When Harry Met Sally: 30th Anniversary Edition - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

When Harry Met Sally: 30th Anniversary Edition

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I’ve become rather jaded about romantic comedies over the years. As a fan of films in general, and especially as a “critic”, I’ve seen so many of them that the waves upon waves of utter drek have tainted by expectations for new films in the genre. So many of them follow the same basic patterns of two people meeting, and then falling out of touch with each other due to the stupidity of miscommunication (most Rom-com’s could be finished up in 15 minutes of the two romantic leads would actually COMMUNICATE with each other!), and then they get back together at the end after they realize it was all just a big misunderstanding. The writing is bland, the acting even blander, and you all know the end from the moment the film begins. I guess you could say it’s a less gory variation on the horror genre. There’s some really good films in the genre, I love to watch them, but hate myself for expecting them to be something better than I know they’re going to be.

With that being said, there are some movies in the genre that really stand out as momentous films that transcend the cliches of their respective film genres. There is always the Star Wars, the Saving Private Ryan, the Halloween of each genre, and When Harry Met Sally is that particular monument for the romantic comedy section of film making. I know there’s some true greats out there (Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, Notting Hill), but When Harry Met Sally tops the list as my all time favorite rom-com bar none. It’s got it all. Meg Ryan (America’s darling in the 80s and 90s), A wisecracking Billy Crystal, sharp writing by Nora Ephron herself (You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle) and direction by Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride).

Despite having some of the major cliches of the genre WHMS is an exceptionally smart film that thrives on the chemistry between the two leads and their subversions of the romantic comedy genre in general. Usually two people fall in love, then fall OUT of love as they miscommunicate or talk themselves out of a relationship. Instead, this is more of a reverse of that particular trope. Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) loathe each other from the day they meet each other on a road trip to New York after college. Sally is an uptight good girl who has her whole life ahead of her as a journalist, and Harry is a nihilistic and narcissistic snob who can’t keep his over opinionated mind to himself, especially when it comes to Harry’s theory on why men and women can never be “just friends”. Ending their road trip in a huff, the two vanish for 5 years only to accidentally meet up in an airport as Harry is about to get married, and Sally is getting into a new relationship of her own. Realizing why they hated each other so much to begin with (mostly due to Harry’s narcissism), the two vanish once more, only to come back into each others life after ANOTHER 5 years.

This time both have suffered a tragedy. Sally has just gotten out of her relationship after she realized it wasn’t really going anywhere, and Harry had his wife cheat on him. Age has tempered the two just a bit, and in the midst of their pain, the two decided that maybe they can try this friendship thing a try. Bit by bit the two help each other out of their respective emotional pits, and before you know it beauty and the beast have actually become friends (even if the two of them don’t really want to admit it). But underneath all of that lies the age old magnetism that neither can deny. The best lovers are those who are the best of friends, and sooner or later the two dense people have to come to grips with the fact that maybe at least THEY can’t be “just friends”, as something much more hovers just under the surface of their healing/toxic relationship.

When Harry Met Sally is a fantastic film, and it’s inspired work by two of the old 80s and 90s greats. Nora Ephron is most notable for writing and directing two of the greatest rom-coms of all time (still 2nd and 3rd best in my opinion), but here she acts only as writer, while allowing Rob Reiner to add his quirky sense of humor to the film (not to mention that of Billy Crystal, who supposedly ad libbed like crazy on set). The film is playful and cute, intermingling sequences of witty hilarity (Billy Crystal’s egotistical monologues are hilarious for us, but embarrassing for him) and serious romance with such deft skill that it’s hard to really pull the two apart. One of the most inspired parts of the film is the “couples interludes” that are interspersed through the movie. Those are little mini recreations of elderly couples describing how they met and how many years they’ve been in love and married, acting as hopeful counterbalances for all of the garbage luck and horrible depression that Sally and Harry are going through at any one time. Supposedly many of those “couples interludes” are actually real stories from people known to the creators of the film. One of them was Nora Ephron’s parents, another a studio executive, and another friends of Rob Reiner, adding some realistic cuteness to the whole concept.

What really sells the film, though, is the chemistry between Ryan and Crystal. Before Meg Ryan was America’s sweetheart with Tom Hanks, she and Billy Crystal glammed up the screen with one of their best performances to date. Billy Crystal is just sooooooooooo egotistical, so narcissistic, and so full of himself that you love to hate him, but also hate to love him as well. His progression from pure moron to sweet guy is natural and progresses evenly throughout the film. You see his personality shift and change as his life circumstances school him, and yet you still enjoy those little quirks that he has that makes him the same guy that we saw at the beginning of the film. The same goes for Meg Ryan. She doesn’t progress AS much as Harry does, but Sally’s journey into friendship with a man she swore she hated is sweet and relatable, and the two have some of the best dialog I’ve ever heard, not to mention some of the funniest scenes (the scene with the pie in the diner is one of the most iconic slapstick scenes of all times, and I still howl with laughter every time I watch it).




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




Video:

Shout Factory has shouted from the rooftops that it has gone back to the source and given the film a brand new 4K master for this release, but I have to say, I was skeptical it could be any better than the already great looking transfer that MGM gave the film back in 2011. A new remaster is great, but that 2011 transfer was taken from a pristine source that was nothing short of a revelation for the rom-com. HOWEVER, the Shout Factory re-release has taken an already pristine looking disc and given it just a slight boost to perfection. The discs looking very similar at first look, but there are some really nice nuances that set the two discs apart. The Barry Sonnenfeld shot film dances between whimsical and fantasy New York settings, and those backdrops and overall sharpness of clothing and textures on backdrops make this disc the obvious winner. There’s just a sharper and cleaner feel to the film, with warm primary colors, cool blues and slate grays, combined with an attention to detail that makes your jaw drop. I’m not saying that it blows the doors off of the old MGM disc, but those little nuances make it just feel a little sharper, a little cleaner, and a little more polished at the end of the day.





Audio:

When When Harry Met Sally originally came out in theaters it was given a 2.0 stereo track, but has subsequently been remixed for 5.1 for the various home video releases going back to the DVD era. Luckily Shout Factory has given us the option of the 2.0 stereo track once more in DTS-HD MA, as well as the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track found on the MGM Blu-ray release some years. Both are good tracks, with the edge going EVER so slightly to the 5.1 mix due to the fact that it feels a bit fuller with the musical. But past that, the 5.1 mix is really just a 2.0 mix with some additional surround channel use by said musical score. Otherwise the film’s audio resides squarely up front in the center of the room. It’s simple, but a very effective track, and like most comedies, the front heavy mix is more than adequate at getting the job done. Dialog is always clean and clear, and the ambient sound of New York City adds some spice to the talking. LFE is relegated to supplementing the old Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra songs, but other than that it’s a fairly low key and laid back audio feel.






Extras:

• BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• NEW Scenes from a Friendship – interview with Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal
• Audio Commentary with Rob Reiner, Nora Ephron, And Billy Crystal
• Audio Commentary with Rob Reiner
• How Harry Met Sally Documentary
• Vintage Featurettes
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Music Video by Harry Connick Jr.

Final Score: ​

When Harry Met Sally is probably my single favorite romantic comedy of all times, and for very good reason. It is an expertly crafted and written film by the writer of some of the rom-com greats (Sleepless in Seattle is a close second to this one), and the chemistry between Meg Ryan and the narcissistic and nihilistic Billy Crystal is just intoxicating to watch. The new 4K remaster is a great addition and while the MGM disc was already good, this one pushes it over the limit into being a great release with the new collector’s edition packaging, a new extra and the great video (and addition of the 2.0 track that was missing from the MGM Blu-ray). The only thing that I would consider a minor drawback was if you really wanted the foreign language tracks and subtitles that the old disc provided. Otherwise, a great disc, a great movie, and highly recommended by myself.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby, Steven Ford, Lisa Jane Persky, Michelle Nicastro, Gretchen Palmer, Robert Alan Beuth
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Written by: Nora Ephron
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 96 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 8th, 2019

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will have to revisit this one.

 

[Todd Anderson]

This is looking like a must buy... what a great flick. Seen this one dozens of times

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the review. Yes a great film indeed. I thought the restaurant part was funny when the lady said "I'll have what she's having"

 

[Michael Scott]

Thanks for the review. Yes a great film indeed. I thought the restaurant part was funny when the lady said "I'll have what she's having"

lol, one of my favorite scenes. Little tidbit, that older lady is actually Rob Reiner's (the director's) mother

 

[Asere]

lol, one of my favorite scenes. Little tidbit, that older lady is actually the Rob Reiner's (the director's) mother

I didn't know that. That's funny!