Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger star in The Door in the Floor. The adaptation of John Irving’s novel is new to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Films
John Irving is one of those authors who is impossible to adapt. Even the best of the best, something is lost in the translation to the screen. Irving’s work is so literary and unwieldy in the best way possible. They are oftentimes books that contain multitudes of tones and styles of prose that make it feel truly like life in all of its chaotic beauty, cruelty, humor, sadness, joy, and sexuality. Even the best adaptations of Irving’s work are more about editing than they are translation. Watching The World According to Garp is a much different experience from reading the novel. Comparing the two would do a disservice to both, but one must.
The Door in the Floor, adapted from the novel A Widow for a Year, takes only the first third of the book, leaving entire plots and primary characters out. What is left is a film that feels like a greatest hit of Irving’s proclivities and themes. Writing and writers, grief, the loss of children and the impact it has on parents and siblings, the coming of age, and how sex affects that. All the things that Irving’s novels consistently deal with are here in Tod Williams film. Williams’s film is a delicate view of these characters that are far coarser and more complex in Irving’s hands. There is a violence to Irving’s prose that’s coupled with a compassion for characters that just isn’t present here.
Anchored by Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger as Ted and Marion Cole, the husband and wife who have holed up in their life in the Hamptons after tragedy fractured their family. Ted has dived into work, alcohol, and cheating. Marion continues to wander lifeless as she ignores their young daughter, Ruth (Elle Fanning). After separating, Ted hires Eddie (Jon Foster) as his summer assistant. What Eddie thinks is a writing fellowship turns out to be anything but as he becomes Ted’s driver, Ruth’s part-time caretaker, and Marion’s lover. As the summer wears on, the complicated and messy relationships unfold until Ted and Marion can no longer ignore the simple truths about their grief and relationship.
The film is gentle in its drama and humor. Williams, it appears, wants to make a dramatic version of The Philadelphia Story. A sort of Connecticut screwball drama. The only problem is that the themes and balance of tones do not favor that intent. Bridges appears to be the one who is on that wavelength, and his version of the film is a man who is avoiding the dark by remaining happily out of reach of it with drink and sex, but cannot help but dip into that void. Basinger’s performance is beautifully modulated but has none of the joy or manic energy to make Bridges. Her’s one of all sadness which all but stops the film in its tracks. Though this is the problem with something as tricky as grief. It is not one thing but many, and there are highs and lows that just cannot be portrayed in a two-hour film. That is not Basinger’s issue, but one of the film and Williams, and the choice of adapting something as impossible as this book.
Door in the Floor is an arresting, quiet drama about grief, but one looking for an exacting adaptation of the John Irving novel may find this one a bit lacking in its breath of fullness that the novel provided.
The Transfers
The high-definition transfer is a solid version of the 2004 35mm shot film. The image is sharp without any defects or issues. The color reproduction, contrast levels, and black levels are all beautifully rendered to showcase cinematographer Terry Stacey’s photography of the Hamptons. Kino Lorber continues to produce worthy Blu-rays for every film they release on the format.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Tod Williams, Director of Photography Terry Stacey, Editor Alfonso Goncalves, Composer Marcelo Zarvos and Costume Designer Eric Dama
Frame on the Wall – The Making of The Door in the Floor: Featurette
Novel to Screen – John Irving: Featurette
Anatomy of a Scene: Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
The archival Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Tod Williams, Director of Photography Terry Stacey, Editor Alfonso Goncalves, Composer Marcelo Zarvos, and Costume Designer Eric Dama begins with the drawings actually drawn by Jeff Bridges that open the film. Some of the other details include the visual palette and how it was accomplished with the various departments; shooting the film in the Super35 format; how the film was composed and the thoughts and theories behind it; the editing/post-production process and how were things accomplished; the different themes and how they were accomplished throughout the film visually, through music, costume, acting, etc.; working with the various actors and various anecdotes throughout the production; and much more. The track is much more of a fluid conversation about accomplishing what was put on screen.
Frame on the Wall – The Making of The Door in the Floor (25:44) – this making-of featurette has a surprising amount of detail for as glossy as it is. Covering the book, the adaptation, casting, and production, there is a great amount of B-roll footage as well as interviews, along with great pieces of information like Novelist John Irving was Producer Ted Hope’s wrestling coach before Irving’s success with World According to Garp. Includes interviews from director Tod Williams, Producer Ted Hope, and actors Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, and John Foster.
Novel to Screen – John Irving (15:50) – in this archival interview, the novelist discusses the various adaptations of his novels, his involvement in various works, and this particular adaptation and how major decisions were made to excise major parts of the book and why. The novelist goes on to discuss Tod Williams writing/adaptation and a larger discussion of what makes a successful translation of a novel. Irving is a titan of the written work, not just because of how great his works are, but also because of his innate understanding of the various types of writings and the inner workings of each, not only in his work but also in others.
Anatomy of a Scene (25:31) – the episode of the Sundance Channel show Anatomy of a Scene. Featuring interviews with director Tod Williams, producer Ted Hope, Author John Irving, actor Jeff Bridges, and other cast and crew as they discuss the making of the final confrontation between Mimi Rodgers and Jeff Bridges’ character.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Door in the Floor (2:32); Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (2:10); Winter Kills (3:20); White Squall (2:44); Blown Away (1:35); K-Pax (2:48); Fool for Love (2:50); No Mercy (2:13); The Real McCoy (2:02); The Marrying Man (3:14);
The Final Thought
Door in the Floor continues Kino Lorber’s varied and interesting curation on home video. Recommended!!
Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger star in The Door in the Floor. The adaptation of John Irving’s novel is new to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Films
John Irving is one of those authors who is impossible to adapt. Even the best of the best, something is lost in the translation to the screen. Irving’s work is so literary and unwieldy in the best way possible. They are oftentimes books that contain multitudes of tones and styles of prose that make it feel truly like life in all of its chaotic beauty, cruelty, humor, sadness, joy, and sexuality. Even the best adaptations of Irving’s work are more about editing than they are translation. Watching The World According to Garp is a much different experience from reading the novel. Comparing the two would do a disservice to both, but one must.
The Door in the Floor, adapted from the novel A Widow for a Year, takes only the first third of the book, leaving entire plots and primary characters out. What is left is a film that feels like a greatest hit of Irving’s proclivities and themes. Writing and writers, grief, the loss of children and the impact it has on parents and siblings, the coming of age, and how sex affects that. All the things that Irving’s novels consistently deal with are here in Tod Williams film. Williams’s film is a delicate view of these characters that are far coarser and more complex in Irving’s hands. There is a violence to Irving’s prose that’s coupled with a compassion for characters that just isn’t present here.
Anchored by Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger as Ted and Marion Cole, the husband and wife who have holed up in their life in the Hamptons after tragedy fractured their family. Ted has dived into work, alcohol, and cheating. Marion continues to wander lifeless as she ignores their young daughter, Ruth (Elle Fanning). After separating, Ted hires Eddie (Jon Foster) as his summer assistant. What Eddie thinks is a writing fellowship turns out to be anything but as he becomes Ted’s driver, Ruth’s part-time caretaker, and Marion’s lover. As the summer wears on, the complicated and messy relationships unfold until Ted and Marion can no longer ignore the simple truths about their grief and relationship.
The film is gentle in its drama and humor. Williams, it appears, wants to make a dramatic version of The Philadelphia Story. A sort of Connecticut screwball drama. The only problem is that the themes and balance of tones do not favor that intent. Bridges appears to be the one who is on that wavelength, and his version of the film is a man who is avoiding the dark by remaining happily out of reach of it with drink and sex, but cannot help but dip into that void. Basinger’s performance is beautifully modulated but has none of the joy or manic energy to make Bridges. Her’s one of all sadness which all but stops the film in its tracks. Though this is the problem with something as tricky as grief. It is not one thing but many, and there are highs and lows that just cannot be portrayed in a two-hour film. That is not Basinger’s issue, but one of the film and Williams, and the choice of adapting something as impossible as this book.
Door in the Floor is an arresting, quiet drama about grief, but one looking for an exacting adaptation of the John Irving novel may find this one a bit lacking in its breath of fullness that the novel provided.
The Transfers
The high-definition transfer is a solid version of the 2004 35mm shot film. The image is sharp without any defects or issues. The color reproduction, contrast levels, and black levels are all beautifully rendered to showcase cinematographer Terry Stacey’s photography of the Hamptons. Kino Lorber continues to produce worthy Blu-rays for every film they release on the format.
The Extras
They include the following;
The archival Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Tod Williams, Director of Photography Terry Stacey, Editor Alfonso Goncalves, Composer Marcelo Zarvos, and Costume Designer Eric Dama begins with the drawings actually drawn by Jeff Bridges that open the film. Some of the other details include the visual palette and how it was accomplished with the various departments; shooting the film in the Super35 format; how the film was composed and the thoughts and theories behind it; the editing/post-production process and how were things accomplished; the different themes and how they were accomplished throughout the film visually, through music, costume, acting, etc.; working with the various actors and various anecdotes throughout the production; and much more. The track is much more of a fluid conversation about accomplishing what was put on screen.
Frame on the Wall – The Making of The Door in the Floor (25:44) – this making-of featurette has a surprising amount of detail for as glossy as it is. Covering the book, the adaptation, casting, and production, there is a great amount of B-roll footage as well as interviews, along with great pieces of information like Novelist John Irving was Producer Ted Hope’s wrestling coach before Irving’s success with World According to Garp. Includes interviews from director Tod Williams, Producer Ted Hope, and actors Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, and John Foster.
Novel to Screen – John Irving (15:50) – in this archival interview, the novelist discusses the various adaptations of his novels, his involvement in various works, and this particular adaptation and how major decisions were made to excise major parts of the book and why. The novelist goes on to discuss Tod Williams writing/adaptation and a larger discussion of what makes a successful translation of a novel. Irving is a titan of the written work, not just because of how great his works are, but also because of his innate understanding of the various types of writings and the inner workings of each, not only in his work but also in others.
Anatomy of a Scene (25:31) – the episode of the Sundance Channel show Anatomy of a Scene. Featuring interviews with director Tod Williams, producer Ted Hope, Author John Irving, actor Jeff Bridges, and other cast and crew as they discuss the making of the final confrontation between Mimi Rodgers and Jeff Bridges’ character.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Door in the Floor (2:32); Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (2:10); Winter Kills (3:20); White Squall (2:44); Blown Away (1:35); K-Pax (2:48); Fool for Love (2:50); No Mercy (2:13); The Real McCoy (2:02); The Marrying Man (3:14);
The Final Thought
Door in the Floor continues Kino Lorber’s varied and interesting curation on home video. Recommended!!
Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray Edition of The Door in the Floor is out now.
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