Gloria
(2013/Lionsgate DVD)/Lewis
Black: Old Yeller Live At The Borgata In Atlantic City
(2014/Image)/Rita, Sue and
Bob Too (1987/Film
4/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/That
Sinking Feeling (1979/BFI
Region Free Import Blu-ray)
Picture:
C+/C+/B-/B- Sound: C+/C+/B-/B- Extras: C-/D/C+/B Main
Programs: C+/B/C+/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Rita
Blu-ray is only available from our friends at Twilight Time in a
limited edition of 3,000 copies, while That
Sinking Feeling
is a region-free import Blu-ray now only available from our friends
at BFI. Both can be ordered from the links below.
These
new comedy releases all have their moments...
Sebastian
Lelio's Gloria
(2013; not to be confused with the John Cassavetes or Sharon Stone
films of the same name)
is the amusing tale of the title character (Paulina Garcia) is free
in her life again now that her children are grown and on their own,
plus she's divorced, but having fun is not going to be quite the same
as it used to be. She loves to party and finds it easy to hook up
with men. Too bad they are getting older and older.
The
film has some funny moments and some very real ones, but more than a
few lulls get in the way, yet Garcia (looking like an older version
of the late, great singer Laura Brannigan who made Umberto Tozzi's
Italian megahit song Gloria
into a megahit of her own) carries the narrative well and I was very
happy with the better moments overall everyone should still check
this one out once to get all the laughs and irony out of it.
Digital
HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and iTunes capable devices
and 3 music montage promo clips to promote the film are the only
extras.
Lewis
Black: Old Yeller Live At The Borgata In Atlantic City
(2014) has one of the great stand-up comics (reaching my all-time
list with worth this strong) telling it like it is about people being
stuck to the Internet, stupid politicians, things that annoy him (so
why don't we get more annoyed) and much more in an 81 minutes show
that never gets boring, is bold and as funny as anything on this
list, which says something.
Black
might also be recognizable from his many supporting acting roles, but
this is his day job and hardly anyone out there is as great at it,
especially now more than ever when some of the up and coming
stand-ups are just not that good or bold. If you have never seen him
in action, this is a great place to start.
There
are sadly no extras, but you can read more about one of his
underrated projects, a TV show, at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7647/Lewis+Black
Alan
Clarke's Rita,
Sue and Bob Too
(1987) is among the late director's bold, anti-Margaret Thatcher
films about how an already troubled Britain was rendered into way too
many dead ends by her policies in this comedy about the three title
characters, married Bob (George Costigan) and two nearly underaged
but streetwise school gals (Siobhan Finneran and Michelle Holmes)
getting sexually involved instantly among other things. What should
be shocking is very matter-of-fact, but that is the point in a
society where merit has been thrown out the window with certain moral
standards to begin with, so the trio are left to their own devices.
Like Clarke's Scum
(reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on his site), the vilm lands up
somewhere in between though this is narrowly less successful than
that earlier work. However, it is an ambitious comedy with a dark
side (versus a dark comedy outright) that deserves to be on Blu-ray
for all to see, even if it is a limited edition and Finneran's
presence makes this an instant curio too.
The
trick is not to wallow in the obvious, yet not shy away from the
harsh realities there, especially to contrast the plight of all the
characters here.
Extras
include another nicely illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text by Julie Kirgo, who joins fellow film scholar Nick
Redmond got a feature length audio commentary track and we get an
Isolated Music & Sound Effects Track.
Last
but not least is Bill
Forsyth's That
Sinking Feeling
(1979), an underrated teen comedy that takes place in Glasgow,
Scotland with limited opportunities as well, but they are trying to
find something more and at least four of them have each other.
Ronnie (a hilarious Robert Buchanan) tries to kill himself via
suffocation from a combination of milk and corn flakes, but he fails.
However, walking by a shop, he gets inspired. What if he, his crew
and some trusted outsiders steal a pile of new stainless steel sinks
and sell them?
Add
a goofy science student, a borrowed bakery truck and inane planning
and they might just pull it off! I saw this little gem a long time
ago and was the first time I saw it without dubbing (more below), yet
enjoyed it then and found it as funny as ever. This is a minor
comedy classic and a real independent gem long overdue for
rediscovery. BFI has done real justice to the film with a top-rate
new transfer and great extras, but it is a must-see film for anyone
who loves comedies.
Extras
include a DVD version, illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text, new feature length audio commentary track with Bill
Forsyth and Mark Kermode, new interview with actor Robert Buchanan
(Douglas Weir, 20 min.), Bill Forsyth's Lifetime Achievement Film
(Bill Forsyth, 2009, 7 min.):
short acceptance film made for BAFTA, an optional alternative dubbed
dialogue track for clearer English and these impressive short films
in HD that are a terrific bonus:
Kermode
Uncut
(2012,
9 min.): film critic Mark Kermode discusses the budget for the film
with Bill Forsyth, KH-4 (John Schorstein, 1969, 13 min.): a young
artist (Forsyth acting!) struggles to seek inspiration from his
slowly crumbing cityscape, Mirror
(John
Schorstein, 1970, 30 min.) with Forsyth back again as a young
would-be writer looking for his girlfriend on the streets of Glasgow,
Glasgow 1980 (Oscar Marzaroli, 1971, 30 min. ): documentary, edited
by Bill Forsyth, promoting the proposed development of Glasgow in the
1970s not anticipating the Thatcher Effect and Islands Of The West
(Bill Forsyth, 1972, 30 min.) industrial film promoting the scenic
beauty of the Scottish Hebrides.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Gloria
and anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Black
are not bad for DVD presentations, are a bit soft and both would
benefit from Blu-ray releases. The
Blu-rays of the Great Britain films here are the visual champs here,
both shot in 16mm, with the 1080p 1.66 X 1 digital High Definition
image transfer on Rita
looking decent for a film that could have settled for a flat TV movie
look, while the 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer
on Feeling
is very colorful with few flaws and shot all on Fuji color film.
Both prove yet again how good 16mm can look on Blu-ray despite the
detractors (read film and cinema haters) who have tried to con the
public into thinking otherwise. I should add that the filmed shorts
on Feeling
look as good if not better than the film itself and are all also
worth checking out.
As
for sound, it is the same split with the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on
the DVDs being passable, but likely sounding better in lossless
presentations on a Blu-ray, while the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0
lossless Mono mix on Rita
and PCM 2.0 Mono on Feeling
may have their limits, but are warmer, fuller and presented as well
as they are ever going to be. Of course, the original dialogue on
Feeling
might be difficult for some to understand and/or keep up with, but I
liked it more than the clearer
English dub and it is more fun, paying off if you put the effort into
getting into it.
You
can order That
Sinking Feeling
from BFI directly at their website at...
http://shop.bfi.org.uk/dvd-blu-ray.html
…and
to order Rita,
Sue and Bob Too
limited edition Blu-ray, buy it among many other limited editions
while supplies last at this link:
www.screenarchives.com
-
Nicholas Sheffo
