Why Isn't This On Blu-ray Yet?Few films can claim a pedigree as fine as Mark Rydell's On Golden Pond (1981); an unabashedly sentimental glimmer into the twilight years of an aged couple. On Golden Pond was just another modest off Broadway play until actress Jane Fonda saw it and decided it would be the ideal catalyst to shore up the rift between her and her father, Henry Fonda.
The feuding Fondas had been at it for nearly two decades, ever since Jane's defiant views on Viet Nam came into conflict with her father's more conservative patriotism. But Jane was taking no chances that Henry might turn her down. To this end she brought to the project her friendship with Katharine Hepburn who was eager to co-star with Henry Fonda.
As remarkable as it may seem, Hepburn and the elder Fonda had never worked together - a real starter that motivated Henry's involvement on the project. Besides, the indomitable Hepburn was a force of nature who never took 'no' for an answer. Still, Fonda had retracted from film making as his health steadily declined. By the time On Golden Pond went into production the actor was ailing badly from a pre-existing heart condition that frequently threatened the shooting schedule. By the end of filming it was doubtful Henry would see his final efforts up on the big screen.
Undaunted and ultimately committed to the project Henry Fonda turned in one of his most poignant performances; no small feat consider the actor's perfectionism and body of previous work. In many ways Fonda is playing himself - an emotionally brittle man whose estrangement from daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda) has caused an extreme, often bitter tension in their father/daughter relationship.
Rydell and the rest of his crew worked around Fonda's dwindling physical limitations. He would have less success working around Hepburn's resilience and feistiness. For one scene the actress insisted on carrying a canoe all by herself down to the lake. Rydell shot the scene but left the footage on the cutting room floor because he felt it slowed down the pace of the film. Hepburn, arguably, never forgave him this trespass.
The screenplay was ever so slightly tweaked by the play's creator, Ernest Thompson to heighten the reconciliation between father/daughter. Arguably, it became a cathartic experience for the actors. Fonda is Norman Thayer Jr., a weary curmudgeon who is unwilling to accept what the years have done to his body. He tells his wife Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) that he is contemplating getting a job, but later, while walking down the old town road becomes so disorientated that panic forces him back indoors.
Norman’s confusion is a bitter pill to swallow, made all the more difficult when he learns that his estranged daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda) has come to see him with her new fiancée Bill (Dabney Colman) and Bill's young son, Billy (Doug McKeon). The couple leave Billy with Norman and Ethel for a few weeks to run off and get married. But Norman and Billy take an instant dislike to one another.
Ethel nurses their mutual contempt by forcing the two to spend time together. This imposed companionship eventual gives way to a more mutual understanding and compassion. Billy and Norman become friends, especially after a near fatal boating accident almost puts an end to both their lives. When Chelsea returns with her new husband she find Norman renewed with humility and respect; ready to accept her for the woman that she is instead of the daughter he always wanted her to be.
Because of the subtext between Jane and Henry, Chelsea and Norman's reconciliation is heartrending. The audience has absolute certainty that Chelsea and Norman's forgiveness has been transferred to Jane and Henry. The old wounds have at long last healed.
A scant three weeks after production wrapped up Henry Fonda's health deteriorated to such an extent that Mark Rydell worked feverishly to have an emergency private screening for the actor. As the house lights came up Fonda reportedly leaned into Rydell to thank him for the “greatest moment" of his career. As Rydell recalled years later, “It very quickly became the greatest moment in mine.”
Viewed today, On Golden Pond is still poetically astute and frank about the perils of age and the power of forgiveness. Billy Williams sumptuous cinematography transforms the wilds of Squam Lake into the epitome of gracious rural escape. But it is the dramatic arch of the story and the way it seems to so intimately parallel the lives behind the characters that continues to tug at our heartstrings. Time has robbed us of both Hepburn and Fonda. But their legacies endure and are celebrated in this film with a mutual admiration that is impossible to fake. On Golden Pond remains their finest hours on the screen.
WHY ISN'T THIS ON BLU-RAY YET?!?
Previously available on DVD, but now repackaged as a Special Edition – the image quality on this newer incarnation is much improved over the previous single disc. Yet, it does not include the glowing documentary ‘Loving Through Time’ that so poignantly captured Rydell’s recollections on making the film.
The original disc was not enhanced for widescreen televisions and is therefore a write off in terms of its picture quality. This Special Edition houses a genuinely handsome transfer. Colors are far more rich and refined. Film grain looks more natural on this outing, though it is by no means perfectly represented.
The audio has been remastered in 5.1 Dolby Digital with impressive results. This Special Edition also includes a good documentary on the film's cameraman and a little nothing on Kate Hepburn's career that, unfortunately, shows too little in the way of clips from Hepburn's illustrious tenure as one of Hollywood’s reigning divas.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
5
VIDEO/AUDIO
Standard release 2
Special Edition 4
EXTRAS
3
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