Dark Victory (Restored and Remastered Edition)

Hollywood must still like films about characters with incurable diseases judging by the recent Oscar winning roles by Eddie Redmayne in "The Theory of Everything"(Best Actor) and Julianne Moore in "Still Alice"(Best Actress) and although Bette Davis' role as Judith Traherne in "Dark Victory" did not win her the Oscar, it is certainly one of roles that she is most remembered for. Warner's has now brought this sentimental melodrama to Blu-ray for the first time and viewers may be disappointed with the results. Despite reports to the contrary, this Blu-ray was not sourced off of the original negative(if it even exists) and appears to be taken from less than stellar film elements. Although it's a slight improvement over the 2005 Standard DVD, Warner's has given it a low Bitrate(20.94) with mixed results. Despite the upgrade, this new Blu-ray appears much darker than the standard DVD with grain very prominent. There is a softness to the picture and many of the close-ups look fuzzy. Image quality during the course of the film is not consistent with some being overly soft while others are crystal clear. Despite that, the film has been cleaned up for it's Blu-ray debut and is free of any vertical lines, dirt, specks, torn or damaged frames. The story itself has become one of the classics since it's original release in 1939. This is a Bette Davis film from start to finish and she is at the top of her game. Her scenes with co-star George Brent(this was their eighth film together) are very believable and touching and the two of them have chemistry together. They get great support from Humphrey Bogart, Cora Witherspoon, Henry Travers and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Even Ronald Reagan shows up as a drunken playboy! The Audio(English DTS-HA MA 1.0 and Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0) has been cleaned up too and is free of any noise artifacts(hiss, pop, etc.) "Dark Victory" is 104 minutes(Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1) and contains the following subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French. Special Features include: commentaries by film historian James Urisini and film critic Paul Clinton, the "Old Hickory" short, a "Dark Victory" featurette, vintage newsreels, a WB cartoon, the Lux Radio broadcast with Bette Davis and Spencer Tracy and the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray itself is housed in one of those eco-cutout cases so anyone purchasing this new Blu-ray may want to switch to a more sturdy Blu-ray case for added protection. "Dark Victory" is one of the classic melodramas from Hollywood's Golden Era and although Warner's new Blu-ray is not stellar, it certainly comes recommended for fans of the film and Bette Davis.

DARK VICTORY is one of the earliest movies that included actress Bette Davis. DARK VICTORY is dated from the year, 1939. Bette Davis was born in 1908. Thus, she was about thirty when this movie was filmed. In brief, the movie discloses the conflict between the character's experiences with brain cancer, the character's attempts to deny that she is terminally ill, and the fact that her physician and her closest friends are attempting to conceal the fact that she is terminally ill. Actors Humphrey Bogart and Ronald Reagan have cameo appearances in this movie. This movie will be relevant to everybody in the United States, or in the world, in view of the fact that most people, or nearly all people, are familiar with somebody who was the victim of cancer. This movie discloses some of the clinical adverse events of the cancer, such as vision impairment and, eventually, a trend towards blindness. This movie has a dramatic turning point. This turning point is as follows. At one point in the storyline, Bette Davis picks up her medical records, and sees that they state, PROGNOSIS NEGATIVE. The character asks somebody what "prognosis" means, and what "negative" means, and she learns that this means that she is destined to die soon. In my opinion, the turning point in this movie is when Bette Davis and her physician are ordering a meal in a restaurant, and Bette Davis says, "I'LL HAVE A PROGNOSIS NEGATIVE." This is one of the cleverest and, at the same time, one of the most tragic and ominous excerpts of dialogue in the history of cinema. Despite the sharply sarcastic nature of this remark, the plot continues to move forwards as before, where the doctor pretends that nothing is wrong, and where Bette Davis continues to pretend that nothing is wrong. To summarize, there are two reasons why I like this movie: (1) Because the movie discloses one way to react to a prognosis that visits too many of our friends and relatives and, (2) Because the movie is one of the milestones in the golden age of classical cinema.

Bette Davis, in her young, more innocent days, dies romantically of a brain tumor. There is a realistic portrayal of her symptoms in the beginning, a dramatic discovery that she is not being told the truth, a oedipal marriage with the older doctor who is caring for and fell in love with her (George Brent), an idyllic marriage, and a mysterious death where she lies down glamorously and somehow dies. A much better, and earlier, portrayal of this situation -- which has very contemporary relevance -- is the 1948. An Act of Murder with Frederic March.

Really excellent Bette Davis, and actually a great movie in general.The premise of the plot is deathly serious, but sounds more like a corny lifetime tear-jerker than an interesting drama. But of course, Davis makes it interesting. Her character isn't some sweet, soft Jenny Cavalleri. She isn't always likable and she isn't passive. So of course this makes watching her grapple with brain cancer much more interesting and real. With all the terminal-illness-suffering-porn that has been made before and since, Dark Victory stands out as one that makes the tragedy of death clear- death isn't terrible because it takes people we love. It's terrible because it takes people.

This movie fascinated me as a kid. As a young mother it scared me and I avoided it. I just decided to watch it again now that I'm older... I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bette Davis always delivers for me. She's the perfect actress --whether a cool villain or the gay, thoughtless creature. She is at once glamorous and vulnerable.

Bette Davis is amazing. Given this story, she blows me away every time. Powerful. I know I will cry every time I watch it and it doesn't deter me. Simply, a brilliant film overshadowed by the powerhouse year of 1939 (Gone With the Wind and Wizard of Oz did OK that year...)

I have not seen many Bette Davis movies where she does not play the bitch so it was refreshing to see her in a much more sympathetic role as terminally ill Judith Traherne. A lot of familiar traits are still here, the fast talking, the brittleness, the sudden electric smiles and the eyes of course but this time Davis' character is essentially a girl with a good heart who just likes to have fun. It is an extraordinary performance and while aspects of it may seem overdone these days (the nervous twitching of her hands during the medical examination for example) they would have been outstanding in the day. Davis really does run the gamut of emotions here and ultimately is hugely sympathetic yet dignified during the final scenes leading to her death.She has decent support from George Brent as the doctor love interest, Geraldine Fitzgerald as the best friend and Humphrey Bogart in the strange role of an Irish horse trainer. Poor Brent does not receive a single mention in the documentary accompanying the movie on DVD, presumably because he is no longer a known name. He does look quite a bit older than Davis and a strange mix of Clark Gable and John Barrymore but I think he gives a good performance. Of course Ronald Reagan is also in the movie (and does get a mention in the documentary) but his role is small and there's not much to it. The score is also excellent and expressive and I liked the featured song 'Time For Tenderness'. The script is heavy handed at times, especially around the medical aspects - I must admit that I laughed when 'Prognosis Negative' leaps out at us from the page Davis reads accidentally!In short then, this movie is well worth seeing - mainly for Bette Davis - but its a decent story, well delivered and although a bit of a tear-jerking melodrama, it is surprisingly not too over-indulgent thanks so Davis' performance.

A fabulous film. My Mom talked about this film a lot, now I see why. Very sad story line.

Old time classic film with better Davis loved it

Another good performance from Bette and I also enjoyed Humphrey Bogart in one of his earlier roles. A good storyline and believable.

Bette Davis, for once playing the role of a good and very likeable person, was at her acting best. The subject matter suggests that it might be a rather morose film but that is certainly not the case, as her brilliant portrayal of a woman intent on making the most of the time she has left is actually uplifting. However, I have to confess that I did have a little weep at the end.