It’s 1937, and in England, award-winning crime novelist Charles Condomine (Dan Stevens, Legion, Downton Abbey) has been commissioned by his film producer father-in-law to adapt one of his novels into a screenplay. However Charles has a bad case of writer’s block. He spends day after day in his study with his typewriter, but no words ever come to him. His first wife, Elvira (Leslie Mann, This Is 40), had always been his muse, but she passed away seven years ago, and he hasn’t really written anything since. Charles remarried a couple years later, and he has been happy with current wife Ruth (Isla Fisher, Arrested Development). However, the pressure of writing his first screenplay has now also caused some “intimacy” problems between them.

Inspiration finally comes to Charles when he and Ruth go to the theater to see medium Madame Cecily Arcati (Judi Dench, Skyfall) perform. The show is a disaster, and Charles doesn’t really believe she has any powers, but he invites Madame Arcati to their home for a private séance with some friends. He wants to study her as research for his screenplay. However, something happens during the séance, and the spirit of Charles’ deceased first wife is accidentally summoned. Suddenly Charles finds himself haunted by Elvira, who is initially unaware of her own passing. No one else can see or hear her, and Charles’s erratic behavior of talking to himself, and wild claims of seeing and hearing his dead wife leads others to believe he may be going insane. Meanwhile, Elvira is eager to resume her relationship with her husband, and will do anything to get him back from Ruth…even murder. While Charles isn’t initially thrilled to see Elvira again, he is happy to get his literal ghost writer back to help with the screenplay.

The more that Ruth witnesses, she starts to believe that her husband may be telling the truth. She finds herself in the middle of a supernatural love triangle, and seeks out Madame Arcati’s help to banish Elvira back to where she came from. However, the medium is unaware of how she even summoned the spirit in the first place, let alone how to get rid of it. She is determined to stop this ghost from stealing her husband, and the women are soon locked in a battle of wits. However, time is running out—the deeper the connection grows between Charles and his ex wife, the more powerful and threatening Elvira will become. Can Madame Arcati and Ruth find a way to send Elvira back before it’s too late, and they end up joining her in the afterlife?!

Blithe Spirit is based on Noël Coward’s 1941 comedic play of the same name. The film follows a very similar storyline, but with some tweaks here and there, plus some new twists. It’s a wild, fun romp, blending farce, situational and physical humor with over the top characters, and a delightful English setting. Dan Stevens is a lot of fun as this exasperated, desperate man caught in the middle of a supernatural love triangle. Does he appease Elvira who is helping him write his screenplay, or does he side with current wife Ruth? When in public Charles tries to hold his tongue, but Elvira is constantly goading him on, getting him to yell at her and call her despicable things, but to onlookers who can’t see Elvira, this is often mistaken for Charles verbally attacking some innocent party also in the room, which leads to some hilarious mix-ups and awkward situations. Leslie Mann is a delight as the devious Elvira, who is constantly manipulating the situation, and plotting to take out anyone who gets in the way of her and Charles. Judi Dench is also hilarious as the washed up medium—while Madame Arcati seems to know her stuff, it’s not really clear if she ever really had powers, or if this was the first time she had actually succeeded in summoning a spirit. Either way, she’s in a bit over her head. And finally, there’s Isla Fisher as Ruth, the loving wife who thinks her husband is going crazy, only to find out that she’s in competition for his affections from a ghost. However, she’s not going to give him up without a fight. All of the actors are called upon to do physical humor, whether that’s pratfalls, playing drunk, etc. and they all succeed marvelously. This movie is filled with fun twists and turns, and lots of laughs.

The film also includes some great supporting characters, such as the nervous, bumbling maid Edith (Aimee-Ffion Edwards, War of the Worlds, Peaky Blinders), superstitious cook Edna (Michelle Dotrice, A Very English Scandal), and the Condomine’s best friends Dr. (Julian Rhind-Tutt, Britannia, Green Wing) and Mrs Bradman (Emilia Fox, Delicious, The Wrong Mans), who don’t fully understand what is going on. The filmmakers have also done an excellent job of recreating the costumes and look of the era, transporting viewers back to 1930s England, and the rise of Pinewood Studios, where Ruth’s father (Dave Johns) is working with legends like Hitchcock, Cecil B DeMille, Greta Garbo and Clarke Gable. Blithe Spirit doesn’t feel like just a film version of a play, but rather a theatrical imaging of the classic tale that is its own unique thing.

Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, with a clean, bright and detailed picture that showcases the beautiful period sets, locales and costumes. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and makes nice use of the surround channel to add ambiance and provide a more immersive viewing experience, whether it’s the delightful soundtrack that’s often playing from a record player in the Condomine’s home, or the sound of people playing tennis in the distance, or the crash of thunder during the séance. The Blu-ray disc comes packed in an eco-friendly Blu-ray keepcase with a carboard slipcover. The only bonus features are the theatrical trailer and an a 7-minute behind-the-scenes featurette with the cast and filmmakers. There is no digital copy included.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:39:21)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround, English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo, English Audio Descriptive Track
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Extras:

• Behind the Scenes of Blithe Spirit (7:09)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about the film’s premise, the comedy, the production design, costumes, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Edward Hall, director of photography Ed Wild, production designer John Paul Kelly, costume designer Charlotte Walter, a makeup artist, and stars Judi Dench (“Madame Arcati”), Dan Stevens (“Charles Condomine”), Leslie Mann (“Elvira Condomine”), Isla Fisher (“Ruth Condomine”), Julian Rhind-Tutt (“Dr. Bradman”), Emilia Fox (“Mrs Bradman”) & Adil Ray (“Mandeep Singh”).
• Theatrical Trailer (2:22)

Final Thoughts:

Blithe Spirit is a fun, hilarious adaptation of Noël Coward’s iconic play featuring a stellar comedic cast. Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray features solid audio and video presentation, but is pretty slim when it comes to supplemental material. That said, fans of the play should enjoy this latest version, which has excellent production value and feels like a proper theatrical adaptation rather than just a filmed version of a play. It’s a farcical romp that anyone looking for a fun new comedy should enjoy.