Believe
Me (2014/Riot
Blu-ray)/The End Of
Something (2014/Vintage
Youth DVD)/Listen Up
Philip
(2014/Tribeca/Cinedigm DVD)/Love
and Death (1975/United
Artists/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)
Picture:
B-/C/C/B Sound: C+/C/C+/B- Extras: C/C/C+/B- Films:
C+/C+/C+/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Love
and Death
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is
limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies last
from the link below.
These
new comedies have some, if not many, laughs...
Will
Bakke's Believe
Me
(2014) is
about a group of guys who decide they can pretend to be holy rollers
and make money off of naïve Christians, but to the script's credit,
the Christians are not portrayed as airheads. That does not mean
this is as funny as Saved!
with Mandy Moore, but is not another angry live action cartoon that
is easily dismissed as exploitative, predictable junk. Nick Offerman
(here briefly) and Christopher McDonald offer helpful supporting
appearances, but this ultimately turns into a flat 93 minutes that
did not stay with me. You can see for yourself, but don't expect
much.
Extras
include Outtakes, an Original Theatrical Trailer and Deleted Scenes.
Colin
Rivera's The
End Of Something
(2014) is
yet another backstage comedy where the actors are clashing, allegedly
funny and that we are seeing something secret we should not be
seeing. I did not buy it all and thought the many jokes or
pseudo-jokes fell flat, most of which if they had been cut would have
made this more watchable. Actor/producer Cuyle Carvin takes a
supporting role here smartly and allows the rest of the unknown cast
really get a chance to show their talents.
What
I did like was the chemistry and positive attitude the film had,
meaning if the script did not try so hard and therefore did not
segment this so much, this would have worked even better than most
such projects we have seen over the decades and the gang here is
likable. Hope we see more of them in the future, but I found this
uneven, but interesting overall.
Extras
include Outtakes, 'rare' audition footage and featurette 'A Day In
The Life'.
Alex
Ross Perry's Listen
Up Philip
(2014)
has Jason Schwartzman as a writer trying to get his second novel out
there, which he thinks will be a hit and not be phased by the
sophomore curse. With much voiceover (in the mode of early Woody
Allen), the film has a consistent mood and look, a love of books and
the printed page (including paperbacks) and wants to be a character
study as well as an outright comedy, but it too gets a little lost in
all the things it tries to do.
Still,
I liked the attitude here as well, Elisabeth Moss is solid as his
girlfriend, Jonathan Price in rare form as his author/idol and just a
fine supporting cast that always makes this feel like the recent
period piece it is supposed to be. Not bad, but book fans should
take this one as a must-see.
Extras
include faux book covers, teaser trailer, a featurette, separate
Behind The Scenes piece, Deleted Scenes and feature length audio
commentary by Director Perry.
Finally
we have the man himself in Woody Allen's Love
and Death
(1975), his satire of many intellectual things form Russian
literature to Soviet cinema and anything else intellectual he can fit
into it in between as he becomes involved in the French Revolution
(watch out Napoleon!), references to other literature and to his love
of Ingmar Bergman. It is a fun, funny and good-looking film, even if
it is a little fragmented as a result.
Still,
it is great work by Allen and joined by a cast that includes Diane
Keaton and Harold Gould, has Allen in his early prime period where he
was as formidable as any comedy filmmaker or any filmmaker around.
You don't even have to know all the intertextual references to enjoy
the many zingers and one-liners that deliver throughout, but you
should know this is not an outright comedy you can just start
watching. When you know what to expect, however, it is very
rewarding and the best film on the list.
An
illustrated booklet with tech info and essay by Julie Kirgo, plus an
Original Theatrical Trailer and Isolated Music & Effects track
are the extras.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Believe
is a digital shoot with some flaws and errors here and there, but it
is not bad, though no match for the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High
Definition image transfer on Death,
the best-looking entry on the list despite being 40 years older than
anything else on the list. Director
of Photography Ghislain Cloquet (Renais' Night
& Fog,
Polanski's Tess)
gives the film the look of an epic film as well as a European one,
which holds up well today, even in the post-Barry
Lyndon
era. With little to complain about, the print ands transfer are
consistent with how the film should look with fine color throughout.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image in Something
(a digital shoot with some digital flaws) and the anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on Listen
(well-shot on Kodak film in the Super 16mm format) are both a little
softer than they should be for DVD and would both benefit from
Blu-ray releases with their consistent looks.
As
for sound, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mix on
Death
is well mixed and presented for its time, so music is as clean and
clear as the jokes, but with its warmth and enough fullness, it
manages to outdo the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes on the Believe
Blu-ray (why was this not a lossless presentation?) and Listen
DVD (which would even benefit more from a lossless presentation).
The lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Something
has location audio issues and has been transferred on the lite side
sonically, so be careful of volume switching and high volumes.
To
order the Love
and Death
limited edition Blu-ray, buy it and many more great, ket releases
while supplies last at this link:
www.screenarchives.com
-
Nicholas Sheffo