Goodbye, Columbus – Fun City Editions (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1969
Director: Larry Peerce
Writer: Arnold Schulman
Cast: Richard Benjamin, Jack Klugman, Nan Martin, Ali MacGraw, Royce Wallace, Mari Gorman, Michael Nouri

Release Date: January 13th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 101 Minutes 50 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: PG
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Neil is a poor Bronx librarian and Brenda is a pampered Jewish American princess from Westchester. Benjamin and MacGraw are superb in their debuts as the lovers who try to cross class lines amidst kisses and her parents' stiff opposition." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer: "The film has been remastered from a new 4K scan of the film's original 35mm camera negative."

Goodbye, Columbus comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.2 GB

Feature: 29.3 GB

The source looks excellent; fleshy tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, black levels are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH subtitles. The source is in excellent shape; dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Also, ambient sounds and the score are well represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (stills/posters), an interview with composer Charles Fox titled Gone to Heaven (14 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), An Evening at the Academy filmed in 2016 with director Larry Peerce, screenwriter Arnold Schulman, former Paramount executive Peter Bart, producer Stanley R. Jaffe, actress Ali MacGraw, actor Richard Benjamin, casting director Andrea Eastman, and Charles Fox (32 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Bill Ackerman, reversible cover art, and a 20-page booklet (first pressing only) with an essay titled How Phillip Roth’s Goodbye, Columbus Became “A Very Big Movie” written by Jim Healy and cast & crew information.

There's an Easter egg: a theatrical trailer (4 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), which can be found when you click on the FCE logo on the extras menu.

Summary:

Larry Peerce directed Goodbye, Columbus. He’s known for The Incident, The Sporting Club, and Ash Wednesday.

A librarian falls in love with a woman from an affluent family over summer vacation. His liberal worldview clashes with her conservative upbringing. Will their differences keep them apart or will they overcome them?

Although the evolving relationship between Neil and Brenda is the constant thread that holds the narrative together, Goodbye, Columbus is also a film filled with social commentary, notably on classism. Neil and Brenda come from different worlds, which have shaped them, and it is these differences that ultimately push them apart. Also, where Neil has a fixed idea of what he wants, Brenda is impulsive and rarely thinks about the future.

Although Neil and Brenda quickly begin a relationship, and it only lasts over the course of a few months, there is an authenticity to it that makes its breaking point all the more potent. The opening setup does an exemplary job fleshing out characters' motivations, and a series of moments of conflict help drive the narrative and effectively build to a bittersweet coda that perfectly sums everything up.

As amazing as all of the performances are, it is really Richard Benjamin (The Last of Sheila) and Ali MacGraw (Love Story) in the roles of Neil and Brenda who carry this film. They both perfectly embodied their characters and they have a strong onscreen chemistry that greatly aids their performances. Other notable cast members are Nan Martin and Jack Klugman (The Odd Couple TV series) in the roles of Brenda’s parents.

Made in the late 1960s, Goodbye, Columbus exhibits many of the traits other similarly themed counterculture movies from that era do, like The Graduate and Adam at 6AM. Although the visuals mostly let the performances be the focal point, there are a handful of visually arresting moments, notably the scene where Brenda’s father talks to her about life and choices at her brother’s wedding. Another strength is Charles Fox’s (Barbarella) score, which does a phenomenal job reinforcing the mood. Ultimately, Goodbye, Columbus is a well-crafted film that takes on universal themes that are easily identifiable and timeless.

Goodbye, Columbus gets an excellent release from Fun City Editions that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer