That’s The Way Of The World (1975 Feature Film)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
What
happened to all the great bands in all genres that everyone wanted to see and
have a good time seeing in action? After
The Beatles, several bands and other hot music acts showed up in either
imitations of their films, Rock Operas, films about the dark side of the music
business, Musicals or any combination thereof.
Hollywood was anxious to keep the Musical going well past its prime,
ride any new music wave and combine sound & image in any way possible long
before MTV was a possibility.
Sig
Shore’s That’s The Way of The World (1975)
is a “dark side of the business” film that was originally released by United
Artists, but the then-hot (and eventually controversial) Bryanston Distribution
picked it up and remains in their catalog today. In either hands, the film did not fare too
well, but the album stars Earth, Wind & Fire recorded for it was a
chart-topper and launched their career.
The peak run lasted until 1981.
Harvey
Keitel had made several films with Martin Scorsese and this was the first time
he struck out on his own and was the lead here as a hot record producer
battling an ungrateful record label. He
is working with the band played by E, W & F as he is assigned to an Afternoon Delight-sounding vocal group
called The Pages that includes no less than Bert Parks. The song they are cutting is more
unintentionally funny than ever and E, W & F is not in the film much. However, the Robert Lipsyte screenplay is not
bad, if a little stillborn in its moral message.
Ed Nelson
is good as Keitel’s executive nemesis and the famous radio disc jockey Murray
The ‘K’ turns in his only acting performance as Big John. However, the film does not always feel like
the record business, even when the backstabbing does, but it at least never
degenerates into a silly melodramatic soap opera. Keitel is able to carry the film in his
scenes and between how bad music has become and how digital the industry has
gone, it is definitely worth a look.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image (filmed with Panavision equipment as the
end credits correctly state and not IN
Panavision like the text says) looks slightly dull throughout, but is at least
a consistent print. It was also
announced for the HD-DVD format and is an HD transfer, but that playback
version has been delayed as of this posting, so we have no comparisons
available yet. This is the first of many
interesting works by cinematographer Alan Metzger, who went on to shoot Andy Warhol’s Bad and the hit TV series
The Equalizer, before moving on to
being a TV director. The transition
happened on The Equalizer, which he
produced and directed on. This has a
realistic urban look to it, the city in a semi-raw form. It works for the story.
The
original film was a theatrical monophonic release included here as simple Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono, but BCI has upgraded the sound for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS
5.1. It is not the truest of
multi-channel or the best upgrade of a mid-1970s film we have heard, but it is
still decent considering the alternative and we give the edge to the DTS by a
hair. Hits like the title song and Shining Star (a title the film was
reissued under at the time)
Extras
include an illustrated booklet with an informative essay inside the DVD case
and on the DVD, a stills gallery, the original theatrical trailer, two TV spots
(30 and 60 seconds respectively) and an audio commentary by E, W & F
members Verdine White and Ralph Johnson.
Sorry guys, this was not Keitel’s first film.
Well, it
is not like having a corny film about the band going from nothing to becoming
the success we already knew they were in real life and it is not go as far as
expected, but That’s The Way of The
World is worth a look, especially if you like music and the participants.
- Nicholas Sheffo
