Blow-Up
(1966/MGM/Warner Bros./Criterion Blu-ray)/Five
American Experimental Films Of The 1950s
(Blackhawk Films/Flicker Alley Blu-ray)/Moby
Dick (1956/United
Artists/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/The
Soldier and The Lady
(1937/RKO/VCI/Sprocket Vault DVD)/20th
Century Women
(2016/A24/Annapurna/Lionsgate Blu-ray)/Two
Lovers and A Bear
(2017/Fox DVD)
Picture:
B/B/B/C/B/C+ Sound: B-/C+/C+/C+/B-/C+ Extras: B/D/B/C-/C+/C-
Films: B+/B-/B-/C/C+/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Moby
Dick
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 links below, while Five
American Experimental Films From The 1950s
is now only available online and can be ordered from our friends at
Movie Zyng via the order button atop this review or on top of our
right hand sidebar.
There
has been an attack on the idea of experimentation that is obnoxious,
tired and boring, by people who fear change, are afraid to be left
behind or just begrudge other's successes. As always, it has always
been about doing something different, inventing something new and
breaking up the boredom of those who (want to?) do nothing. These
various films demonstrate this in all kinds of ways...
Michelangelo
Antonioni's Blow-Up
(1966) is back in an extensive new Criterion special edition Blu-ray
and just in time for the film's 50th
Anniversary. The international sensation about a somewhat arrogant
fashion photographer (David Hemmings) who eventually thinks he has
accidentally photographed a murder extended the reputation of
Antonioni as one of the great filmmakers of his time and of all time.
We previously reviewed the film on DVD in this rave for that
release:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/766/Blow-Up+(1966/Warner+DVD
Warner
Bros. owns all the MGM catalog films to 1986 and very recently, they
started licensing titles to Criterion, in what is still one of the
best developments for film fans who love home video in years. Since
that release, the film continues to be celebrated, continues to
puzzle and challenge viewers, continues to be one of the great
fiction films (along with Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy)
to capture the counterculture and have many amazing moments and
appearances (from Veruschka (Von Lehndorff), the world's first
supermodel, to The Yardbirds with Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page!) to the
great supporting cast including Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Jane
Birkin, John Castle and Peter Bowles. This is a must-see classic
getting the deluxe treatment like never before, from its new transfer
to a bunch of extras.
While
the old DVD merely had a trailer, we get a teaser and trailer here, a
small illustrated book featuring separate essays by film scholars
David Forgacs and Stig Bjorkman (the latter from a new book due soon
on the film), Julio Cortaztar's original shirt story that the film is
based on and Questionnaires that Antonioni distributed to
photographers & painters in London researching the film, then the
Blu-ray adds a new piece about director Michelangelo Antonioni's
artistic approach, featuring photography curators Walter Moser,
Philippe Garner and art historian David Alan Mellor, Blow-up
of Blow-Up,
a new 52-minute documentary on the making of the film, a conversation
from 2016 between Garner and actor Vanessa Redgrave and archival
interviews with Antonioni and actors David Hemmings and Jane Birkin.
Five
American Experimental Films Of The 1950s
is the latest Blu-ray from Blackhawk Films and Flicker Alley to
present more great independent works, this time from 1949 to 1958,
that offer new visual approaches, juxtapositions, matches with music
and other fresh approaches that are so good, they don't always seem
as old as they are. Paraphrasing the press release, the films
include...
John
Arvonio's Abstract
in Concrete
(1952) shot for this stunning pattern film of New York City at night
over a five-year period. The music by Frank Fields is a movement of
his 1931 suite Times
Square Silhouette.
Although it was quite successful and widely shown in the 1950s,
Arvonio never released another film.
Analogies
#1
and Color
Dance #1
are both by Jim Davis (1952-53). Painter, sculptor and a major figure
in '50's avant-garde film, Davis is represented in the Masterworks
anthology by Evolution.
Treadle
and Bobbin
by Wheaton Galentine (1954) with Singer treadle sewing machine the
star of this rhythmic and imaginatively photographed work. Galentine
collaborated with other major independent filmmakers of the period
including Francis Thompson, Shirley Clarke and Alexander Hammid, but
this is his only released solo work.
and
N.Y.,
N.Y.
by Francis Thompson (Filmed 1949-57, released 1958). Thompson shot
the vibrant fractured images with a Kodak Cine-Special camera
specially rigged with 'secret' mirrors, kaleidoscopes and even
reflective car hubcaps. The experience remains an exquisite time
capsule that not only documents Manhattan during the 1950s, but also,
in the words of the New York Times, proffers ''one of the few genuine
masterpieces'' of the burgeoning experimental film movement in the
United States.
With
modernism and post-modernism, you would see films like this on public
TV and occasionally other programs at a time when TV was smarter, but
not much more. I'm glad when any company goes out of their way to
release special works like this and I hope Flicker Alley continues to
do so (they have before) with Blackhawk or wherever they can get
great material like this.
There
are sadly no extras, but maybe next time.
John
Huston's Moby
Dick
(1956) is one of the few versions of the classic novel that works on
any screen, big or small, influenced Spielberg's film of Jaws
(1975) and was a bit more experimental than is remembered since it
has been issued in plain color prints instead of the special one-time
Technicolor prints it originally got released in. For this new
Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray, MGM (who now controls this
film later released by United Artists, though Warner Bros. originally
issued it) has assembled a digital color recreation of that color in
HD from original 35mm camera materials, but we'll save the details on
all that for the tech review section below.
So
many film and TV versions come across as weak or don't know what to
do since they think they can coast on the greatness of the book
and/or are so in awe of it, they don't concentrate on the task at
hand. Here, Huston knows what he is doing, has Gregory Peck as Ahab,
plus the likes of Leo Genn, Richard Basehart and Orson Welles in his
supporting cast, has really thought this out with all involved and is
trying to do as authentic a version of the book as he can by getting
deep into its text, the obsessions and wants this to be as authentic
as possible. That is down to the dirt and grit of the time, the
silence, as well as the largeness of the world the people inhabit, as
size becomes shaken up on top of what it was in its time. The color
being cleverly dulled was an attempt to reflect pictures of the time
that told the story, so Huston is going all the way.
With
that said, it has many great moments, but in any version, there were
still parts that did not always work or seemed not to integrate with
others. Obviously the book is great and there may be the possibility
this is the best the book an ever be adapted and that the book in
whole cannot totally be captured on film, like Orwell's 1984
and the like. Still, no one has done a better job since and its nice
to see it available the way as close to as intended as possible.
Still, its not totally there for me.
Extras
include an illustrated booklet on the film including informative text
and yet another excellent, underrated essay by the great film scholar
Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a feature length audio commentary
track by Kirgo and fellow film scholars Paul Seydor & Nick
Redman, an Original Theatrical Trailer and piece on the restoration
of the film entitled A
Bleached Whale: Recreating The Unique Color of Moby Dick.
George
Nichols, Jr.'s The
Soldier and The Lady
(1937 aka The
Bandit & The Lady
aka The
Adventures Of Michael Strogoff)
tries crossing the action film and war film with a historical epic,
but with limited funds. Based on a rare non-Science Fiction Jules
Verne novel, the mix of those genre may not seem shocking today in a
world with mish-mashes on the Internet and too many would be
filmmakers clueless on what to do to begin with, but this was
ambitiously made by real filmmakers who thought this would add up.
I like some of the moments here and it may be based on real history,
but the makers try too much at once and I think that backfires a bit.
Strogoff
(Anton Walbrook) is the courier of no less than Tsar Alexander II,
fighting to get vital information to the Tsar's Russian troops
against all kinds of odds, war, spies, backstabbers, double agents
and more. The energy is often here and some scenes are even fun, but
it can be all over the place. I can imagine some people would find
that aspect fun in what is a sort of one-of-a-kind film, but those
different segments never seem to finish hat they start or transition
well enough into the next one. Still, I'm glad Sprocket Vault via
VCI have issued this RKO film that also stars Elizabeth Allen, Akim
Tarmiroff, Margot Grahame, Ward Bond, Fay Bainter, Eric Blore and
Edward Brophy.
Text
notes by Richard M. Roberts are the only extra, but it is really good
and worth reading.
Mike
Mills' 20th
Century Women
(2016) takes place in 1979 (though the period seems a little earlier
at times) as a mother (Annette Benning) is dealing with raising her
son (Lucas Jade Zumann) alone, in what is a good relationship that is
not totally toxic, but has some issues and his growing up and trying
to find his way starts to pull them apart a bit. This is also about
the status of the other women in their lives (played by the likes of
Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning) and how one man (Billy Crudup) has
more of an affect on their lives and situation than the mother's
previous boyfriends.
Some
of this is predictable despite some experimental narrative approaches
(even referencing actual experimental films) and the script was
Academy Award-nominated for being clever in some parts, honest in
others, yet it does not always play well on screen despite the fine
acting talent, Something does not meld, the pages of the script feel
like pages in a script and though some fine points are (re)made, I
just did not buy it in total and part of the problem is how it tended
to drag. A24 and Annapurna are at least backing ambitious works and
this rightly has had some success, but you will have to judge for
yourself if it works all around or not. I did not, sadly.
A
Director's feature-length audio commentary track and two Making Of
featurettes are the extras.
Kim
Nguyen's Two
Lovers and A Bear
(2017) is a complicated romance with some nice visuals, good moments
and two good leads in Dane DeHann and Tatiana Maslany (they have some
chemistry) having their love affair in the rather isolated arctic
where they work and live. Part of the idea is that the lack of
distraction means they can focus on each other better, but both have
their pasts and she has some issues in particular that the isolation
actually brings back from her suppressed past, so complications
ensure.
Despite
some good moments, this was not very memorable to me and this too is
trying to be experimental with the situation offered; it does not
become a bad horror film to its credit. Unfortunately, it just
happens quietly and with no point save that they have got each other
and can they hold it together. It is ambitious in its own way and
I've seen DeHann before, he can act. Unfortunately, even the polar
bear could not get this to stick with me.
An
Original Theatrical Trailer is the only extra.
All
four Blu-rays here look fine, starting with the 1080p 1.85 X 1
digital High Definition image on Blow-Up
with the most advanced use of color on the list, comes from the
original 35mm camera negative and a 35mm interpositive, showing off
the color and amazing work by Director of Photography Carlo di Palma.
The older DVD might have been impressive for its time, but this
Blu-ray surpasses it in every way, color range, depth, detail, Video
White, Video Black and Video Red. The only thing I can say is that
maybe the color could be a even a bit more vibrant in some shots
(turning up your HDTV color is not necessarily going to correct
that), but it is more than worthy of the great Blu-ray Criterion did
a few years ago (reviewed elsewhere on this site) for Antonioni's Red
Desert
(1964) we also highly recommend. Both have great HDTV demo moments
too.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers of all five
films on the Experimental
set are fine new HD transfers of the original Kodachrome
film materials
used, rarely showing their age and one of the too few times the
classic color format (only discontinued a little while ago) has had
top rate HD treatment as it was usually used for 16mm, Super 8mm and
8mm home movies or film prints (often in digest form) of films for
the pre-home video home film market. However, like dye-transfer,
three-strip Technicolor, Kodachrome prints hold up extremely well
when stored properly with little to no fading or color shifting.
That makes this set demo material for your TV.
The
1080p 1.66 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer
on Moby
Dick
tries to recreate the special
dye-transfer, Technicolor version of the film that Huston
and longtime collaborating Director of Photography Oswald Morris,
B.S.C., (The
Guns Of Navarone,
The
Spy Who Came In From The Cold,
Oliver!,
Equus,
The
Man Who Would Be King,
Lolita,
part of The
Man With The Golden Gun)
by adding a new color layer to the stunning three-strip, full color
process to actually drain the color a bit to make it look like old
art and postcards from the era. Scorsese (et al) tried to find a
high quality print of this, but could not, so a restoration expert
looked at a decent print, taking notes and the like, then digitally
scanned the negative and recreated the color as much as possible in
what we could call a one-time 4-strip color process. The results are
not bad and make sense versus what he sampled, but there is still a
little something missing (saturation? Fullness?) that makes it play a
little underwhelmingly, yet it is the most authentic representation
of the film since its original release. Fans will be happy too.
The
1080p 2.00 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Women
is our one all-digital shoot and it definitely has some good moments
that save it from being just another generic HD release, and I'm not
just talking the fancy use of stock footage, but some nice
naturalistic shots and no stupid trick shots.
The
1.33 X 1 black & white image transfer centered in an
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 frame (bookended by black bars on
the sides)
on Lady
comes from a decent print, but it has some issues and the transfer of
the film itself is soft often. In fairness, some shots to use either
diffused lighting and/or diffused lenses, but this is not from a
great print overall. Still, it is always interesting to watch.
That
leaves the anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Lovers
a colorful HD shoot with nice arctic footage, but not much more
memorable about it, though like Lady,
an HD version would look better.
As
for sound, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Century
is one of the two recently recorded films on the list, well mixed and
presented, but is too quiet and refined at times to take total
advantage of the multi-channel possibilities since it is
dialogue-based and has some audio that is a bit off, so the PCM 1.0
Mono on Blow-Up
from its original 24-track magnetic soundmaster can actually compete,
even if it has some slight edge to it from age. Both ironically
feature Rock music.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mix on Moby
Dick
shows its age a bit more than expected,
even when the lossless music-only track does not, but it is from age
and not the transfer. The PCM 1.0 Mono sound on the five
Experimental
films usually feature music and sometimes sound effects, but can
compete with their feature film counterpart of the time and though
they show the limits of their budgets, they sound pretty good.
However, both have their limits, so the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on
Lovers
(a bit more compressed and unresolved in the separation of its
channels) and lossy
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Lady,
sounding better than expected for its age and the print's condition,
can more than compete with those Blu-rays sonically.
To
order the Moby
Dick
limited edition Blu-ray, buy it and other great exclusives while
supplies last at these links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo