sample. (repeating a phrase, then just a word, a few words, and parts of a word randomly without out leaving the original phrase).
The Ealing Omnibus freezes at 42:52 when Jill Balcon comes on and jumps to 47:15.

I may just be getting screwed by DVDPlanet. I got a Hoffmann that was similar and after exchanging it with the good folks at Criterion got a copy that played fine. So, I'm figuring that it's not some weird player compatibility thing with their programing.

Thanks if you report back on this. I'd like to hear from a few people before bothering Criterion again.

[Napoleon]

I've tried it on two players the Guinness freezes at 29:14 right as he mentions Richard III in Canada and jumps to 35:50. On another player it pixelates and the audio gets stuck in a loop at 28:45 that turns into something that can only be equated to a bad DJ sample. (repeating a phrase, then just a word, a few words, and parts of a word randomly without out leaving the original phrase).
The Ealing Omnibus freezes at 42:52 when Jill Balcon comes on and jumps to 47:15.

I may just be getting screwed by DVDPlanet. I got a Hoffmann that was similar and after exchanging it with the good folks at Criterion got a copy that played fine. So, I'm figuring that it's not some weird player compatibility thing with their programing.

Thanks if you report back on this. I'd like to hear from a few people before bothering Criterion again.

That sounds like the laser in your player(s) is struggling to read information from off the disk. Check that there are no dirt or marks on it. If there are then clean them off and take stock of why a disk that you have had for a matter of hours has got into such a state*. If there are not, there is a problem with the disk, so I would say return it.

*Disclaimer. This is a tongue in cheek comment and no offence is intended by it.

[Theodore R. Stockton]

Alright, I'm a fucking Jackass (if you didn't already know)!!!!

There was a bit of matter on the disc but since I never touched the bottom or did anything odd and had the defective Hoffmann which I checked for scratches or marks, I pulled out my Jump to Conclusions Mat a bit too soon.

Anyway, carrying on bitching about the cases.

[zedz]

I just watched it last night and didn't notice anything wrong. And what's up with the packaging? First Lincoln and now Hearts.

These new double-disc cases are a major nuisance! Time we write in our objections before it becomes the standard...[/quote]

I asked JM about this after Lincoln - no reply.

As for the movie, I often forget what a gem this is. It's so literate and funny that I tend to assume that the film's strengths are down to a great script and great performances, but seeing it again, Hamer is surely the key. The film is a text-book of great comic timing (Agatha's harrumph of disapproval at the funeral, or the off-screen whoomph of Harry igniting, for example, and Hamer even wrings a laugh from Louis's mum's death scene by allowing the photo to slip from her hand at precisely the right moment in precisely the right way). It's also edited within an inch of its life, with a phenomenal forward momentum.

This is not to say that the script is not superb or the performances not wonderful. Guinness and Price are dazzling, and Hobson and Greenwood both give brilliant comic performances in utterly different registers.

[devlinnn]

I just watched it last night and didn't notice anything wrong. And what's up with the packaging? First Lincoln and now Hearts.

These new double-disc cases are a major nuisance! Time we write in our objections before it becomes the standard.

I asked JM about this after Lincoln - no reply.

As did I, after having to return the Young, Mr. Lincoln set (badly scratched). Sadly, no more two-discers for me until they stop the practice.

[Paul Moran]

My copy arrived today. I checked disc 2 (at points mentioned by Theodore R. Stockton) on my PC DVD+-RW (NEC ND-3550A): no problems.

Regarding the new Scanavo "overlap" cases, I usually prefer designs that allow unrestricted access to each disc. However, the new case seems to have a few good points, too:
- design includes features to lock each disc in place when case is closed
- lots of room for thick booklets
- (so far) no wrinkling of case cover. Perhaps it's just my bad luck, but many of the "double Alpha" cases I received looked like they were part of the first batch used to calibrate the heat shrink machine!

[BWilson]

Yeah, the new cases allow a lot of room for thick booklets, yet one of the tabs in my Young Mr. Lincoln was still broken.

[Dan North]

Just posted my own notes on the film here.

Hope you find it interesting. I wasn't working from the Criterion disc, as I have the Optimum DVD, but it was great to revisit a classic I had previously underrated as an oddity in the Ealing canon. As some others have noted, it's not often particularly funny, but it is nicely nasty and wry throughout.

[HarryLong]

Possibly it's just me, but its the sheer, unregenerate relentlessness of its nastiness that tickles my funnybone.

[cdnchris]

Though I'm not sure why, one scene the gives me the giggles everytime I see it

SpoilerShow

is where the photo lab explodes in the background and all you here is sort of a pop and see smoke rising in the distance.

[zedz]

One of my favourite scenes as well: perfectly timed, perfectly underplayed (by the actors and by Hamer). Even the sound-effect is perfect.

[Murasaki53]

Could somene confirm that the extras on this edition are also subtitled?

[swo17]

I just checked my copy and the supplements on Disc 2 do not come with subtitles.

[Murasaki53]

Thanks swo17. Good of you to check.

[ZizouJuve]

Just watched this for the first time last night. Wonderful black comedy and extremely well acted. Just reasserts why Guiness is one of my favorite actors. Surprisingly though I didn't laugh much, just gave a respectful smile at the subtle jokes included in the film. Any other Ealing studio films to recommend? I see that most consider this the studios highpoint, rightfully so.

[HistoryProf]

Out of Print as of June 30, 2010.

[jbeall]

I don't want to be grateful to StudioCanal for taking the rights to these films away from Criterion, but the one upside is that I've been in a rush to watch the o-o-p titles while they're still available. This one was really nasty and funny. I, too, thought the scene where the photolab blows up was perfectly executed. Close seconds for me were the deaths of General and Admiral Gascoyne, respectively. Not that I don't like slapstick, but I wish more contemporary comedies could be this witty.

[karmajuice]

I managed to pick this up at the B&N sale for a friend. I saw it some years ago and liked it, and we were walking together once (actually in a Barnes and Noble, as a matter of fact) and he tried to describe a movie he had once seen but couldn't remember the title of. He'd really enjoyed it, and was surprised that a movie made back when had such dark humor in it. He gave a few details and I instantly knew it was Kind Hearts and Coronets and told him so. I'll be giving it to him this weekend for his birthday, and I don't think he's seen it since his first viewing.

One of those satisfying moments where knowing an absurd amount about movies is practical and can help someone out.