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Blu-Ray : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: July 5th, 2011 Movie Release Year: 1989

When Harry Met Sally

Overview -

From acclaimed director Rob Reiner ("The Princess Bride") comes this "explosively funny" (Newsweek) romantic comedy classic starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. One of the most beloved romances of all time, "When Harry Met Sally" so "shimmering (with) intelligence and humor" (Boxoffice) as it exposes "the kind of truth about relationships that hasn't shown up in movies before" (New York)...or since! Sex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns (Crystal) believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright (Ryan) and a deep friendship blossoms between them, Harry's determined not to let his attraction to Sally destroy it. But when a night of weakness ends in a morning of panic, can the pair avoid succumbing to Harry's fears by remaining friends and admitting they just might be the perfect match for each other.

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Region A
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
96
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
Polish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Polish, Swedish
Special Features:
Original Theatrical Trailer
Release Date:
July 5th, 2011

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Relationships are messy, complicated, tortuous, confusing, and wonderful little things. In the hands of the right filmmaker, they're also pretty damn entertaining to watch. Taking his cue from the works of Woody Allen, director Rob Reiner's hit "When Harry Met Sally,' struck quite a chord with audiences when first released in 1989. Telling the simple (or perhaps not so simple) story of boy meets girl, Reiner tapped into the collective unconscious of the dating world, to come away with a funny, sweet, and above all, honest look, at the painful, joyous, unknowable mystery that we call love.

The plot revolves around two wildly different individuals, the innocent, cheery Sally (Meg Ryan), and the neurotic, cynical Harry (Billy Crystal) as they unintentionally run into one another over the course of a decade and go on to develop a deep friendship. Eventually, it seems like romance might be blooming between the unlikely, yet somehow perfect pair, but complications arise that could destroy any chance at a real relationship.

The script is a charming and intelligent examination of the stark differences and unifying traits that separate and attract men and women. Culled from the collective life experiences and personal stories of screenwriter Nora Ephron and director Rob Reiner, the story feels real and truthful, while always remaining entertaining and engaging. The early portions of the plot are structured like a series of vignettes, featuring comedic and insightful conversations between Harry and Sally as they serendipitously meet over the span of several years. Ultimately, the script settles into a single time-frame but still plays out through dialogue heavy scenes of clever back and forths between the two stars. Ephron's observations about relationships and frank portrayals of the inner workings of both sexes are smart and playful, revealing the hidden truth behind what men and women are really thinking. In fact, several scenes, concepts, and lines of dialogue are so on the money, that they have become cemented into the very zeitgeist of society, forever immortalized to be eternally quoted and referenced by bickering couples for all time.

Beyond the screenplay itself, what really makes the film work are its richly textured characters. Harry and Sally are both full, deep, beautifully realized creations, and the combination of Ephron's script and the actors' performances immediately endear all of their humorous eccentricities to the audience. Crystal and Ryan become the embodiment of cinematic chemistry, palpably displaying that certain mysterious spark that radiates from all of the best silver screen couples. In many ways they are the polar opposites of each other, and the clash of their varied idiosyncrasies provides the movie with much of its wonderful humor. The banter between the two is certainly marvelous, and indeed a highlight to watch, but Crystal's silent, bewildered reactions are just as memorable as any of the lines they utter. Beneath the comedy and jokes, both of these lonely individuals have a true, beating heart, and the story never shies away from the more dreary, complicated realities of their up and down journey toward love. As pointed out by the filmmakers in the special features, unlike most contemporary movies of this type, there are no real external obstacles or exaggerated contrivances keeping them apart, instead, their conflicts are of the internal variety. This leads to a conclusion which really allows the characters to grow and develop in meaningful ways, by working through and even embracing some of their own hang-ups and neuroses.

Not wanting to upstage the wonderful dialogue and performances, Reiner mostly adheres to a purely functional style, placing the focus squarely on his actors and their words. However, that isn't to say that the proceedings are completely free of interesting, visual touches, as cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld brings a wonderful but appropriately understated eye, and Reiner does inject a great sense of comedic staging. The scene with Harry and his friend Jess (Bruno Kirby) discussing Harry's divorce while at a sports game is a great example. Caught in a celebratory audience wave, laughs are earned from the specific and perfectly timed juxtaposition of Crystal's dialogue and the untimely physical situation that the duo find themselves in. Split screen is used to great effect as well, making fun comparisons between characters while simultaneously and paradoxically drawing them closer together and further apart. Reiner also employs an interesting structural motif, ending various segments in the picture with sit down interview confessionals between elderly couples describing how they first met and fell in love. These recurring stories, aside from simply being sweet diversions, serve to expand upon the deeper themes of the film while foreshadowing its eventual conclusion.

Though I haven't exactly been kind to some other romantic comedies in the past ('Just Go With It,' 'Mystic Pizza'), 'When Harry Met Sally' is a perfect example of the genre done right. A shining collaborative effort between some very funny and talented individuals, the film is an intelligent, humorous, and warm examination of our often numerous and puzzling contradictions, and our universal desire to find comfort in the arms of someone we love. The simple questions the movie raises about relationships may never be fully answered, and men and women may never fully understand one another, but as the film so simply demonstrates, that may not really be such a bad thing after all.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

MGM presents 'When Harry Met Sally' on a Region A BD-50 disc housed in a standard case. Some logos and warnings play upon start-up before transitioning straight into the film, forgoing a traditional menu. The release is currently available exclusively at Walmart.

Video Review

Ranking:

The movie is encoded with a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This is a mostly pleasing and respectfully authentic presentation.

The print used is in great shape with only some very minor specks visible here and there. A rich layer of thin grain is present throughout, giving the proceedings a natural, filmic quality. With that said, a few isolated sequences do display a very slight smearing quality in faces, but this is minor and the majority of the presentation is free of unnecessary digital manipulation. Detail is often surprisingly strong, giving nice layers of depth to the simple but elegant cinematography. Colors are a little muted, but natural, with a few shots displaying some welcomed vibrancy, particularly in the autumn leaves of New York. Black levels are deep and consistent, and whites are bright without blooming.

MGM has done a solid job of presenting this fan favorite film on Blu-ray, making this a good example of how to treat a catalog title release.

Audio Review

Ranking:

The film is provided with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track along with Spanish DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Russian DTS 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 5.1, and Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. A plethora of subtitle options are also available, including English SDH, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Chinese, Dutch, Korean, Polish, and Swedish. While not bad, this is a very basic audio mix.

Since the movie is almost exclusively a series of conversations, it should come as no surprise that this track is primarily dialogue driven. Thankfully, speech is crisp and easy to understand, but perhaps a little thin. Directionality is kept to a minimum with some sporadic effects and music. Surround use is essentially nonexistent, with only some faint echoes of the score hitting the rears. Dynamic range is fine but unimpressive, and bass isn't really much of a factor. Balance between the dialogue and… well, the rest of the dialogue, is handled well, and all of the movie's famous quotable lines come through nicely.

The audio gets the job done, but rarely comes across like a legitimate 5.1 mix. Still, the presentation is suitable for the material and a more robust remix would have been disingenuous.

Special Features

Ranking:

MGM has compiled a plentiful collection of standard definition supplements, but unfortunately, as is the case with all too many releases, the extras tend to continuously repeat the same bits of information. All of the special features are presented in standard definition with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio and English, Spanish, Korean, French, and Italian subtitle options unless noted otherwise.

  • Audio Commentary by Director Rob Reiner - This is a slightly subpar track, as Reiner seems a little comatose and takes long, frequent pauses in his discussion. When he does speak, the director offers some interesting morsels regarding the origins of certain ideas, the choice of music used, casting, locations, real life inspirations behind scenes, how the split screen sequences were done, and the fun fact that he met his wife while making the movie. Considering how the other (more lively) commentary, and the rest of features tend to simply repeat most of what's offered here in greater detail, this is a pretty skippable and slightly unnecessary inclusion.
  • Audio Commentary by Rob Reiner, Nora Ephron and Billy Crystal - The director, screenwriter, and star sit down for this track. The trio demonstrates nice chemistry and bounce off each other well. Reiner seems a lot more energetic and enthusiastic here than in his solo track, but lots of information from his commentary is repeated, though elaborated on in more entertaining detail. Topics touched upon include more stories about real life inspirations behind famous scenes, the collaborative nature of scripting, and Ephron and Reiner's specific influences on the characters' personalities. There are some breaks in comments, but the track flows much better than the previous one, making it a much more worthy listen.
  • How Harry Met Sally Documentary (SD, 33 min) - Presented without subtitle options, this is a basic but informative look back at the film with cast and crew interviews and clips from the movie. A lot of information from the commentaries is repeated but there are a few new bits of trivia offered.
  • It All Started Like This (SD, 20 min) - This is the first of a series of featurettes focusing on certain aspects of the movie with interviews and archive footage. Unfortunately, it, and the subsequent additions, just repeat information from the previous supplements. Here, Reiner and Ephron sit down for a friendly conversation about the origins of the script and inspirations behind the characters and scenes.
  • Stories of Love (SD, 5 min) - The focus is now on the couples confessionals featured in the film, and the real life stories which influenced them. Again, most of this was already covered.
  • When Rob Met Billy (SD, 4 min) - This deals with Reiner and Crystal's long friendship, the events which led to the comedian being cast, and his important influence on the script.
  • Creating Harry (SD, 6 min) - The development of Harry's character and his neurotic behavior are discussed by the cast, filmmakers, and a few film critics.
  • I Love NY (SD, 8 min) - Shooting in New York is the focus in this featurette, with lots of emphasis on the city's importance to the film.
  • What Harry Meeting Sally Meant (SD, 12 min) - This featurette deals with the lasting impact of the film and what made it work so well to begin with.
  • So Can Men and Women Really Be Friends? (SD, 8 min) - The film's timeless central question is discussed here, with some insights by the cast and crew as well as therapists and professors.
  • Deleted Scenes (SD, 7 min) - Seven deleted and extended sequences are available to view separately or together. Though there's nothing revelatory, some of Crystal's impressions in one scene are worth a laugh, and the extended ending confessional offers some nice moments between the two leads.
  • Music Video by Harry Connick Jr. (SD) - A music video for "It Had to Be You," as sung by Harry Connick Jr. with clips from the movie.
  • Original Theatrical Trailer (SD) - The theatrical trailer is included.

Final Thoughts

'When Harry Met Sally' is a romantic comedy classic that completely and effortlessly defies the sometimes banal trappings of its genre. The story is funny, touching, and filled with frank, smart observations. The video and audio both offer solid and respectful presentations. Supplements are numerous, but unfortunately they tend to be rather redundant. Despite any minor complaints, this is a very nice disc for a very nice film, one that would make a worthy addition to any movie fan's shelf. Oh, and it's currently selling for just $10!