Alam
(2022/DVD*)/Club
Zero
(2023/Blu-ray/*both Film Movement)/Goodbye
Uncle Tom 4K
(1972/Blue Underground 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-rays and CD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: C/B/B Sound: C/B-/C+
Extras: C-/C+/C+ Films: D/C+/D
Up
next are two exploitive propaganda films, one of which tries to be an
art film, plus a movie about cult mentality that almost worked...
Firas
Khoury's Alam (2022) was made before the outrageous, hideous,
horrid, unacceptable events of October 7, 2023 that have led to the
fiasco going on in the Middle East as we post this one. The
screenplay is constantly vague, likely often on purpose and assumes
the viewer is idiotic. Not as as smart as it thinks it is, a
Palestinian guy in Israel falls for a gal he likes, but what he does
not like it the Israeli flag flying where he lives (it is never
explained why he is living there, nor anyone else for that matter,
not even briefly, so the victim thing is already there early on) and
sick of this, he wants to get some friends together and tear it down.
Ads
they also plot to replace it with a Palestinian flag, we get Israeli
guards (portrayed in a strange, shallow way) and can they do it or
will they be arrested? The 109 minutes has zero suspense,
credibility or realism, but it drones on and on in its real mission
to bash Jews and Israel in subtle, manipulating ways. I wish it was
otherwise, but that is not what we get and this is made for a certain
audience in the Middle east and often 'useless idiots' back here in
the U.S., so now you know what you're getting here.
As
a side note, if Hamas had not delivered their October 7th
massacre, Israel (and their worst-ever Prime Minister) would have
never crossed the line doing what he has been doing since. I also
believe (maybe with top secret information he should have never had)
Putin, Iran and Syria backed Hamas and underestimated what was going
on, but the former wanted distraction from his own genocidal
campaign. Additionally, the hatreds between Israel, Palestinians and
others in the Middle East in the middle of the current conflict has
been going on for almost two centuries, since sometime after 610
A.D., so the madness is far and beyond what is being discussed.
To
say any more requires a separate essay and would get us away from how
bad this film is, but I needed to express that this viewer more than
grasps the situation, so bad is bad.
Trailers
are the only extra.
Jessica
Hausner's Club Zero (2023) has Mia Wasikowska (Albert
Nobbs, Defiance, Map To The Stars, Double,
Crimson Peak, Piercing) as a teacher trying to help
students eat less and better, or so it seams. They are at a school
where they have to wear uniforms and it seems fine for what it is,
but does she have issues and maybe some strange motives?
Well,
the film moves slowly in a droning way and on purpose, to give us the
feel of being struck in this institution, but these are children. We
eventually discover she has issues and wants some of them to join the
special group of the title, which takes the 'next step' (one or two
at least too far) in not eating anymore. Part of this suggests
nausea in purpose, which reminded me of the underrated Korean
thriller 301/302 (1995, reviewed elsewhere on this site) and a
film much better at this kind of thing.
The
students seem to all have passive parents and the odds are high that
could happen at such a school with such conformity, though I was nto
always convinced, though that is what the makers wanted. I like the
cast, Wasikowska is one of those underrated actresses you see all the
time but cannot name, perfectly cast, but this never adds up to what
it could despite the Kubrickian approach of slow zooms, balanced
compositions and letting the film move slowly. It might we worth a
look to the curious, but I was disappointed after an early start
where this could have really gone somewhere and been a home run.
Look forward to seeing them all in their next works!
Extras
include trailers for this and other Film Movement releases, plus two
brief on-camera interviews with the Director and one with the lead
Wasikowska.
Gualtiero
Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi's Goodbye Uncle Tom 4K (1972) is
often considered part of the Mondo cycle, but also the Blaxploitation
cycle that were both going strong at the same time, though as part of
the later would be one of the only entries made outside of the U.S.
as it was made in Italy. Claiming to be some kind of documentary,
though most of the events portrayed happened before the advent of
motion picture film. It claims to show the 'true story' of slavery
and how bad it really was, so bad it cannot be shown on TV.
Released
five years before ABC-TVs massive hit mini-series Roots (which
inspired a sequel and remake series, all reviewed elsewhere on this
site,) this is unrated (and graphic enough to potentially have earned
an X-rating in its time, or an NC-17 now,) a ton of actors were hired
for some of the most graphic sequences of slaves being shipped en
masse, but I felt bad for the actors, myself and anyone viewing it
for how gross and exploitive it was and is.
The
violent sequences are meant to shock, people branded alive, beaten,
tortured and sexually assaulted, which gets gross, is edited and
designed to trigger anger and hate in the audience and has plenty of
race-baiting, anger-baiting and even gay-baiting among the many, many
things this mess wallows in.
Of
course, it should be restored and seen like any other film, no matter
how bad or how much anyone likes it or not, but it rings fake all the
way also with stereotypical, cold Southerners, bad dubbing, bad
dialogue and sound sloppily added later showing its cheap, low-budget
roots. It also made me ask the eternal question in this case, it
took two people to direct this!?!?!?!
Some
films had obviously been made on
slavery before, or addressed racism in broad ways and around this
time like The Klansman, Mandingo (which is
actually a good film, believe it or not,) Drum, smart drama
Sounder, the 1969 films Slaves and Burn! with
Marlon Brando just before either cycle kicked in, Emmanuelle-esque
Italian sexploitation film Passion Plantation and a few with
titles I will not repeat. This is far more exploitive than even The
Klansman, with its obnoxious ending, et al.
I
will not waste my time much more on this one, though it is like
Pasolini's Salo with no point and its ending tells you
everything you need to know about its intent. See it at your own
risk, but don't say I did not warn you.
Extras
are many and include......
THE
IMPORTANCE OF SHOCKING: GUALTIERO JACOPETTI - A feature-length
documentary by Director Andrea Bettinetti (94 Mins.)
THE
GODFATHERS OF MONDO - A feature-length documentary by Director David
Gregory (89 Mins.)
Goodbye
Cruel Mondo - Interviews with Writers/Directors Gualtiero Jacopetti
& Franco Prosperi, and Composer Riz Ortolani (20 Mins.)
Behind-the-Scenes
8mm Footage with Audio Commentary by Production Manager Giampaolo
Lomi (50 Mins.)
Mondo
Mercenaries - Interview with Author & Academic Mark Goodall (27
Mins.)
Abjection
Under Authoritarianism - Interview with Professor Matthew J. Smith
(20 Mins.)
Extensive
Still Galleries, including Giampaolo Lomi's Behind-the-Scenes Photos
BONUS!
GOODBYE UNCLE TOM Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by Riz
Ortolani
BONUS!
Collectible Booklet with new essay by Dan Madigan
and
a nice slipcase.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Tom
was shot in the 2-perforation Techniscope format and that makes it a
little rough, though that is part of what the makers were going for
and of course, some of the stock footage was not, so it matches
better. The 4K edition only has the shorter English version, but as
much as I did not like either cut, it does look really good and as
the film was issued in 35mm, dye-transfer,
three-strip Technicolor prints. That is rare for such a film, but
thus was the great period of filmmaking at the time and this is the
best just about anyone will ever see this film. Color looks great,
even with the low budget and stock footage, so Blue Underground
delivers yet again. The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Italian-language
Blu-ray longer cut still looks good for what it is, but it cannot
match the 4Ks similar footage, like the film or not. As well, the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mixes on their respective
discs sound as good as they ever will from the original theatrical
monophonic sound, though the CD of the soundtrack obviously sounds
even better.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Club Zero
looks good for a new HD shoot and does what it can to look
Kubrickian, with consistent color too, but with limits. Maybe this
could improve with a 4K version, but I would have to see that one.
Of the two soundtracks offered, the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is not bad, but the PCM 2.0
Stereo mix was richer, more convincing and sounded better to me.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Alum DVD is on the
soft side and can be challenging to watch, while the lossy Dolby
Digital 5.1 and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mixes are about even
and not great either, so the combination lacks impact.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
