The Hours (2002) is an adaptation of a novel by the same name, not written by
Virginia Woolf, but
about a novel by Woolf (
Mrs. Dalloway, which has already been
well adapted). We're given sort of three avenues of approach within three different time periods: one of
Nicole Kidman as Woolf herself writing it in the 1920s, a second of
Julianne Moore reading it in the 50s, and of
Meryl Streep living it in the 90s. Although it would technically be more accurate to describe the film as two stories: one of the author and one of the readers, and how the one can influence the others across time. It kind of feels like the perfect match between a peak
Todd Haynes Killer Film and classic literature.
Even besides the obviously incredible triptych of leading ladies, this cast is stunning:
Ed Harris,
Allison Janney,
Miranda Richardson,
Jeff Daniels,
John C. Reilly,
Toni Collette,
Claire Danes... every time you look at the screen, it's like holy shit, another great actor.
Eileen Atkins is also on-hand as a bit of stunt casting, given her famous portrayal of Woolf in her own one-woman show,
A Room Of One's Own.
It's a shame that one missed its shot back in the days when everything
used to get a DVD release, because that one would be nice to have on the
shelf, too. But I digress; any chance to get Eileen Atkins in your
movie is one to take. This movie is one of those perfectly timed,
increasingly rare marriages between a critically adored, award winning
art film and a genuine box office success that it's genuinely shocking
it had been so neglected on disc until 88 Films came to the rescue.
Paramount released
The Hours
on DVD as a new release in the US, as both wide and fullscreen editions
(I've got both here for you today), in 2003. And apart from reissuing
the same (widescreen) disc once or twice over the years, and including
it in a couple of those budget combo packs, that's been it. There was
meant to be a UK blu in 2011 through Optimum - it was announced with
cover art, an Amazon listing and everything; but the release was
cancelled before it ever actually hit stores. For a long time, our only
options were a handful of imports (Italy, Japan, China...), which I've
come close to biting the bullet on many times over the years, but they
were always so pricey. It wasn't until this year, 2026, when 88 Films
finally delivered us a proper, English language release. Hallelujah.
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1) 2003 Paramount full DVD; 2) 2003 Paramount wide DVD; 3) 2026 88 Films BD.
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So
Paramount's fullscreen DVD is 1.33:1, while their wide is 1.78:1. The
fullscreen version is essentially a "chop off the sides" affair, as
opposed to open matte, though it does have a little extra vertical
information. 88's BD, then, is essentially the same framing as
Paramount's widescreen DVD, except it mattes it slightly further to a
proper 1.85:1. Despite the framing choices, though, we're clearly still
using the same dark master in 2026 as we were 23 years ago. I assume that's
why we haven't seen very many HD releases of
The Hours:
everybody's probably waiting for a fancy remaster that's always just
around the corner. Still, high definition beats standard definition
even if it isn't a fancy new 4k, or even 2k, rescan. The image is
distinctly crisper with a moderate degree of recognizable film grain.
This is a transfer that would've rated about a solid B+ had it come out back
when we would have expected an
Hours blu-ray to come out, and more of a B- now. Worth the double-dip, but don't expect to be impressed.
The
DVDs offer us a choice between the original 5.1 and a stereo mix with
optional English subtitles, plus a French dub. 88 keeps both tracks,
but bumps them up to DTS-HD and LPCM, respectively. It also has
optional English subs, but dumps the French dub.
Paramount's DVDs were pretty stacked. They might not respect this
film on home video now, but they certainly did at the time. We start
strong with two excellent audio commentaries: one my the director and
the author of the original novel, and one by Streep, Moore and Kidman!
The latter is three separate recordings stitched together; they're not
all in the same room together, but still! It's rare to get an all-star
commentary like that... and they all actually have good insights and
memories. It's not just a case of "look at the big names." Then
there's a video introduction by director
Stephen Daldry and four featurettes, but
they're good ones. You get a lot of your standard EPK-style interviews
with the cast and crew mixed with behind-the-scenes b-roll, but also
more serious sit-down interviews, including one with the three leading
ladies together. And one is an almost half-hour documentary on Woolf
with a bunch of scholars, historians and even a few of her surviving
relations. This is more than your old' five minute extended commercial
for the movie. Speaking of which, the package is rounded out with the
trailer and a bonus trailer.
Happily, 88 Films preserves all of
that (minus the bonus trailer) and then adds more on top of that. First
is a third audio commentary, an expert track by
Heather Wixson,
which is pretty good out of context, but less impressive or interesting
if you've already heard all the same information she provides in the
preexisting extras. More rewarding is a new, substantial sit-down
interview with the film's screenwriter,
David Hare, someone we did hear from a bit
in the featurettes, but not at this depth. So be sure to watch that
one. And 88 put this release out in a fancy side-loading slipbox.
Before I tap out, let's look at pretty much the only remaining Woolf adaptation I haven't already covered (at least until
Night & Day): 1983's
To the Lighthouse.
Interestingly, this seems to have a dubious reputation these days,
covered in 1-star reviews on Letterboxd. But it was well reviewed in
its day and even got nominated for a BAFTA. I've never read the novel
(I bought it once, but that's as far as I got), but I can believe
there's an awful lot that had to be left out of a single 2-hour film.
However, it's still a fascinating, bleak family drama with plenty of
Woolf shining through. The cast is terrific, including Aunt May
herself,
Rosemary Harris and
Batman & Robin's
Michael Gough in their earlier, credible BBC stalwart guises, as well as a fiery, young
Kenneth Branagh.
I won't pretend this movie isn't flawed... they stuff a lot of what was
clearly interior monologue in the book into the actors' mouths only to
eventually give up two thirds of the way through and suddenly introduce
voice over. If you can't get around it, just use VO from the outset,
you cowards! But the weaknesses definitely don't outweigh the strengths unless you're running light on patience. This is good stuff!
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1) 2003 Monterey DVD.
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The
odds of this receiving a remaster now seem to be incredibly
long, which is a shame, because going back to the 16mm negatives would
be a massive transformation in PQ, and would probably go a long ways in
allowing modern audiences to rediscover this film's qualities. Right
now it's an admittedly murky mess. Monterey Video's US DVD presents the
film in
its OAR of 1.33:1. It's interlaced, film damage hasn't been cleaned up,
colors are washed, and it's super dark. Admittedly, I cherry-picked a
particularly problematic shot, but how many characters would you guess
are in that second shot? Did you spot the small boy rushing to his
relative's sick bed... in the daytime? Admittedly, this film was
probably meant to have a subdued look, and that second shot is a heavily
shadowed moment, but still.
The Dolby 2.0 audio is
predictably hissy, though at least it's clear enough to make out all the
dialogue without subtitles, which is good, because you won't find any.
And, of course, the DVD is completely barebones. You might hope that
the UK DVD, though probably not much better,could at least not be
interlaced, but... surprise, there is no UK DVD. This US disc is all
there is.
So you probably know if you're the sort of person who needs this
To the Lighthouse DVD or not, but I can give a much broader recommendation for this new
Hours blu. Unless you want to hold out hope that the MoMA is going to spring for a proper restoration some day. But fans have been holding onto that hope for decades now, so I'm just delighted we finally got a proper blu. And I can't say I saw it coming from 88 Films of all labels - what a welcome surprise! Next thing you'll tell me, Warner Bros is going to release
The Devils uncut or something.
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