The Scarlet Letter (WGBH/1979)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C Mini-Series: B
In many ways, Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter
has still suffered indignity by the awfully misguided 1995 Roland Joffe feature
film with Demi Moore as beyond redemption.
That may be true, but many other fine feature film versions exist, the
book is always in print and then there is the impressive 1979 TV version WGBH
Boston Video issued on DVD which is takes its time and has more time to do so.
Running about four hours, the double DVD set offers Meg
Foster as the scorned woman Hester Prynne, with child and publicly humiliated
in the name of some religious morality that is the equivalent of a
witchhunt. Producer/director Rick
Hauser totally understands the implications of what has changed for woman and
(over a quarter century later) what has not.
Hester raises her child, finds a lover and her lost husband is still
unaccounted for. This version takes the
long, thoughtful path the material offers and is always compelling. Foster is convincing in the role, not adding
any drama or reactionary anger in her performance, helping to make this version
feel much more like it is from the time it is supposed to take place in. John Heard, Caroline Kava and Kevin Conway
also star.
The 1.33 X 1 image originated on videotape and being shot
in Newport, Rhode Island, looks good.
This looks like it originated on professional NTSC video and is a bit
softer than one would like, but the editing and directing choices make it more
watchable. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
is not bad, with a John Morris score that enhances the narrative further. Nathaniel Hawthorne is even a
narrator/character. Extras include
several behind the scenes segments shown after each show, website of interest
list, discussion questions for educators (before PDF DVD-ROM sections were
added to these discs), Hawthorne biography and cast filmographies.
- Nicholas Sheffo
