Indecent Proposal Blu-ray Disc (Adrian Lyne, 1993)

Paramount (USA)
1.85:1 1080p
116 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: audio commentary

Released: 9 June 2009

Indecent Proposal generated general public uproar even before it reached theatres. Many people seemed to be indignant about the idea of a married couple agreeing to let Robert Redford sleep with the wife in exchange for $1 million. Why was a major Hollywood studio making prostitution seem so enticing and financially rewarding? After all, it’s one thing to turn tricks on a daily basis to make a living, but $1 million can be a life-altering sum. (Of course, there were also jokes about people who would be willing to sleep with Robert Redford for no money, but free sex is sometimes more expensive than paid sex.)

At face value, the movie seems like glossy trash that’s shocking only to naïve, prudish middle-class Americans. However, the screenplay actually tackles much of the territory that would realistically arise if this situation presented itself to a desperate pair trying to climb the social ladder. Many of us would leap at the chance for easy money, and many of us would regret passing on a fortune if the “price” were only one night of sex. Yet, we humans are jealous creatures and not rational beings. The scripted discussions and arguments are plausible; they prompted me to ponder this dilemma instead of looking down on the material.

Unfortunately, the movie is far from perfect. It’s not even excellent. Rather, it’s merely above average. The directing and an excellent, luminous Demi Moore are let down by bug-eyed acting by Woody Harrelson, Robert Redford giving off the “I can’t believe that I’m here” vibe, Oliver Platt’s obviousness, inappropriately lush and romantic music, and an unconvincing bookend structure.

Video:
The 1.85:1 1080p image will surprise most viewers--not in a good way. The movie is very grainy to the point of distraction. There are times when the grain looks like blobs of mosquito noise. The soft focus and lighting used on Robert Redford sometimes blur the image by quite a bit. There’s also noticeable print damage from time to time. Mercifully, Paramount hasn’t applied heavy DNR to reduce the grain, so the image is fairly sharp.

Audio:
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English doesn’t generate much excitement. John Barry’s sweeping orchestrations are given a wide spread across the front, though much of the action comes from the front center channel. The rears and the subwoofer are generally passive observers, though some of the sequences set in Las Vegas give the subwoofer cause to join the party.

Extras:
The sole extra is an audio commentary by Adrian Lyne. He’s rather reserved and low key this time around, though he does address some of the “controversy” that arose when the movie was released in theatres.