Annie Hall (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
February 1, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Annie Hall” has a magical charm that captivates the viewer. Unusual storytelling for its time, it was a different kind of romantic comedy and over 30-years later, the film still stands on its own, remains relevant and is a signature of great filmmaking and great writing. “Annie Hall” is a film that must be seen, and for any cineaste, a film that it is definitely worth buying and owning on Blu-ray. It’s my favorite Woody Allen film and it’s a film that is highly recommended!
TITLE: Annie Hall
FILM RELEASE: 1977
DURATION: 93 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: Color, widescreen (1:85:1), English mono DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Mono, French Mono, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
COMPANY:MGM/20th Century fox
RATED: PG
RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2012
Directed by Woody Allen
Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
Produced by Charles H. Joffe, Jack Rollins
Executive Producer: Robert Greenhut
Associate Producer: Fred T. Gallo
Cinematography by Gordon Willis
Edited by Wendy Green Bricmont, Ralph Rosenblum
Casting by Juliet Taylor
Art Direction by Mel Bourne
Set Decoration by Robert Drumheller, Justin Scoppa Jr.
Costume Design by Ruth Morley
Starring:
Woody Allen as Alvy Singer
Diane Keaton as Annie Hall
Tony Roberts as Rob
Carol Kane as Allison
Paul Simon as Tony Lacey
Shelley Duvall as Pam
Janet Margolin as Robin
Colleen Dewhurst as Mom Hall
Christopher Walken as Duane Hall
Considered to be “Woody Allen’s breakthrough movie” (Time), Annie Hall won* four Oscars®, including Best Picture, and established Allen as the premier auteur filmmaker. Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.
Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” would always be known as a classic romantic comedy.
In fact, many would say that his 1977 film would be his shining moment within his long list of films in his oeuvre. For Woody Allen, “Annie Hall” was a film in which the filmmaker and actor wanted delve deeper than he had done in his previous films and sure enough, it would prove to be a success.
“Annie Hall” was nominated for five Academy Awards and won “Best Picture”, “Best Director – Woody Allen”, “Best Actress in a Leading Role – Diane Keaton) and “Best Original Screenplay – Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman”. The film also won many awards in 1977 and was voted the #2 Romantic Comedy on the American Film Institute’s Top 10 (2008) and 35 in the AFI’s “100 Years…100 Movies” (2007).
In 1992, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
And now, this classic romantic comedy receives is first presentation via HD on Blu-ray.
“Annie Hall” is a film about a neurotic and popular comedian named Alvy Singer (played by Woody Allen). The film chronicles the relationship between Alvy and Annie Hall (played by Diane Keaton). And featuring flashbacks featuring a time when they were younger, the sexual relationships they had in the past and eventually the moment the two have met each other and were quite satisfied with each other and eventually moving in with each other. Also, Alvy and Annie’s first sexual experience leading to more sex in which Annie becomes dependent on marijuana before sex and Alvy wanting for her to not use it.
The two constantly get into arguments and re-conciliate and eventually discovering that they are too different for each other and eventually Alvy and Annie break up.
Annie gets into a new relationship with Tony Lacey (played by Paul Simon) and moves to California to live with him. But Alvy starts to realize that he loves Annie and will do anything he can to win her back and bring her back to New York.
The experience leads Alvy to write a play based on their relationship, but will Alvy and Annie ever meet again?
VIDEO:
“Annie Hall” is presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 1:85:1). Before I review the video, let me first say that I have owned this film in previous video formats. The DVD which was an improvement featured a good amount of grain but also featured white specks. The worst part came when you watched the title screen but after that, the film looked good.
As for the Blu-ray release of “Annie Hall”, the upgrade is noticeable but also the grain is even much more evident (which is good or bad, subjective to the viewer). But it’s important to note that “Annie Hall” was never vibrant to begin with, in fact, the DVD looked a bit soft and for those coming into “Annie Hall” for the first time, will notice the same thing on Blu-ray.
So, with that being said, I can easily say that fans of the film will enjoy the HD version for its sharpness but for a late ’70s film, don’t expect a dramatic difference in picture quality between the Blu-ray and DVD (like other ’70s films such as “Saturday Night Fever” and “Taxi Driver”).
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Annie Hall” is presented in English mono DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Mono and French Mono. While we do get to hear Woody Allen and his band’s music throughout the film, “Annie Hall” is a dialogue-driven film and its monaural lossless soundtrack is appropriate. I also didn’t notice any hiss, crackling or any problematic audio during my viewing of the film on Blu-ray.
Subtitles are presented in English SDH, Spanish and French.
SPECIAL FEATURES
For those not familiar with Woody Allen films, aside from the recent “Midnight in Paris” Blu-ray release, none of his films on DVD or Blu-ray contain special features aside from the theatrical trailer. If you want to know more about Woody Allen’s thoughts on “Annie Hall”, I do recommend checking out the book “Woody Allen on Woody Allen” by Stig Bjorkman.
“Annie Hall” is one of the great romantic comedy films ever made.
It’s everything that one would want to see in a comedy but most importantly chemistry between its two leads. As Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were perfect in “When Harry Met Sally”, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, who have had a relationship and the fact that he crafted this film around Keaton is a testament to the trust that they had with each other professionally.
Woody Allen took a major step forward by trying to leave the past behind and that includes the one-liners he was best known for, and with the success of those films, the freedom to explore. The freedom to try something deep and important. And in this case, with the character of Alvy (which Allen has gone on the record to say that the character is NOT modeled after him) and his self-deprecating humor.
But what I enjoy about the film is its intellectual wit. From the scene where Alvy and Annie are at the movie theater and are arguing, right behind them is a film teacher going off on Fellini. Its this type of dialogue that I love to see in a Woody Allen film as we see Woody Allen’s character getting upset by the discussion by a cinema erudite. We see similar scenes in Allen’s “Manhattan” to even his most recent film “Midnight in Paris”, but it’s the dialogue that was carefully written and the build-up to show how a relationship that started so good, can end up going badly.
“Annie Hall” is an engaging, captivating film in which the character Alvy speaks to the audience (literally) and the way he interacts with people, it lends to the film’s efficacy. And although we would see “location” take an importance in films such as “Manhattan”, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Midnight in Paris”, “Annie Hall” does try to show New York and Los Angeles (as well as Wisconsin) but its not the city that takes over the scene, it’s the characters.
And speaking of characters, this film would also star talent that would eventually become popular in their own right a few years later. Talent such as Sigourney Weaver and Jeff Goldblum.
But this is not a romantic comedy in the sense of everything is about happy endings. This is not the Nora Ephron happy ending, this is the Woody Allen story of a breakup. Its dialogue was intellectual, accessible and hilarious. The film was engaging, unique and fresh for its time and it’s my favorite Woody Allen film ever made.
As for the Blu-ray release, while the picture quality is not a huge leap over the original DVD, it still looks sharper and a bit better, especially cleaner. And as usual with all Woody Allen films, you’re just not going to get any special features (surprisingly, the recent Blu-ray and DVD release of Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” is the exception).
Overall, “Annie Hall” has a magical charm that captivates the viewer. Unusual storytelling for its time, it was a different kind of romantic comedy and over 30-years later, the film still stands on its own, remains relevant and is a signature of great filmmaking and great writing.
“Annie Hall” is a film that must be seen, and for any cineaste, a film that it is definitely worth buying and owning on Blu-ray.
Highly recommended!
Guns ‘n Roses Guitarist Provides Exclusive Music to THE POWER OF FEW
June 3, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
GUNS ‘N ROSES & SIXX: A.M. GUITARIST DJ ASHBA DEBUTS ORIGINAL MUSIC TRACKS FOR CHRISTOPHER WALKEN INDIE THE POWER OF FEW’S FAN EDITING CONTEST
Fans to Have Exclusive Access to Ashba Tracks on Film’s Website for Digital Editing of ‘Scene 64’
(Los Angeles, CA) June 2, 2011 – Multi-platinum recording artist Dj Ashba, guitarist for Guns N’ Roses and top Billboard-selling hard rock band Sixx: A.M., debuted original tracks today on the website of upcoming indie THE POWER OF FEW, a crime mystery starring Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can, Wedding Crashers), Christian Slater (True Romance, Very Bad Things), Q’orianka Kilcher (Terrence Malick’s The New World) and Anthony Anderson (Transformers, The Departed). The tracks are available at the film’s website, www.thepoweroffew.com <http://www.thepoweroffew.com/> , as a part of ‘Scene 64,’ the digital editing contest created by the film’s writer/director Leone Marucci and Kilcher in their efforts to involve fans in a collaborative filmmaking process for the upcoming indie.
Dj Ashba, who visited the New Orleans set last fall commented, “When I heard that Leone and Q’orianka were bringing people this unique interactive experience, I offered to help in any way. User generated scenes in the final cut? Sign me up.” Dj Ashba is releasing these original tracks following “This Is Gonna Hurt,” the hit album from Sixx: A.M., the hard rock band comprised of Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, James Michael and Ashba.
Fans will have access to Ashba’s tracks, pages from the script, film footage, as well as audio contributions from THE POWER OF FEW’s Grammy-winning composer Mike Simpson (Fight Club, co-writer/producer on the Beastie Boys’ “Paul’s Boutique” album). Using editing software found on the site, participants will edit ‘Scene 64 <http://thepoweroffew.com/editing> ,’ an action sequence featuring Kilcher and co-star Jesse Bradford (Bring It On, Flags of Our Fathers) and submit their cut for a popular fan vote. The best edit will be used in the final film and the winner will receive a screen credit.
Writer/director Leone Marucci commented, “Now fans have the chance to cut to a couple ripping guitar tracks from an incredible talent. Collaborating with visionaries is what this project is all about.”
THE POWER OF FEW revolves around an enigmatic smuggling ring’s efforts to steal a priceless artifact. The story unfolds through the unique perspective of five characters who cross paths on a day filled with danger, hope and possible transformation. The ensemble cast includes Walken, Kilcher, Anderson, Bradford, Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation), Nicky Whelan (Hall Pass), Devon Gearhart (Changeling), Jordan Prentice (In Bruges), Navid Negahban (Fox’s “24”) and multi-platinum selling rap artist Juvenile.
The film was written, directed and produced by Leone Marucci under his Steelyard Pictures banner; produced by Q’orianka Kilcher’s iQ Films; Exec Produced by Todd Trosclair, Roy Kurtluyan, Whitney Kroenke; Produced by Jimmy Holcomb, Jay Thames, Roy Scott Macfarland, Fred D’Amico. Arclight Films is handling international sales.
ABOUT STEELYARD PICTURES
Headed by Leone Marucci, Steelyard Pictures develops and produces feature films and other original experiences across all media platforms.
ABOUT iQ FILMS
Q’orianka Kilcher’s iQ-Films produces feature films and cause driven documentaries and youth-programming projects which inspire, empower and challenge.
ABOUT Dj ASHBA
Dj Ashba is an award-winning guitarist, producer, songwriter, multi-platinum recording artist, graphic designer, entrepreneur and a member of bands Guns ‘n Roses and Sixx: A.M.
‘SCENE 64’ EDITING CONTEST: www.thepoweroffew.com/editing <http://www.thepoweroffew.com/editing>
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ThePowerOfFew
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/thepoweroffew
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/thepoweroffew <http://www.youtube.com/thepoweroffew>
$5 a Day (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
August 15, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“$5 a Day” is a very good independent film that is entertaining, enjoyable and definitely an upbeat father-and-son relationship/comedy-based film. If you are a Christopher Walken fan or looking for a lighthearted and never heavy, heartfelt film, definitely give this film a try!
Images courtesy of © 2010 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: $5 a Day
FILM RELEASE DATE: 2008
DURATION: 98 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1, enhanced for 16×9 TV’s), DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Subtitles: English, English SDH
COMPANY: Image Entertainment
RATED: PG-13 (Sexual Content, Brief Nudity and Language)
RELEASE DATE: August 24, 2010
Directed by Nigel Cole
Written by Neal H. Dobrofsky, Tippi Dobrofsky
Produced by Carol Baum, Jane Goldenring, Kia Jam
Executive Producers: David Bergstein, Warren T. Goz, Stewart McMichael
Co-Producer: Jeff G. Waxman
Music by Alex Wurman
Cinematography by Peter Donahue
Edited by Susan Littenberg
Casting by Joseph Middleton
Production Design by Bryce Perrin
Costume Design by Melissa Bruning
Starring:
Christopher Walken as Nat Parker
Alessandro Nivola as Ritchie Flynn Parker
Sharon Stone as Dolores Jones
Dean Cain as Rick Carlston
Peter Coyote as Burt Kruger
Amanda Peet as Maggie
Nat (Christopher Walken, Oscar® winner, The Deer Hunter) is an eccentric conman – a hustler content with a life of schemes and underhanded deals. He lacks one thing: a reconciliation with his son, Flynn (Alessandro Nivola, Jurassic Park III), who has ceased trusting his father long ago. But Nat’s time is growing short: he has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. True to form, Nat cons Flynn into joining him in a cross country journey to an experimental medical facility. Short on money, but not on imagination, the two realize that to reach their destination they can spend no more than $5 A Day. They come up with increasingly ridiculous schemes to keep within their budget – but there is a distance of emotion as well as miles to cover. Are they on the path towards a father-son reunion?
A wild cross country road trip featuring father and son scammers . Although a comedy in which Christopher Walken shines, the film is an enjoyable father and son relationship type of film that is not only fun to watch but is heartfelt and enjoyable.
When the comedy “$5 a Day” was greenlighted back in 2003, I don’t think anyone expected the film to change directors several times and end up being completed by director Nigel Cole (“Saving Grace”, “Calendar Girls”).
The film was written by Neal H. and Tippi Dobrofky (“Flinch”, “The Donor”) and a film that would feature talents Christopher Walken (“Wedding Crashers”, The Funeral”, “Batman Returns”, “View to a Kill”), Alessandro Nivola (“Jurassic Park III”, “Junebug”, “The Eye”), Sharon Stone (“Total Recall”, “Basic Instinct”, “Last Action Hero”) and Amanda Peet (“2012″, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, “The X Files: I Want to Believe”).
“$5 a Day” revolves around Ritchie Flynn Parker (played by Alessandro Nivola), a man who worked as a restaurant inspector until he was fired for not reporting that he is a former felon. Ritchie is a man who is a former felon and scam artist and now he is trying to live a normal life with a different alias and trying to get past his criminal past and live a happy life with his girlfriend Maggie (played by Amanda Peet).
Unfortunately, when Maggie has a conversation with Ritchie’s father Nat (played by Christopher Walken), the truth came out and Maggie finds out that not only is Ritchie’s father is alive (he told her that he was dead) but that his name is not Flynn (which is his last name not his first). But Maggie does tell Ritchie that the purpose of his call was to let him know that he is sick and dying but Ritchie does not believe his father and tries to plead with her that he is a liar.
But with everything going downhill for him, he finds his father’s letter to him with a plane ticket and wanting to see him immediately. Ritchie is not sure why but he goes to visit his father.
When Ritchie arrives to his father’s place, he finds out that Nat has a malignant tumor in his head and he is dying. His wish is for Ritchie to drive him to New Mexico for one week and that is all he is asking for.
For Ritchie, he has a hard time forgiving his father because his father is also an eccentric con man and excellent scam artist and partly responsible for landing Ritchie in prison for several years. If anything, Ritchie learned a lot from his father and also is a very good scam artist himself and ended up being caught.
No matter how Ritchie may feel about his father, just in case what Nat is saying about his illness is true, Ritchie knows that if this is his dying wish, he’ll do it and thus he agrees to drive his father all the way from the East Coast to New Mexico and despite their estranged relationship, the two embark on a cross country trip that will bring a lot of skeletons out of the closet but also, possibly bringing father and son closer than ever.
VIDEO:
“$5 a Day” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1). A lot the scenery from the film was primarily shot outdoors and one of the highlights of the film is the travel cross country. This is where cinematographer Peter Donahue (“Junebug”, “Then She Found Me”) shines as he highlights the various surroundings of the various states both Ritchie and Nat are visiting.
The outdoor locations definitely are much livelier on BD, blacks are nice and deep, good amount of detail during close-ups and there is a good amount of grain that can be seen in the film as well. The indoor sequences seem to feature quite a bit of noise it seems, if anything a mix of grain and noise that may seem as if the film has a heavy amount of grain.
But overall, PQ is fine and I didn’t see any major compression artifacting or DNR.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“$5 a Day” is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The film is primarily a dialogue driven film, there is no action sequences and I didn’t detect any surround usage throughout the film. The film is primarily center and front channel driven and dialogue is clear and understandable. I detected no audio problems while listening to the lossless soundtrack.
Subtitles are in English and English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“$5 a Day comes with the following special features:
- Director and Cast Interviews – (35:09) Featuring interviews with director Nigel Cole, Alessandro Nivola, Sharon Stone, Dean Cain, Peter Coyote and Amanda Peet. In standard definition.
- Still Galleries – Featuring a photo gallery (images by Michael Parmelee), production stills and photos from cast and crew. To view images, you will need to use your remote to cycle through the images.
- Trailer – (2:03) Featuring the original theatrical trailer in standard definition.
Let me first start off with how much I enjoy films that star Christopher Walken. The man still has a comedic charm and it is so evident in “$5 a Day” that you can’t help but sit back and enjoy the ride as the film really is a fun and entertaining father and son relationship film.
Both Alessandro Nivola and Christopher Walken have a good relationship as the father and son on the big screen. And although on paper, it sounds as if this film could be bleak and become a tear gusher, the film doesn’t go that direction and become a film full of cliches. If anything, the Dobrofsky’s are able to capitalize on Walken’s comedic timing and once again, Walken did a fantastic job in this film.
The film also features a good number of cameos. Sharon Stone, while receiving major billing on the Blu-ray cover, the truth is that she has a small part playing Ritchie’s former babysitter Dolores Jones and if you thought that Stone was sexy in her films during the ’80s and ’90s, Sharon Stone continues to look incredible in this 2008 film as she is seen mostly wearing a bikini, sexy clothing and lingerie. Also, the film stars Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”, “The Division”, “Clubhouse”) as Rick Carlston, a restaurant owner and Peter Coyote (“The 4400″, “Commander in Chief”, “A Walk to Remember”) as an old family friend and rival to Nat who plays a significant role in the film.
The Blu-ray release of “$5 a Day” does feature very good cinematography and lossless audio is clear and understandable but the BD is a little light when it comes to special features.
Overall, “$5 a Day” is a very good independent film that is entertaining, enjoyable and definitely an upbeat father-and-son relationship/comedy-based film. If you are a Christopher Walken fan or looking for a lighthearted and never heavy, heartfelt film, definitely give this film a try!
The Maiden Heist (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
November 1, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“The Maiden Heist” is a fun comedy that is witty, hilarious and very entertaining courtesy of the film’s all-star cast. All four Academy Award winners – Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, William H. Macy and Marcia Gay Harden made this art caper so fun to watch. Definitely a film worth checking out!
Image courtesy of All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: The Maiden Heist
DURATION: 90Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Anamorphic Widescreen 2:40:1, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: PG-13 (For Some Strong Language, Nudity and Brief Fantasy Violence)
RELEASED: November 24, 2009
Directed by Peter Hewitt
Written by Michael LeSieur
Executive Producer: David Glasser
Producer: Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary, Rob Paris, Bob Yari
Co-Producer: Kim H. Winther
Line Producer: Jonathan McCoy
Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams
Cinematography by Ueli Steiger
Edited by Carole Kravetz
Casting by Susan Shopmaker
Production Design by Chris Roope
Art Direction by Gershon Ginsburg
Set Decoration by Lisa Nilsson
Costume Design by Ha Nguyen
Starring:
Morgan Freeman as Charles
Christopher Walken as Roger
Marcia Gay Harden as Roger’s wife
William H. Macy as George
Back in May 2009, I was awaiting the film “The Maiden Heist” which featured an all-star cast featuring Academy Award winners Morgan Freeman (“Unforgiven”, “Driving Miss Daisy”, “Million Dollar Baby”), Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter”, “Pulp Fiction”, “Wayne’s World 2″), William H. Macy (“Fargo”, “Jurassic Park 3″, “Seabiscuit”) and Marcia Gay Harden (“Pollock”, “Damages”, “Mystic River”).
The film was directed by Peter Hewitt (“Garfield”, “Zoom”), a screenplay by Michael LeSieur (“You, Me and Dupree”), music by Rupert Gregson-Williams (“Bedtime Stories”, “Made of Honor”, “You Don’t Mess with Zohan”) and cinematography by Ueli Steiger (“10,000 BC”, “Nomad”, “The Day After Tomorrow”).
All would seem good for an early summer release but then the film’s distributor Yari Film Group (known for films such as “The Illusionist”, “Kickin’ It Old School”, “The Accidental Husband”) filed for bankruptcy and the film was shelved. The film did happen to debut at the Edinburgh International Film Festival but unfortunately, that was it. And now the film has its DVD release courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
“The Maiden Heist” starts off with Roger (Christopher Walken) who works in security for a major museum where the painting the “Lonely Maiden” is kept. Roger absolutely adores this painting. He dreams of himself defending the painting from thieves and he’s literally in love with the painting and knows all the details about it. Meanwhile, back at home, his wife (played by Marcia Gay Harden) dreams about going to Miami and has been saving her money specifically for this trip.
Roger is not very talkative towards his wife. In fact, he goes home, puts on his beret, listens to French music and just reads about the “Lonely Maiden”.
But life starts to become disrupted when he finds out that “The Lonely Maiden” and other artifacts from the museum are being shipped out overseas to Denmark. Roger is absolutely crushed. He then discovers that he is not the only one. Another security guard named Charles (played by Morgan Freeman) is also enamored with another painting in the museum and has been in love with it. So, in love to the point that he has painted the exact painting in his home. But similar to how Roger is with the “Lonely Maiden”, Charles is with the painting that he enjoyed for so many years.
After meeting over lunch, Charles comes up with an idea…”why not steal the paintings” they love. But of course, Roger is quite dedicated to his job and tells Charles that they are security guards with a job to protect the paintings not steal them. But life then changes when Charles discovers another person in security who is enamored with a sculpture at the museum. Charles shows Roger surveillance captured of the other security guard named George (played by William H. Macy). George has some unusual fetish as a late night security guard and likes to strip off all his clothes in front of the sculpture (which is a naked man showing off his muscles) and do a similar pose.
Charles and Roger feel that with another man to help them, they can probably pull of another heist. After talking to George (who used to be part of the Marines), he absolutely is supportive of the idea. Why not create forgeries of the paintings and the sculpture and replace them before they are shipped to Denmark. Will the three be able to pull off the heist?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“The Maiden Heist” is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2:40:1) and for the most part, cinematography by Ueli Steiger is done quite well. Shot in Boston and also at the Worcester Art Museum, most of the film takes place in the museum but also at Roger and Charles apartment.Lighting is well-done and for the most part, all three men look great and despite being older men, the film gives the men a youthful spin as these guys must try to pull of the unthinkable. Picture quality for the most part is well done and good use of utilization of shots throughout the film but the film does look very good.
Audio-wise, the film is featured in English 5.1 Dolby Digital. The film is primarily dialogue driven and also jazzy music plays a part in the film as well. Thus it’s more or less front and center channel driven. I didn’t notice a whole lot of surround usage as this film is not exactly an action film. But for the most part, dialogue is clear and understandable.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Maiden Heist” comes with the following special features:
- Director, Writer and Producer Commentary - Audio commentary by Director Pete Hewitt, Writer Michael LeSieur and Producer Rob Paris. An enjoyable and informative commentary providing insight to the characters and film-making details of the set location, production design and scenes.
- In the Presence of Art: Making The Maiden Heist Featurette – (17:40) Featuring the cast and crew talking about the film. The cast talk about their characters while the director talked about how this film had an awesome script but it was all about when the film would become a reality.
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary – Featuring optional commentary for 12 short deleted scenes which include: Roger and Charlie Meet, Too Much Gas, Over My Dead Body, A Few Words from the Curator, Donnie, The Lovely Mr. Needlebaum, A Few Words from George, It’s Me They want, The Shirt, Waiting for Roger, The Avant Guard, More Donnie
- Bloopers Reel – (2:45) Bloopers from “The Maiden Heist”
- Previews – Trailers for upcoming Sony Pictures Home Entertainment films on Blu-ray and DVD.
After watching this film, I enjoyed the film and its witty sense of humor but also how clever the screenplay is. Director Peter Hewitt said that one of the things that came to his mind when working on this film are those security guards at a museum. Many are old and what keeps them going in such a job. And the film tries to showcase how these three security guards just fall in love with a certain item at the museum and are very protective of it. Granted, I don’t any security guards at museums personally to know if this happens in real life but if it does, that would be quite interesting.
As mentioned, these three Academy Award winning men look absolutely full of youth. It was fun to see Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken and William H. Macy so energetic. In fact, surprising enough, the PG-13 rating comes from William H. Macy’s nude scenes. And these three play interesting characters. Although it’s not in your face, Freeman plays a gay man, Walken plays a husband who doesn’t really take notice of his wife because he’s so in love with a painting and Macy’s character, although he’s pretty gung-ho and talks about the Marines, his hobby of taking off his clothes in front of a nude male statue is a bit odd. Especially when he gives advice to Roger (Walken) of how he should be more of a man when taking care of his wife. But overall, it’s just interesting to see how these men become attached so much to these beloved items and will do what it takes to keep them home and not have their own personal lives disrupted.
And as these three men are quite interesting to watch, Marcia Gay Harden is absolutely fabulous as the wife who just works her butt off for a vacation with her husband that seems to be long overdue. She’s a talker but it seems this vacation is all that keeps her going in her marriage and she plays a great job as a wife who is determined to go on this trip.
Although a predictable, straightforward film, “The Maiden Heist” doesn’t need to be a “Mission Impossible” or highly technological style of film. It’s all about the performances of the four talents and they all make this film happen. It’s unfortunate that the film never received a theatrical release due to the distributor’s bankruptcy but it’s a fun, lighthearted comedy that is worth giving a try.
Overall, “The Maiden Heist” is a fun comedy that is witty, hilarious and very entertaining courtesy of the film’s all-star cast. All four Academy Award winners – Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, William H. Macy and Marcia Gay Harden made this art caper so fun to watch. Definitely a film worth checking out!
