To Sir, With Love is a well made drama that is elevated not only with an uplifting story but also powerful, yet not forced, performance by Sidney Poitier. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers up solid video/audio transfers and a fair amount of bonus material compared with other TT releases.
To Sir, With Love
(1967)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama
Twilight Time | NR – 105 min. – $29.95 | February 10, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: James Clavell Writer(s): E.R. Braithwaite (play); James Clavell (written for the screen) Cast: Sidney Poitier, Judy Geeson, Christian Roberts, Suzy Kendall, Lulu DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 1.0) |
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THE MOVIE
A sixties classic about an earnest teacher (SIDNEY POITIER) who takes up a position in a tough school in London’s East End, To Sir, With Love was adapted – from the book by E.R. Braithwaite – by best-selling novelist James Clavell, who also produced and directed. The film features lively performances by Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall, and Lulu, who sings the smash-hit title song.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5
Along with the usual 6-page essay booklet, this Twilight Time release (3000 units) offers a fair amount of features:
Audio Commentaries – We get two commentaries, one with Actress Judy Geeson, and Film Historians Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo, who are TT regulars; the second features Author E.R. Braithwaite and Author/Teacher Salome Thomas-El. Both tracks are nice, each providing different perspectives about the movie in both historical perspectives to behind-the-scenes anecdotes.
E.R. Braithwaite: In His Own Words (23:46; HD) – The renowned author reads passages from his book before we get a profile on the man, his life and career.
Lulu and the B-Side (5:07; HD) is an interview with the singer/songwriter.
Miniskirts, Blue Jeans, and Pop Music (15:21; HD) looks at the style of 1960s London.
To Sidney with Love from Marty Baum (5:14; HD) is about the veteran actor from his former agent.
Principal El: He Chose to Stay (11:00; HD) covers the story about Salome Thomas-El who faces some of the same issues as Poitier’s character.
Original Theatrical Trailer (3:17; HD)
VIDEO – 4.5/5
To Sir, With Love arrives on Blu-ray through Twilight Time and given a nice looking 1080p high-definition transfer presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio. The transfer isn’t anything that will impress but it is free of flaws such as artifacts, aliasing or scratches making for a clean looking video. Colors are also fairly brilliant without being overcompensated.
AUDIO – 4.5/5
The disc includes a 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track which actually is surprisingly strong. Outside of the dialogue, which makes up the bulk of the film, where this lossless track comes to life is with the score and, in particular, the music/songs from the Lulu sung title song to other music played during the dance scenes. These show decent-to-good depth and there were no hisses or other ailments.
OVERALL – 4.0/5
Overall, To Sir, With Love is a well made drama that is elevated not only with an uplifting story but also powerful, yet not forced, performance by Sidney Poitier. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers up solid video/audio transfers and a fair amount of bonus material compared with other TT releases.
Published: 02/17/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.