A Patch of Blue [DVD] [1965]

Guy Green's A Patch Of Blue comes to DVD in a beautifully transferred edition that treats this movie with the care and dignity it has always deserved. The film is presented in a nicely muted black-and-white that recalls the original theatrical release better than any prior home viewing edition, letterboxed to its original 2.35-to-1 aspect ratio -- those of us who have only ever seen A Patch Of Blue in full-screen, pan-and-scan format on broadcast television will find the widescreen presentation a revelation, properly presenting the true framing of the images as well as the authentic texture of Robert Burks' cinematography. The audio has also been handled extremely well, mastered at a good volume level and very sharply, which not only brings out the best nuances of the dialogue but also the delicacy of Jerry Goldsmith's score. The 105 minute movie is accompanied by a very fine narrative track recorded by director Guy Green, whose recollections freely range from the personal to the technical, but are always right on the money, going from point to point as the film unspools. This was Green's most personal project, which he co-scripted as well as co-produced, in addition to directing, and he remembers everyimportant detail of its production in vivid detail. Among his other recollections, he points out that, had it not been for some reticence over elements of the script, A Patch Of Blue could easily have had Hayley Mills in the role of Selina D'Arcey -- she was the first choice and probably would have been wonderful in the role, but if she'd done it A Patch Of Blue would today be remembered as a "Hayley Mills movie"; Elizabeth Hartman was even better in the part, however, and her presence allowed the movie to be taken on its own terms. He also goes into some detail about the studio's ambivalence about the project, and the fact that MGM was glad to be making a movie starring Sidney Poitier, but the studio also had major problems with the film's subject matter; and apart from racial politics, studio politics made the movie's fate very uncertain, as MGM was pushing the infinitely more expensive Dr. Zhivago (ironically, made by Green's friend and one-time mentor David Lean) for the Academy Awards, only to see A Patch Of Blue take six nominations and win for Best Supporting Actress (for Shelley Winters. There is also an on-screen career tribute to Sidney Poitier, an extended array of behind-the-scenes stills and an archive of feature articles about the movie, as well as the original trailer. The 105 minute film has been given a generous 29 chapters, and all of the features are easily accessible through a simple double-layered menu.