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Licensor Information
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Featuring: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg
Melodrama casts noirish shadows in this portrait of maternal sacrifice from the Hollywood master Michael Curtiz. Its iconic performance by Joan Crawford as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford’s career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by the bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical Ann Blyth) becomes a venomous serpent’s tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations. Recasting James M. Cain’s rich psychological novel as a murder mystery, this bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional.
Streaming Options
Rent
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
Blu-ray
Disc:
BD-50 (1 Disc)
Total: 1 Disc
Regions:
A (Blu-ray)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37:1
Audio Options:
English PCM Mono 1.0
Resolution:
1080p/24
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Interview, Documentary, Q&A, Theatrical Trailer, Insert
- New conversation about Mildred Pierce with critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito
- Excerpt from a 1970 episode of The David Frost Show featuring actor Joan Crawford
- Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, a 2002 feature-length documentary on Crawford’s life and career
- Q&A with actor Ann Blyth from 2006, conducted by film historian Eddie Muller
- Segment from a 1969 episode of the Today show featuring novelist James M. Cain
- Trailer
- An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith
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Film
Picture
Audio
Supplements
Artwork
Release Credits
Producer: Karen Stetler
Artwork: Sean Phillips
Release Notes on Restoration
Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. On widescreen televisions, black bars will appear on the left and right of the image to maintain the proper screen format. This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner at Motion Picture Imaging in Burbank, California, primarily from the 35mm original nitrate camera negative. Some sequences, including the entire last reel of the film, were scanned from a 35mm nitrate fine-grain master held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and a 35mm safety fine-grain master. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film’s DRS, while Digital Vision’s Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management.
The monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm soundtrack print created in 2003 by YCM Laboratories in Burbank from the variable-area original soundtrack negative. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.
The monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm soundtrack print created in 2003 by YCM Laboratories in Burbank from the variable-area original soundtrack negative. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.