The Children's Hour (1961)

[Akijama]

https://www.facebook.com/KinoLorberS...type=1&theater

[movieben1138]

Wow! Kino has really stepped up their game with these Studio Classics releases!

--Ben

[Brad1963]

I love these almost daily Kino announcements. Keep them coming!

[oildude]

Awesome news. I have never seen this but have heard good things about it. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacClaine together. August is looking incredible (and expensive) with so many classic releases from Kino.

[NoirFan]

Never seen this one, but love Wyler, so it'll be a likely purchase.

[jayxrico]

Nice! I've been waiting for this movie to come out for quite some time. Glad to see it's getting blu treatment.

[Astro Zombie]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Never seen this one, but love Wyler, so it'll be a likely purchase.

Plus Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine? I'll probably be blind buying as well

[movieben1138]

So many of these (Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Witness for the Prosecution, Separate Tables, this one, etc.) are out-of-print DVDs that I'm now wondering, "Should I unload them on eBay now and take the chance of some rug being pulled out from under or hold onto them until they are replaced but get less back for them?" First world problems! So glad for the ones finally available in anamorphic transfers!

[Scottie]

Excellent, excellent film with phenomenal acting.

[Oscar Rothman]

Good film, great cast. Keep 'em coming Kino.

[hoytereden]

I could wish that the original-These Three ('36), also directed by Wyler, would get a release. Miriam Hopkins is in both versions. She plays Martha in the first film and Aunt Lily in the second.

[Akijama]

The Children's Hour Blu-ray Review

The review is up. Sounds like a solid release overall. Fans of the movie might wanna skip the review of the movie itself, though.

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by Akijama

The Children's Hour Blu-ray Review

The review is up. Sounds like a solid release overall. Fans of the movie might wanna skip the review of the movie itself, though.

alright, I like it. We really need more Wyler on blu though.

[russkie]

I am wondering why the reviewer gave the movie only a 2.5 rating. On the tomatometer reading, it has a 100% critic approval and 84% audience approval.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by russkie

I am wondering why the reviewer gave the movie only a 2.5 rating. On the tomatometer reading, it has a 100% critic approval and 84% audience approval.

It has a 100% fresh rating from 6 reviews and only one of them could be described as an actual film critic who writes for a well regarded publication. For old films you will find that it is more likely to be the people who like a film who bother to contribute to the audience reviews.

The film got at best a mixed reception when it came out and I don't think it's regarded as much of a classic now. Influential film critics like Bosley Crowther and Pauline Kael panned the film at the time.

I think its a rather overheated melodrama and despite (and maybe even because of) censorship restrictions Wyler's more restrained 1936 movie adaptation of the play titled These Three is a better film and it is better regarded than the 60s film. The 30s film has also dated less because of the changes made. By turning the nature of the gossip from

[Show spoiler]lesbianism in the play and the 60s film to a love triangle in These Three, we don't have to put up with antiquated ideas that the only way to be gay is to be so self-hating that the only way out is suicide. This is about as enlightened as depictions of gay characters got before the 70s.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching the Kino Lorber Blu-ray of The Children's Hour. Wow... This is one weighty film to watch on a summer Saturday afternoon, but at least it was raining outside, so I have an excuse as though I needed one.

The Children's Hour is an excellent drama that earns an easy four stars, perhaps four and half, for movie content, but it's also one of those films that I do not see myself revisiting on a frequent basis as I do with my favorite film noirs or with my James Bond collection. In other words, it's a magnificently effective feature that is actually too effective in its quest to sadden me and bum me out. Films like this that make me feel powerless in my inability to protect the likable characters are always tough going, but that's the whole point.

I will, however, be compelled to revisit it from time to time, simply to appreciate the powerhouse team of filmmakers and actors. Audrey Hepburn, looking as fresh and beautiful as ever, excels once again in a role that combines beauty with remarkable emotional heft. Shirley MacLaine is the emotional anchor of the film, and I'm once again reminded how she makes roles like this seem almost effortless. James Garner, whom I grew up watching in light-hearted and fun-loving roles from the 1980s and early 1990s, lends significant dramatic heft to the proceedings as well. It goes without saying that director William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives) knows his way around difficult subject matter.

This Kino Lorber Blu-ray delivers with a good video presentation and an audio presentation where everything comes across crystal clear.

It's worth nothing that the editing of The Children's Hour is odd, and that there seems to be occasional missing frames scattered throughout the movie. It's almost as though certain snippets of dialogue were removed during post-production, and the final result is the occasional frame skip or the occasional jump cut to a close-up. None of these things interfere with my enjoyment (if I can call it enjoyment) of this masterful drama, but there were a couple of times when I rewound the Blu-ray to check and see if a jumpy moment indeed happened. These shortcomings seem to be solely attributable to the source material and to the editing of the film, though, instead of with the Blu-ray itself. All in all, I'd say that this Blu-ray delivers the goods with what was given to Kino Lorber.

The Children's Hour is not a happy day-at-the-beach fun fun fun movie, but I'm glad that I have it in my collection, and I'm once again blown away by the radiance of Audrey Hepburn's acting range.

More than anything else, I'm thankful that the world has moved forward with baby steps to the point where situations like the one described in the film are usually a non-issue these days.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching the Kino Lorber Blu-ray of The Children's Hour. Wow... This is one weighty film to watch on a summer Saturday afternoon, but at least it was raining outside, so I have an excuse as though I needed one.

The Children's Hour is an excellent drama that earns an easy four stars, perhaps four and half, for movie content, but it's also one of those films that I do not see myself revisiting on a frequent basis as I do with my favorite film noirs or with my James Bond collection. In other words, it's a magnificently effective feature that is actually too effective in its quest to sadden me and bum me out. Films like this that make me feel powerless in my inability to protect the likable characters are always tough going, but that's the whole point.

I will, however, be compelled to revisit it from time to time, simply to appreciate the powerhouse team of filmmakers and actors. Audrey Hepburn, looking as fresh and beautiful as ever, excels once again in a role that combines beauty with remarkable emotional heft. Shirley MacLaine is the emotional anchor of the film, and I'm once again reminded how she makes roles like this seem almost effortless. James Garner, whom I grew up watching in light-hearted and fun-loving roles from the 1980s and early 1990s, lends significant dramatic heft to the proceedings as well. It goes without saying that director William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives) knows his way around difficult subject matter.

This Kino Lorber Blu-ray delivers with a good video presentation and an audio presentation where everything comes across crystal clear.

It's worth nothing that the editing of The Children's Hour is odd, and that there seems to be occasional missing frames scattered throughout the movie. It's almost as though certain snippets of dialogue were removed during post-production, and the final result is the occasional frame skip or the occasional jump cut to a close-up. None of these things interfere with my enjoyment (if I can call it enjoyment) of this masterful drama, but there were a couple of times when I rewound the Blu-ray to check and see if a jumpy moment indeed happened. These shortcomings seem to be solely attributable to the source material and to the editing of the film, though, instead of with the Blu-ray itself. All in all, I'd say that this Blu-ray delivers the goods with what was given to Kino Lorber.

The Children's Hour is not a happy day-at-the-beach fun fun fun movie, but I'm glad that I have it in my collection, and I'm once again blown away by the radiance of Audrey Hepburn's acting range.

More than anything else, I'm thankful that the world has moved forward with baby steps to the point where situations like the one described in the film are usually a non-issue these days.

Glad you noticed that too. I was concerned that my disc might have been smudged or scratched.

[rollinwith26s]

Finally got around to watching this again. The Blu-ray looks great for what it is, but there has always been something about this film that makes it feel akin to drinking flat soda. Shirley MacLaine and Audrey absolutely save the movie and make it at least enjoyable in degrees. I am also a sucker for unrequited love stories so it has that going for it too. It is also hard to not watch this material without having my contemporary view points get in the way. In 2018 it is clear that lies are not the source of antagonism. The true antagonist is the prejudice that gives the lie its power. The film itself seems to be more concerned with the lie itself. I feel like that misses the point, but again, that is because I am watching the movie in 2018 and not in the 60s.

[traths]

Originally Posted by rollinwith26s

Finally got around to watching this again. The Blu-ray looks great for what it is, but there has always been something about this film that makes it feel akin to drinking flat soda. Shirley MacLaine and Audrey absolutely save the movie and make it at least enjoyable in degrees. I am also a sucker for unrequited love stories so it has that going for it too. It is also hard to not watch this material without having my contemporary view points get in the way. In 2018 it is clear that lies are not the source of antagonism. The true antagonist is the prejudice that gives the lie its power. The film itself seems to be more concerned with the lie itself. I feel like that misses the point, but again, that is because I am watching the movie in 2018 and not in the 60s.

As much as I love Audrey, Shirley MacLaine stole the movie.

[rollinwith26s]

Originally Posted by traths

As much as I love Audrey, Shirley MacLaine stole the movie.

I thought that the first time too. After all, Shirley has the juicier role. But Audrey's performance felt more laid back than Shirley's and I found myself preferring Audrey's performance the second time through.

However, Audrey is literally my favourite human. How the hell am I supposed to be objective about her?