THE PLOT THUS FAR
The End of The Affair
(1955) – Black and White – Not Rated
Starring: Van Johnson, Deborah Kerr, Albert Parks
From the novel by Graham Greene comes this story of star-crossed lovers whose short affair begins and ends as tumultuously as the war that is its backdrop.
In England during the second World War, Sarah Miles (Deborah Kerr) is the bored wife of a British civil servant. When Mr. Miles introduces her to American writer Maurice Bendrix (Van Johnson) at one of the couple’s cocktail parties, she is unable to deny her attraction to him, or to resist his interest in her.
Almost as quickly as the two become deeply involved, spinning their dreams into plans for a long future together, Sarah mysteriously brings their affair to an end. With the help of a private detective (Albert Parks), Maurice sets out to find out why: did Sarah never love Maurice, or did she love him too much?
The End of The Affair
(1999) – Color – Rated R
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea
From the acclaimed director of The Crying Game and Interview With The Vampire comes a romantic story of desire and betrayal. The setting is war-torn England, 1939. Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore) is married to Henry (Stephen Rea), a man she loves but with whom she shares no intimacy. When she meets Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes), the two have an immediate attraction for each other and embark on a torrid affair. Their passion is as earth-shattering as the bombs that explode around them, until the day Sarah mysteriously and abruptly walks out of Maurice’s life. Two years later, Maurice runs into Henry, who confides his suspicions of Sarah’s infidelity. Fueled by his own jealousy and desperate to solve the mystery surrounding the end of their own romance, Maurice agrees to help. His investigation not only re-ignites his love for Sarah but also leads him to discover a devastating secret which will change their lives forever.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“End of the Affair” gets an amazing release of two films that have yet to capture the mainstream’s attention. Seriously, this is one of the great romantic tales of the 20th Century and a random person on the street couldn’t tell you what they were about. Hell, they were multiple Oscar nominees and we still can’t get a Blu-Ray.
The DVD comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is on par with the past DVD releases. The transfer isn’t amazing, but it works. The same goes for the Dolby audio track. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to the curious. But, I’d love to see SONY and Touchstone let Mill Creek do Blu-Ray releases for these sets. This is such a great concept not to be in HD.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!