Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The Warner Bros. Archive Collection has remastered and released another contemporary classic from their vaults: The World According to Garp, and a welcome arrival it is. Adapted from the novel by John Irving and released back in 1982, this quirky comic drama featured star-making performances from three relative newcomers: Glenn Close, John Lithgow, and a gifted young comedian named Robin Williams. Appropriately, Lithgow and Close were both nominated for Academy Awards for their supporting performances, but it was several years too soon for Williams to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor. George Roy Hill, who directed Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, showed inspired brilliance in giving the lead role to Williams, an actor whose only prior characterizations were a manic alien named Mork from Ork and a one-eyed sailor named Popeye.

The World According to Garp has received an excellent transfer typical of the standards set by the Warner Archive Collection. It rivals all previous home video editions thus far, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The HD image exhibits sharp clarity and detail, and scratches and dust particles are absent. Pixilated grain is most noticeable in daylight exterior shots, but fleshtones are consistent and even throughout. The limitations of the remastering process are evident in the disappointing 2.0 HD Master Audio. This is no doubt a step up from all previous editions, but one still longs for more directionality from the surround speakers. Still, for an ’80s period drama, the sound performs quite adequately.

Like the Warner Archive edition of Ladyhawke, Garp is woefully absent of any special features beyond the theatrical trailer. The disc is also completely devoid of any chapter search prompt from the main menu. And with no “movie memory,” either, it’s something of a pain in the ass if you wish to continue watching from where you left off the night before.

Minor gripes aside, Garp has never looked better and is a fine addition to the Warner Archive Collection for fans of the film like me. A little more effort would have gone a long way, though. Robin Williams’ performance as T.S. Garp ranks with some of his best, and watching it only a year after his death, it’s also a heartbreaking reminder of just how poorer the world is without him. If you’ve not seen this remarkable little film, buy it, rent it, Netflix it, do what you must. But watch it.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Warner Bros., 1982
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Length: 136 mins.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: George Roy Hill
Starring: Robin Williams, Glenn Close, John Lithgow