When John Fowles' epic romantic novel, "The French Lieutenant's Woman" was first published many of Hollywood's leading directors at the time(Fred Zinnemann, Richard Lester and Mike Nichols) all tried and failed to adapt it's complicated narrative to the big screen. It took the combined talents of director Karel Reisz and screenwriter Harold Pinter to finally figure out the film's structure and the results have certainly stood the test of time in the nearly thirty-five years since the film's release in 1981. Criterion has now brought "The French Lieutenant's Woman" to Blu-ray and the results are simply stunning. According to the liner notes from the enclosed booklet: "This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, and splices were manually removed" and anyone viewing the film now will be impressed(bitrate: 27.50). The story is complicated and involves parallel narratives, both a modern contemporary(25%) and Victorian(75%) stories but due to the expert direction of Karel Reisz and superb editing from John Bloom never gets tiring and holds the viewers attention throughout. As photographed by the great cinematographer Freddie Francis, this is where this new Blu-ray really impresses with bright and rich colors that are a marvel to behold. Both interiors and exteriors have a richness and depth that dazzles the eye. Costumes(both period and modern), set designs, and the overall art direction is very vivid and will not disappoint. 19th Century Dorset has never looked more impressive under the lens of Freddie Francis. The famous shot of Meryl Streep looking back at Jeremy Irons for the first time at the end of a jetty is still one of the greatest images ever put on film and is still powerful now as it was in theaters in 1981. The Audio(LPCM 1.1 English) has been improved also. Again from the liner notes: "The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35 mm magnetic tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum and crackle were manually removed." Director Reisz gets sterling performances out of his cast with acting honors going to the two leads, Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons who play their dual roles quite effectively. Streep, who was only 31, has never looked more beautiful and richly deserved her Oscar nomination(one of 19!) for her stunning performance. She is especially effective in the Victorian story(as Sarah) with a performance that is in stark contrast to her one(as Anna) in the modern story. Although having two parallel stories in a film might be unconventional and even confusing to some viewers, overall the film succeeds on all levels and is a triumph for all concerned. "The French Lieutenant's Woman" is 123 minutes(Aspect Ratio: 1.85.1) and only contains the following subtitle: English SDH. Special features included new 2015 interviews with Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, editor John Bloom and film composer Carl Davis. There is also an interview with film scholar Ian Christie and a 1981 TV interview with director Karel Reisz, novelist John Fowles and screenwriter Harold Pinter. The Blu-ray disc itself is housed in Criterion's standard transparent case. "The French Lieutenant's Woman" is an outstanding film and Criterion's new Blu-ray presentation should please a whole new generation of film scholars and viewers alike. It comes very highly recommended.