Play Misty for Me 4K Ultra HD Review: Clint Eastwood’s Directorial Debut

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Play Misty for Me is the 1971 psychological thriller and directorial debut by Clint Eastwood who had been around in Hollywood as an actor since the mid 1950s, but really broke through to widespread success with Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy” (A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)) and his work with director Don Siegel in films such as Coogan’s Bluff, Three Mules for Sister Sara, and Dirty Harry.

With Play Misty, Eastwood is heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho from a decade earlier. The story follows disc jockey Dave (Eastwood) for radio station KRML in the idyllic California town of Carmel who has been trying to get back together with his ex-girlfriend Tobie (Donna Mills) who has just returned to town. Unfortunately for Dave, his proclivities, his inclination to try to bed as many women as he can, finds him getting involved with a groupie who has been calling into his show every night requesting him to play the classic Erroll Garner jazz standard “Misty,” with a sultry “Play Misty for me…” giving the film its title. What Dave does not realize is that this woman, Evelyn (Jessica Walter, TV’s Arrested Development), is psychologically unstable. After just a few nights together, Evelyn becomes obsessed with Dave and, although this was not something really talked about in 1971, she begins stalking him.

There are many scenes in Play Misty for Me that are obvious allusions to Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho, which just about set the standard for the psychological thriller and slasher in the mainstream. Eastwood uses plenty of quick edits and stabbing scenes in certain scenes where people are attacked, also using aural mixing in a similar fashion as well. He also sets a steady pace, where the tension grows slowly before reaching what is an inevitable and almost operatic crescendo.

Even as it took inspiration from Hitchcock, Play Misty for Me cut its own path and can be seen as a blueprint for the sort of crazed stalker films that were to come after it, especially in the 1980s such as Fatal Attraction and to an extent Basic Extinct, and Dead Calm. From the beginning Eastwood shows his competence as a director with a clear directorial vision, taut handling of the material, and brought this film in under budget. There is also a famous loves scene between Eastwood and Mills set to Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”.

Purchase Play Misty for Me (Special Edition) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com

The Video

The 4K disc is from a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision master – from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative while the included Blu-ray is from the 2020 2K master from Kino Lorber. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray comes in a 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. There is a layer of crisp, dense grain over the image that is mostly consistent apart from some scenes where it looks a little softer and coarser with a few hints of scratches and sparkle. Otherwise, the image very clear and clean with excellent color. The outdoor and daylight scenes are especially vibrant with lots of color gradients and pop thanks to the Dolby Vision grading. Highlights look bright, but not gimmicky. There is superb sheen on Eastwood’s car, for instance, and the lights in the house have excellent pop.

The Audio

Play Misty for Me comes with English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes. The purists can enjoy the clarity and dynamics in the mono track with little noise or hiss while the 5.1 mix, although it does sound a little less natural, expands the soundfield and range a bit more. The standout scene for this mix comes in act three as Eastwood is racing back to rescue Donna Mills and his car’s engine roaring fills the soundfield.

The Supplements

Kino Lorber includes one new audio commentary with screenwriter (Mork & Mindy) and producer (Bullet in the Face) Alan Spencer and an older audio commentary with novelist and critic Tim Lucas. Both commentaries offer a lot of insight into this period in Eastwood’s career and trivia on the making of the film. Tim Lucas’ commentary sounds more like a voiceover to a video essay at times, which is not a bad thing at all for those making their umpteenth viewing of this film.

Bonus Features:

• Slipcover
• Reversible Sleeve
• Audio Commentary by Screenwriter/Producer Alan Spencer (NEW)
• Audio Commentary by Novelist and Critic Tim Lucas

Blu-ray Only:

• Interview with Co-Star Dona Mills (1080p; 00:11:31)
• Video Essay by Film Historian Howard S. Berger (1080p; 01:13:24)
• Play it Again…A Look Back at Play Misty for Me: Documentary (SD; 00:49:22)
• The Beguiled, Misty, Don and Clint: Featurette (SD; 00:06:13)
• Trailers from Hell with Adam Rifkin (1080p; 00:02:08)
• Stills Montage (SD; 00:03:54)
• Clint Eastwood Directs and Acts: Photo Montage (SD: 00:02:03)
• The Evolution of a Poster: Photo Montage (SD; 00:02:37)
• Play Misty for Me – TV Spots (1080p; 00:01:03)
• Play Misty for Me – Teaser (1080p; 00:00:53)
• Play Misty for Me – Trailer (1080p; 00:01:53)

The Final Assessment

Diving in to Play Misty for Me is an interesting look into the early directorial career of Clint Eastwood as he begins to define his persona apart from his characters in westerns and cut a path as not just the “Man with No Name” but the man behind the lens with a cinematic vision of his own. Decades on, this film is still frightening and influential, which is a great debut. Kino Lorber’s 4K restoration looks amazing and continues their top tier reissue campaign of Eastwood’s catalogue on 4K Ultra HD.

Play Misty for Me (Special Edition) is out on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray November 19, 2024 from Kino Lorber

Purchase Play Misty for Me (Special Edition) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: R
• Studios & Distributors: The Malpaso Company | Jennings Lang | Universal Pictures | Kino Lorber Studio Classics
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Written By:Jo Heims | Dean Riesner
• Run Time: 102 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • Max. Luminance: 1000 nits
  • Min. Luminance: 0.0001 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
• Secondary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH