Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Standard Edition)

After decades of avoiding this film believing that its premise was that a white man didn't want his daughter to date a black man - which seemed horrible and why would I watch a film about it? - I caught a drama on Radio 4 called 'That Dinner of '67" (highly recommended), which enlighten me as to what the film was really about and the feelings and thoughts behind the making of it. So I treated myself to the film and hugely enjoyed it. The dialogue is so well written and the acting is outstanding. Apparently Spencer Tracy was close to dying when the film was made but you really can't tell. Katharine Hepburn is also fantastic. And the wonderful Sidney Poitier was so overwhelmed at working with such greats that he had to perform many of his lines to an empty chair. He needn't have worried, he's as brilliant as usual too. There isn't just one black character in this film, there's five named people, all of whom have their own personalities rather than being 'the black person' and who go on their own journeys. Joey the daughter seems unrelentingly happy but I think she's a necessary counterpoint to all the anxiety and stress of the other characters, so in some respects she carries the film by balancing all the others out. Over all a very affecting and worthwhile watch. And there's some humour too.

I remember this film as being a radical and controversial production when it came out. I recently rented it to show my wife, who had never seen it. I fully expected it to be dated, tame by modern standards and possibly inappropriate when judged by today's values. It turned out to be outstanding. The acting and scripting are superb and the message is powerful. The plot is fairly predictable: a middle-class white girl falls in love with a handsome black man and her liberal parents are confused and distressed. Then the couple invite his parents over to meet the while parents - "Guess who's coming to dinner" - and the black parents turn out to be as unhappy as the whites. However, love and sanity triumph and there is a happy ending. You have to be prepared to put yourself in the shoes of someone watching in the late 60s. The lead character calls himself a Negro and blacks generally are called "Coloured". But this is how it was in the 60s and there is no point in pretending otherwise. This film was a powerful challenge to racism in its time and needs to be seen in that light. The fact that some of the scenes seem inappropriate today shows that in a small way, it contributed to the improvements we have seen.

Lovely film.

A classic film dealing with racial issues, that could actually be made again now over 40 years later, so little have we really moved on in our attitudes to issues like mixed race marriage. It is of course rather dated, the dialogue (and the final monologue) could never be in a film made today, but it does raise the issues that need to be raised, and as I said above, still do.

Lovely well written movie!

My VHS version started messing about while watching it recently so I purchased two copies of this. The copy is fine and arrived well packaged & arrived on time. A great movie, Spencer Tracy was extremely ill while making this movie, doing his lines between 9am and noon each day, he died three weeks later. Katherine Hepburn won the oscar and the BAFTA, her niece, Katherine Houghton played the daughter. Tracy won the BAFTA. Sidney Poitier was so nervous of working with Hepburn & Tracy he forgot his lines and had to do his lines in 'close up' playing to a couple of chairs. A movie way ahead of it's time, Marriage between black and white was still illegal in 17 States and the film was released 11 months before the first interracial kiss on US TV, Nov 1968 (Star Trek - Captain Kirk / William Shatner & Lt Uhura / Nichelle Nichols in Plato's Stepchildren) Fantastic movie.

This region-free blu-ray plays great on my Region "A" (North American) BR player. "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" has never looked so sharp and beautiful as to picture quality-- a very solid HD remastering-- and with several wonderful, informative extras! Also has about 20 languages for subtitles! I highly recommend this blu-ray, which is the version with the English cover art (not the Spanish one). This also has a cardboard slipcover, too. I've always loved this movie, having been a child when it came out. I feel the message is timeless. I can't agree with those who feel such a fine movie is somehow "dated." Is Shakespeare dated? "The Godfather"? "Goldfinger"? Does somebody here think they'd rather watch the latest film with Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, or Cameron Diaz? Not me. I'll take Sidney, Katherine, and Spencer. Extremely fast dispatch and travel time from Finland seller Futuremovieshop to USA--11 days from order date including the weekend! Thanks for the great service. Arrived in perfect condition.

Love this old film so could not resist buying. Dated but fun

Formato bluray que ofrece todo a lo que estamos ya acostumbrados. La versión original es de lejos la mejor. No recordaba una imagen tan clara como la que ofrece este bluray. Una historia de amor, de aceptación, de clichés, de tolerancia, de resignación, de miedos, .. Spencer Tracy de padre, impresionante, y una Hepburn de madre! No tiene desperdicio!!! La disfrutarás desde el minuto 1. Un 10.

My first ever purchase from Amazon In, though I am a regular customer in their UK base. I got the delivery in flat two days which is quite impressive. Nothing special about the blu-rays, thin casing doesn't justify the high cost. The Blu-ray market in India is still a novice compared to US and Europe in terms of presentation and releases. Will wait for Amazon In to reach their prime in India. All the best.

I liked that this movie shows that two people can love each other from different backgrounds and even though others may judge them in a negative manner. What really matters is their love for each other and a realistic approach in overcoming their obstacles. Not others opinions so much. I think it is a timeless classic and I collect great movies such as this so they aren’t lost to history. I recommend it to all open-minded people. 👍🏽

La película es un tesoro: las actuaciones, los guiones, el contenido... vaya, es una película de contenido que todo amante del cine de contenido tiene que presenciar. En lo que se refiere al disco blu-ray, sólo puedo decir que está a la altura del título: caja en formato de libro pasta dura con contenido de calidad. El disco presenta varios doblajes y la calidad del disco es la esperada de un blu-ray de doble capa. Sin más, una gran compra. Ampliamente recomendada.

San Francisco 1967: Die Toleranz eines erfolgreichen, liberalen Ehepaars wird auf die Probe gestellt, als Tochter Joanna ankündigt, einen schwarzen Arzt zu heiraten. Mutter Christina, eine Galeristin, willigt ein, nachdem sich der erste Schock gelegt hat. Vater Matthew, Zeitungsverleger, ist aber ebenso dagegen wie die Eltern von Dr. Prentice. In nur wenigen Stunden bis zum Abflug in die Zukunft gelingt es dem Paar, die Zweifler zu überzeugen, dass sich ihre Liebe gegen alle Widerstände behaupten kann. Der Film war damals eine kleine Revolution, denn in 16 US-Bundesstaaten waren Mischehen noch verboten. Und auch in den anderen Staaten gab es dafür kaum gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz. Nur ein unabhängiger Produzent und Regisseur wie Kramer konnte vermutlich so einen Film drehen. Der Trick ist, eben nicht Rassisten in den Vordergrund zu stellen, sondern den Konflikt zu thematisieren, in dem liberale Geister sich damit auseinandersetzen müssen, wie weit ihre Toleranz geht. Das Drehbuch ist trotz der notwendigen Verkürzungen und Vereinfachungen ziemlich raffiniert, weil die Vorurteile und Vorbehalte oft von denen kommen, von denen sie nicht erwartet werden. Die Qualität der Blu-ray ist derart gut, dass die Bucht von San Francisco eindeutig als Kulisse zu erkennen ist. Als Extras gibt es unter anderem mehrere Beiträge zu den Hintergründen des Films. Spencer Tracy war todkrank, er starb zwei Wochen nach Ende der Dreharbeiten. Deshalb konnte er nicht versichert werden – Regisseur Stanley Kramer und Hauptdarstellerin Kate Hepburn verpfändeten ihre Gage, damit der Film gedreht werden konnte. Hepburn und Tracy waren auch in der Realität ein Paar, seit 1942 – alle wussten es und behielten es für sich, da „Spence“ verheiratet war. Hepburns Nichte Katharine Houghton, die die Joanna spielt, merkt an, dass sie die Anspannung und Sorge um Tracy bei ihrer Tante deutlich spüren kann. Der grandiose Schlussmonolog Tracys an seine Filmfrau wird deshalb auch als Liebeserklärung an seine Partnerin im wahren Leben gewertet. „Spence“ war bekannt dafür, dass er mehre Minuten lange Sequenzen fehlerfrei aufsagen konnte. Sein Tod verhinderte mutmaßlich, dass er einen Oscar erhielt. Den bekam stattdessen Kate, die auch mehrere herausragende Szenen hat. Ihre verwunderte Grimasse, als sie auf Nachfrage erfährt, dass ihre Tochter mit ihrem künftigen Mann noch nicht geschlafen hat. Und als sie ihre Geschäftsführerin ohne großes Federlesen rauschmeißt, weil die sich über die Mischehe mokiert. Ein rundherum gelungener Film, der praktisch gar nicht gealtert ist, im Gegenteil: Die Geschichte funktioniert dank des Humors immer noch, die Schauspieler:innen wirken frisch und unbekümmert. Und in Sachen Rassismus hat sich in den mehr als 50 Jahren seit dem Filmstart leider auch nicht allzu viel verbessert.