Angel
(1982/Triumph Films/Film 4/Twilight Time Limited Edition
Blu-ray)/Here Is Your Life
(1966/Criterion Blu-ray)/9
Full Moons (2015/MVD
Visual DVD)/Places In The
Heart
(1984/TriStar/Sony/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)
Picture:
B-/B/C+/B Sound: B-/B-/C+/B- Extras: C/B/D/B Films:
C+/B-/C-/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Angel
and Places
In The Heart
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
latest dramas include debut works by director's known by true movie
fans...
Neil
Jordan's Angel
(1982) was produced by the great John Boorman and launched one of the
more mixed (from art to commercial films) and uneven filmmaking
careers that I still going on (extending to Jordan on the hit TV
series The
Borgias),
yet often offering a unique perspective of what we could think of as
a particularly Irish discourse. The underrated Stephen Rea, in the
first of his many collaborations with Jordan, is Danny, an
individualist and slightly eccentric saxophonist who works at a club
that has some shady dealings. The suppression of this explodes in
the worst way when he witnesses a double shooting, et al, including
that of an innocent young lady.
From
this, he has hardly recovered when he starts looking into the
ugliness of this that he cannot trust telling anyone (including the
police) about and out of moral indignation starts to get involved in
the happenings in ways he would have never expected. Not bad for a
first film, it has some great moments thanks to Rea, though other
sections were more thriller and maybe mystery-ordinary, but it
actually remains one of Jordan's better feature films, so its arrival
on Blu-ray is overdue. Fans should get it while the 3,000 copies
from Twilight Time stay in print.
Extras
only include an illustrated booklet on the film including informative
text & essay by Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray only adds an
Isolated Music Score.
Jan
Troell's Here
Is Your Life
(1966) is the long, mixed epic debut film for the Swedish director
about the growth of a young man (Eddie Axberg) trying to find his way
in a tough world, taking tough jobs, trying to survive and figure out
what would help make his life and future best. He meets some good
and bad people along the way, including one (the great Max Von Sydow)
whose advice will resonate more than most in this character study
that goes from some amazing moments to more than a few that are more
typical and plain.
This
was a hit that established Troell in world cinema and has more going
for it than most so-called slice-of-life films. I especially give
credit to Troell in how well he handles human sexuality here, when it
surfaces (it is often oppressed, which happens to be another theme,
but not one in total) is honest and by today's standards, remarkable.
It is worthy of the Criterion Blu-ray treatment it gets here, but
you have to be awake and have a serious attention span to take it on,
so everyone should see it at least once to see what is still a
classic to experience it. Nice to have such a great new edition of
it.
Extras
include a DigiPak with a nicely illustrated foldout on the film
including informative text and an essay
by film scholar Mark Le Fanu, while the Blu-ray adds a new
introduction by filmmaker Mike Leigh, new conversation between
director Jan Troell and the great film historian Peter Cowie, new
interviews with actor Eddie Axberg and producer and screenwriter
Bengt Forslund and Interlude
in Marshland,
a 1965 short film by Troell, starring Max von Sydow.
Tomer
Almagor's 9
Full Moons
(2015) wants to be a character study of a couple who have not settled
on jobs, careers or anything else, with Lev (Bret Roberts) a limo
driver who is always near the action if not in it and Frankie (Amy
Seimetz) involved in the mixed local music scene, which is how they
meet. Both are damaged souls, but find enough in each other to stick
together, but the dysfunctionality in both seems to doom them in the
long run.
You
want them to grow and stay together, but it becomes increasingly hard
for that to happen and outside of the outcome, the lack of serious
character development, wasted time and way too may cliches and dead
ends ruin what should have been at least a decent film. The leads
are cast well, even if Roberts looks way too much like he's
auditioning of a Jim Morrison film. The side stories and subplots
grow increasing superfluous as the script fails the actors and
people. Though I did feel like I kept getting mooned, the sun
couldn't rise on this big disappointment quickly enough.
There
are no extras.
Robert
Benton's Places
In The Heart
(1984) is a film with some fine moments I have always had a mixed
reaction to. Sally Fields is the mom/wife in a depression-era family
who becomes the head of the household when her husband is
accidentally shot by a young African American male in the segregated,
ultra-racist South of the Great Depression, made more horrific by
that young man's lynching murder and his corpse being dragged all
over the town by motor vehicle. It is also a sexist town as she soon
finds out when the bank wants to foreclose on her house.
However,
she comes up with a wild idea to turn the land she owns into cotton
farming, not knowing how to start, but with the help of a new helper
(a solid turn by Danny Glover) might jut be able to pull it off
against insane odds. As a 'favor', the banker she deals with has
left his blind relative (John Malkovich) in her home, which she'll
use as insurance eventually to protect her family and future.
To
Benton's credit, coming from a strong sense of The Religious Left,
the film does manage to make The Big Statement it intended and it
resonates at its best as much as ever. By the time it arrived,
sadly, the Religious Right and Reagan Revolution's war on the
Religious Left had devastated that discourse, though those
representing it remained strong in it. If it had just been a hit
pre-1980, its impact could have been even more profound, but it still
is talked about today (down to Field's work on camera and winning
ways off-camera) and was long overdue for a Blu-ray release.
Fortunately, Twilight Time has given us a grade-A limited edition
release the film deserves.
Extras
include another solid, illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text and Julie Kirgo essay, while the Blu-ray
adds an amazing feature length audio commentary track with film
scholar Nick Redman & star Sally Fields, who is exceptionally
well-spoken and has MUCH to share, an Isolated Music Score and the
Original Theatrical Trailer.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Angel
is pretty good, with the early scenes being claustrophobic in their
immaculately set-bound feel (the location is at least slightly
overbuilt like a musical of the time (Absolute
Beginners,
One
From The Heart)
but opens up when they leave that area with more light (especially
natural light) and less control of that aspect of the mise-en-scene.
There are a few rough spots, but it looks good otherwise.
The
1080p 1.66 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image on
Life
has some stunning, demo shots in a remarkable its new 2K transfer
from the original 35mm camera negative. The many outdoor shots are
incredible, composition is consistent and Troell shot the film
himself with surprising intimacy and effectiveness. Superior to the
other presentations I have seen of the film, it makes it easier to
handle its length.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Heart
does a fine job of capturing the incredible visual work of Director
of Photography Nestor Almendros, A.S.C. (Days
Of Heaven,
The
Blue Lagoon
(1980), The
Last Metro,
The
Green Room)
uses the color film stocks for an advanced rich emphasis on pushing
the grain structures into a density that has a period feel that no HD
camera can produce today and none will ever produce in the future.
Thanks to Blu-ray, you can now experience the look and feel intended
throughout with few flaws in this new transfer from the Sony vaults
including a few demo shots of its own.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image in Moons
is the poor performer here bing the only DVD, but it is not bad for a
current HD shoot, yet it has some motion blur and detail issues as
expected.
As
for sound, all three Blu-ray were originally theatrical monophonic
releases, we get a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix on
Angel
that is decently clean and clear with is well mixed and presented for
the format, but it shows its age as does the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio)
1.0 Mono lossless mix on Heart
and PCM 2.0 Mono lossless mix on Life,
originating from a 17.5mm soundmaster that seems to be of magnetic
origin. I cannot imagine any of the three sounding better than they
do here.
The
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on Moons
is the only multi-channel presentation on the list, yet it is the
poorest performer since the recording is only so good, only so well
recorded and the soundfield is inconsistent as the channels are not
engaged as well throughout as they ought to be.
To
order the Angel
and Places
In The Heart
limited edition Blu-rays, buy them while supplies last at these
links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo