Room at the Top is a British melodrama about movie focusing on the familiar story about love affairs and love triangles which cause plenty of repercussions, as usual. Based on the novel of the same name that was written by John Braine, this is the story of a young ambitious, desires to rise ‘to the top’ and become a wealthy successful businessman, Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey). Having just arrived in the city of “Warnley” (it is actually the city of Bradford; Warnley is a fictitious name),Lampton immediately becomes an accountant at the Borough Treasurer’s Department, and soon after meets and intends to marry Susan Brown (Heather Sears), the daughter of Mr. Brown (Donald Wolfit), an entrepreneur, mainly for the purpose of moving up and become a success. His plans go awry, as he meets and falls in love with a married older woman, Alice Aisgill (Simone Signoret). He alters his plans to marry Alice instead, especially after Joe had some apparently lousy lovemaking with Susan. Throughout the film he is conflicted, going back and forth between the two ladies in his life that he claims to love and must decide who and what he really wants, true love with Alice, or married to a rich woman who isn’t good in bed and not really a good compatible match. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, plans have already been made for him, much to his chagrin.
To say how great, how powerful a movie Room at the Top is from me is a great understatement. The acting is so terrific, not simply for the dialog and their lines, but for their facial expressions and body language as well. The characters with their inner demons and troubled lives will hold your interest. Controversial themes of cheating adults, greed and the influence of a rich family has on a community are all touched upon here. Yes, the movie, ultimately is depressing, but so very compelling. The way the story unfolds should make it obvious that Alice and Joe are not going to wind up in a happy place, no matter how badly they want it to be. There may be plenty of people who have seen this picture that could identify with the characters of the movie, those who have been involved with a married male or female could see how doomed the relationship between Alice and Joe is. To be deeply in love with a person that you cannot have a future with is extremely painful and someone is bound to be hurt or scarred for life. Besides the great story and acting, the direction by Jack Clayton is brilliant, and the excellent cinematography is by Freddie Francis, known for being involved with the Hammer horror movies.
Room at the Top being a masterpiece, also won some awards. Among them are Simone Signoret winning both the BAFTA and Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the film also won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. On top of that the film was nominated for four more academy awards including Best Picture. Laurence Harvey was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, while Hermoine Baddley was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Jack Clayton was nominated for Best Director.
Kino Lorber debuts Room at the Top a domestic Blu-ray release, and while lacking extras that the import Blu-ray from BFI offers, the image quality is just as good, plus Kino’s release has an exclusive commentary. Given a new 2K scan, which was also used for the BFI release, the film’s video presentation is stunning. The black and white widescreen image is crisp and clean throughout. The grey scale is balanced, and black levels aren’t muddy or too dark. The image sports a smooth, polished look appearance
The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track is also flawless. The dialog is crisp and clear without any defects detected. The music by Mario Nascimbene is on the soft subtle side, but still fits the tone and mood of the film
As mentioned early, the release does lack in the supplemental department, but what we do get is a new audio commentary by Film Historian Kat Ellinger. The main points in her commentary focus on the background of some of the supporting actors that would go on to bigger films. She also discusses and gives insight to Laurence Harvey and her thoughts the film.
Theatrical Trailers for Room at the Top, Marty, Separate Tables, I Want to Live, The Children’s Hour, and Lilies in the Field round out the extras.
Room at the Top is an overlooked gem for those who are interested in melodrama movies with romantic themes. The Blu-ray offers superior audio and video quality and a commentary making this a recommended release. If you aren’t an ‘extras junkie’ than this release from Kino is the way to go. If you already own the BFI release, then I feel this offering is worth the double-dip due to the exclusive commentary.
Room at the Top
Director- Jack Clayton
Cast- Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret
Country of Origin- United Kingdom
Distributor – Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date- 02/03/2020