Che
(1969/Fox/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Third
Person (2014/Sony
Blu-ray)
Picture:
B/B- Sound: B-/B Extras: C Films: C/C-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Che
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is
limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered from the link below.
Here
are two films that try to challenge the construction of Classical
Hollywood narrative and fail badly in their own ways.
Richard
Fleischer's Che
(1969) was Fox's attempt to capitalize on fast-moving events and with
the talent involved, seemed like it might work. Omar Sharif would
play the title character, Jack Palance was cast as Fidel Castro and
they would be joined by a solid cast that also include Cesare Danova,
Robert Loggia, Woody Strode, Barbara Luna, Albert Paulsen, Linda
Marsh, Perry Lopez, Abraham Sofaer, Adolph Caesar and Sid Haig.
Fleischer was more hit (Boston
Strangler,
Fantastic
Voyage)
than miss (Doctor
Dolittle)
so he was one of the studio's hottest directors and with a script
co-written by the formerly blacklisted Michael Wilson (Salt
Of The Earth)
and Sy Bartlett (12
O'Clock High)
seemed a sure bet.
What
happened? The alternate narrative approach had characters breaking
the fourth wall too often to describe what was going on, some of the
casting seemed too Hollywood old hat (the ethnicities not always
matching the real life intended persons) and the 96 minutes in total
not being very memorable. There are still some good and interesting
moments here, but not enough for a feature film. It also insinuates
that the USSR had him killed because he had become too subversive and
could affect their control of Cuba and compete with Castro. Oliver
Stone has insisted it was the CIA who had him killed in Bolivia for
their own reasons, but rarely is it considered both sided might have
wanted him out of the way for reasons that would make sense.
Several
people have tried to tell the story better including better casting
by top actors like Gael Garcia Bernal and Benicio del Toro among
others, but the tale has yet to really be told thoroughly and with
all the possibilities explored. This is a Twilight Time Limited
Edition Blu-ray that anyone interested should grab before they run
out. I can see why it would be issued that way, but this is yet
another film with immense talents involved that deserved a Blu-ray
and it is great it got this top rate treatment.
Extras
include another fine, illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text by Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a TV Spot,
Vintage Featurette and
Isolated Music Score composed by the great Lalo Schifrin.
Paul
Haggis' Third
Person
(2014) has
Liam Neeson as a struggling writer with writer's block dealing with
the women and others in his life and we get more character's whose
lives criss-cross with his without knowing it in the mode of Haggis'
Crash.
This includes Kim Basinger as his ex-wife, Mila Kunis as a troubled
nurse, James Franco as a father with issues, Olivia Wilde as the
young gal he is having an affair with, plus Maria Bello and Adrian
Brody rounding out the supporting cast. As I watched, something
strange seemed to be going on and I was only so impressed. Even with
likable actors, it seemed a bit much.
This
leads to a final twist so stupid, condescending and inane that I
could not believe this was even made! I will say not more, but
unless you really love one or more of the cast members or think
Haggis is a great, great filmmaker, skip it!
Extras
include a feature-length audio commentary track with Haggis,
Moran Atias, Laurence Bennett, Jo Francis & Michael Nozik, Making
Of featurette and Q&A section with Haggis.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on both
Blu-rays represent their respective releases, but Che manages
to look a bit better despite the grain (intended in many parts,
though some shots show the age of the film) in what is the best
transfer of the material we have ever seen, while the HD-shot Person
has some detail issues throughout in addition to slight color
draining that does not work.
For
Che,
Director
of Photography Charles F. Wheeler (Silent
Running,
Slaughter's
Big Ripoff,
Truck
Turner,
Bad
Ronald)
uses the very widescreen frame to its fullest extent, even with the
fancy editing we often get and it never becomes disorienting. Gian
Filippo Corticelli does what he can with Person,
but the material limits him in part.
As
for sound, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix on Che
is rough at times and that does not
include sound that is supposed to be that way, with the isolated
score showing further limits. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1
lossless mix on Person
is quiet and refined despite
being well mixed enough, but the consistency of warmth and clarity
saves it and it pulls ahead as the better sounding of the two films.
As
noted above, you can order the Che limited edition Blu-ray
while supplies last at this link:
www.screenarchives.com
-
Nicholas Sheffo
