THE CHALK GARDEN (REGION B IMPORT - LIMITED EDITION) BLU-RAY

Ronald Neame (The Odessa File) directs this stately adaptation of Enid Bagnold’s play which tells of a haughty matriarch (Edith Evans, The Whisperers) who employs a governess (Deborah Kerr, The Innocents) with a shadowy past to take care of her troubled teenage granddaughter (Hayley Mills, Take a Girl Like You, Endless Night), and her neglected garden. John Mills (Town on Trial, The Wrong Box) plays the butler who develops a soft spot for the governess, and navigates the fraught interpersonal relationships of the house. A hit with audiences upon its original release, The Chalk Garden benefits from a nuanced screenplay by the great John Michael Hayes (Rear Window) and tasteful photography by Arthur Ibbetson (Where Eagles Dare, Fanatic).

FEATURES:
High Definition remaster
Original mono soundtrack
Audio commentary with film historians Lucy Bolton and Josephine Botting (2021)
The BEHP Interview with Ronald Neame (1991, 107 mins): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the acclaimed director in conversation with Roy Fowler
Fertile Ground (2021, 8 mins): assistant production accountant Maurice Landsberger remembers filming at Eastbourne
8mm Location Footage (1963, 1 min): excerpts from John Mills’ home movies shot at Beachy Head during production
Clever Conversation (2021, 22 mins): appreciation of Malcolm Arnold’s score by author and musician David Huckvale
Loved and Envied (2021, 11 mins): Josephine Botting on the life and career of Enid Bagnold
Original theatrical trailer
Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Limited edition exclusive 32-page booklet with a new essay by Melanie Williams, extracts from interviews and autobiographies, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
UK premiere on Blu-ray
Limited edition of 3,000 copies