Missing: The Complete First Season (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

Exciting and absolutely riveting!  “Missing: The Complete First Season” was one of the better drama series on television that was unfortunately canceled in 2012.  If you haven’t seen this mystery thriller but are curious about it.  Do yourself a favor and check it out! You won’t be disappointed.

Images courtesy of © 2012 ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Missing: The Complete First Season

DURATION: 10 Episodes (430 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Color, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Television, Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish

COMPANY: ABC

RATED: TV 14 LV

RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2012

Directed by Steve Shill, Phil Abraham, Paul A. Edwards, James Strong

Written by Gregory Poirier, Paul Redford

Produced by Gideon Amir

Co-Producer: Kenny Bates, Meredith Lavender, David Minkowski, Matthew Stillman, Marcie Ulin, Richard Peter Schroer

Executive Producer: Gina Matthews, James D. Parriott, Gregory Poirier, Grant Scharbo, Steve Shill

Co-Executive Producer: Ashley Judd, Paul Redford

Consulting Producer: Adele Lim

Music by Robert Duncan, Kim Planert

Cinematography by Arthur Albert

Edited by Nick Arthurs, Allan Lee, Yan Miles, Simon Webb

Production Design by Ondrej Nekvasil

Art Diretion by Stefan Kovacik, Katja Soltes

Set Decoration: Beata Brendtnerova, Katerina Koutska

Costume Design: Roland Sanchez

Starring:

Ashley Judd as Becca Winstone

Cliff Curtis as Dax Miller

Adriano Giannini as Giancarlo Rossi

Nick Eversman as Michael Winstone

Laura Donnelly as Violet Heath

Sean Bean as Paul Winstone

Tereza Voriskova as Oksana

Keith Carradine as Martin Newman

Jason Wong as Fitzpatrick

Gina McKee as Kaime Ortega

Jessica Boone as Rabia

Karel Roden as Azimoff

After Becca Winstone’s son disappears while overseas for a summer internship, she takes it upon herself to travel to Europe to track him down. It soon becomes clear that Becca is no ordinary woman, but a former CIA agent deactivated after the devastating death of her husband. If she wants to find her son alive, Becca will have to rely on old friends…and old enemies…thus reopening old wounds. Her resourcefulness, skill and determination will be put to the test – but a mother’s love knows no limits.

In 2012, the ABC midseason replacement, a mystery thriller drama television series known as “Missing” aired on television.

Starring Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis and Sean Bean, “Missing” would feature Ashley Judd in her first action role and the series would be different in the fact that it was shot in various countries in Europe.

With ten exciting episodes and literally ending with a “bang!”, unfortunately, ABC pulled the plug and canceled the series.

Fortunately, the first season’s storyline does end in the season finale, but also left a teaser for more adventures featuring former CIA agent Rebecca “Becca” Winstone for a season two or hopefully a book release.

But for now, people can enjoy this thrilling, riveting drama series on DVD in June 2012.

“Missing” is a series that revolves around Rebecca “Becca” Winstone (as portrayed by Ashley Judd), a housewife who owns a flower shop, happily married to her husband Paul (as portrayed by Sean Bean) and has a young child named Michael.

One day as Paul and Michael were on a trip in Europe together, an accident takes place in which Paul’s car has blown up and a young Michael, who was inside the hotel at the time, witnessed his father’s death.

Ten years later and Michael (as portrayed by Nick Eversman) is now preparing to go on a summer college internship in Rome.  Becca is unsure and a bit paranoid (after what happened to her husband) that she wants her son to study abroad but decides to give him that opportunity.  Just as long as he keeps in communication with his mother, to let him know that he is OK.

And as Becca would receive periodic video and e-mail messages from Michael, communication suddenly stops.  She then receives a call from the school that he has been dropped from his classes because he stopped attending school.

Becca knows that is not like her son to do such a thing and immediately thinks something is wrong, so she travels to Rome to check on him.

But when she goes to his room, she is suddenly attacked by a gunman and we watch and see Becca fighting back and literally beating the assailant and killing him.

The ruckus causes the landlord to call the police and when surveillance footage shows footage of Becca, the CIA in America finds out that their former agent, Rebecca Winstone may be up to no good and is working with another country.

This leads to CIA agent Dax Miller (as portrayed by Cliff Curtis) to assemble his group to pursue Rebecca Winstone in Europe.  Meanwhile, Becca gets some help from a former lover and Interpol agent named Giancarlo Rossi (as portrayed by Adriano Giannini), the two find out through video footage that Michael has been abducted.

And now, Becca will do whatever she can to get her son back!  Even if it means going against international authorities and the CIA.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Missing: The Complete First Season” is presented in Widescreen (1:78:1).  First, let me just say that “Missing” was the most ambitious drama series on television because it was shot in several countries.  You just don’t see series that are filmed country after country and in the case of “Missing”, it was shot in many countries.

So, there are quite a few breathtaking scenes in “Missing” and it helps to have an experienced cinematographer like Arthur Albert who has worked on several films such as “Happy Gilmore” and “Saving Silverman” but also experience on working on major drama series such as “ER” and “The Gates”.

For the most part, picture quality is good for DVD but as expected for a DVD release, you can see a bit of compression but nothing that would hurt your viewing of the film and for the most part, for most viewers, this is a non-issue for a DVD release.  But with all the beautiful location shots utilized for this film, I wish “Missing: The Complete First Season” was released on Blu-ray!

“Missing” is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with subtitles in English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish. As a drama series, audio for “Missing” was primarily a dialogue-driven track with some use of scenery ambiance for surround channels.   Because this was also an action-driven drama series, not only are their gunshots, explosions, car crashes, etc.  It was a soundtrack that utilized the surround channels but also a series that had a good amount of ambiance.  While not too immersive, on DVD and for a TV drama series, I was quite pleased with how this series sounds on DVD.

Once again, I wish “Missing: The Complete First Season” was released on Blu-ray but for the most part, audio isa ppropriate and dialogue is clear and understandable.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Missing: The Complete First Season” comes with the following special features:

• Missing: In Action – (16:05) Interviews with Ashley Judd and the cast of “Missing”.  Behind-the-scenes of the making of “Missing”.
• On Location: Inside Istanbul – (32:40) A featurette about the “Missing” production team traveling to different countries for filming, leading to their finale in Istanbul.
• Deleted Scenes – (6:31) Featuring seven deleted scenes.

EXTRAS:

“Missing: The Complete First Season” comes with a slipcover case.

Not too often do you find a mystery thriller drama series on television that tries to bring the elements of what you enjoy on the big screen to television.  In this day of reality TV and studios trying to stay away from big budget series, “Missing” was one series that was one of the surprises of 2012.    And it turns out that of the newer drama series I have watched so far this year, “Missing” was one of my favorites.

Unfortunately, it was also a series that was canceled after its first season.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of “Missing” because you don’t really find any mystery thrillers involving a 40+ housewife in many action scenes, kicking a lot of butt while  trying to look for her kidnapped son all over Europe.

Reading about it, it just didn’t make sense to me.  Finding out that Ashley Judd was playing the main character, didn’t make sense to me.  But watching it…it made sense and Ashley Judd’s character, Becca Winstone… don’t underestimate her!  This woman can kick ass!

While most action series on television within the last ten years tend to focus on a younger, non-married, not a mother, female heroine.  We have seen it done in the past with “Alias” or even “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.  A series that would feature characters that would appeal to the 18-49 demographic.

But “Missing” took its chance by utilizing actress Ashley Judd in a way that at first it didn’t make any sense to me, until I watched the first episode and from there on, I realize that “Missing” is possibly the best performance I have seen of Ashley Judd.

Yes, I enjoyed watching her on films such as “Heat”, “Double Jeopardy”, “High Crimes”, etc. but in the context of her character, Becca Winstone is a former CIA operative, one of their top agents who quit her job right after her CIA husband was killed and focused her life on raising her son and being a normal mother.

And when you read about this series and watch the trailer, your initial thought was, what is an older mother of a college student going off on her lonesome to save her son?  It didn’t make any sense.  But once you see how this series plays out, not only do you find it riveting but you are just captivated.  Everything that was happening onscreen was magnificent and suffice to say, I was rooting for Becca and watching this mother not only kick butt but doing all she can to save her son, that includes breaking rules that literally would put her in prison.

As mentioned, Ashley Judd is playing the character of the former CIA operative and mother, Becca Winstone.  And one thing that Ashley Judd does bring to the table is the fact that she can play emotional characters.  And as for action-based characters, I have to say that Becca Winstone kicks ass!

And you add in a wonderful supporting cast such as Cliff Curtis (“Live Free or Die Hard”, “Training Day”, “Three Kings”) as CIA agent Dax Miller, heading the operations to assist but also prevent her from causing any major problems but also responsible in finding Becca Winstone.  You have Andriano Giannini (“The Consequences of Love”, “Ocean’s Twelve”) as Becca’s former boyfriend and Interpol connection.  And for “Lord of the Rings” fans, Sean Bean plays the character of Paul Winstone, the husband of Becca and father of missing Michael who was killed in the first episode.  And Keith Carradine (“Cowboys & Aliens”, “Nashville”, “Damages”, “Dollhouse”) as the friend of the family and godfather of Michael.

And to add to the excitement, rarely do you find a TV drama series that is shot all over Europe.  You see sets built in America but for “Missing”, this was an expensive production as the characters and production crew were literally traveling all over Europe to shoot these episodes.

With awesome writing and performances, it’s unfortunate that a series this exciting was canceled.

Why was it canceled?  It’s all about ratings and not sure if the production costs to shoot all over Europe was too expensive but I also believe that the ratings also were hampered for several reasons.  As mentioned earlier, for female action stars on television, they are usually young, sexy and often dressed in tight clothing.  Once again, we have seen it with “Alias”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and recently with a show like “Nikita”.  I feel that people are so used to seeing action heroines on television a certain way, it’s hard for viewers to get outside of that.

I look at Becca Winstone like the female version of Jack Bauer of “24″.  But as people are so used to seeing older male protagonists in action roles, the same can’t be said for female protagonists.  So, in a way, I respect this drama that we see a mother, a former top CIA agent, getting back into the scene.  And because for her love of her son and it’s all that she has left in her life, she will do everything and anything possible to save him.

And the character and the storyline definitely was awesome and captivating, unfortunately… how I felt by reading it or seeing the trailer, it didn’t do much justice in promoting the series, because the series was so much more than what I expected.  It was a pleasant surprise and I couldn’t stop watching.

Another reason I can only think of why some people wouldn’t give the series a chance is because people are not used to seeing Ashley Judd as an action star.   She is known for her roles on romantic comedies or thrillers.   But if people did give “Missing” a chance, as I was skeptical at first, I was proven wrong.  Ashley Judd did a fantastic job in this series and I was pretty impressed by the production values of the series.  Once again, while we are used to seeing action films taking place in several countries, never do we see modern television drama series doing the same thing as “Missing” is shot in several countries (note: “24″ had a series shot in Africa, but that was for a one-time special, “Missing” is shot in several countries).

As for the DVD, the DVD looks great and it’s one of those series that you wish was released on Blu-ray, because some of these locations look magnificent, and would even look much better on Blu-ray.  But on DVD, the series still looks very good and audio quality is just as great utilizing ambiance and plenty of sound effects via the surround channels.  Granted, it’s a TV series, so one can’t expect it to be too immersive but for a TV drama series, “Missing” looks and sounds very good on DVD.

There are few special features included but the most intriguing feature is showing how the production crew had to travel to different countries to shoot the series.  For me, I was quite fascinated by that feature alone but it would have been nice to have an audio commentary included with this DVD release.

And as much as I enjoyed this series, unfortunately, its cancellation affects everything for this series because although it manages to conclude one storyline, there was no doubt that the series finale was setting the story for season two, which unfortunately is not ever going to be made.  While the series finale was good in tying up some loose ends, it also leaves you feeling a bit bitter that you can watch this exciting, riveting series but to find out that there is no closure because the series was canceled.  Especially when you get a teaser finale that would definitely make things much more exciting if there was a second season.

With that being said, fortunately, “Missing: The Complete First Season” is among the better canceled series on DVD, because there is closure at least for the first season’s main storyline.  Also, there are so many twists and turns in the storyline that watching all ten episodes was definitely worthwhile.

Exciting and absolutely riveting!  “Missing: The Complete First Season” was one of the better drama series on television that was unfortunately canceled in 2012.  If you haven’t seen this action/drama but are curious about it?  Do yourself a favor and check it out.  You won’t be disappointed!

PRODUCTION HAS BEGUN ON ABC’S “MISSING,” STARRING ASHLEY JUDD

Production has begun in Europe on “Missing,” ABC’s highly anticipated new drama series starring Ashley Judd (“Double Jeopardy,” “Kiss the Girls”). Exotic locations and thrilling twists will keep viewers riveted in this story of a mother whose son suddenly disappears while studying abroad, and of the surprising events that reveal just how far she’ll go to find him and bring him back home. The series will begin with 10 episodes, and comes from writer Gregory Poirier (“National Treasure: Book of Secrets”) and executive producers Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo (“The Gates”).

How far would you go to save the only thing you have left in the world? After CIA Agent Paul Winstone (Sean Bean, “Game of Thrones”) was murdered, his wife, Becca (Judd), and their son, Michael, struggled to rebuild their lives. Now, 10 years later, Michael goes missing under suspicious circumstances, and Becca will do anything it takes to find him.

From the time Michael was just 8 years old and witnessed his father’s death, Becca has been overprotective. But she couldn’t say no to Michael’s amazing opportunity to study in Rome. Just a few weeks into his trip, however, Michael disappears. Becca flies to Rome for answers, but no one takes her seriously — so she takes matters into her own hands. Becca isn’t just a mother looking for her son; both she and Michael’s father were CIA agents, so whoever took Michael has messed with the wrong mother. Still, if Becca wants to find her son alive, it will take all of her resourcefulness, skill and determination, and she’ll have to rely on old friends and reopen old wounds. But a mother’s love knows no limits.

“Missing” stars Ashley Judd as Becca Winstone, Sean Bean as Paul Winstone, Nick Eversman (“Cinema Verite”) as Michael Winstone, Cliff Curtis (“Trauma”) as Dax, Adriano Giannini (“Oceans Twelve”) as Giancarlo and Tereza Voriskova (“Borgia”) as Oksana.

“Missing” is produced by ABC Studios. The pilot was written by Gregory Poirier, who is also an executive producer along with Gina Matthews, Grant Scharbo, Steve Shill (“Dexter”) and James Parriott (“Sons of Anarchy”). Shill, an Emmy winner for directing “Dexter,” will direct many of the episodes for “Missing.”

De-Lovely (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

A story about Cole Porter and his wife Linda Lee.  From Cole Porter’s extravagant lifestyle and famous career and the woman who stood behind him no matter what.  Featuring a wonderful musical soundtrack and a wonderful performance by Kevin Cline and Ashley Judd, “De-Lovely” is worth giving a chance and definitely worth the upgrade from its DVD counterpart.

Images courtesy of © 2004 United Artists Films, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: De-Lovely

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2004

DURATION: 125 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Widescreen (2:35:1), English 5.1 Surround DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Surround, French 5.1 Dolby Digital , Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

COMPANY: MGM/Twentieth Century Fox

RATED: PG-13 (Sexual Content)

RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2011

Directed by Irwin Winkler

Written by Jay Cocks

Producer: Rob Cowan, Charles Winkler, Irwin Winkler

Executive Producer: Simon Channing Williams, Gail Egan

Line Producer: Georgina Lowe

Cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts

Edited by Julie Monroe

Casting by Nina Gold

Production Design by Eve Stewart

Art Direction by John Hill

Set Decoration by John Bush

Costume Design by Janty Yates

Starring:

Kevin Kline as Cole Porter

Ashley Judd as Linda Porter

Jonathan Pryce as Gabe

Kevin McNally as Gerald Murphy

Sandra Nelson as Sara Murphy

Alla Corduner as Monty Woolley

Peter Polycarpou as L.B. Mayer

Keith Allen as Irving Berlin

James Wilby as Edward Thomas

Kevin McKidd as Bobby Reed

Richard Dillane as Bill Wrather

Edward Baker-Duly as Boris Kochno

Angie Hill as Ellin Berlin

From Paris to Venice to Broadway to Hollywood, the lives of Cole (Kline) and Linda (Ashley Judd) Porter were never less thanglamorous and wildly unconventional. Though Cole’s thirst for life strained their marriage, Linda never stopped being his muse, inspiring some of the greatest songs of the twentieth century.

Irwin Winkler is a producer that is best known for producing Martin Scorsese films such as “Goodfellas”, “Raging Bull” and also bringing the “Rocky” films to the big screen.   But the producer is also a director who is best known for films such as “The Net”, “Life as a House” and “Home of the Brave” and in 2004, he took on the role of directing a biopic about famous American composer and songwriter Cole Porter.

Along with screenwriter Jay Cocks “Gangs of New York”, “The Age of Innocence”), the duo would set out to research the life and career of Cole Porter (played by Kevin Cline) and his relationship with his wife Linda Lee Thomas (played by Ashley Judd) from the moment they met up and showcasing how much of an influence she had on his life.

The film’s title “De-Lovely” which is derived from Cole Porter’s hit song from his 1936 musical “Red Hot and Blue” would feature musical talent performing covers of Cole Porter songs on the soundtrack but also star in the film.  Musical talent such as Robbie Williams, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole including Kevin Cline and Ashley Judd would take part in the film’s musical soundtrack.

Kevin Cline was nominated for Golden Globe for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” and Ashley Judd for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” and also receive a Grammy nomination for “Best Compilation Soundtrack for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media”.

“De-Lovely” is a film about a man reviewing his life as a musical.

The film begins with Cole Porter (played by Kevin Cline), in his late years is visited by the archangel Gabrliel and Gabriel beginning to talk about Porter’s career.

Immediately, Porter’s life flashes before him and he alongside the archangel Gabriel are watching a musical production of Cole Porter when he was young.  Cole Porter was known to be a man who was bisexual and despite having flings with many of the lead men in his musical productions, he still fell in love with Linda Lee Thomas (played by Ashley Judd).

Linda Lee Thomas was a socialite who was first married to another man named Samuel Thomas, a wealthy man but divorced him because he was abusive.  At the wedding of railroad heiress Ethel Harriman and Henry Potter Russell, both Linda Lee Thomas and C0le Porter met and less than a year later, the two would get married.  Despite Porter’s busy schedule and his gay lifestyle, Linda Lee Thomas still stood by her husband’s side to give him support and use her wealthy connections to introduce him to people.

Their relationship was a positive in the sense that Linda could continue her socialite status despite her divorce but also knew that Porter would not abuse her like her ex-husband and for Cole Porter, due to the climate towards homosexuals at the time, it would be an advantage of him to have a wife (especially one who didn’t mind too much of his gay lifestyle) and to continue the lifestyle that he enjoyed.

But the film would show Cole Porter as a man who loved working, loved having fun and enjoy self-indulging, meanwhile his wife knew that as much as she gave Cole her love and support, during those years of Porter’s self-indulgence, she would not be his #1.  That would be his music and she respected that.  No matter if he was out with other men and she never knew the reasons of why he was out, she would continue to support him throughout their marriage from 1919 through 1954, the time of her death due to emphysema.  But also during a time when Cole Porter suffered a severe leg injury after falling from a horse which required 34 operations and caused a series of ulcers.  Despite her illness, she always put Cole Porter first and supported him regardless of what was happening in their marriage.

The film would also spotlight how Linda inspired some of his hit songs and then showcase various music talent performing those songs.

VIDEO:

“De-Lovely” is a presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:35:1).  If there is one thing positive I can say about “De-Lovely”, its the awesome makeup and costume design.  As the film showcases both Cole Porter and Linda Lee Thomas aging throughout the film, on Blu-ray, you can see how thorough the makeup and effects team were in trying to capture the realistic look of Cole Porter and Linda Lee during various points of their lives.  If the camera is doing a closeup of one’s face or hands, you can see the wrinkles, the crow marks, the skin spots and more.  There is a lot of detail in the film and by no means does the makeup look terrible, it was done exceptionally well and looks fantastic.

You can also spot the detail of the various fabrics of the clothing worn by the characters throughout the rolling 20′s through the various decades.  Makeup, hair, clothing, there is this stylish look about the film and for the most part, I was quite happy with what I saw.  I didn’t see any banding, especially in scenes that utilized a lot of reds.  I didn’t see any compression or significant dust, speckles, scratches, etc.   Blacks were nice and deep, colors were vibrant, skin tones were natural, even during those scenes where they were aged, it looks great.  And for the most part, those who bought the DVD, should be happy with this Blu-ray release when it comes to PQ.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“De-Lovely” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Surround and French 5.1 Dolby Digital.   Although a biopic on the life of Cole Porter and his wife Linda Lee Thomas, the film could also be seen as a musical as the film serves as a vehicle to showcase Cole Porter’s music and also showcase a lot of well-known musical talent singing those Cole Porter songs.  The music sounds absolutely wonderful via lossless and that is one major positive that fans of the film would truly enjoy watching “De-Lovely” on Blu-ray.

The scenes that feature audiences and large crowds can be heard through the surround channels, as are certain instruments.  The musical mix is very well-done and was definitely a major factor in my enjoyment of the film.  The dialogue, which is quite heavy in this film is crystal clear and understandable as well.

Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“De-Lovely” comes with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by director Irwin Winker and Kevin Cline.  Both go into detail about Cole Porter, Kevin Cline playing Cole Porter, the makeup and also how Kevin Cline played the piano and sung the parts at the set rather than added later in post-production.
• Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by director Irwin Winker and writer Jay Cocks.  Cocks talks about the writing angle and the challenges he had faced on working on the film.  Both men talk about how “De-Lovely” came to be.
• Making of De-Lovely Featurette - (25:37) The making of “De-Lovely” featuring interviews with cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage on the making of the film.
• Music of De-Lovely Featurette – (15:19) Featuring the music talent who appeared in the film singing covers of Cole Porter’s music.
• Anatomy of a Scene: Be a Clown Featurette - (5:33) Behind-the-scenes on the making of the “Be a Clown” musical scene.
• Anatomy of a Scene: Love for Sale Featurette - (3:10) Behind-the-scenes on the making of the “Love For Sale” music scene and showcasing Porter’s gay lifestyle.
• Deleted Scenes – (14:29) A total of nine deleted scenes including an alternate ending.
• Theatrical Trailer – (2:22) Original theatrical trailer for “De-Lovely”.

I grew up in a household that listened to Cole Porter’s music and also watching films by Cole Porter and growing up, but aside from knowing of his famous career and his lifestyle, I never knew the story of his wife Linda Lee nor did I know the challenges that Cole Porter faced after a possible career-ending injury.

What I loved about the film is its over-all look and how much the make-up crew went into make Cole Porter, Linda Lee and their friends grow up together and eventually get older.  A lot of films that try to capture that look of aging in various stages, sometimes its not done too well but in the case of “De-Lovely”, they set-out to capture the authentic look of Cole Porter and his wife Linda Lee aging and the result was magnificent.

Kevin Cline did a wonderful job in playing Cole Porter, from playing the piano, singing and even capturing Porter’s vibrant lifestyle, while Ashley Judd also did a wonderful job in playing the supportive but lonely wife.

While I have read reviews and it’s been split among the film critics in the fact that Cole Porter’s life should have been featured as vibrant and enthusiastic, I felt that Jay Cocks did a good job in showing us another perspective of Cole Porter’s life.  I know that there are people that may feel that this biopic may make Cole Porter look like a spoiled entertainer who focused on his work and was constantly gallivanting with other men while his wife was stuck home alone, and its the lifestyle that Cole Porter was known for, he worked hard…he partied hard.

And as for Linda, she remained faithful and supportive of him to the end, despite being lonely and not being #1 to her husband.  And although we don’t know how Porter felt about his wife’s death, we do know that from her death and later from a leg amputation, he withdrew from society and said goodbye to his friends while he lived in seclusion.  I’m not sure if his loneliness was because he was now alone without his wife or that the amputation of his leg was his what made him a recluse but the film shows us how Porter was when things were going great in his life and when things weren’t, his wife was there for him and continued to inspire him, which eventually led to the music for “Kiss Me, Kate”.

As mentioned earlier, this is a biopic but the film also has a musical essence to it.  For each session in which Cole Porter is working on a hit song, we see him working on it and then the scene transitioning to a music talent performing that song.  I know for some people, this transition from Cole Porter then to showcasing Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette, Robbie Williams, etc. may seem a bit out-of-the-blue but I had no problem with this because even back in the early ’90s, I bought Cole Porter compilation soundtracks titled “Red Hot +Blue” featuring U2, Annie Lennox, David Byrne, Sinead O’Connor and many others singing Cole Porter covers (in this case, it was a major AIDS benefit from the music industry) and this was no different.  For me, hearing these talent perform covers of Cole Porter were all well-done but it also gave the film some panache.

The Blu-ray release is pretty much an upgrade over its DVD counterpart.  The PQ and AQ are very well done and if you enjoyed the film and its musical soundtrack, you’re going to love hearing the music in lossless HD.  As for the special features, its the same special features that came with the DVD and are presented in standard definition.  But even when the DVD was released, I felt it was a solid DVD especially with its two audio commentaries.

Overall, “De-Lovely” definitely gives us another perspective of Cole Porter’s career but also his personal life.  I know there are some who would have rather see something a bit more vibrant and there is no doubt that we could have had a Fellini-esque “8 1/2″ style of film if Irwin Winkler wanted to go that route but I believe they went through the path of showing the ups and downs in Cole Porter’s personal life and right there along with him, maybe not in the traditional sense of a “normal” marriage” but his wife Linda Lee, as lonely as she was, stood by him and supported him throughout their marriage up to her death and how she had an impact on his career.

If you enjoyed this film on DVD, definitely upgrade to Blu-ray!  If you are curious about this film, I definitely recommend on giving it a try!