Educations come in all shapes and sizes, and Arthur Miller captures this idea perfectly with his screenplay for The Misfits, and John Huston put it on film in a feature that rolls along at a relaxed pace only to serve up a hard dose of reality to the audience and the naïve protagonist that sharpens Miller’s ideas into a fine point. The Misfits is the final film of both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, and it’s a perfectly suitable send off. This dark and moody film about the disillusionment of youth has great performances, direction, and cinematography. The only real downside of The Misfits on Blu-ray is the argument for how much a black and white film from 1961 truly benefits from an HD transfer.
Ditching her divorce proceedings in Reno, Roslyn (Monroe) hooks up with the morose Guido (Eli Wallach) and Gay Langland (Gable), one of those last true cowboys. They go for a night on the town, meeting up with Perce (Montgomery Clift) midway through, and Roslyn charms each and every one of them with her naivete, optimism, and sympathetic ear. The men are smitten, yet a few key moments reveal just how different their worldviews are, with the prime example being Roslyn’s eventual comprehension of what it is these men do for a living in a desert sequence with a truly brilliant cinematic presentation.
At times it’s easy to understand why The Misfits was converted to Blu-ray, as scenes like the final desert rodeo are beautifully shot. However, other moments in the film aren’t so well preserved and even with the remastering there’s a bit of blur that makes you question how much the HD really helps.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There are no extra features.
"The Misfits" is on sale May 10, 2011 and is not rated. Drama. Directed by John Huston. Written by Athur Miller. Starring Clark Gable, Eli Wallach, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift.
