England, Rain, and God
As Jordan puts it in his commentary, Greene's novel is about England, rain, and God. Set in WWII-era London, it's the story of a woman named Sarah, trapped in an unhappy marriage with a stolid civil servant, who begins an affair with writer Maurice Bendrix. During a three-day idyll in the midst of the 1940 London blitz, Maurice walks downstairs to see if it's safe for Sarah to leave the house, and a bomb blast shatters the lives of the adulterous couple and takes the narrative into an entirely new direction.

Sarah is a lapsed Catholic, and when she hears the explosion, and presumes Maurice to be dead, she prays to God that if her lover is allowed to live, she will never see him again. When her stunned, but very much alive, paramour appears in the doorway to their bedroom, Sarah is forced to honor the promise she has made which leads to tragedy for all parties concerned.

The main problem with Dymytryk's version is the casting. Van Johnson is unbearably flat as Bendrix and Deborah Kerr is a bit too histrionic as Sarah. Lenore Coffee's script is overly melodramatic and doesn't carry the gravity of the source material. Jordan's adaptation, though it also strays from Greene's novel, has a far greater emotional weight. This is mostly due to the expert performances of Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes as Sarah and Bendrix, and the movingly mournful turn of Stephen Rea as Sarah's husband, Henry. The stunning cinematography by Roger Pratt (which was nominated for an Oscar) also adds to the mood.

1955 Extras
The extras on the 1955 disc are not noteworthy. They include talent files for the two leads and the director, a couple trailers for other Dymytryk films, and a making-of featurette for the 1999 version. The disc also offers digital stereo sound and full-screen or anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) formats of the film. The black-and-white print is pristine.

1999 Extras
Far more rewarding are the extras on the 1999 disc. The same making-of featurette is offered, along with a couple of trailers, an isolated music score (written by the talented Michael Nyman), talent files, and a pair of audio commentaries. The two commentaries, one by Moore and one by Jordan, are more philosophical than most and offer much food for thought. Both of them have clearly wrangled with the metaphysics of Greene's novel and their musings about the characters are rich with insight. They are also adept in talking about the filmmaking process. Moore discusses the texture and density of movie rain, while Jordan gives a rundown on how they managed the difficult bomb blast effect. Jordan's level of involvement with the material is apparent as he ruminates about adapting the book, casting the film, the art of directing, and the motivations of the characters. Listen closely and you'll hear about the film that Sarah and Bendrix see on their first date or how he incorporated a similar shot from one of his earlier films into Affair.

This version is available in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) or full-screen format with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The print is of the highest caliber.

Are Two Better Than One?
Unless you happen to be an avid fan of the 1955 version, a Greene completist, or intrigued by the opportunity of comparing two versions of the same story, the collection is probably an unnecessary expense. But be sure not to miss the 1999 disc — the knowing performances, moving story line, and adept audio commentaries make this disc one of 2000's finest releases.