American
Buffalo (1996/Samuel
Goldwyn Company/MGM)/Mississippi
Mermaid (1969/United
Artists/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-rays)/3
Hearts (2014/Cohen Media
Blu-ray)/White God
(2014/Magnolia Blu-ray)
Picture:
B/B/B-/B- Sound: B/B-/B-/B- Extras: C+/B-/C/C Films:
C+/C+/C/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The American
Buffalo
and Mississippi
Mermaid
Blu-rays are now only available from our friends at Twilight Time,
are limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies
last from the links below.
These
four dramas about something are ambitious, do not always work (even
with some big names involved) and are at least mature works you
should know about...
David
Mamet's American
Buffalo
(1996) is a mixed film adaptation of his stage play about two men at
a thrift shop thinking they may come across a priceless buffalo
nickel, but it is really about their mental poverty trap, streetwise
philosophy of contradictions and the dead ended hopelessness that
entails, though it is a stereotype... particularly since the 1980s as
we have so many illicit appeals to these persons left behind that
there is con artistry, manipulations and untold stories to be told
about these persons and now those pretending to be them. This film
is unaware of that layer of real life.
Made
by several producers including the Samuel Goldwyn Company at the
time, Al Pacino originally had the role Dustin Hoffman takes over and
manages to make this own, opposite Dennis Franz throughout what is
another one of Mamet's usual all-content, little-form filmings of his
works. Unless they get more kinetic, his films never translate well
as cinematic exercises unless another director steps in. The
performances here are fine, even if some of this is hard to believe
and there is limited chemistry between the leads. Worth a look and a
nice try to make this work, but I had mixed feelings about it then,
which I retain now.
Francois
Truffaut's Mississippi
Mermaid
(1969) is the director's more naturalistic attempt to do a
Hitchcockian thriller of sorts, but with more of his visual form as a
rich man (Jean Paul Belmondo) goes for a mail order bride
(pre-Internet) and instead of getting what the picture he has shows,
gets Catherine Deneuve as if out of a dream, blonde hair and all.
Early on, the film pl;ays loosely with logic and gets more into the
dream state without considering that you at least need some logic for
the thriller side to be realistic.
So
we go for the dream side and that works, in part because it turns out
Truffaut is using the film to clear himself of some real life events
(he was dating Deneuve's sister Francoise Dorleac, who was in his
1964 film The
Soft Skin
before she died in a terrible, fatal car accident) and he had some
regrets about his masterwork The
Bride Wore Black
(also on Twilight Time Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) having too
much of an edge, so this film is trying to get back to basics,
naturalism and other worlds and genres (including his New Wave style)
with mixed success.
The
original title in French translated to Mississippi Siren, the latter
word being a deadly woman, but that was lost in translation, but
Truffaut is saying and doing so many personal things here that he
only totally knows the meaning of (as the commentary proves) that it
is metaphor for the whole film. It is interesting and has its
moments, but I was not a big fan and it is one of his oddest as a
result. It is still worth a look like all of his films, but only
expect so much.
Benoit
Jacquot's 3
Hearts
(2014) is the latest in a cycle of nonsensical French comedy dramas,
often with romance, that want to ride the whimsy of Audrey Tautou
films without hiring her. This one has a couple meet, love each
other, quickly break up, find others and the guy lands up
'accidentally' marrying
her sister. Yawn!
Almost
smug in its long 108 minutes, Catherine Deneuve shows up in too few
scenes as the cast, including Charlotte Gainsborough, Benoit
Poelvoorde and Chiara Mastroianni try to make this one work, but it
is pointless early and never recovers. Just make sure you watch
while not tired or operating heavy machinery.
Kordel
Mundrukzo's White
God
(2014) sounds
like an old 1930s action B-movie set in a forest or a drama about
racism and white supremacy, but it is actually a family drama about a
divorced couple in Hungary whose
daughter has a dog (not white) and goes with her father who she does
not get along with. She brings the dog and everyone dislikes it,
plus a few who want to get rid of it. When it goes, she goes chasing
after it. This somehow leads to an illegal dog ring, depressed
people and and ending where the film tries to make some kind of big
statement and fails.
If
a Hollywood product, this would have been some phony feel-good movie
that made no one really feel good, but we get an 'art film'
equivalent with no real art to it, but lots of predictable
dysfunctional family formula and not much else. The cover and
trailer preview almost suggest a film with dogs going after humans in
some B-movie sci-fi/horror nature's revenge film. That would have
worked better here as one would at least not almost keep falling
asleep in the middle of the afternoon viewing said work. If Siskel &
Ebert were still with us, bet this could get Fog Of The Week!
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Buffalo
is better looking than expected and not just because the camera only
moves so much, but because the definition, color and depth really add
to watching the film in a way that it needs and really helps. It
also makes it easier to see the actors perform.
The
remaining films are presented in 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High
Definition image transfers, with Mermaid
having some flaws and places where the materials can show their age,
but we get more than a few great shots of detail and depth, sometimes
remarkable in the earlier car riding sequences. Shot in Eastmancolor
and real anamorphic 35mm Dyaliscope (some of the best shooting you
will see with those older lenses), Director
of Photography Denys Clerval keeps this a big and widescreen scope
picture throughout.
That
cannot be said for the digital shoots on Hearts
and God,
which have a few good shots, but also have detail and depth issues,
plus some color seems to be manipulated in each for no good reason.
That is why Mermaid
tends to hold up better.
As
for sound, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mix on
Buffalo
is well mixed and presented with Pro Logic surrounds that sound
pretty good for a film that was shot in the same confined area for
the whole movie. Hearing the actors range in line delivery does make
a difference. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mix on
Mermaid
is going to show its age a bit, but is a noticeable improvement over
the old MGM DVD and will keep fans and film scholars happy down to
the score, also here isolated as noted.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on Hearts
and God
should be the sonic champs here, but they have inconsistent
soundfields, can be too quiet or towards the front speakers for their
own good and don't take advantage of the multi-channel possibilities
like they could have... even for dramas.
Extras
on all releases except God
offer illustrated booklets on their respective films including
informative text with Julie
Kirgo writing on Buffalo
and Mermaid,
respectively, plus Original Theatrical Trailer. Buffalo
and Mermaid
add feature length audio commentary tracks by Kirgo & Nick Redman
(both must-hears as always) and Isolated Music Scores. Hearts
adds an on camera Jacquot interview and God
adds a Behind The Scenes featurette and two
interviews: one with Mindruczo, the other with animal trainer Teresa
Ann Miller.
To
order the American
Buffalo
and Mississippi
Mermaid
limited edition Blu-rays, buy them while supplies last at these
links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo