Take a Girl Like You (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jul 30, 2018
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Jonathan MillerRelease Date(s)
1970 (June 19, 2018)Studio(s)
Columbia Pictures (Twilight Time)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: D
Review
Director Jonathan Miller, who spent most of his cinematic career either writing or directing TV movies, helmed just one theatrical movie, which was the 1970 British comedy Take a Girl Like You.
Based upon the 1960 novel of the same name by Kingsley Amis, the story concerns a young lady named Jenny (Hayley Mills) who has just moved to London, England to begin her career as a school teacher. Before she’s even had a chance to settle in, she meets Patrick (Oliver Reed). Within minutes, he begins making advancements towards her, which she rejects, explaining to him that she will only give in on her wedding night. Determined to be her lover, he continues to plan ways to get her into bed with him, but he isn’t the only man in town who’s taken a liking to her.
Take a Girl Like You is a pleasant, silly, but enjoyable Sunday matinee kind of film. Oliver Reed is fantastic in his role as Patrick. He also has what is possibly the funniest line in the movie, occurring when Jenny tells him that she’s a virgin. His response is “You don’t look like a virgin.” Hayley Mills is also great as the sweet, innocent Jenny. The rest of the supporting cast includes John Bird, Noel Harrison, and Pippa Steel, who also play their parts to perfection.
Take a Girl Like You debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of Twilight Time. The HD master, which is provided by Sony, is another visual delight. The colors appear sharp, particularly reds, greens, and blues. Daytime scenes look finely-detailed and skin tones look natural and well-balanced. As for the audio, an English 2.0 DTS-HD track is used for this release and it is flawless. Music and dialogue are both mellow and pleasant. Nothing comes across as either too subdued or too overwhelming either. There are also optional subtitles in English SDH included as well.
Extras for this release include an isolated score track in 2.0 DTS-HD (which is pleasant with no issues at all), the original theatrical trailer, a scroll-through of the current Twilight Time catalogue, and another excellent 8-page insert booklet written by Julie Kirgo.
Take a Girl Like You is a film with a great story and will leave you with a lot to think about. It also comes with a couple of surprises along the way as well. Seeing this classic in high definition has made the viewing experience a positive one. Recommended!
- David Steigman