Sex, Lies & Videotape (1988/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: C+
Steven
Soderbergh has become one of the few filmmakers who has retained his artistic
integrity, even when he made those lame Ocean’s
films. With that said, there was only a
fraction of the Internet, picture phone and digital video technologies that
exist now (ever on the increase) as there was when he made Sex, Lies & Videotape in 1988.
The idea that people might be taping and recording their private space and
private lives was still unusual at the time.
James
Spader plays Graham, a man back in town to see some old friends after a period
of time, but things have changed more than he expected, but he is still
interested in doing a private sort of documentary that includes people talking
about sex. However, voyeurism and other
personal entanglements will get all caught up in the unexpected and who knows
how anyone here will come out of this now-potential mess.
Not a fan
of the film much at the time, it has not held up well, though the performances
by Spader, Annie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, the underrated Laura San Giacomo
and supporting actors like Steven Brill are more palpable and honest than most
such attempts to do characters like this since.
Ambitious and with some good moments, the film was never very
consistent, yet it also saw a courser, emptier world on the way where people
only become more distant as technology pervades their lives. It is worth a look, but expect an uneven
experience.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot on 35mm film, but has shots
that are degraded to try and approximate video, which hurt the film then and
looks bad now, but this transfer is softer than the 35mm presentation I
screened in its original theatrical release and could look better. Before Soderbergh took over doing his own
cinematography, he had Director of Photography Walt Lloyd lens his early films
and he did a good job here.
The Dolby
TrueHD 5.1 mix is too much to the center channel and side speakers, but this is
dialogue-based, had a low budget and can be outright monophonic at times. Cliff Martinez delivered the first of many
scores for Soderbergh films here and his music is a plus.
Extras
include movieIQ and BD Live interactive functions, Soderbergh discussing the
film on camera, Deleted Scenes with option commentary, a 20-Year Reunion at the Sundance Film Festival and feature length
audio commentary by Soderbergh and filmmaking friend Neil LaBute.
- Nicholas Sheffo
