A Place In The Sun (1951) (Paramount Presents) [Blu-Ray]

Director: George Stevens

Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Shelley Winters

Release Date: August 10, 2021

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Widely considered one of the finest works of America cinema, Paramount Presents is proud to bring Producer/Director George Steven’s masterwork to Blu-ray—remastered from a 4K film transfer in celebration of its 70th Anniversary. Montgomery Clift stars as George Eastman, determined to win a place in respectable society and the heart of a beautiful socialite (Elizabeth Taylor). Shelley Winters is the factory girl whose dark secret threatens Eastman’s professional and romantic prospects. This second Paramount Pictures adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, which was itself based on a notorious true crime tale, was the first film to win the Golden Globe in the category of Best Picture—Drama, before winning six Academy Awards, including Best Director.

Please Note: Paramount Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

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You can also check out our reviews for the other releases in the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line by clicking on each title below!

Paramount Presents #1: Fatal Attraction (1987) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #2: King Creole (1958) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #3: To Catch A Thief (1955) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #4: Flashdance (1983) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #5: Days Of Thunder (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #6: Pretty In Pink (1986) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #7: Airplane! (1980) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #8: Ghost (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #9: Roman Holiday (1953) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #10: The Haunting (1999) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #11: The Golden Child (1986) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #12: Trading Places (1983) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #13: The Court Jester (1956) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #14: Elizabethtown (2005) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #15: Love Story (1970) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #16: The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #17: Mommie Dearest (1981) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #18: Last Train From Gun Hill (1959) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #19: 48 HRS (1982) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #20: Another 48 HRS (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #21: Almost Famous (2000) (Blu-ray Review)

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The beloved film classic ‘A Place in the Sun’ from Producer/Director George Stevens follows George Eastman, a determined young man ready to cement his place in respectable society. Given a chance to work for his uncle’s notable company, he soon finds his plan thrown for a loop when he falls for a young factory worker, something that is forbidden within the company. Doing his best to keep the relationship quiet and prove his competence at the job, he quickly also falls in love with a gorgeous socialite which leads him to attempt to find a way out of his other relationship. His planning and dangerous thoughts might just lead him to an even more dreadful situation than that of which he was trying to escape though.

The 1951 classic ‘A Place in the Sun’ arrives home on Blu-ray as the twenty-second title in Paramount Home Entertainment’s numbered and limited edition ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line which showcases various film classics from the studio’s expansive and decades spanning vault, with each sporting newly remastered video presentations from 4K film transfers, complimented by solid audio presentations, some extras and of course the collectible packaging featured on all of the Limited Edition ‘Paramount Presents’ releases. ‘A Place in the Sun’ certainly makes for another welcome addition to the lineup and even seventy years after its initial release manages to deliver a moving and at times surprisingly uncomfortable story of one man’s struggle to do the best thing for his future and his heart, regardless of the terrible events and choices that may have to occur in order for him to achieve that. A daring and moving masterpiece of cinema for its time that’s held up quite well in most respects and certainly still has no trouble engulfing the viewer and taking them along for on a powerful ride boosted by a talented cast that features Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters, further complimented by the capable guidance of director and producer George Stevens. Fans of this one who have been anxiously awaiting a nice Blu-ray release of the film will probably want to make a point of picking up a copy whenever possible if you haven’t already done so. There’s a pretty great chance that you won’t be disappointed with what it has to offer.

Overall, the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘A Place in the Sun’ brings the timeless classic home on Blu-ray with a pretty wonderful new high definition video presentation from a 4K film transfer in celebration of its seventieth anniversary, complimented by a more than adequate multichannel DTS-HD MA soundtrack and of course the collectible packaging featured on all of the Limited Edition ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray releases. Fans of this beloved classic should be pretty thrilled with what the new Blu-ray has to offer and the release is definitely recommended. Anyone who was excited about this one yet is still considering a purchase shouldn’t hesitate to pick up a copy. Those who haven’t ever had the pleasure of the film may also want to look into a possible rental option (or a purchase if you’re trying to collect all of the numbered ‘Paramount Presents’ releases) because you’re not likely to find a more rewarding and altogether solid release of this gem than this new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray.

VIDEO:

The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘A Place in The Sun’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation of the film from a 4K film transfer in celebration of its seventieth anniversary; featuring its original 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio. This newly remastered video presentation looks pretty wonderful, especially when taking into account the age of the film and it provides an altogether clean, sharp and nicely detailed presentation from start to finish. It holds up great even during the film’s many darkly lit sequences and does a splendid job of balancing the contrasting darkness and light while perfectly capturing the richness of the shadows throughout without ever resulting in anything onscreen becoming unintentionally affected in a negative manner. Overall, this is a great new high definition video presentation that should largely thrill fans of this film classic.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack offers a crisp, smooth and problem free audio presentation throughout. While not very active in the surround department which isn’t much of a surprise, it does a great job of competently balancing the dialogue, music and other audio effects throughout without ever causing any dialogue that might be simultaneously occurring with other audio elements to become distorted or rendered inaudible and keeping every effect and auditory element sounding clean and sharp. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers quite capably in every way necessary and it shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘A Place in The Sun’ features the standard collectible packaging featured on each of the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray releases complete with a slipcase that opens up to feature a larger version of the original theatrical poster for the film, plus photos decorating the case’s interior (you can view a beauty shot of the artwork at the bottom of the review for a better look inside). The disc itself also includes a few nice extras including an ‘Audio Commentary with George Stevens Jr. and Ivan Moffat’, in addition to the new retrospective Featurette ‘Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on A Place in the Sun’ (running approximately 7 minutes in length). Also included on the release is ‘George Stevens and His Place in the Sun’ (running approximately 22 minutes) and ‘George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him’ which features interviews with Warren Beatty, Frank Capra and more (running approximately 45 minutes altogether). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (approximately 3 minutes) is also included, along with classic trailers for ‘Shane’ (2 minutes) and ‘Sunset Boulevard’ (3 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8/10

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The Beloved Film Classic ‘A Place In The Sun’ is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray, Fully Remastered as part of the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line from Paramount Home Entertainment

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