The
First Deadly Sin
(1980/Warner Archive DVD)/Focus
(2015/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)/Ladyhawke
(1985/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Sol
Madrid (1967/MGM/Warner
Archive DVD)
Picture:
C/B- & C/B/C+ Sound: C/B & B-/B/C Extras: D/C-/C-/C-
Films: B-/C-/C/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
All releases here, save Focus,
are now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive
series. All can be ordered from the link below.
When
making a genre film, the question now more than ever is, how much
comedy should be in the film. If it is too much, you get a
live-action cartoon, though the idea since the 1980s is that people
don't care and that's what they want. This has led to the decline of
better commercial films being made. What follows are four films, two
that take the silly route and two that don't and happen to be from
the underrated director Brian G. Hutton (Kelly's
Heroes,
Where
Eagles Dare)
whose films deserve more attention.
Brian
Hutton's The
First Deadly Sin
(1980) is a murder thriller with Frank Sinatra as a detective ready
to retire, but he has a sick wife (Faye Dunaway) he worries about and
a murder case he decides he will solve. The killer is going around
using a device with a sharp edge to bash victims in the head with and
kill them. This was shocking in its time and some were surprised
Sinatra took this on, then when they saw the film, was shocked at the
graphic language which the film seems to acknowledge as an in joke as
not what anyone would ever expect from anything Sinatra would be
involved it.
He
does what he can to find the killer, more interesting than ever since
technology has changed so much, but this can be a really intense
thriller and any humor is not at the expense of tension and suspense.
The cast is a plus and also includes James Whitmore, Brenda Vacarro,
David Duke, Martin Gabel and Anthony Zerbe. The climax might have
some issues, but the film is a must see at least once and I'm glad to
see it in print.
There
are sadly no extras.
It
took Glenn Ficarra and John Requa to co-direct Focus
(2015) with Will Smith, but why? It is awful and it either needed on
stronger director, a third one of best of all, should have been
shelved. Smith plays Nicky (what a name) who is a great con artist,
thief, heist guy and even seducer, but he's about to run into unusual
trouble in Buenos Aires that will lead to action, violence and...
predictability.
Pretty
as she is, Margot Robbie is supposed to be his equal, but I never
bought neither of them in their roles and they never have any
chemistry, though I don't totally blame them. Instead, this has all
the glitz and glamour of an informercial and its 105 minutes length
runs on and on and on in a digitally muddy way that makes this
another dud for smith following the horrendous After
Earth.
Suicide
Squad
can only be a step up.
Extras
include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and iTunes
capable devices, while the discs add a pointless Alternate Opening,
Deleted Scenes and three Making Of featurettes.
Richard
Donner's Ladyhawke
(1985) arrived at a time when Fantasy genre films still took their
audiences and subject matter serious since suspending disbelief is so
hard in such a no-bounds world. In an odd move that turned out to be
influential in the worst way, the title character (Michelle
Pfeiffer), a pickpocket and prison escapee (Matthew Broderick) and a
knight (Rutger Hauer) land up taking on evil and an evil ruler and
bishop (John Wood) who is ruining everyone's life.
That
sounds good, but it is done with such silly humor and a music score
by Andrew Powell (produced by Alan Parsons, his partner in The Alan
Parsons Project) that is hellbent on sounding like typical
synthesized 1980s music no matter how out of place or ill-fitting it
is. Queen was doing the same thing at about the same time with
Highlander
(and with the 1980 Flash
Gordon
in a different way if you think about it), but that work gels better
with those films and this film is more of an outright Fantasy fiction
work.
As
a result, this was not a big hit and has almost become a cult item.
I am no fan and many who remembered it were not fans, but it is at
least an ambitious miss of a production and its influence to make
later Fantasy films infantile (Lord
Of The Rings
and Hobbit
film included) is far from the best development in genre filmmaking
in the last 35 years. Leo McKern and Alfred Molina also star, but
this is only for the most curious only.
An
Original Theatrical Trailer is the only extra.
Last
but not least at the other end of the spectrum is Brian G. Hutton's
Sol
Madrid
(1967) with David McCallum as the title character, a government agent
going to Mexico with a lady of the night (Stella Stevens) to take on
a drug distributor (Telly Savalas) and main mobster (Rip Torn) in
what is an often brutal crime action drama that is still pretty
violent by today's standards and the film holds up very well as a
result. It shows how likable and able McCallum (NSIC,
the original Man
From U.N.C.L.E.)
was as a lead actor and though his exchanges with Stevens can be too
shrill, this film has a solid pace.
The
new realism in cinema is here on display and though it does not go as
far as Bonnie
& Clyde
the same year, it is more than worthy of that classic. The location
shoot is another plus, supporting turns by Paul Lukas, Michael
Conrad, Ricardo Montalban, Perry Lopez and Michael Ansara gives the
film even more impact. If you like Quentin Tarantino's type of
hardcore filmmaking, you should see this and as a plus, any humor is
very limited, making this one worth going out of your way for.
An
Original Theatrical Trailer is sadly the only extra.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on
Sin
is not very clear despite good color, has halos and aliasing errors,
yet you can see what a fine film shoot this was and remains. Some
shots are outright stunning too. The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Focus
Blu-ray mixes dark moments that still look too lite for their own
good (really bad as compared to Sin) and also wants to be glamourous
with all the generic bells and whistles of the plot and money.
Unfortunately, it is very flat, dull, poor, forgettable and the
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 DVD version is the poorest performer
here.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Ladyhawke
is easily the best performer on the list, coming from a new HD master
originated by Fox, shot in real anamorphic 35mm Technovision (and
underrated format) by legendary Director of Photography Vittorio
Storaro and looks amazing... even if you are a non-fan. It was also
issued in 70mm blow-up prints and you can see that would work with
all the detail, depth and character here.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Madrid
may not be as beautiful, but it was also shot in the real
anamorphic 35mm format Panavision with MetroColor and I think it
actually is a more effective use of the scope frame despite how good
Ladyhawke
looks. The best-looking of the three DVDs covered here, Director
of Photography Fred J. Koenekamp, A.S.C., was always an underrated DP
(Doc
Savage,
Towering
Inferno,
Billy
Jack,
Patton)
and really delivers here in some impressive work throughout.
As
for sound, the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Sin
and Madrid
are a little too low, compressed and aged, both needing sound
upgrades, though they are always interesting to hear. Be careful of
volume switching and high playback on both.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix on Focus
is not bad and is well recorded and mixed, but is not that impressive
overall, so the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on
Ladyhawke
can more than compete and is a nice upgrade and restoration from its
original 70mm Dolby Surround 4.1, 6-track magnetic sound
presentations. Both have good soundfields, but neither are sonic
classics. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on the Focus
DVD is weaker than either, but passable.
To
order any of the releases above, go to this link for them and many
more great web-exclusive releases at:
https://www.warnerarchive.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo