Search - The Family Way on DVD

A fine quality film finally comes to dvd!

W. Lucas | Terre Haute In | 11/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oh what a wonderful film! This is Hayley Mills' first adult role and one of her finest performances! A sensitive and beautiful story about a young married couple who encounter problems consulmating their marriage. It was considered controversial when released, but is very mild compared to today's films. This beautiful film is long overdue for a release in the U.S. The whole cast is brilliant and the story is beautiful. John Mills gives an outstanding performance. The story will move you. The acting is suburb, and the scenery is beautiful. Least yet to mention, a beautiful music score by Paul McCartney that adds the finsihing touches to make this outstanding in every sense! This is a must for all of Hayley's fans, and if you are not a fan, you will when you see this film. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a series of Hayley's British films that are not released here to encourage studios to release more of her treasured British films. It's time for those sleepy studios to wake up and realize that America still loves Hayley Mills. It is certainly one of my top ten all time favorites, and it gets better each time I view it. Surprise your eyes with this remarkable film! They don' make excellent films and have superior performances like this anymore."

At long last

Richard Laughlin | El Campo, tx. | 01/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why did it take so long for this first rate film to show up on DVD? It concerns a just married young man who for reasons more psychological than physical cannot consummate his relationship with his new wife. What makes this film a standout is that it takes a subject which by its very nature could have been crass and buffonish, and treates it instead with warmth and sympathy. The peformances and credible and winning throughout, giving the feeling of real and complex human beings, not caricatures. Highly recommended."

Most definitely WIDESCREEN!

Joey D | Brooklyn, NY USA | 04/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't know what the reviewer below is talking about, this is most definitely a widescreen presentation. I have viewed this as letterboxed on a 4x3 screen and as a full 16x9 presentation on a 40" lcd. Sounds like the reviewer has his dvd player or flat screen on the wrong setting.
Actually, either way it doesn't matter. Given the rarity of this title: the fact that it is rarely on tv and has never been released here in the U.S. all these years on vhs despite it's pedigree, I'd accept any legit version at this point.
A smart, funny, unforgettable drama that entertains while it quietly builds to a powerful emotional ending that resonates long after the film is over. And it has the kind of ensemble acting that you just don't see in films all that much anymore. Every character is memorable and all the performances are dead-on perfect with special kudos to John Mills and Marjorie Rhodes who will make you laugh as they quietly break your heart.
Sure the sexual mores of the planet have changed, but people haven't. And the film is ultimately about families and their relationships to one another, and in that regard the film is timeless.
This edition has a soundtrack that has "enhanced audio" which according to my ears means the dialogue is up front, cleaner and clearer than any other version I've seen. The sometimes heavy British accents are now totally understandable. What it also does is put Paul McCartney's surprisingly appropriate and unforgettable score a little too much in the backround. Ah...you win some , you lose some.
Still when all is said and done, an opportunity for one to finally have this great movie on dvd."

The Start of Something Great

V. Risoli | Highlands, NJ, USA | 02/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Boulting Brothers' "The Family Way" released in 1967 by Warner Bros. here in the U.S.A. was Hayley Mills' first film for the team, (she married one of the brothers). It was the first of three films she made with her co-star, Hywel Bennett and also starred John Mills, Marjorie Rhodes, Avril Angers, Murray Head (the entire expertly picked cast) all in excellent, subtly stated performances. The music was later applauded as the start of Paul McCartney's classical career. The second film teaming the two stars and made for the Boulting Brothers, "Twisted Nerve" received a botched publicity campaign which nearly killed the film's being seen for many years. (The third film teaming the two co-stars was the film version of Agatha Christie's "Endless Night" in 1972 for Sidney Gilliat). Although in the Hitchcock vein (with a score by Bernard Herrmann), "Twisted Nerve" was also extremely original and imaginative and deserves to be released in all regions on DVD. Both films strike notes as superlative entertainment in a day when imagination is needed in the film business, their being sixties' product actually a plus. "The Family Way" can not be faulted as one feels as if one is a family member every moment and believes in the characters and doesn't want to see the film end. If the critical complaint of it being overlong is to be considered seriously (it had originally been a play by Bill Naughton, titled "All in Good Time"), most viewings see the film stand as a classic and a trend-setter both in one and the stuff it so cherishes, life, finds fulfillment in the enactment. Do not fail such a film by letting it pass without a look.

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