A Place in the Sun [DVD] [1951]

Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters star in the seething romance A Place in the Sun. Paramount's work on this black-and-white 1.33:1 full-screen transfer is very nice and even. While there are a few instances of dirt and grain in the image, overall, this is a solid-looking transfer with well saturated black-and-white levels. The audio is presented in a newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack in English. This is a very clear and concise soundtrack, though because of its age, the limitations in the source materials are often apparent. The directional effects are kept to a minimum, with most of the sound field is only played in the front and center speakers. Also included on this disc are English subtitles. A Place in the Sun includes a nice batch of extra materials, starting with a few retrospective interviews with Taylor and Winters plus late director/producer George Stevens' son and associate producer, Ivan Moffat. This is a very enlightening and entertaining look at what went into the production of the film though the eyes of those who were there. Also included on this disc is another retrospective on director Stevens titled "George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him" and a very informative commentary track with George Stevens Jr. and Ivan Moffat. Conspicuously, the theatrical trailer for the film is missing.