Breezy is an American romance drama from 1973 and is legendary Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood’s third feature as a director. His previous films where he served as a director were Play Misty for Me and High Plains Drifter. With this film he leaves thrillers and Westerns behind for love.

Breezy is the story of a young girl named Edith Alice “Breezy” Breezerman (Kay Lenz, Stripped to Kill, House). She is a free-love homeless hippie after spending the night with a young man, she has the desire to explore life and go on adventures. After she escapes from a demented man that she caught a ride from via hitchhiking, Breezy runs to hide on a secluded property, which is the home of a middle-aged divorced unemotional man, Frank Harmon (legendary actor William Holden, Sunset Boulevard). They do not exactly start off on the right foot, as Frank is a somewhat bitter person over relationships who desires to be alone. Breezy slowly breaks through Franks shield, and suddenly they become a couple, along with a dog lying on the sidewalk near death that Frank took to the hospital and is back to full strength. Frank becomes conflicted as Breezy is at least half his age and people start to look at him funny. At a retail clothing shop, a salesclerk incorrectly calls Breezy his daughter. It gets more difficult for Frank to cope with this relationship, despite how his feelings have grown and how turned on he is by her. And to make matters worse, Frank’s friend and exercise partner Bob Henderson (Roger C. Carmel, Gambit, Skullduggery) starts talking about his problems being middle-aged and his own personal life and being stuck in a bad marriage. This gets Frank thinking about his own life and situation, forcing him to make a tough decision.

Breezy is a great film, with characters that hold your interest throughout. This was only the second film Kay Lenz had acted in and she was excellent as Breezy. She had great chemistry with William Holden who at this point had been acting in films for over 35 years. The unlikely relationship between an older man and a younger woman was never touched upon as it was in this film. Many people can relate to this, as the story in Breezy is more than believable. The characters might be fictitious, but the situation is quite realistic and happens in our society. Clint Eastwood’s third film is certainly as good as the first two that were under his helm.

Speaking of Clint Eastwood, he can be spotted in Breezy doing a cameo wearing a white jacket. Another tidbit that I caught is when the couple goes to a movie theater, they are playing High Plains Drifter, an Eastwood classic. Imagine that!

Breezy gets a Blu-ray from Kino Lorber studio classics.  The picture quality looks superb in 1080p on a dual-layered BD-50 disc. The image is bright and cheerful, colors are rich with excellent details during daylight scenes. Black levels are also balanced so you can clearly see what’s happening during evening scenes, or even a shot in a pitch black room. The beautiful cinematography by Frank Stanley really shines, here. Skin tones look accurate and no DNR has been applied. The viewing experience is a pleasure to watch.

The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track used for Breezy is also fine, with dialog and music coming in clear. The music by Michel Legrand is not overly aggressive and is more on the calm, relaxing side.

Extras include an audio commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and C. Courtney Joyner. The commentary reflects on some stories about Breezy, the cast, who originally wanted the lead part as Breezy, among other information about the cast and crew (Holden, Eastwood,etc) . These commentaries are invaluable and are always worth a listen.

Theatrical Trailers for Breezy, The Devils Brigade, The Revengers, The Earthling, The Passage, Play Misty for Me, and The Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday is the only other supplement.

Breezy is a beautiful love story film that I thoroughly enjoyed. The Blu-ray package from Kino Lorber is another recommended release.  

Breezy

Director- Clint Eastwood

Cast- William Holden, Kay Lenz, Roger C. Carmel

Country of Origin- US

Distributor – Kino Lorber

Number of Discs – 1

Reviewed by – David Steigman

Date- 8/29/20