Blu Ray Review: Body and Soul

Now acting as his own producer, John Garfield was able to choose projects that interested him. Garfield had not played a boxer since They Made Me a Criminal eight years earlier and does so again in Body and Soul, which has been newly released to blu ray by Kino Lorber. It is directed by Robert Rossen and also stars Lilli Palmer, Anne Revere, and Canada Lee.

Body and Soul is a well-directed, visually stimulating, dramatically compelling boxing drama, among the very best of its kind. Garfield’s canny choice of James Wong Howe as cinematographer resulted in the creative idea to shoot the boxing sequences with a hand-held camera while on roller skates.  While these shots were carefully edited into the action, they added to the rhythm of the boxing sequences that also included quick cutaways to closeups of sweaty determined faces.  The final fight is quite mesmerizing. It looks and feels a lot grittier than most boxing movie scenes, in part thanks to the hand-held cinematography. Body and Soul was a hit with both audiences and critics, John Garfield’s first venture into independent cinema achieving the success he desired.

While there are many great performances in John Garfield’s filmography, there are roughly a dozen that truly define his work as an actor.  Body and Soul may very well present him at his career best.  From this point, the success of his first indie film venture meant that John Garfield could go where he wanted creatively, choosing projects that mattered to him and made statements that he believed were important. 

Kino’s blu ray features an audio commentary by author/film historian Alan K. Rode. It is highly recommended and can be ordered at this link: BODY/SOUL