High and Low – The Criterion Collection #24 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Addictive, riveting and a fantastic film that will captivate you from beginning to end!  An Akira Kurosawa classic receives its Blu-ray release in America and if you owned the previous DVD releases from the Criterion Collection, this latest release is highly recommended!

Image courtesy of ©1963 Toho Co., Ltd 2008 Toho Co., Ltd. © 2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: High and Low – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #24 (Tengoku to Jigoku)

YEAR OF FILM: 1963

DURATION: 143 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: Black and White/Color, 4.0 Surround in Japanese with English Subtitles, 2:35:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: July 26, 2011

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Based on the novel by Kingu no Minoshirokin (King’s Ransom) by Ed McBain

Screenplay by Hideo Oguni, Ryuzo Kikushima, Eijiro Hisaita, Akira Kurosawa

Produced by Ryuzo Kikushima, Tomoyuki Tanaka

Associate Producer: Akira Kurosawa

Music by Masaru Sato

Cinematography by Asakazu Nakai, Tako Saito

Production Design by Asakazu Nakai, Takao Saito

Production Design by Miyuki Suzuki

Starring:

Toshiro Mifune as Kingo Gondo

Tatsuya Nakadai as Chief Detective Tokura

Kyoko Kagawa as Reiko Gondo

Tatsuya Mihashi as Kawanishi – Gondo’s Secretary

Isao Kimura as Detective Arai

Kenjiro Ishiyama as Chief Detective “Bos’n’ Taguchi

Takeshi Kato as Detective Nakao

Takashi Shimura as Chief of Investigation Section

Jun Tazaki as Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director

Nobuo Nakamura as Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department

Yunosuke Ito as Baba – National Shoes Executive

Tsutomu Yamazaki as Ginjiro Takeuchi, Medical Intern

Toshiro Mifune is unforgettable as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku), the highly influential domestic drama and police procedural from director Akira Kurosawa. Adapting Ed McBain’s detective novel King’s Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary, creating a diabolical treatise on contemporary Japanese society.

Another fantastic film from legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and a wonderful performance by Toshiro Mifune!  A film that will truly have you at the edge of your seat!

“Tengoku to Jigoku” (which translates to “Heaven and Hell” but is known internationally as “High and Low”) is a 1963 film that features another collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune and is a film adaptation of Ed McBain’s novel “Kings Ransom” that would focus on how one can become blackmailed despite not having direct involvement with a kidnapping.

The film also is a statement from Kurosawa as children in Japan during the early ’60s were being kidnapped and murdered and showing his distaste towards the Japanese law in which criminals would only get a few years of incarceration.

With the film having been released in the late ’90s on DVD by the Criterion Collection, the film was re-released with more special features and a better transfer in 2008.  So, here we are in 2011 and “High and Low” receives its Blu-ray release courtesy of the Criterion Collection, the first HD release of the title in America.

“High and Low” begins with an executive named Kingo Gondo (played by Toshiro Mifune).   He is visited by the head executives of National Shoes, the company he works for and oversees quality control.

But the executives are concerned about their profits and want Gondo to release cheap, low-quality shoes in order to have more women buy more shoes.  Meanwhile, the president and owner of the company wants to focus on quality but continue to release shoes that no longer fashionable.

So, the executives come up with a plan to use their clout and join forces because the own shares of the company and oust the president of National Shoes.

But Gondo believes that in order for National Shoes to survive, quality control must be kept but also to incorporate modern fashion sense.  But the executives disagree.  They try to entice him with being second-in-command of National Shoes if he joins them and oust the President but for Gondo, he is unwilling to let the company release low-quality shoes.  He has pride in the company and its shoes and only wants what is best for the consumer, something that his fellow executives don’t believe in.

After an angry exchange, Gondo’s wife Reiko (played by Kyoko Kagawa) wants to know why he was arguing with his co-workers.  But Gondo smirks and tells her and his secretary Kawanishi (played by Tatsuya Mihashi) that he has a plan just in case the executives try to oust him.

But while he tries to explain, his son Jun (dressed like a cowboy) and his friend Shinichi (who happens to be Gondo’s chauffer’s son) begin playing with each other and are told to play outside.  Before Jun and Shinichi go out, June lets Shinichi wear his cowboy outfit.

As Gondo explains to his wife and Kawanishi, he tells them that the reason why he is confident that he would win against the executives is because he has been buying shares of the company for the last three years.  And he has literally took out a significant loan to purchase shares from others and using his home as collateral in order to become the largest shareholder of the company.

All that needs to be done is for Kawanishi to go and deposit the check for 500 million yen and National Shoes will be his company.

But before Gondo can celebrate, he receives a phone call from a kidnapper who tells him that he has his son and if he wants his son to be alive, he would have to pay 30 million yen.  Worried that his son is kidnapped, Gondo knows the money is important for him to get control of National Shoes or else, he will be the executive ousted.  The kidnapper gives him time to think about the arrangement which must be done quite soon.

As both Gondo and his wife worry about Jun, Jun shows up in the house.  So, Gondo wonders if the call he received was a prank call.  Meanwhile, Shinichi’s father has come to pick him up but to find out that he is gone.

Both Gondo and his wife realize that Jun and Shinichi have switched outfits and that the kidnapper actually took his chauffeur’s son.

Gondo calls the police and because the police expect that the kidnapper may be monitoring them, they pretend to be working for a delivery company.

What the police needs is to tape the kidnapper talking but for Gondo to talk to the kidnapper long enough in order to trace the call.  But when the kidnapper calls, the kidnapper realizes that he took the wrong child but still, the kidnapper has leverage over him and he needs to know if Gondo will be bringing the 30 million yen and if Gondo refuses, the kidnapper warns him that if he doesn’t comply, the child is dead.

And this leads to a struggle for Gondo as he had worked hard all these years at National Shoes but now he is within moments of buying and taking control of the company thus ensuring their livelihood.

But Gondo’s wife can’t bare the guilt if Shinichi dies,  because she feels that the only reason Shinichi was kidnapped was because they were going after their son Jun.  So, she wants him to save Shinichi because a human life is more important than money and prestige.

Even Shinichi’s father begs Gondo to please save his child.  But Gondo is torn because he sacrificed a lot and is taking a risky chance of losing everything.

Everyone knows that Gondo is in a difficult predicament and no one is sure what he will do.  As for the police, they learn quickly that the kidnapper is not only bright but he must live nearby because knows something is going on inside the house.

The lead investigator understand Gondo’s predicament but probably the best way to capture this kidnapper is for Gondo to pay the ransom and just buy them time by telling the kidnapper that he will pay.

Put in a tight position, what will Gondo do?  Will he stick with his original plan of using his money to buy the shares of National Shoes and takeover the company and have a child die or will he help the child buy paying the ransom money and losing everything?

The phone rings and the kidnapper wants to know his answer.  What will Gondo do next?

The second half of the film features the police going after the kidnapper.  Determined to catch the criminal, we watch as the police force in action, from collecting evidence and doing all they can to make sure that he is caught.  Meanwhile, the kidnapper has now ventured into homicide and because he is quite bright, the investigator’s know they must be careful in catching this criminal.  Especially due to Japan’s law towards kidnappers (kidnappers only serve five years in prison), the police will do whatever it takes to make sure he serves the time for the crimes he committed.

VIDEO:

“High and Low” is presented  in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1 aspect ratio).  As one would expect from a Blu-ray compared to a DVD version, you get more detail, better clarity and solid contrast.

But for those who upgraded or purchased the 2008 re-release, the 2008 DVD was a pretty big difference as the Criterion Collection had improved their digital remastering and also with newer technology, were able to do a much better job in cleaning the video and audio.  For the 2011 Blu-ray release, you literally see details much clearly.

Yes, the black levels continue to be nice and inky black, the grays and the white contrast levels look impeccable and also less blur and more detail in the faces of the characters.  We know that the characters are feeling hot and sweaty during the humid weather but we now see it clearly with the bead of sweat on the faces of the detectives.   The textures of the clothing or even the fabric on Gondo’s walls, you can sense it.  You can see sheen off of Gondo’s hair, you can see the detail of the wood on his bathroom door.

And the picture quality, it looked much cleaner and yes, while it uses the same 2008 source, the fact that its HD makes a big difference in the film’s overall PQ.

For those wondering why the film shows B&W and color, it’s because the primary film is black and white but there is one scene where color is utilized.

According to the Criterion Collection, this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from a 35 mm fine-grain master positive and for the color sequence, a 35 mm interpositive.  Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“High and Low” is presented with a lossless LPCM 4.0 surround soundtrack.  The dialogue is incredibly clear and it’s great to have a DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 soundtrack which gives us a solid balance of crystal clear dialogue, clear music and more clearer ambiance than the previous DVD release.

According to the Criterion Collection, “High and Low” was remastered at 24-bit from the original 4-track stems.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.  Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“High and Low – The Criterion Collection #24″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Audio commentary – Featuring an audio commentary by Akira Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince.
• Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create – (37:02) A thirty-seven minute documentary on the making of “High and Low”, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series “Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create”.
• Toshiro Mifune – (30:31) A rare video interview with actor Toshiro Mifune from 1981′s TV Asahi show “Tetsuko no Heya” (Tetsuko’s Room) as he is interviewed by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi about his international roles that were coming a the time, how the military photographer became an actor and more.
• Tsutomu Yamazaki – (19:03) A Criterion Collection exclusive video interview with actor Tsutomu Yamazaki (who plays the kidnapper) about how he got cast, working with Kurosawa and his role in the film.
• Trailers – Japanese Trailer – (3:38), Japanese teaser (1:54) and US Trailer (1:43)

EXTRAS:

“High and Low – The Criterion Collection #24″ comes with a 38-page booklet which includes the following essays “Between Heaven and Hell” by Geoffrey O’Brien and “On the Set of High and Low” by Donald Richie.

“High and Low” is an addictive, riveting and a fantastic film that will captivate you from beginning to end!

For those who are only familiar with Kurosawa samurai films, I have no doubt in my mind that they will enjoy “High and Low” and be captivated by the the cinematography (Kurosawa utilizes the spacing in the film wonderfully) and also performances by Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai and Kyoko Nakagawa.

The film’s original title is “Tengoku to Jigoku” which literally means “Heaven and Hell”.  The storyline of “High and Low” is presented in two connected storylines as “Tengoku” (Heaven/High) is depicted on the Gondo’s home on top of the hill.  Right outside of the home, lurking below is where the poor live and characterized by others as “Jigoku” (hell/low).

The first part of the film takes place in what the poor may think is “Jigoku”, being rich and in heaven.  While the first half of the storyline focuses primarily inside the house of Gondo, everything is shot in the house, from Gondo’s meeting with the executives, where the police are camping out in hopes to trace the call from the kidnapper and where discussion and arguments of what Gondo should do take place in the living room of the home.

The second half of the film focuses on the detectives doing all they can to capture the kidnapper and we are given a glimpse of the world of the kidnapper.

But the prevailing theme is very Kurosawa.  There is always a sense of a character who is admirable and determined and undeterred.  Gondo is an everyman who works for the people, he may be an executive but he prides himself on the quality of his shoes and will not let any other executive exploit the company for their own selfish reasons.  Throughout the first half of the film, we witness his struggle because he literally sacrificed everything, including his home in order to take control of the company, which he is doing it not just for his family but to ensure that the company makes quality shoes for the women who wear them.  But he knows the risks that sacrificing a child to move up in the corporate ladder can also mean his doom.

But we know that losing all the money to pay off the ransom will not only save the child but it will definitely lead the family and Gondo to financial ruin and because the amount is so high, it would lead his family to eternal debt.

And that is the intriguing factor that Kurosawa felt about Ed McBain’s novel “King’s Ransom”.  The fact that the protagonist is being blackmailed by a kidnapper who kidnap a child that is not even his but yet affects his life greatly, rendering this powerful man to now becoming powerless.  Whichever decision he makes, it appears to be a double-edge sword.

But by the second half of the film, we see the hard work that goes into helping Gondo by finding the kidnapper.  The kidnapper vs. the police storyline becomes the main focus of the second half.

And for those not familiar with Japanese pop culture and entertainment, the images of a large police force working together for the same cause continues in television and film today as seen in the popular drama and film series”Odoru Daisousassen” (Tokyo Bay Shakedown).  Whereas in a western film, we can see two or a handful of officers wanting to help the victim, in Japanese cinema, its the camaraderie of all officers (including from different precincts) willing to work together.

The other topic which Kurosawa was also trying to drive home was his feelings of Japan’s leniency in their laws for kidnappers.  In the ’60s, children in Japan were kidnapped and murdered.  Today, many still have issues with Japanese law towards kidnapping, stalking and people not paying the price for the severity of the crime.

This is emphasized in how the police will catch the kidnapper in “High and Low” and it is really clever writing and expose it to a mass audience in hopes to have changes in Japanese law.  Today, Japan is a believer in “rehabilitation” and in some cases, keeping these criminals incarcerated for a short time rather than keeping one behind-bars and serving a long sentence.

In “High and Low”, we get to see police and press work together in capturing the criminal.  But times have changed in Japan to the point that times have changed in Japan as seen in the Japanese 2000 TV Asahi drama series “Tsugumi e” in which a kidnapper kills the child of a couple and the family is literally victimized by the police and press.

But there is no denying the efficacy of Kurosawa’s “High and Low”, especially with its powerful final scene which I rather not spoil for everyone.   Ever since I watched this film many years ago, the confrontation between Gondo and the kidnapper was brilliant and despite Kurosawa shooting various endings for the film, his decision to stay with both men, one-on-one was correct.

So, now we come down to the question for those who purchase the 2008 DVD re-releae of “High and Low” and whether or not its worth it to upgrade to Blu-ray.

For some people, there must be something additional added to a release in order for one to upgrade and for “High and Low”, in terms of special features, there is nothing new that has been added.  But it comes down to one’s appreciation of watching a wonderful film from a legendary filmmaker in HD.  Do you want the definitive version of “High and Low”?  Then you definitely want to upgrade to Blu-ray because it looks spectacular on Blu-ray and the audio quality is crystal clear.

Overall, It’s great to have more Akira Kurosawa on Blu-ray courtesy of the Criterion Collection and for those who were only exposed to Kurosawa’s samurai films will no doubt find a reason to be curious about “High and Low” as the first Criterion Collection Kurosawa release that is not a samurai film.

But if you are a cineaste who enjoys great cinema, especially a film that grabs your attention from beginning to end, then this Blu-ray is simply a no-brainer and is a definite must-buy.

“High and Low – The Criterion Collection #24″ on Blu-ray is highly recommended!

Zazie dans le métro – The Criterion Collection #570 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Louis Malle has created numerous, wonderful films in his oeuvre, but “Zazie dans le métro” is a film that stands out because of its comedy, its absurdity, its chaotic nature and for its young starlet with a dirty mouth that surprised audiences in France back in 1960.  Hilarious, intriguing and fun but also a statement on the absurdity of Parisian society at that time!  Highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © Copyright NEF -1960. 2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Zazie dans le métro – The Criterion Collection #570

YEAR OF FILM: 1960

DURATION: 92 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: Color, Monaural, French with English Subtitles, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2011

Directed by Louis Malle

Novel by Raymond Queneau, Louis Malle and Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Produced by Louis Malle, JEan-Francois Malle, Napoleon Murat

Music by Fiorenzo Carpi, Andre Pontin

Cinematography by Henri Raichi

Edited by Kenout Peltier

Production Design by Bernard Evein

Costume Design by Marc Doelnitz

Starring:

Catherine Demongeot as Zazie

Philippe Noiret as Uncle Gabriel

Hubert Deschamps as Turandot

Carla Marlier as Albertine

Annie Fratellini as Mado

Vittorio Caprioli as Trouscaillon

Jacques Dufilho as Ferdinand Gredoux

Yvonne Clech as Madame Mouaque

Odette Piquet as Zazie’s mother

Nicolas Bataille as Fedor

Antoine Roblot as Charles

A brash and precocious ten-year-old (Catherine Demongeot) comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle (Philippe Noiret); he and the viewer get more than they bargained for, however, in this anarchic comedy from Louis Malle, which rides roughshod over the City of Light. Based on a popular novel by Raymond Queneau that had been considered unadaptable, Malle’s audacious Zazie dans le métro, made with flair on the cusp of the French New Wave, is a bit of stream-of-consciousness slapstick, wall-to-wall with visual gags, editing tricks, and effects.

You often hear about novels that are not possible for a film adaptation.  And for author Raymond Queneau’s successful 1959 novel “Zazie dans le métro”, who can portray a novel about a young girl who knows way too much for her age and is so inquisitive, but yet her perspective of the absurdity of adult Parisians?

Never to back down from a challenge, French filmmaker Louise Malle known for his popular films “The Lovers” and “Elevators to the Gallows” took on a film adaptation of “Zazie dans le métro”.  A film which Malle would say it was a tribute to Charlie Chaplin and also a film that would lead to film experimentation with special effects and colorization.

And as for the film, the film would receive critical acclaim but also controversy as many parents thought the film was targeted towards children, and took their children to the film to find out quickly when the young 10-year-old Zazie speaks that the film is not for children.

For Louis Malle fans, many have wanted more of his films to be released by the Criterion Collection and sure enough, “Zazie dans le métro” and “Black Moon” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in June 2011.

“Zazie dans le métro” is a film that is not easy to describe, because it is a film that has to be experienced visually.  Words to describe the film would not serve the film any justice because the enjoyment goes bar beyond the written words but what takes place on screen.

The film revolves around a young girl named Zazie (played by Catherine Demongeot) and she has come to Paris to stay briefly with her Uncle Gabriel (played by Philippe Noiret) as her mother has come to the city for another fling, with another man for a few days.

But when Uncle Gabriel meets young Zazie, he is shocked by her mouth.  This is girl who speaks what she wants, how she wants and because of the way she was brought up, you can say her mouth is quite dirty.

Immediately when Gabriel and his friend Turandot try to introduce her to popular scenery in Paris, Zazie is quick to call them old farts and wants to see and ride on the metro.  In fact, she tries to runaway and experience the metro but because the workers are on strike, the metro is closed.

As she is brought home, she meets Uncle Gabriel’s beautiful wife Albertine (played by Carla Marlier), but the truth is that her uncle is gay and a draq queen performer.  One day as Gabriel oversleeps, Zazie begins her way of mischief, from doing things to upset the landlord (who is trying to keep his eye on the girl for Gabriel) but Zazie begins to pretend that the landlord is a child molester and let him be ridiculed by other adults  in order for her to escape and do what she wants.

While walking around Paris, she runs into a older man, who wants to take her out.  Is he a creep child molester?  Is he a police man?  Somehow, Zazie manages to get him to spend money for mussels and chips and also buying her a pair of blue jeans.  But just when she gets him to do all that she wants, she runs away with her new pair of jeans in hand.

And as Zazie experiences France, causing trouble and encountering adults who are immature, unusual, creepy and literally giving her an opportunity to learn about adult behavior.

But for her Uncle Gabriel, he and his friends are not sure how they can handle Zazie as she is bit too much for them, especially with her dirty and absurd questions.

While in Paris for a few days, will Zazie ever see and ride the metro?

VIDEO:

“Zazie dans le métro – The Criterion Collection #570″ is presented in 1:33:1 aspect ratio.  It’s important to note that the film was a big experimentation with color and filmmaking, especially special effects at that time.  The film uses quite a bit of experimentation of color, unusual cuts, sped up film, etc.  But for the most part, considering the film is 50-years-old, it looks great on Blu-ray!

I was actually pleased with the amount of detail, especially since this film has a vast color palette and a lot of outdoor scenes, colors are vibrant, skin tones are natural and brighter colors, especially the reds, really pop!  I didn’t notice any banding or edge enhancement.  Nor did I see any artifacts.  I did notice at some points of film damage but they were quite brief and limited to a certain area for a few seconds.  But “Zazie dans le métro” looks great on Blu-ray!

According to the Criterion Collection, this new HD digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35 mm interpositive, thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Zazie dans le métro – The Criterion Collection #570″ is presented in monaural French with English subtitles.  Dialogue is clear and I detected no hissing, clicks or any audio problems at all.

According to the Criterion Collection, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the positive print soundtrack.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.  Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Zazie dans le métro – The Criterion Collection #570″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Louis Malle – (4:54) Featuring an excerpt from JT 19h15 from October 26, 1960.  Malle is interviewed by Mario Beunat and talks about taking the challenge of making the film, how the film was dedicated to Charlie Chaplilna nd screened for him and his perspective of the movie.
• Catherine Demongeot – (7:35) An excerpt from “Cinq Colonnes Ala”, journalists Jean-Noel Ray and Pierre Dumaget interview Catherine and her parents (March 4, 1960).
  
• Raymond Queneau – Featuring two interviews with the original author of Raymone Queneau for “Zazie dans le métro”.  “Lectures Por Tous” (Feb. 4, 1959; 9:20) and “En Francais Dans Le Texte” (March 24, 1961; 5:52).
• Le Paris de Zazie – (14:57) A short documentary shot in 2000 by “Zazie dans le métro” assistant director Philipe Collin who revisits the locations of where the film was shot and talks about various scenes and how they were shot, the artistic look of the film, the characters and more.
• Jean-Paul Rappeneau – (10:00) Writer/collaborator Jean-Paul Rappeneau talks about working with Louis Malle on”Zazie dans le métro”.
• William Klein – (13:06) An audio interview featuring Louis Malle’s artistic consultant William Klein talks about working on “Zazie dans le métro”.
• Original Theatrical Trailer – (2:15)

EXTRAS:

“Zazie dans le métro – The Criterion Collection #570″ comes with a 20-page booklet featuring the following essay “Girl Trouble” by Ginette Vincendeau.

“Zazie dans le métro” is one of those films that one can’t describe because it was meant to be seen visually.

One can be described is that this 1960 film was surprising in many levels because it featured a young girl with a mouth that would surprise people because she talks about sexuality, dirty men, homosexuality so openly and doesn’t relent.  Like many children who are inquisitive and keep asking questions, in “Zazie dans le métro”, the questions are blunt.  “Are you a homosexual?”, “Are you sexually repressed?”, “Are you a dirty man that goes after young girls?”, etc.

Zazie is a product of her upbringing and its a statement of Paris culture back then that filmmaker Louis Malle wanted to tackle, that is a comedy that showcases the absurdity and chaotic nature of Parisians at the time.

And while Zazie and the absurdity of the adult characters is a big part of the story that can be described, its what takes place in the film that can not.

In one scene, when Zazie is trying to hide and escape from a man who spends his money buying her mussels, fries and blue jeans, the chase scene resembles one of those quick-paced hilarious Benny Hill skits.  Characters looking like they are running quickly while the camera focuses on their face, but then the camera goes through several jump cuts, speeds up quickly, reverts back to normal.

In some scenes, there is a little trickery as one conversation between two men, Malle quickly changes one scene with the man in black face for a quick second and very few frames.

And while this style is funny at first, it does become a little tiring but it’s all about how Malle manages to make things darker as the film progresses, that becomes quite intriguing.

Also, the look and feel of the film is rather interesting as well.  In the special features, you learn that advertising screens were utilized to block out things that Malle didn’t want to be shown in the film and so while Zazie is running or walking, you will notice these artistic walls behind her.

Possibly one of the most jarring shots and something that you will never ever see in a film again, is the shot of actor Philippe Noiret (Uncle Gabriel) doing these close to the edge, about to fall off high above the Eiffel Tower.  In fact, one scene shows Noiret on top of an elevator rising up on the tower.  It’s amazing how these shots were done, especially the freedom that was given to the filmmakers to shoot those scenes but anyone who is acrophobic, even for me, those shots made feel a bit uneasy because those playful shots made you feel that he could fall off the Eiffel Tower any minute.

But the efficacy of “Zazie dans le métro” lies within its structure and how different it was from the Nouvelle Vague films at that time.  Speaking of the French New Wave, even Zazie has some words to say about it during the film.

While I have not read the novel “Zazie dans le métro”, I do know that author Raymond Queneau was quite appreciative of the film adaptation and even Charlie Chaplin who Malle has dedicated the film to, watched the film in French no subtitles and enjoyed it.

The Blu-ray release of “Zazie dans le métro” features a good number of special features but probably the one that I found to be quite intriguing was Phillipe Collin revisiting the locations in 2005 and talking about how the shots were done.  But also to see the interview with young Catherine Demongeut from 1960 as the journalists wonder if she is anything like her character and grilling her parents on playing such a part.  I found it pretty cool to see the parents calm and collected, especially Catherine while the journalists were really trying to make them frustrated or angry.

While watching “Zazie dans le métro”, I often wondered how both Louis Malle even Raymond Queneau would feel about how society is today, especially for Malle who wanted to take on the absurdity of adults in Paris at the time.  And as for Zazie, it made me wonder how much worse children are today as the words coming out of Zazie’s mouth was considered dirty, once again, if only Malle, Queneau and society then would see how children, a product of the way they were raised, are learning some things a bit too quickly than they should have at a younger age.

But put yourself in the viewers shoes back in 1960 and you can see how this film could be seen as artistic, controversial, hilarious, enjoyable, absurd, chaotic, you name it… there are many words to describe this film and for me, I found it to be entertaining, fun and one of those films where a filmmaker does something different and unique and comedic but yet is able to make a statement on society.

“Zazie dans le métro” is a film that many Louis Malle fans have been waiting for and now it’s here!  This Blu-ray release is recommended!

The Makioka Sisters – The Criterion Collection #567 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“The Makioka Sisters” is a beautiful, straight-forward film directed by Kon Ichikawa based on one of Japan’s most beloved novel by Junichiro Tanizaki.  A wonderful study of a once wealthy family now in decline and a family of sisters who put marriage as a priority in order to ensure their economic status for their family’s future.  But will the two younger sisters ever get married?

Image courtesy of © 1983 Toho Co., Ltd. 2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Makioka Sisters – The Criterion Collection #567 (Sasame-yuki)

YEAR OF FILM: 1983

DURATION: 140 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1 Aspect Ratio), Color, Monaural, Japanese with English Subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2011

Novel by Junichiro Tanizaki

Directed by Kon Ichikawa

Written by Shinya Hidaka, Kon Ichikawa

Executive Producer: Kon Ichikawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka

Original Music by Shinnosuke Okawa, Toshiyuki Watanabe

Cinematography by Kiyoshi Hasegawa

Edited by Chizuko Osada

Production Design by Shinobu Muraki

Starring:

Keiko Kishi as Tsuruko Makioka

Yoshiko Sakuma as Sachiko Makioka

Sayuri Yoshinaga as Yukiko Makioka

Yuko Kotegawa as Taeko Makioka

Juzo Itami as Tatsuo, Tsuruko’s Husband

Koji Ishizaka as Teinosuke, Sachiko’s Husband

Toshiyuki Hosokawa as Hashidera

Ittoku Kishibe as Itakura

Takenori Emoto as Higashiya

Jun Hamamura as Otokichi

Jun Hashizume as Soldier

Akiji Kobayashi as Seitaro Jinba

Kazuya Kosaka as Nomura

This lyrical adaptation of the beloved novel by Junichiro Tanizaki was a late-career triumph for director Kon Ichikawa. Structured around the changing of the seasons, The Makioka Sisters (Sasame-yuki) follows the lives of four siblings who have taken on their family’s kimono manufacturing business, in the years leading up to the Pacific War. The two oldest have been married for some time, but according to tradition, the rebellious youngest sister cannot wed until the third, conservative and terribly shy, finds a husband. This graceful study of a family at a turning point in history is a poignant evocation of changing times and fading customs, shot in rich, vivid colors.

Known as the “The greatest cosmopolitan novel since the Meiji restoration”,  Junichiro Tanizaki’s serial novel “The Makioka Sisters” (Sasameyuki) is an important novel for Japanese culture.  Many of the events that took place during the time of 1936-1941 in Japan is featured in the book, from the Kobe Flood of 1938, the Sino-Japanese War, the escalating tension of Europe and the building up to what would be World War II.

But at the time, the book was seen as daring, especially for Japanese censors who wanted the novel’s publication to be halted as they felt the novel was depicting soft, effeminate and individualistic lives of women during wartime Japan.

Fast forward to over 40-years later and Kon Ichikawa (“47 Romin”, “Tokyo Olympiad”, “Alone on the Pacific”) would take on a film adaptation of the popular serial novel.  The film can be seen as a compressed version focusing on a primary time period between the sisters believing in marriage as an economic necessity.  Ichikawa chooses not to focus on the other dramatic events from the book, especially the great Kobe flood of 1938.

“The Makioka Sisters” is a film that follows a wealthy family based in Osaka, but the family’s wealth has started to decline and thus, the family starts to take more interest in the lives of the Makioka daughters and the marriage proposals they receive.

The film consists of eldest sister Tsuruko (played by Keiko Ishii) who is the oldest sister and the narration follows her letters to her sisters.  Tsuruko lives in the “main” Makioka house in Osaka and is quite distant from her sisters who live in Ashiya.  Tsuruko is married to Tatsuo (played by Juzo Itami) who has taken the Makioka name.   Tatsuo is the master of the Makioka main branch and he is also a bank employee.  The other Makioka sisters find him quite boring.

At the branch house in Ashiya is where the second oldest sister Sachiko (played by Yoshiko Sakuma) and her husband Teinosuke (played by Koji Ishizaka) lives.  Similar to Tatsuo, Teinosuke also has taken the Makioka name. Teinosuke is an accountant but he is a man who embraces the arts, loves poetry and letter writing but also, a sense that he wouldn’t mind being with Sachiko’s younger sister Yukiko.

Living with them are the two younger Makioka sisters, Yukiko (played by Sayuri Yoshinaga) and Taeko (played by Yuko Kotegawa) who are both unmarried.

For Yukiko, her being unmarried is an inconvenience as she is going in her 30s and she is very shy.  What is interesting is that all marriage proposals that were asked of her during the family’s prominence were turned down and now that the family in not so great financial shape, they noticed that hardly anyone is proposing.

As for Taeko, she can’t get married to Okubata until Yuko is married and she is also very different compared to her sisters in the fact that she embraces Western culture, smokes cigarettes and is literally the black sheep of the family that walks to the beat of her own drum, and she does this because Yuko must get married first, before she can and because of this, it frustrates Taeko.

“The Makioka Sisters” is a film that showcases a wealthy Japanese family that has lost prestige but also features the importance of Japanese marriage and a glimpse of traditional Japanese women and the differing styles and mannerisms of each sister and their different lives.  But the film also shows us the decline of a Japanese family, the growing poverty and poor economy that plagued Japan at that time.  Also, seeing a change within culture.

VIDEO:

“The Makioka Sisters” is presented in its original aspect ration of 1:85:1.  The picture quality is absolutely beautiful.  I’ve watched this film only on VHS but it’s great to see how good this film looks for a 1983 film.  Although not the most vibrant film from the early ’80s on Blu-ray, the film is quite colorful and there is also a pretty good layer of grain.   Skin tones are natural, clothing show a good amount of detail and black levels are good.

According to the Criterion Collection, this new HD digital transfer was created on a C-Reality Datacine with Oliver wetgate processing from a 35 mm low-contrast print struck from the original camera negative.  Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, spices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean sytem, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Makioka Sisters” is presented in monaural Japanese with English subtitles.  Dialogue is clear and the subtitles are easy to read.  I detected no hiss or any problems with the audio.

According to the Criterion Collection, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the optical track print.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.  Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Makioka Sisters – The Criterion Collection #567″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Trailer -  The original theatrical trailer of “The Makioka Sisters”.

EXTRAS:

“The Makioka Sisters” comes with a  20-page booklet featuring the following essay “Of Love and Money” by Audie Bock.

When I was attending college and getting my minor in Japanese, one of my professor’s was a feminist who fought for the rights of Japanese women when she was younger and wanted us to see Japan in a different light. Especially of how Japanese women were treated. And she felt that if there was one film we had to watch in class, it was “The Makioka Sisters”.

Although at the time,  as a student, I never knew the importance of the film, nor was I aware of how the novel version captured Japanese readers.   And to find out how significant the book was as it featured details of an era of Japan that was well-documented in the book, but for the film and Ichikawa’s focus on the concept of marriage, it would make an impact on viewers.

Watching it today, what I did feel about the film is a reminiscence of a time of filmmaking especially based on the traditional Japanese family reminiscent of classic Yasujiro Ozu filmmaking.  Filmmaking that focused on family life, marriage and diminishing social status.  In this case, there is a bit of a twist as many movies tend to focus on Tokyo, in this case, it’s Osaka and for those not familiar with Tokyo (Kanto) and Osaka (Kansai) in the west, you can possibly compare it to those in Los Angeles vs. those in New York.  Different styles, different dialect and if you go to Japan, you will always hear from those in Tokyo of how Osaka is like this and vice versa of how Tokyo is like that.

In the case of “The Makioka Sisters”, the pride of a once wealthy family in Osaka is what is at stake.    And what I found so unique about the film was how it focused not on the family and parents but the conflict among sisters, their thoughts of status in hopes that one of their sisters can get married, in fact, all sisters are able to get married.  What Kon Ichikawa manages with great efficacy is balancing the development of each character, making us feel the conflict and highlighting the personal struggle.

Although I have not read the book and I have been told many times that the great Kobe flood of 1938 are not featured in the film, the film focuses on the personal and possibly a political statement from Ichikawa about the differences between Kanto and Kansai culture.  Before watching this movie, our professor felt it was very important for us to know the cultural difference between the two big metropolitan areas of Japan, similar in some ways but very different than others.  People are different in Tokyo vs. Osaka and in the case of “The Makioka Sisters”, Tokyo is where decline is happening and Osaka is where one tries to uphold tradition, if they can.

I also have to credit the cinematography of Kiyoshi Hasegawa, known more for his sci-fi cinematography for “Godzilla vs. Gigan” and even “Samurai Reincarnation” to name a few, Ichikawa and Hasegawa make sure they are able to showcase the beauty of the Makioka home, the beauty of Japan during the spring for the cherry blossoms and capturing the beauty of Japan of yesteryear, despite being shot in 1983.    The visual style, saturated colors look incredibly beautiful, especially this Blu-ray transfer courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

Criterion Collection fans will notice that the price of “The Makioka Sisters” is one of their lower priced Blu-ray titles and that is because the release does not come with any special features but the theatrical trailer.  Fortunately, a 20-page booklet is included.

While the film may not be as deep as classic family struggle films if compared to the classic films from Ozu, Naruse and Kurosawa, the film is gorgeous and the story is realistic, clear and a film that is pretty much straightforward without any major surprises. As mentioned, the novel has much more to offer than the film as it focuses on the Makioka sisters from 1936-1941, the movie version primarily focuses on 1938.  So, as the novel has more to feature in terms of what was happening in Japan during that time, focusing on both Osaka and Ashiya homes sans the great flood, by no means is this film weak.

Similar to how I felt back in college and more of an appreciation of the film now, “The Makioka Sisters” makes these characters quite real, especially seeing the rebellious side of Taeko Makioka and the shyness of Yukiko.  But how each of these women are very much different in many ways.  Especially from the older sisters versus their younger siblings.  The film has a good balance of humor and melodrama but for the most part, I enjoyed the film.

I enjoyed how “The Makioka Sisters” focuses on how Japan at the time, what families did for economic survival. A big difference when compared to Japan today when many couples are divorcing and many married couples are not having children (a great concern for Japan as the percentage of children born in Japan continues to shrink).

Overall, “The Makioka Sisters” is a delightful film that is melodramatic, straight-forward and beautiful to watch.  But just don’t come into this film with high expectations of anything too deep or else you will be disappointed.

Pale Flower – The Criterion Collection #564 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Masahiro Shinoda’s masterpiece!  Shinoda set out to make a yakuza film that is unlike any other Japanese film and with “Pale Flower”, he succeeded.  What is surprising is that this 50-year-old film looks absolutely near pristine and I was very impressed with the picture quality.  Another quality release from the Criterion Collection that is highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © 1964 Shochiku Co., Ltd.   2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Pale Flower – The Criterion Collection #564 (Kawaita Hana)

YEAR OF FILM: 1964

DURATION: 96 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1 Aspect Ratio), Black and White, Monaural, Japanese with English Subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2011

Directed by Masahiro Shinoda

Based on the Novel by Shintaro Ishihara

Screenplay by Masaru Baba, Masahiro Shinoda

Producer: Shigeru Iwatsuki, Masao Shirai

Music by: Yuji Takahashi, Toru Takemitsu

Cinematography by Masao Kosugi

Edited by Yoshi Sugihara

Art Direction by Shigemasa Toda

Starring:

Ryo Ikebe as Muraki

Mariko Kaga as Saeko

Takashi Fujiki as Yoh

Chisako Hara as Yakuza’s Lover

Eijiro Tono as Gang Leader

Seiji Miyaguchi as Gang Leader

Mikizo Hirata as Mizuguchi

Sohei Kurata as Hayakawa

Shinichiro Mikami as Reiji

In this cool, seductive jewel of the Japanese New Wave, a yakuza, fresh out of prison, becomes entangled with a beautiful and enigmatic gambling addict; what at first seems a redemptive relationship ends up leading him further down the criminal path. Bewitchingly shot and edited, and laced with a fever-dream-like score by Toru Takemitsu, this gangster romance was a breakthrough for the idiosyncratic Masahiro Shinoda. The pitch-black Pale Flower (Kawaita hana) is an unforgettable excursion into the underworld.

Masahiro Shinoda is one of the fine Japanese directors to emerge from the Japanese New Wave of the 1960′s.

While known for films such as “Ansatsu” (“Assassination”, 1964), “Ibuno Sarutobi Sasuke” (Samurai Spy, 1965) and “Shinju-ten Amijima” (Double Suice, 1969), many fans of Shimoda feel that his masterpiece in his oeuvre is “Kawaita hana” (Pale Flower, 1964).

Shinoda worked at Shochiku at the time and co-wrote “Pale Flower” along with Masaru Baba (“Vengeance is Mine”, “Ashita no Joe”, “Faraway Tomorrow”, “Mesu”) and both men would have intense disagreements of how the film should be written.  For Shinoda, what truly mattered for him was to create a gangster film unlike any other gangster film released in Japan.

One was to focus on the actual game of gambling and create drama within people gambling and another was the choices of music used in the film.  These two elements of visual and sound would play a big part in the film and it would also help enhance the nihilistic characters for the film.  A dispute that co-writer Baba had and would lead to a nine month delay of the film’s release.

But the film has resonated strong among cinema fans and those who appreciate Masahiro Shinoda’s work.  With “Samurai Spy” and “Double Suicide” currently available from the Criterion Collection, it was great to see that a Shinoda film was given a Blu-ray release. This is the best version of “Pale Flower” I have seen yet and it is slated for release on May 17, 2011.

“Pale Flower” revolves around a yakuza gangster named Muraki (played by Ryo Ikebe) who was just released from prison.  Murai has served three years and has a nihilistic attitude towards the world.  Doesn’t think too much about the people that live in the world, nor does he care for them.  All that matters is what is in his world.

And when he makes his return back home, things haven’t changed all that much as friends and people in the area he lives in are still gambling.  But what catches his eye is a young woman named Saeko (played by Mariko Kaga), who gambles as much as she wants and could care less if she loses or wins, an attitude that is unlike any person that Muraki has seen before.

Eventually, he meets with Saeko and learns that she has this yearning for risk and wanting to take major risks.  She tells Muraki that she is getting bored and win or lose money, the stakes are not high enough.  So, she asks him if there are other forms of gambling with higher stakes.  Intrigued by this woman (especially since she keeps winning), he introduces her to another gambling area where people bet a huge amount of money.

What is it about this woman that he finds so alluring?  Both get involve in an intense and mutually destructive relationship of wanting to feel that rush of taking on something which the stakes are raised.  From Saeko driving at a high speed on the freeway to teasing Muraki about taking drugs (which he is vehemently against), while their relationship is not sexual, both are nihilistic characters that could care less of what happens to the world but are more concerned of taking part in high risks.

But as the two keep raising the stakes of what they can accomplish the biggest rush, there is one thing that Saeko has yet to learn and experience and Muraki plans to show her what it is.

VIDEO:

“Pale Flower” is presented 1080p High Definition (2:35:1 aspect ratio), black and white.  For a film that is nearly 50-years old, the film looks absolutely pristine.  I saw no speckles of white, I saw no defects.  I was amazed of how beautiful this film looked.  The detail was amazing, you can see the textures on the walls, the contrast showcased dark blacks, whites and grays were impressive.

According to the Criterion Collection, this is a new high-definition digital transfer created on a Spirit Datacine from a combination of a 35 mm print struck from teh original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while DigitalVision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Pale Flower” is presented in monaural with English subtitles.  Dialogue is clear and if there is one thing that Shinoda wanted to capture back in 1964 was the sound of the gambling and also showcase its music.  Original music is by Yuji Takahashi and Toru Takemitsu and because of the interesting music selections for this film, it’s great that the Criterion Collection has a special feature commentary on the music.

According to the Criterion Collection, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35 mm optical soundtrack print.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Pale Flower – The Criterion Collection #564″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Masahiro Shinoda - (22:02) A Criterion Collection exclusive interview shot in 2010, director Masahiro Shinoda talks about how he came to write and direct “Pale Flower”, where the film was shot and how he cast the talent for teh film and how he wanted to make this film different from any Japanese gangster film in the past.
• Selected-scene audio commentary – (33:41) Selected Scene audio commentary by film scholar Peter Grilli, coproducer of “Music for the Movies: Toru Takemitsu”.  Grilli goes into the music used for the film and how he was surprised by some of the music selections.
• Trailer – (3:47) The original theatrical trailer of “Pale Flower”.

EXTRAS:

A 20-page booklet featuring the following essays by Chuck Stephens titled “Loser Take All”,

“Pale Flower” was a film that Shinoda had wanted to make.  A different kind of film that even had him at odds with this co-writer.  But what makes “Pale Flower” so unique?

For one, it’s interesting to have an a protagonist who is no hero but a yakuza who was released from prison and what he sees as Japanese life is sort of a land of the walking dead.  He could care less about the people in the world.  Everyone is the same and even amongst his fellow yakuza members, nothing has changed.  It’s the same life that he left behind when he was first put in prison.

So, for Muraki, to meet a woman like Saeko, so unique and different from the world is what captures his attention.

In some ways, despite Muraki’s hatred towards drug users, Saeko is a drug in which he can’t stop thinking about her, he can’t stop gambling with her and its that sense of an uncaring attitude that really captivates him.  Why is this woman trying to push the edge of how far she can lose or win through gambling?  Always constantly wanting to raise the stakes in her life?

At first, it was thought that Saeko is just a bit hardcore towards gambling but when he rides with her and she starts racing in the freeway against the other car, she’s not scared at all, she finds it all fun.

The relationship of Muraki and Saeko is a different type of relationship that one would find on screen.  There is nothing sexual about their relationship, in fact, it’s not like they are even boyfriend or girlfriend.  They are two nihilistic people who could care less about the world around them and to make them happy, they take risks.  For Saeko, she wants to feel the biggest risk, in some ways, one can categorize that feeling possibly in an orgasmic way as she thrives for it and Muraki wants her to feel it.  And it may not be sexual but he knows one thing that he can do but how will she react?  And how far will Muraki go to make it happen?

And to showcase these two characters, Shinoda really went after the visual and audio for this film.  Visually by trying to keep things authentic and was able to film in a red-light district, while for audio, it was important for Shinoda to capture the art of gambling.  For those of us in the west, we may not understand the game but we can see on the faces of the people playing it, there is a rush for them to spend big money and if they win, they win…if they lose, it seems that these individuals are not going to cry if they lost their money.

It was a lot of emphasis on the actual gambling, with clever camera shots of Muraki and Saeko but also others participating in the game.  Down to the noise of the Japanese wooden cards being shuffled, for Shinoda, this all must be captured on film to the dislike of his co-writer Masaru Baba, it’s good to know that Shochiku managed to keep Shinoda’s version intact.

And the other audio portion was the choice of music.  Like an opera, there are scenes that have deep meaning for the character and the context of how that music was originally used.  While many people may not understand the importance of certain songs, the Blu-ray does have selected scene commentary by film scholar Peter Grilli going into wonderful detail about the film’s music.

As for the Blu-ray release of “Pale Flower”, as mentioned earlier, this film looks magnificent for a film that is nearly 50-years-old.  There are no defects that I could spot while watching this film and because it’s black and white and an older film, I was expecting some darkening for some scenes or even occasional flickering but saw none of that.  Also, aside from Grilli’s audio commentary on the music, it was great to watch the 2010 Criterion Collection interview with Shinoda. While I would have loved the plethora of special features that the Criterion Collection is known for having with each release, I’m quite content with what is on this Blu-ray as is.

Overall, this is the best looking version of “Pale Flower” available on video!  Once again, the Criterion Collection has done a magnificent job with this transfer as the picture quality of this film is incredible!  But I am hoping others who discover Shinoda’s work for the first time through “Pale Flower” will continue to watch even more of his films.  There is no doubt that Masahiro Shinoda is underrated because he has crafted quite a good number of wonderful films and “Pale Flower” is a masterpiece!

If you have been considering a purchase of Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray release of “Pale Flower”, I can easily give this film and this Blu-ray release my highest recommendation!

The Great Dictator – The Criterion Collection #565 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

This is Charlie Chaplin’s bold masterpiece and also a sound film that is audacious because it was a satire of Adolf Hitler, but the film also provided a chance for Chaplin to use cinema as a way to communicate to millions against the dictatorship, oppression, persecution and war.  The film is fantastic but what the Criterion Collection has done was release it on Blu-ray, giving it the best PQ and AQ presentation possible plus including many wonderful special features to make this release an easy “must own”!  Another five-star release from the Criterion Collection, “The Great Dictator” is highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © 2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Great Dictator – The Criterion Collection #565

YEAR OF FILM: 1940

DURATION: 125 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio), Black and White, Monaural

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2011

Directed by Charles Chaplin

Written by Charles Chaplin

Cinematography by Karl Struss and Roland Totheroh

Edited by Willard Nico

Art Direction by J. Russell Spencer

Starring:

Charles Chaplin as Hynkel – Dictator of Tomania/A Jewish Barber

Jack Oakie – Napaloni as Dictator of Bacteria

Reginald Gardiner as Schultz

Henry Daniell as Garbitsch

Billy Gilbert as Herring

Grace Hayle as Madame Napaloni

Carter DeHaven as Bacterian Ambassador

Paulette Goddard as Hannah

Maurice Moscovitch as Mr. Jaeckel

Emma Dunn as Mrs. Jaeckel

Bernard Gorcey as Mr. Mann

Paul Weigel as Mr. Agar

In his controversial masterpiece The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin offers both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly tweaking of his own comic persona. Chaplin, in his first pure talkie, brings his sublime physicality to two roles: the cruel yet clownish “Tomainian” dictator and the kindly Jewish barber who is mistaken for him. Featuring Jack Oakie and Paulette Goddard in stellar supporting turns, The Great Dictator, boldly going after the fascist leader before the U.S.’s official entry into World War II, is an audacious amalgam of politics and slapstick that culminates in Chaplin’s famously impassioned speech.

The most audacious film from Charlie Chaplin.

It was Charlie Chaplin who was known for the moustache before Adolf Hitler and in 1940, Chaplin would create one of the most surprising and shocking comedies during World War II mocking Adolf Hitler and at the same time, giving one of the greatest movie speeches of all time that was directed to Hitler.

“The Great Dictator” was a film that Chaplin needed in his career.  Know for his role of the tramp in many of his silent films, like many silent film stars, their careers died when the talkies took over.  But Chaplin was still one of the few who were able to create a silent during when most people were enjoying films with sound.   His film “Modern Times” (1936) remains a classic but its the “Great Dictator” that stands out amongst the many films in his oeuvre.   It was a film that was risky because he put $1.5 million of his own money to the film and it was important for him to release the film or else he would have to file bankruptcy.

Nominated for five Academy Awards which included “Best Actor in a Leading Role” and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” in 1941, Chaplin took risks by taking his tramp character and playing the role of a Jewish barber and a dictator.  While Chaplin insists that he would never play the Tramp in his sound film, and this character is not the tramp but an entirely different character, Chaplin would later acknowledge a connection.

And while the film continues to be studied by scholars and each having their own interpretation of the juxtaposition of Chaplin ala his dual role in the film and to Adolf Hitler, the fact is that both were born four days apart, both sported toothbrush moustache, both were born in poverty and both rose in popularity, one man had aspirations to make millions laugh while the other would hurt and emotionally scar millions.

But the film was created during wartime.  Shot in 1938 and 1939, during a time when the atrocities caused by Nazi Germany was known.  This satire of Adolf Hitler was bold, it was supported by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and it was what many Americans needed during this dark time in the world.  People needed to laugh and thus the film was well-received and popular in the American public.  Nearly 60 years later, in 1997, “The Great Dictator” was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.

“The Great Dictator” begins during World War I.  A Jewish private (played by Charlie Chaplin), a barber is sent to fight for the Central Powers in the army of the fictional nation of Tomainia.

Despite not being a good soldier and often messing up. May it be trying to throw a grenade, trying to use anti-aircraft weaponry or accidentally getting lost and ending up with enemy soldiers, while trying to runaway from his enemies, he accidentally runs into a pilot who is in need of help.

The Jewish private ends up helping Commander Schultz (played by Reginald Gardiner) on to his airplane and helping pilot it, while Schultz is in a daze and must bring important information to his superiors.  While the Jewish private and Commander Schultz ride the airplane, it runs out of gas and both crash in a marsh.  Both are injured but survive.

While Commander Schultz is able to give his fellow soldiers the dispatches, he is told that the war has ended and Tomainia has lost the war.

Fast forward and we hear a speech by Adenoid Hynkel (Chaplin’s satire on Adolf Hitler), the ruthless dictator of Tomainia who wants to persecute the Jews.  He rules Tomainia with an iron fist and together with his staff, they try to find ways to cause war in order to dominate the world, capture more areas and persecute more and more people, even if they have to be nice at first but then to double cross them (side note: Tomainia’s flag is a double cross).

The film then focuses on the lives of these two men.

The Jewish barber has been hospitalized with memory loss and is unaware of Hynkel and Tomainia’s powerhold in various countries and their persecution of the Jews.  When he returns to his barbershop, he notices that storm troopers are painting the word “Jew” on windows at his shop.  When he tries to stop them, the storm troopers try to discipline him by brute force.  But he is saved by Hannah (played by Paulette Goddard), who is smitten by the barber due to his bravery of confronting the storm troopers and eventually, the barber himself would start to develop feelings towards Hannah.

Of course, the storm troopers are not going to let the Jewish Barber mock them and next thing you know, a large group of them go after the barber.  As they are about to lynch him on a light post, he is reunited with Commander Schultz who saves him and tells the storm troopers to back off and not touch him.

Meanwhile, the dictator Adenoid Hynkel is planning to betray the Jews.  One, to find a way to take their money to fund his war and invade the neighboring country of Osterlich but first he plans to end the persecution of Jews but once he is able to secure the money from them, he will betray and persecute them.  Commander Schultz is against Hynkel’s plan and despite being a decorated warrior, Hynkel will not tolerate Schultz’ behavior and sentences him to the concentration camps.

Schultz manages to escape from captivity and ends up reuniting with the Jewish barber.  But how long can these two continue to run from the Tomainian storm troopers and survive?  And what will happen to Hannah and her family when Hynkel authorizes the persecution of all Jews?

VIDEO:

“The Great Dictator” has gone through major remastering several years ago.  And while there are many people who have saw this film many times before, the fact is that on Blu-ray, this film looks absolutely fantastic.  I was very impressed, especially when I began comparing the Blu-ray version to the DVD release. Blacks were inky and dark, picture quality was sharper, detailed and more pronounced.

For now, this is the definitive version of “The Great Dictator” to own when it comes to picture quality.

Personally, I feel that this Blu-ray release of “the film is the best looking version of “The Great Dictator” to date. Presented in 1080p (1:33:1 aspect ratio) and in black and white, the blacks are nice and deep. The contrast is just right and there is a good amount of grain. Previous releases usually were devoid of grain and dust and scratches can be seen. While for this release from the Criterion Collection, they did a wonderful job of eliminating the dust and scratches that were seen on the original DVD release and suffice to say, this transfer on Blu-ray is fantastic!

You can notice the detail in the film.  In fact, similar to “Modern Times” on Blu-ray, there is noticeable detail in the images from the close ups of Paulette Goddard, you can see the shimmer in her eyes and how she absolutely shines in this film and in HD, she looks terrific. We can literally see the grime on her face and of course, the transformation from cleaning lady to a beautiful counterpart for the Jewish barber.

This is a new remaster and the new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 2K Datacine from a combination of a 35 mm fine-grain mater positive and a 35 mm duplicate negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system, while DigitalVision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

One thing that fans of “The Great Dictator” will notice is how clean the lossless monaural track is. No hissing or pops and for the most part, the monaural soundtrack is quite crisp, clear and very clean.

The monaural soundtrack according to the Criterion Collection was transferred at 24-bit from the sound negative and restored by L.E. Diapason using Pro Tools and Cedar. Additional restoration was done at Criterion, where clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Great Dictator – The Criterion Collection #565″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary – Performer/Author Dan Kamin and silent film historian Hooman Mehran discus the verbal and visual puns of the film, the Jewish performers of the film, the two dictators, “King, Queen, Joker”, the real world violence and more.
• The Tramp and the Dictator – (55:00) 2001 Documentary by Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft discuss the parallels of the life of Chaplin and Hitler. Narrated by filmmaker Kenneth Branagh and featuring interviews with author Ray Bradbury, director Sidney Lumet, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., screenwriter Budd Schulberg and many others.
• Chaplin’s Napoleon – (19:12) A Visual essay by Cecilia Cenciarelli, archivist and head of the Cineteca di Bologna’s Progretto Chaplin.
• The Clown Turn’s Prophet – (20:54) A Visual essay by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance using films stills and historical imagery.
• Sydney Chaplin’s Footage – (26:52) Silent footage in color filmed by Charlie Chaplin’s half-brother documenting the production of “The Great Dictoator” on 16mm.
• King, Queen, Joker – Surviving elements of the 1921 Paramount Pictures silent film: Sidney Chaplin (4:54) and Two Shaves (2:21)
• Charlie the Barber – (7:50) A scene shot for the 1919 silent film “Sunnyside” but never used.
• Trailer – (2:01) The original theatrical trailer of “The Great Dictator”.

EXTRAS:

A 30-page booklet featuring the following essays “The Joker and the Madman” by Michael Wood, an article from the New York Times (October 27, 1940) titled “Mr. Chaplin Answers his Critics” and from “….Pourquoi les coiffeurs? by Jean Narboni – What is Known as Really Speaking” feat. an introduction by Richard Brody. The booklet also includes “The Great Dictator” illustrations by Al Hirschfeld from 1942, courtesy of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation.

Audacious.  A masterpiece.  Chaplin’s greatest film ever.  The greatest speech in a film.

Decade after decade, many critics, many audiences have had their own say of how they felt about “The Great Dictator”.

I truly believe that for many of us living today, far from those who watched the film and had to live through both World Wars, we look at this film and while we expect physical comedy, scenes that are hilarious and Chaplin being Chaplin, sometimes a few minutes can change the course of a film and make it something entirely different.  In the case of “The Great Dictator”, when I first watched this film, I felt like clapping, hooting and just being proud of the words that were coming out of the mouth of the Jewish barber.  It was so unexpected but it was Chaplin being bold, being brave and reaching out to the millions who have watched him and give them a personal message.

After all, there have been juxtapositions  between Chaplin and Adolf Hitler.  From the mustache, their upbringing and how both had captured the attention of millions, one through comedy, one through brutality and force.  And as Adolf Hitler was invading and persecuting the Jews, at the time, Chaplin had no idea of the extent of the atrocities that Hitler and Nazi Germany has done but yet that speech he gave at the end was the cherry on the cake.

After using satire to make fun of Hitler and his men, he delivered the unexpected grand slam by giving a speech that was loud and clear.  Well, for me it was.  Hitler was the force of evil, Chaplin was the force of good.

And I say that because not everyone felt that way back then.  Back in the ’50s, due to McCarthy-ism, many in America turned on Chaplin as being un-American.  A decade after “The Great Dictator”, public sentiment was not exactly at its kindest for Charlie Chaplin and also many entertainers, radio hosts, screenwriters and filmmakers at the time were boycotted and Chaplin was upset at how he was treated that he renounced his American citizenship and made Switzerland his home, only to return back to the US when he received his Honorary Oscar at the Academy Awards in 1972.

Each time I read about how critics lampooned Chaplin at the time is surprising and it was the sign of the times.  Francois Truffaut once wrote,”Whenever I hear, ‘Now that Chaplin is taking himself seriously, his work is finished,’ I can’t help thinking that his work is beginning.  An artist can create works for himself to “do himself good”, or “do good” for others.

Film critic Andrew Sarris wrote in his book “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet” in regards to “The Great Dictator”, “But even his devastating parody of Hitler was discounted by audiences and critics on the grounds that the old comedy conventions were inadequate for the sleek new tyrannies.  Only when absurdest modes of expression became the rage in the sixties and seventies could “The Great Dictator” be appreciated for the psychologically complex vision it provided through its stylized spectacles.”

When I read the various reviews from film critics from 1940 through the 1970′s, you can’t help but see how the times and the appreciation of this film would change.  After all, if you lived in the ’40s and all you have heard is Hitler this and Hitler that, non-stop, especially if you grew tired of a war that last many years, you probably would want to tune-out as well.

But here we are.  Over 70-years later and for me, “The Great Dictator” is a film that is bold, masterfully created, choreographed and performed with great efficacy, but without knowing the extent of the atrocities caused by Nazi Germany, what Chaplin was able to capture was one’s will to live.  Those who are persecuted fought to survive, those who followed the dictatorship were fanatics, troglodytes that didn’t think for themselves but were people who were taught to think like their dictator.

But it was Chaplin who dared cross the man that he has been juxtaposed with.  The other man with the similar mustache who rose to popularity like himself but chose a different path.  And to think of today’s filmmakers, not being able to use a film as a platform to showcase their creativity, for the sake of making profit, there was no doubt that Chaplin had his back towards the wall, he risked everything for this film in the hopes that it would be successful but also understood.

As for the Blu-ray release, “The Great Dictator” is magnificent.  I felt “Modern Times” was absolutely wonderful in content and presentation and of course, the film itself, but the Criterion Collection has done a great service to their loyal followers by giving people the best looking version of “The Great Dictator” to date.

And if you wan to learn more about “The Great Dictator”, of course, after you have seen the film, from the comparisons of similarities and differences between Chaplin and Hitler,  to the making of this film, deleted scenes for other Chaplin films, audio commentary, let’s just say that there are many special features to keep Criterion fans busy.

Overall, this is another 5-star release from the Criterion Collection.  Sure, there are some who may find Chaplin’s crucial speech at the end as too much or too different for their liking but I call it bold, successful and impressive.

“The Great Dictator” is a masterpiece that one must watch and experience in their lifetime.  Sure, it’s not Chaplin, the silent tramp that silent fans may have fallen in love with but with “The Great Dictator”, Chaplin was able to make a statement to those who are persecuted, to those who are being oppressed and to think of the context of when this film was released and who the man that Chaplin himself was mocking.  It makes you wonder if Hitler actually watched the film and if so, how he felt about it.

In the end, “The Great Dictator” is a film that showcases Chaplin as a genius and this is one masterpiece that I can easily give it 5-stars.  Highly recommended!

 

Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) – The Criterion Collection #237 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Ingmar Bergman’s boudoir farce is magnificent, delightful and erotic!   And now “Smiles of a Summer Night” receives its HD treatment on Blu-ray for the first time.  If you want to experience a Bergman film for the very first time, I highly recommend this comedic masterpiece!  Definitely recommended!

Image courtesy of © 1955 AB Svensk Filmindustri. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Smiles of a Summer Night – The Criterion Collection #237

YEAR OF FILM: 1955

DURATION: 108 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio), Monaural in Swedish with English Subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2011

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Written by Ingmar Bergman

Produced by Allan Ekelund

Music by Erik Nordgren

Cinematography by Gunnar Fischer

Edited by Oscar Rosander

Production Design by P.A. Lundgren

Costume Design by Mago

Starring:

Ulla Jacobsson as Anne Egerman

Gunnar Bjornstrand as Fredrik Egerman

Eva Dahlbeck as Desiree Armfeldt

Bjorn Bjelfvenstam as Henrik Egerman

Harriet Andersson as Petra the Main

Margit Carlqvist as Countess Charlotte Malcolm

Jarl Kulle as Count Carl Magnus Malcolm

Ake Fridell as Frid the Groom

Naima Wifstrand as Mrs. Armfeldt

Jullan Kindahl as Beata, Cook

Gull Natorp as Malla

After fifteen films that received mostly local acclaim, the 1955 comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) at last ushered in an international audience for Ingmar Bergman. In turn-of-the-century Sweden, four men and four women attempt to navigate the laws of attraction. During a weekend in the country, the women collude to force the men’s hands in matters of the heart, exposing their pretensions and insecurities along the way. Chock-full of flirtatious propositions and sharp witticisms delivered by such Swedish screen legends as Gunnar Björnstrand and Harriet Andersson, Smiles of a Summer Night is one of cinema’s great erotic comedies.

Vibrant, elegant and absolutely delightful! Ingmar Bergman’s “Smiles of a Summer Night” is a charming comedy that is sexy, sensual and brilliant!

Ingmar Bergman is a filmmaker prior to 1955 has had films that were critically acclaimed but if there was one problem that Bergman faced, it was the fact that his films were not big moneymakers. So, needless to say, Bergman faced incredible pressure when working on “Smiles of a Summer Night” and thus, the filmmaker turned to comedy as this film would be a barometer of success of whether or not the Svensk Filindustri will continue to finance his films or not.

Not only was “Smiles of a Summer Night” a success. The film would introduce Bergman to an International audience thanks to its exposure at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival and to this day, the film continues to be a beloved film by cineaste and film critics. In fact, Time Magazine included the film in their “100 Best Movies of All Time” back in 2005.

In fact, the film would inspire filmmakers such as Woody Allen to create “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy” (1982) and the Broadway musical “A Little Night Music” (1973).

With the first release of “Smiles of a Summer Night” on DVD from the Criterion Collection in 2004, Ingmar Bergman’s romantic comedy receives its first release via HD on Blu-ray in May 2011.

“Smiles of a Summer Night” focuses on a family which includes Fredrik Egerman (played by Gunnar Bjornstrand), a wealthy lawyer and a man known for his past liaisons with women when he was younger and is now married to the young 19-year-old Anne Egerman (played by Ulla Jacobsson). But surprisingly, despite being married for two years, the two married couple has yet to consummate their marriage.

Living with them is his son Henrik Egerman (played by Bjorn Bjelfvenstam).  A son from his previous marriage and is a young man studying to be a minister and is also a musician who his stepmother Anne can relate to more due to their closeness in age.  But the truth is that young Henrik is starting to fall for his step-mother and instead of going with his sexual urges and having an affair (and betraying his father), he puts his attention to the flirtatious servant Petra (played by Harriet Andersson).

One night after coming back from a long trip, while alone with his wife in bed and as he kisses her passionately, he accidentally calls his young wife… Desiree.  Who is Desiree?

When the two go out for an evening to the theatre, to Anne’s shock, the lead singer is Desiree Armfeldt (played by Eva Dahlbeck), a beautiful blonde.  And when she looks up to their balcony, this makes Anne even more jealous and puts her to tears.  Unable to watch the show, she begs her husband to take her back home.  Meanwhile, Fredrik secretly learns that his son is smitten with his servant Petra but she is hard-to-get and also a tease.  But he finds it amusing to see how his son is with a woman.

While Anne is asleep after her emotional ordeal of finding out the identity of Desiree, Fredrik sneaks out of the house and visits Desiree to tell her that he thinks his young wife may know that the two have something going on and talk about his marital problems, something that Desiree doesn’t want to talk about.

What we do learn from their conversation is that Fredrik and Desiree had an an affair during his last marriage and before he married Anne.  Desiree broke off the relationship and the two never saw each other since.

But what shocks Fredrik is that Desiree is a mother of a young boy who she named Fredrik.  When Fredrik confronts her about the boy, she tells him that he is not the father.  But Fredrik insults her saying that he could not picture her as a mother and this upsets Desiree.

Meanwhile, another man, Count Carl-Magnus Malcom has come to visit Desiree and Fredrik learns that she has been having an affair with this army officer with a bad temper.  Needless to say, both men do not get along and Count Malcom threatens Fredrik to leave and before any trouble can happen, Desiree manages to get Fredrik out of her home before any damage is done. But because of this ordeal, the count got violent with Desiree and she ended their affair immediately.

But since meeting with Fredrik and seeing the state of his marriage, as well as the state of the Count’s marriage with his wife, Desiree comes up with an idea.

Desiree wants to help everyone with their marital woes, so she decides to invite Fredrik, Anne, his son Henrik, Count Malcolm and his wife to her country house for a summer party.

But what Desiree and Fredrik doesn’t know is that Count Malcom’s wife Charlotte is very good friends with Anne, both women harbor a hatred towards Desiree, Count Malcom harbors a hatred towards Fredrik (and vice versa),  meanwhile the sexual tension between Anne and her stepson Henrik begins to intensify.    What will happen at Desiree’s summer party?  Will she be able to help everyone’s marital woes or will the party end in disaster?

VIDEO:

“Smiles of a Summer Night” on Blu-ray is presented in black and white (1:33:1 aspect ratio), 1080p High Definition.  The one thing you will notice is the film’s contrast if compared to the original 2004 DVD.  While the 2004 DVD was well-done for its time, the contrast is much better on Blu-ray.

The contrast and detail is well done as the blacks are rich and the whites are natural looking.  Film grain is noticeable and intact and for a film that is nearly 60-years, I felt that the Criterion Collection did a magnificent job as I didn’t detect any debris, scratches or any defects.

According to the Criterion Collection, the high definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a new 35mm print made from the original camera negative.  Thousand of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for  small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

Overall, “Smiles of a Summer Night” looks fantastic on Blu-ray!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Smiles of a Summer Night” is presented in Swedish Monaural with English subtitles.  Dialogue is crisp and crystal clear and the subtitles were very easy to read.  I didn’t notice any audio defects, pops, hiss or cracking during my viewing of the film.

According to the Criterion Collection, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical soundtrack print.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.  Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Smiles of a Summer Night – The Criterion Collection #237″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Ingmar Bergman Introduction – (2:50) Ingmar Bergman reflects on the success of “Smiles of a Summer night” filmed in his theater on the island of Faro and produced by reporter Marie Nyrerod for SVT Svensk Television in the summer of 2003.
• Peter Cowie and Jorn Donner - (16:47) Film historian Peter Cowie and writer Jorn Donner discuss Ingmar Bergman’s return to the Svensk Filmindustri in 1955 with “Smiles of a Summer Night” and how the success of the film introduced a new side of the filmmaker.
• Trailer – (1:5) The original Swedish theatrical trailer for “Smiles of a Summer Night”.

EXTRAS:

Included is a 26-page booklet featuring the essay “Midsummer Merry-Go-Round” by John Simon and Pauline Kael’s review of “Smiles of a Summer Night”.

Put yourself in the audiences shoes back in 1955, where films were conservative and if it was directed by Ingmar Bergman, one would expect a film that would have dark undertones and for the most part, bleak.

But “Smiles of a Summer Night” was a big surprise for audiences not only in Sweden but also worldwide as the film was so different from any film that Ingmar Bergman had done.  No dark or bleak undertones, in fact, the film would be the opposite of a Bergman film in the fact that it was erotic, delightful, fun and highly entertaining.

The film not only saved Bergman’s film career but it would be the film that would introduce the world to the Swedish filmmaker.

Which began with a Palm d’Or nomination at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, the film would launch Bergman to greater heights with films such as “The Seventh Seal” (1957), “Wild Strawberries” (1957), “The Virgin Spring” (1960) and many more films which would be nominated and also would win awards for Bergman throughout his career.

But what could have been a long sleep-inducing film was cleverly written with humor and with talent who took control of their characters and brilliantly performed the role on  the big screen.

The biggest attraction for me was the communication and innuendo between Fredrik Egerman (Gunnder Bjornstrand) and Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck).  You really don’t know what kind of guy Fredrik is until you see him leave the house and visits Desiree.  The first time I watched the film, you wonder if this man has a dark secret (which would make sense for a Bergman film) but although he does have a secret, it’s a man visiting an old flame.

The playfulness of both characters as Desiree tries to escort him to her home and tells him to be careful of a puddle and then seeing Fredrik fall in the puddle and see him getting drenched was a scene that made me laugh.  If you are a viewer of Bergman’s films, laughing at a character may seem a bit unusual.  And it when these two are just discussing their former sexual relationship, Desiree titillating the audience as well as Fredrik and their banter of going back and forth as one is not willing to submit to any wrongdoing.

This tete-a-tete between the two characters was not only enjoyable but you realize that this comedy is a different kind of Bergman film.  Fresh, unique and naughty (in a mid-1950′s international cinema way), you can’t help but want to see more of these characters on camera.

But Bergman doesn’t stop there.  He ads the naughty servant Petra into the mix and see how she gets Fredrik’s son, Henrik out of his shell.  Taunting him with her breasts, grabbing his hand and putting it on her breast to see him squirm.

And then the young Anne Egerman, wife at 19 who has not consummated her relationship and you ask yourself, how is this possible?  Especially with a man like Fredrik who is used to being with women, and I’m guessing if he has been with a wild woman like Desiree, you have no doubt that he is a genuine playboy.  But what is stopping this playboy from being with his wife?

Yes, his wife Anne is reserved but you can tell by watching this film that she wants to make things happen but the only attention she is truly getting is her stepson who happens to be a few years older than him.  We know that Anne is jealous of her husband when he accidentally calls her “Desiree” during a passionate moment in bed.

Throw in a rival for Fredrik in the supposedly violent Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, a man who cheats on his wife Countess Charlotte Malcolm in order to be with Desiree.  Charlotte happens to be very good friends of Anne but the main difference is that no matter what happens in the Count and Countess’ relationship, she is very much in love with him.

Needless to say there is a lot of tension, especially sexual tension when Desiree brings these characters to her summer home for a party.  You can easily feel the uneasiness of the situation but also the feeling of wanting to laugh because the whole predicament these characters are in is hilarious!  The personal complications between the characters is quite entertaining and its stylized nature is absolutely farcical.

In the end, Ingmar Bergman pulls of a clever film and as I would have imagined “Smiles of a Summer Night” to have major impact back in 1955, nearly 60-years later, while the situations featured in the film may be commonplace and even banal, the film and its strong performances continue to win you over.

As for the Blu-ray release of “Smiles of a Summer Night”, there is no doubt that the film benefits with its new transfer for Blu-ray.  The contrast of the film really enhances the overall look and compared to the DVD release, this is the best looking version of “Sommarnattens leende” to date!  As for the special features, there is nothing new added to this Blu-ray release, so it all comes down to one’s love for Ingmar Bergman’s films and those who want a delightful, charming romantic comedy on Blu-ray.  And although a pretty solid release, for 2011, I was hoping that there would be something new added in terms of special features for 2011.   An audio commentary track or anything new for this new release would have suffice, but that is just me being picky.

The fact is that “Smiles of a Summer Night” is the film that introduced the world to Ingmar Bergman, it’s a film that gave his career longevity rather than ending it and it continues to be a beloved film for many cinema fans nearly 60-years later.  If you are a big fan of the film.

Ingmar Bergman’s boudoir farce is magnificent, delightful and erotic!   And now “Smiles of a Summer Night” receives its HD treatment on Blu-ray for the first time.  If you want to experience a Bergman film for the very first time, I highly recommend this comedic masterpiece!  Definitely recommended!

Trafic – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #439 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

I am so happy that each of the M. Hulot films were released by the Criterion Collection.   Entertaining, fun and a final goodbye to Monsieur Hulot.  Highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © 1971 StudioCanal/Selenia Cinematografica (Italy). 2008 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Trafic – The Criterion Collection #439

RELEASE OF FILM: 1971

DURATION: 97 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio, French Monaural, Subtitles: English SDH

COMPANY: Janus Films/Studio Canal/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: July 15, 2008

Directed by Jacques Tati

Original Scenario by Jacques Tati

Artistic Collaboration with Jacques Lagrange, Bert Haanstra

Producer: Robert Dorfman

Music by Charles Dumont

Cinematography by Eduard van der Enden

Edited by Maurice Laumain, Sophie Tatishceff

Production Design by Adrien De Rooy

Costume Design by Jacques Esterel

Starring:

Jacques Tati as Monsieur Hulot

Marcel Fraval as Truckdriver

Maria Kimberly as Maria

Honore Bostel as Director of ALTRA

Francois Maisongrosse as Francois

Tony Knepper as Mechanic

In Jacques Tati’s Trafic, the bumbling Monsieur Hulot, outfitted as always with tan raincoat, beaten brown hat, and umbrella, takes to Paris’s highways and byways. For this, his final outing, Hulot is employed as an auto company’s director of design, and accompanies his new vehicle (a camper tricked out with absurd gadgetry) to an auto show in Amsterdam. Naturally, the road is paved with modern-age mishaps. This late-career delight is a masterful demonstration of the comic genius’s expert timing and sidesplitting visual gags, and a bemused last look at technology run amok.

Jacques Tati, a wonderful actor and one of the greatest film directors who has only created six feature films but watching it today, you can’t help but feel he was ahead of his time.  The French filmmaker who saw the Paris that he grew up with becoming a different Paris that is today.

With his Charlie Chaplin-esque character Monsieur Hulot,  we would see how Monsieur Hulot would experience the changes of Paris beginning with his 1953 film “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday” (Las Vacances de Monsieur Hulot”), which would earn Tati his first Academy Award nomination for “Best Original Screenplay”.  His third major feature “Mon Oncle” (1958) would be Tati’s first film in color and would focus on the disappearance of the Paris that he once knew and France’s obsession with modern architecture and gadgetry but also American-style consumerism and his fourth major feature, the third to feature Hulot was the 1967 film “Playtime”.

In “Playtime”, Monsieur Hulot, he easily gets lost in the city and leads him to adventures to various areas such as an office building (which he had a problem with today’s modern architecture) as he gets lost trying to get to his meeting and ends up being pulled away to a high-tech trade expedition, a high-tech apartment and then leads him to nightclub known as the Royal Garden.  The film culminates with the carousel of cars as Barbara must leave the city and sees almost a carousel/parade of all these vehicles all around her and how all the people react.  What we see is a city that has been transformed to a festive, enormous metropolitan playground.

In Jacques Tati’s final film “Trafic” (1971) starring Monsieur Hulot, as Tati would showcase at the end of “Playtime” with the vehicles, the automobiles become the focal point in the movie.

“Trafic” begins with an automobile plant working on vehicles.  One of the vehicles is a prototype designed by Monsieur Hulot (played by Jacques Tati) which is an all-in-one vehicle with plenty of gadgetry for those who want the life they would have at home, right inside their car .   And the prototype would be unveiled at an important car show in Amsterdam.

The PR executive, Maria (played by supermodel Maria Kimberly) will drive her own vehicle to prepare the car for the show but all that Hulot and truck driver (played by Marcel Fraval) needs to do is make it to Amsterdam.

But unfortunately, the truck that is carrying the prototype breaks down (continuously).  While Maria panics about getting the prototype to the show, M. Hulot plays it off cool as he tries to help the truck driver get the truck fixed.

Meanwhile, similar to other films starring Hulot which feature how society behaves with technology and the modern setting, “Trafic” shows us what people do in their cars while they are waiting in traffic.

While they make their way to Amsterdam, will they get there in time?  And will Monsieur Hulot’s cool nature help tame the spoiled Maria?

VIDEO:

“Trafic” is presented in the aspect ratio of 1:33:1 and for its age, “Trafic” looks very good.  Because a lot of early ’70s films tend to use not-so-great film to shoot on and either its very grainy or the colors were saturated due to degradation of the film elements, I wasn’t sure how “Trafic” would look.  But after watching it, the film looks awesome for its age.   I do hope Criterion considers this for a Blu-ray release in the near future.

According to the Criterion Collection, this new high definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35 mm interpositive.  Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s Digital Restoration System.  To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on the dual-layer DVD-9 was encoded at the highest-possible bit rate for the quantity of material included

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Trafic” is presented in French monaural. For those familiar with M. Hulot films, you will noticed that dialogue is not so important or is rarely used but for “Trafic” there is some dialogue featured in this film and for the most part, you can understand the dialogue, especially coming from Maria.  And also the familiar M. Hulot song is played throughout the film.

According to the Criterion Collection, the soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from a 35 mm magnetic track and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss and crackle.

Subtitles are presented in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Trafic” DVD comes with the following special features:

DISC 1

• Morceaux de bravoure – (14:29) An episode of the French TV program “Morceaux de bravoure”from January 16, 1973  titled “The Comedy of Jacques Tati” hosted by Andre Halimi and features an interview with Jacques Tati.
• Le jouranal du cinema – (7:23) An episode of French TV program “Le Journal du cinema” from April 16, 1971 and features the cast of Trafic talking with host Anne Andreu about their experiences making the film.
• Trailer – (2:18) The original theatrical trailer for “Trafic”.

DISC 2

• In the Footsteps of M. Hulot – (51:17) Directed by Jacques Tati’s daughter Sophie Tatischeff, an excellent two-part documentary that chronicles the evolution of the filmmaker’s character and alter ego Monsieur Hulot through archival interviews, footage, photos and clips from many of his films.

EXTRAS:

Included is a 16-page booklet featuring the following essay “Watching the Wheels” by Jonathan Romney.

When it comes to the work of Jacques Tati, there are those who find his work artistic, creative and enjoyable and those who find his films to not be to their liking.  But like any work of art, everyone will have their interpretation and opinion of it and the same can be said about Tati films.

For me, the last three M. Hulot films have been humorous, entertaining and I never grow bored watching them because in some ways, these films were created at the time where many cities began its transformation from old to new.  M. Hulot films showcases the change of Paris and Hulot being thrusted into a new age of technology and vanity.

As “Mon Oncle” showcased a family wanting to have the modern home, while he lived in an older part of Paris free from its modernization.  “Playtime” showcased the people who wanted to work in a modern office setting and live in a modern home and people who were fascinated by the changes.  In “Trafic”, may it be what people were inspired by 007 films or perhaps Tati’s thinking that the next step for people will be people living inside their cars.  Where they can drive, sleep, watch TV, prepare food, take a shower…everything you need is inside a car.

One may wonder how Jacques Tati would feel if he lived past 1982 and saw how society today, would become more dependent towards technology.  I can already picture M. Hulot throwing that iPad or laptop out the window.

But if there is one thing that I love about his films, it’s his observance of people towards technology at the time.  From the the couple who purchased a car garage opener that is triggered by sensor lights and eventually the couple being stuck inside their garage.  The same with “Trafic” as we see people in their cars, picking their nose and just waiting in their cars during traffic.  And in someways, it does make me laugh because for those of us who live in a metropolitan area and are always stuck in traffic, one may wonder how much of our lives are we stuck waiting in traffic and there are many times where I looked around me and watching people either singing, putting their makeup on, talking on their cell phone and like the film, constantly picking their nose.

And like his previous films, yo get the scenes that are carefully staged, the choreographed scenes especially with the vehicles as they wait in traffic or collide with each other during an accident.  But unlike the previous films, Monsieur Hulot is less of a klutz or the comedy clown that is always getting in some type of trouble.  In “Trafic”, he is the cool-headed one trying to ensure that the car gets to its destination, fetching gas or talking to the mechanics.  If anything, it’s the delivery truck itself that is getting into trouble in “Trafic” as it constantly breaks down.

While Hulot is playing it cool and the truck driver is quite amiable about his truck’s weaknesses, we watch PR exec Maria as she is constantly being bossy or annoyed by the truck not making its destination.  But its her transformation that because quite interesting because where Hulot and the truckdriver go, she has to be there as well, keeping updates to the rep at the automobile show of what the status of the car’s delivery is.  Maria embodies the people we have seen from previous M. Hulot films.  She has the sophistication and beauty, she is always with her dog and she drives this small sportster convertible which she drives and realize how close she is to hitting other cars.

But its the opposites that attract that we see how she changes through being around Hulot which was quite to fun to see and in someway, since “Trafic” is the final feature film for Jacques Tati and the last we would see of M. Hulot, the ending was quite fitting.

Is it better than the other previous films?  Well, “Playtime” was a behemoth in itself to coordinate and was so expensive that it literally put Jacques Tati’s future film endeavors in jeopardy and more or less would hurt him personally and financially.  But it’s a film that although it didn’t do well in the box office, it was highly regarded as a masterpiece years later.  Tati put his heart and soul to “Playtime” while “Trafic” felt it was less about Hulot and more about the vehicles and the other two talent (the truck driver and Maria) who were around him.  But still, I found “Trafic” to be enjoyable.

And for this DVD release, I found the release to be quite special because as the film would be the final feature film for Tati and M. Hulot, his youngest daughter Sophi Tatischeff would create a two-part documentary celebrating her father’s career and life in 1989.  Unfortunately, Sophie passed away in 2001 but the Criterion Collection would do Tati fans a great service by including her documentary “In the Footsteps of M. Hulot” in this DVD release of “Trafic”.  So, you are getting both the film and documentary in this wonderful DVD release.

Overall, I am so happy that each of the M. Hulot films were released by the Criterion Collection.  “Trafic” is a no brainer for Tati fans to purchase and the remastered film looks very good that I hope the Criterion Collection considers its release on Blu-ray in the near future.

Entertaining, fun and a final goodbye to Monsieur Hulot.  Highly recommended!

The Times of Harvey Milk – The Criterion Collection #557 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray disc Review)

While Gus Van Sant’s film “Milk” was a wonderful film showcasing and reminding people of what Harvey Milk did for gay and civil rights in San Francisco, the 1984 documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk” directed by Robert Epstein goes even further in showcasing Milk’s accomplishments but also his assassination, the night of his death and what transpired aftertward.  An important documentary receives impressive and wonderful treatment from the Criterion Collection.  A 5-star release that is highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © 1984 Black Sand Productions, Inc. 2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Times of Harvey Milk – The Criterion Collection #557

YEAR OF FILM: 1984

DURATION: 88 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio), 2.0 Surround

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2011

Directed by Rob Epstein

Narrated by Judith Coburn

Written by Rob Epstein

Narration by Carter Wilson

Produced by Rob Epstein, Richard Schmiechen

Associate Produced by Gregory W. Bex

Music by Mark Isham

Cinematography by Frances Reid

Edited by Rob Epstein, Deborah Hoffman

Production Design by Michael McNeil

CAST:

Harvey Fierstein (narrator)

Harvey Milk

Anne Kronenberg

Tory Hartmann

Tom Ammiano

Jim Elliot

Henry Der

Jeannine Yeomans

Bill Kraus

Sally M. Gearhart

Jerry Brown

Jimmy Carter

Dianne Feinstein

David Flower

John Biggs

Joseph Freitas

Terence Hallinan

George Moscone

Dan White

A true twentieth-century trailblazer, Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world. The Oscar-winning The Times of Harvey Milk, directed by Robert Epstein and produced by Richard Schmiechen, was as groundbreaking as its subject. One of the first feature documentaries to address gay life in America, it’s a work of advocacy itself, bringing Milk’s message of hope and equality to a wider audience. This exhilarating trove of original documentary material and archival footage is as much a vivid portrait of a time and place (San Francisco’s historic Castro District in the seventies) as a testament to the legacy of a political visionary.

Before the Sean Penn biopic “Milk” based on the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office, there was Robert Epstein’s “The Times of Harvey Milk”.  A documentary that showcases Harvey Milk as he would run for supervisor in San Francisco and became the voice for the gay community but also for minorities, a champion of gay and civil rights and would eventually showcase the day of his assassination and what transpired after his murder.

The documentary details the life of Harvey Milk focusing less on his personal life but more on his emerging rise as a politician but how he changed the lives of many people and through this film, interviewed are those who worked on his campaign, those who worked with him professionally, those who were driven by his work and his passion to help people, those who interviewed him and those who were straight but eventually realized how unique and important he was to the community.

“MILK” gives us a glimpse of the life Harvey Milk had and learning more about his challenges running for political office (unsuccessfully) three times, being on the opposing side of Dianne Feinstein at times and also fighting against proposition 6 (The Briggs Initiative) which was on the ballot on Nov. 1978 in which conservative state legislator John Briggs of Orange County wanted to ban gays and lesbians and anyone who supported gay rights from working in California’s public schools.

The film would also show a juxtaposition of Supervisor Dan White, how he and Harvey Milk would work together but eventually, White would splinter off and end up resigning from his job to raise a family and then to quickly try to get it back months later, which would lead to him assassinating San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.  Showing us the amazing Candlelight Memorial featuring 45,000 people on the night of the deaths of both men and the riots that erupted when the verdict was read on Dan White’s murder case.

“The Times of Harvey Milk” is an exhilarating documentary featuring archived footage showcasing Harvey Milk but also a portrait of how the city of San Francisco was at that time period.

VIDEO:

“The Times of Harvey Milk” is presented in he aspect ratio of 1:33:1.  Because the film was shot in 1984 and features plenty of archived footage from a variety of cameras and sources, as expected from a documentary, you’re going to have quality that is a bit mixed.  But for the most part, the picture quality is pretty good for this film and as one would expect an early ’80s film to look quite aged, if anything, the fact that this film gives us a vivid portrait of Harvey Milk and the City of San Francisco in the ’70s, I don’t think anyone would complain.  This documentary looks good considering its age and its source material.

“The Times of Harvey Milk” was supervised and approved by director Robert Epstein. According to the Criterion Collection, the new digital transfer was created on a 4K Spirit Datacine in 2K resolution from UCLA’s restored 35 mm duplicate negative, which was created from the original 16 mm color negative B rolls, 16 mm reversal preproduction elements, and the original 1-inch production master. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Times of Harvey Milk” is presented in Dolby 2.0 Surround and dialogue is clear and understandable.  Considering the various audio sources utilized in this film, audio is clear and I heard no major hissing or pops.

According to the Criterion Collection, the Dolby 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from UCLA’s restored magnetic track, which was created fro the original 35 mm 6-track master sound mix and original PCM-F1 stereo music master by Mark Isham. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Sonic Solutions and Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using Sonic Solutions and  AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Times of Harvey Milk – The Criterion Collection #557″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Audio commentary featuring director Robert Epstein, co-editor Deborah Hoffmann and photographer Daniel Nicoletta.  A wonderful commentary as the trio discuss Harvey Milk and the various people who took part in the film, the footage shot in San Francisco and also the murder, the trial and more.
• Postscript - (2:42) Featuring footage that was supposed to be used as the original conclusion but wasn’t used at all.
• Trailer – (3:16) The original theatrical trailer for “The Times of Harvey Milk”
• Jon Else – (19:48) Filmmaker of Jon Else talkes a look at the documentary and why “The Times of Harvey Milk” is significant.
• Two Films, One Legacy – (22:51) A featurette featuring comparisons between both “The Times of Harvey Milk” and Gus Van Sant’s film “Milk” and how both focus on Harvey Milk’s legacy. Featuring Rob Epstein, Van Sant, actor James Franco, and Milk friends Cleve Jones, Anne Kronenberg and more.
• Harvey Milk Recordings – Featuring video and audio recordings of Harvey Milk that shaped his political activism.  The footage featured are: Out of the Bars and Into the Streets (13:51), Texas Gay Confernece Five (47:34), Harvey Milk Speaks Out (2:45), Anti-Proposition 6 Election Night Party (10:04), Harvey Milk’s Political Will (13:18)
• Director’s Research Tapes – (19:54) Draft interviews with various people in Harvey Milk’s life including his boyfriend Scott Smith and Milk’s colleagues which weren’t used in the final cut of the film.
  
• From the Castro to the Oscars – Footage featuring the 1984 premiere at the Castro Theatre (7:36) presented by writer Vito Russo and a Night at the Oscars (3:06) in which the film won an Oscar.
• The Dan White Case – Featuring a newsclip (4:05) of Dan White quitting his job as a fireman to become part of the Board of Supervisors and panel discussion (29:29) at the University of San Francisco featuring  those who were involved in Dan White’s defense team and answering questions from the audience.
• Harry Britt, Milk’s Successor – (9:48) A speech by Britt back in 2003 celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Milk’s death and what Harvey Milk mean to him.
• Candlelight Memorial – (7:20) – On November 27th, 2003, on the 25th Anniversary of Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone’s death, SF Supervisor Tom Ammiano and the late mayor’s daughter Rebecca take part in honoring the two men.

EXTRAS:

Included is a 32-page booklet featuring “Making History” by B. Ruby Rich, “Harvey’s Enduring Legacy” by Stuart Milk and “Restoring the Times of Harvey Milk” by Ross Lipman.

The Criterion Collection is known for bringing out a series of important classic and contemporary films on Blu-ray and DVD.

“The Times of Harvey Milk” is one of those important documentaries of a man who fought for gay and civil rights in San Francisco but became an inspiration for many people all over the world.

Consider the time when Harvey Milk came to San Francisco, gay men were ridiculed, beaten and treated badly by the community, including the police who protected the city as many found homosexuality as a form of deviance and unacceptable behavior.  But when a hippie who owned the Castro Camera Shop in the emerging gay Castro district became a political activist, this intelligent man knew that the barriers that existed towards homosexuality had to be broken.

While the film “Milk” would feature the personal and political life of Harvey Milk, “The Times of Harvey Milk” is a documentary that showcases the true Harvey Milk on camera.  Featuring archived news footage to footage shot by filmmaker Rob Epstein.

From the teamsters who joined Milk to boycott Coors Beer in the Castro Area, to Milk beginning his political career in 1973 and losing each time for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the California State Assembly.  But eventually his persistence and perseverance would win over the labor unions and now he not only became a champion for gay and civil rights, but he began winning the respect of many people in his area because he was a man of his word and eventually would lead to him being elected for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

But what made this documentary feel so real and captivating was its use of important footage of the times but also candid interviews (shot in the 1983) with people like Anne Kronenberg (an aid to Harvey Milk during his campaign), fellow San Francisco Board of Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, Executive Director of the Chinese for Affirmative Action Henry Der, newscaster Jeannine Yeomans, public school teacher Tom Ammiano and several others.

There is no doubt that director Robert Epstein and producer Richard Schmiechen have created a special documentary but done quite tastefully in showcasing Harvey Milks accomplishments but also creating a historic film that shows viewers the emergence of the presence of the gay community in San Francisco.

Despite winning an Academy Award, “The Times of Harvey Milk” will have its fair of criticism because it is biased documentary as interviews focus on those who were closest to Harvey Milk and does not show interview those who were against Harvey Milk’s politics.

Nor are their interviews with jurors who would talk about their reasoning for giving Dan White only eight years of prison time (he served only five years for manslaughter) which was an injustice as he killed two human beings, who happen to be the mayor of San Francisco and one of the most well-known Board of Supervisor and politicians in America but also an injustice that if the crime was created by a person of color or someone who was not a well-known conservative and also a Board of Supervisor, Dan White, they would probably be convicted and serve life in prison or electrocuted.

There is so many layers to this documentary that the time went rather quickly.  I was amazed by the archived footage that was utilized for this documentary, how well it was cut but also, while showcasing Harvey Milk, how the film shows a juxtaposition of the man who murdered him and how thousands responded on the night of Milk and Mayor George Moscone’s death but the violence that took place after the verdict was read.

And what makes this Criterion Collection release so impressive is that it doesn’t stop there.  They have included a wonderful amount of special features that compliment the film.

Not only do you get wonderful audio commentary, but you also get a good number of interviews, interviews, archived video and audio interviews, the recorded will by Harvey Milk, the screening of “The Times of Harvey Milk” at the Castro Theatre, video from the 25th Anniversary of Milk/Moscone’s death but also tying the documentary to the recent Gus Van Sant film “Milk”.  But possibly the most significant feature that I felt was quite important to see was the panel discussion on Supervisor Dan White’s trial and to hear form the defense lawyers who represented him on their strategy and their thoughts on Dan White at the time and the elimination of the California’s “diminished capacity” law.

Already an impressive collection of special features and audio commentary, if there was one interview that I would have loved to see included in this Blu-ray release of “The Times of Harvey Milk” was an interview with homicide Frank Falzon who came out and said in 1998 that when he met Dan White in 1984, White confessed that it was premeditated murder and that White also wanted to kill Carol Ruth Silver and Willie Brown.  Also, it would have been great to see a follow-up interview with those who were featured in the film.  People such as Tom Ammiano who was the public school teacher and later became a Board of Supervisor and also elected as a California State Assemblyman, Henry Der and possibly a few others.

Granted, that’s me being a little picky but with the special features that you get in this release alone, it is quite impressive and The Criterion Collection really went all out to make “The Times of Harvey Milk” on Blu-ray and DVD a fantastic release!

Overall, if you were inspired by Harvey Milk, curious about the politics of the time or even seeing how the fight for gay and civil rights evolved from what Harvey Milk accomplished in his political life, I definitely recommend “The Times of Harvey Milk”!   A five-star release from the Criterion Collection and is highly recommended!

The Mikado – The Criterion Collection #559 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Overall, with the Blu-ray release of Mike Leigh’s “Topsy Turvy” and the release of “The Mikado”, fans of Gilbert and Sullivan will no doubt be satisfied with these two awesome releases from the Criterion Collection!  This latest release for Blu-ray is the best version of “The Mikado” I have seen thus far.  The colors and detail are much more evident in this HD release and the special features are wonderful.  “The Mikado” is definitely recommended!

Image courtesy of © Carlton Film Distributors 1938.  2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Mikado- The Criterion Collection #559

YEAR OF FILM: 1939

DURATION: 91 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio), Monaural

COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2011

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Based on an Opera by William S. Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan

Adaptation by Geoffrey Toye

Produced by Geoffrey Toye

Associate Produced by Josef Somio

Cinematography by Bernard Knowles

Photography by William V. Skall

Edited by Philip Charlot, Gene Milford

Art Direction by Ralph W. Brinton

Set Decoration by Marcel Vertes

Costume Design by Marel Vertes

Starring:

Kenny Baker as Nanki-Poo

Martyn Green as Ko-Ko

Sydney Granville as Pooh-Bah

John Barclay as The Mikado

Gregory Stroud as Pish-Tush

Jean Colin as Yum-Yum

Constance Willis as Katisha

Elizabeth Paynter as Pitti-Sing

Kathleen Naylor as Peep-Bo

The legendary Gilbert and Sullivan troupe the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company joined forces with Hollywood for this 1939 Technicolor version of the beloved comic opera The Mikado, the first work by the famed duo to be adapted for the screen. Directed by musician and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Victor Schertzinger, it is a lavish cinematic retelling of the British political satire set in exotic Japan, with such enduringly popular numbers as “A Wand’ring Minstrel I” and “Three Little Maids from School,” and featuring American singer Kenny Baker as well as a host of renowned D’Oyly Carte performers, including Martyn Green and Sydney Granville.

Amongst the greatest musical collaborations of all time, the collaboration between English dramatist, poet and illustrator W.S. Gilbert and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan.  Both famous for their work which include “H.M.S. Pinafore”, “The Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado”.

“The Mikado” is a comedic opera featuring music by Sullivan and libretto by Gilbert and it was their ninth of fourteenth operatic collaboration which opened in London back in March 14, 1885 and ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances and by the end of that year, it was estimated that at least 150 companies were producing the opera.

When the opera was created, it was back during the 1880′s when no one knew much about Japan and since the 1860′s, there has been a fad of interest in Japan because all that people have heard was how exotic the location was and needless to say, people were intrigued by another country, so different than theirs.  So, because of the interest in Japan, W.S. Gilbert was able to satirize British politics and institutions by disguising them as Japanese.  But the inspiration for Gilbert to create something around Japanese culture, was because of a sword which supposedly fell from his wall.  Because a Japanese family had moved to Knightsbridge, he recalled seeing the Japanese in their exotic robes and this was the inspiration he needed to create “The Mikado”.

While the opera version has much more songs, the film adaptation of “The Mikado” would be directed by Victor Schertzinger and an adaptation by Geoffrey Toye, a principal conductor with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and was one of the main forces in bringing the works of Gilbert and Sullivan back to the public attention through the 1920′s and 1930′s.

“The Mikado” was the first and the only Gilbert & Sullivan opera to receive a Hollywood Technicolor adaptation and with poor releases on video for many decades, finally a proper release of “The Mikado” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of the Criterion Collection in March 2011.

“The Mikado” does differ greatly from its opera counterpart.  Scenes are mixed around and there are less songs in the film version.  Also, the film version focuses on the relationship of Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum and less about the Mikado.

The musical revolves around a young man named Nanki-Poo (played by Kenny Baker) who is arranged to marry the not-so-beautiful Katisha (played by Constance Willis), an older, larger woman with a moustache.  Nanki-Poo wants to get out of it but unfortunately, because it has been arranged, Katisha tells the Mikado that if he gets out of the wedding, he will be beheaded.

Meanwhile, Nanki-Poo escapes to the Japanese town of Titipu where he calls himself a wandering musician and looks for the woman he truly loves, Yum-Yum (played by Jean Collin), a ward of Ko-Ko (played by Martyn Green), a thin, clumsy man who was appointed to become the Lord High Executioner.

Ko-Ko was actually a prisoner who was condemned to death for flirting (a decree made by the Mikado that flirting was a capital crime) but was promoted to be the town’s executioner and to carry the axe (which Ko-Ko can barely carry) and that Yum-Yum is scheduled to marry Ko-Ko.

While Nanki-Poo arrives to the scene, he tells Ko-Ko the truth about his true identity that he is not a wandering musician, but he is the son of The Mikado and that he was disguising himself because he didn’t want to marry Katisha.

Meanwhile, Ko-Ko receives news from the Mikado who has decreed that an execution must be carried out within a month or else, the town will be reduced to the rank of a village and would bring ruin to the village.

Needing someone to execute, Ko-Ko finds out that Nanki-Poo is in despair over losing Yum-Yum that the two strike a deal, Nanki-Poo can marry Yum-Yum for one month but at the end of their marriage,  he will execute him and then he will marry Yum-Yum, when she is a young widow.

But of all people to make her return to find Nanki-Poo is Katisha who intends to put a wrench into their plans.

VIDEO:

“The Mikado” is presented in 1080p (1:33:1) and for the most part, considering that “The Mikado” has received poor DVD transfers in the past, The Criterion Collection has done a great job in bringing this film to a new generation with a digital transfer that looks better and also showcases the detail of the outfits much more.  With that being said, you will see some mild flickering (color pulsing and shifting of red and greens at times earlier in the film) but for the most part, the picture quality of “The Mikado” is the best I have seen it.  Criterion Collection did a wonderful job in the cleanup for this film and saw no dirt or damage whatsoever.

With that said, “The Mikado”, according to the Criterion Collection, features a digital transfer created from a Spirit 4K Datacine from a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

The Blu-ray for “The Mikado” really brings out the detail as you can see the fabric and creases of the outfits much more.  So, for the most part, you can really see how exquisite some of these designs were to create Japan but in a designer’s interpretation of Japan for this film.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Mikado” is presented in English LPCM 1.0. Dialogue is clear and the audio is much crisper than any of earlier DVD versions of this film.

According to the Criterion Collection, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original optical tracks.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.  Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Mikado – The Criterion Collection #559″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Mike Leigh – (18:15) “Topsy Turvy” director Mike Leigh weighs in on his impression of “The Mikado” and why he enjoys it but also takes on the criticisms that the film version had but also what makes Gilbert and Sullivan’s work so special.
• Scholars - (29:08) Ralph MacPhail Jr. (Professor at the Bridgewater College in Virginia) and Josephine Lee (Professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities) talk about the original opera version of “The Mikado”
• 1926 D’oyly Carte Promo Silent- (3:42) Short silent film promoting the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company’s 1926 stage performance of “The Mikado”.
• Deleted Scene – (2:48) Deleted scene with Ko-Ko’s “I’ve Got a Little List” song
• The Swing Mikado and the Hot Mikado – Featuring radio broadcasts of stage productions of “The Mikado”.  For “The Swing Mikado”, this includes “Three Little Maids from School” (1:57) and “The Flowers That Bloom with the Spring” (2:01) which aired on March 19, 1939 feat. the Federal Theater Production. For “The Hot Mikado”, this includes “Willow Tit-Willow” (2:58) and “Medley Mikado” (5:54) which aired on April 23, 1939.

EXTRAS:

Included is a 20-page booklet featuring “Celluloid Savy” by Geoffrey O’Brien (Editor-in-Chief of “The Library of America”).

There is no doubt that Gilbert & Sullivan fans are passionate towards “The Mikado” and to a general consensus amongst the fans, there is no way the film can ever best the comic opera on stage.  Afterall, the stage version is longer and it was made the way Gilbert & Sullivan had intended.

With the film version of “The Mikado”, this is an adaptation that was more driven to bring the opera to film but also showcase American radio tenor Kenny Baker and also feature the members of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.  Also, it is important to note that “The Mikado” debuted back in the 1880′s and 20-years earlier, Japan was considered the most exotic place on Earth and what people knew about the country was what they read about the American expedition by Commodore Matthew Perry who showed the world of this isolated country for the first time in 200 years.  By 1939, Japan was no longer the same exotic country that people loved over 50 years earlier.  By that year, Japan was known for its military and its involvement in wars and during that moment in time, Japan was fighting Russia.

For the late 1800′s, it was cool to love Japan and this opera embodied that fad of the time.  By 1939, with the announcement of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Mikado” for the big screen, needless to say, there was a lot of pressure on Geoffrey Toye to deliver a respectful adaptation towards the original.   Especially from the D’Only Carte Company who have turned down many Hollywood offers but gave Toye a chance and also feeling that he would be the best person to be respectful to the original work.

Whether or not he succeeded, depends on the viewer.   I have read and heard many comments over the years from fans of the opera with those who like it and those who don’t and if there were complaints, it mostly from those who were so used to the original, a movie that was too different and missing music was not the same “The Mikado” that they came to love.  While those who embraced the film, were accepting of the compromises that the characters remained humorous and that although not all songs are featured in the film, many of them are.  It’s understandable and both sides have a valid point.

For me, I have never watched the opera live, so I can’t complain if the adaptation was faithful enough.  But I will say that “The Mikado” was an entertaining film and in many ways, I felt that I enjoyed everything but I do understand the criticism of how the film has British actors and then you have the American Kenny Baker who brings something different to the film and for some it doesn’t work.  I kind of agree on that but considering this was a Universal Film, I’m not surprised that the studio would focus on showcasing an American performer as the lead character.

For me, the highlights of the film were Martyn Green as Ko-Ko and also Constance Willis as Katisha.  Both brought the comedic elements to this film and made it quite entertaining to watch.  As for the music, I know many people have their favorites but I do enjoy the songs which were not solos, with the exception of Ko-Ko’s “Willow, tit-willow” which was a fun song.

But what I enjoyed about “The Mikado” is its overall presentation.  The interview with “Topsy Turvy” director Mike Leigh and scholars Josephine Lee and Ralph MacPhail Jr.  were both excellent to listen to and hear the three explain their feelings about the original vs. the film adaptation.  Also, wonderful was the inclusion of the 1926 silent film short and the controversial deleted scene “I’ve Got a Little List” sung by Ko-Ko.  Many people have watched this film with that song intact but for political correctness and the fact that Ko-Ko does say the “n-word” (and other contemporary 1939 references), I can understand why it was removed.  But I’m sure fans will still no doubt be angry that the film still does not have that scene intact.  And also included are the four radio broadcasts from 1939 and 20-page booklet which definitely makes this Blu-ray (and DVD) release from the Criterion Collection so appealing.

Overall, with the Blu-ray release of Mike Leigh’s “Topsy Turvy” and the release of “The Mikado”, fans of Gilbert and Sullivan will no doubt be satisfied with these two awesome releases from the Criterion Collection!  This latest release for Blu-ray is the best version of “The Mikado” I have seen thus far.  The colors and detail are much more evident in this HD release and the special features are wonderful.  “The Mikado” is definitely recommended!

Amarcord – The Criterion Collection #4 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

A vibrant, beautiful, hilarious and marvelous masterpiece from Federico Fellini. This Blu-ray release of “Amarcord” from the Criterion Collection is a must-own for your cinema collection!  Highly recommended. A+

Image courtesy of © 1973 F.C. Produzioni S.r.l – P.E.C.F. S.a.r.l. 2010 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Amarcord – The Criterion Collection #4

YEAR OF FILM: 1973

DURATION: 123 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1 Aspect Ratio), Color, Monaural, In Italian with English Subtitles + optional English dubbed soundtrack

COMPANY: Janus Films/Cristald Film/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: February 8, 2011

Directed by Federico Fellini

Written by Federico Fellini

Screenplay and Story by Tonino Guerra

Produced by Franco Cristaldi

Music by Nino Rota

Cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno

Edited by Ruggero Mastroianni

Production Design by Danilo Donati

Art Direction by Giorgio Giovannini

Costume Design by Danilo Donati

Starring:

Pupella Maggio as Miranda Biondi, Titta’s Mother

Armando Brancia as Aurelio Biondi, Titta’s Father

Magali Noel as Gradisca

Ciccio Ingrassia as Teo (the Mad Uncle)

Nando Orfei as Patacca, Titta’s Uncle

Luigi Rossi as the Lawyer

Bruno Zanin as Titta Biondi

Gianfilippo Carcano as Don Baravelli

Josiane Tanzilli as Volpina

Giuseppe Ianigro as Titta’s Grandfather

Ferruccio Brembilla as Fascist Leader

Antonino Faa Di Bruno as Count Lovignano

Maria Antonietta Beluzzi as Tobacconist

Mauro Misul as Philosophy Teacher

Ferdinando Villella as Fighetta, Greek Teacher

Antonio Spaccatini as Federale

Aristide Caporale as Giudizio

Gennaro Ombra as Biscein

Stefano Proietti as Oliva, Titta’s Brother

Domenico ertica as Blilnd Man

Alvario Vitali as Naso

Bruno Scagnetti as Ovo

Fernando De Felice as Ciccio

Bruno Lenzi as Gigliozzi

This carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the fascist period, the most personal film from Federico Fellini, satirizes the director’s youth and turns daily life into a circus of social rituals, adolescent desires, male fantasies, and political subterfuge, all set to Nina Rota’s classic, nostalgia-tinged score. The Academy Award–winning Amarcord remains one of cinema’s enduring treasures.

Federico Fellini, the legendary Italian filmmaker and screenwriter known for cinema masterpieces such as “The White Sheik” (1952),  “I Vitelloni” (1953), “La Strada” (1954), “Nights of Cabiria” (1957),”La Dolce Vita” (1960),  “8 1/2″ (1963), etc.

Fellini’s films are known for capturing ethereal storylines, fantasy that binges on desire and his films are among those that have tested viewers but also has provided many cineaste with visual delight from the films that are from his oeuvre.  His influence has inspired Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Tim Burton, Pedro Almodovar to name a few and while many think of “La Dolce Vita”, “8 1/2″, “I Vitelloni” as the top of Fellini’s career, there are many who feel that “Amarcord” is one of his most personal. “Amarcord” is also the third film for Fellini that won an Oscar for “Best Foreign Film” but also won multiple awards throughout the world and is perhaps one of his most accessible film for cinema fans worldwide.

The film was the fourth DVD release for The Criterion Collection back in 1999 and received a special re-release featuring more special features in 2006.  In 2011, a Blu-ray release of “Amarcord” including the special features from the 2006 DVD release is now available in the U.S.

While not an autobiography, the film mirrors Fellini’s life as a child and teenager growing up in Rimini, Italy (a seaside town in the province of Emilia-Romagna) during the time of Fascist Italy.

“Amarcord” is not the easiest film to describe because it’s one of those films that must be experienced.  The film can be seen as a coming-of-age film but also a film that has your typical villagers that everyone knows their name because of their actions or their body.  The carnivalesque film focuses on various people of the village throughout the year during the 1930′s and the various episodes that transpire within a year’s time.

“Amarcord” (which means “I remember” in Romagnolo) takes place in a village which has welcomed the spring time courtesy of the puffballs that float in the air.  Everyone welcomes the end of Winter and a man named Giudizio (played by Aristide Caporale), looks into the camera and recites a poem.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to the beautiful Gradisca (played by Magali Noel).  A woman known for her body and clothing that accentuates her posterior which many of the men and even teenage boys from the village have always taken notice.

In this village, we are introduced to characters such as the prostitute and nymphomaniac named Voplina (played by Josiane Tanzilli), the blind accordion player (played by Domenica Pertica), the heavy set and enormously well-endowed tobacconist (played by Maria Antonietta Beluzzi) and the family members of which “Amacord” focuses on, the Biondi family.  Aurelio Biondi (played by Armando Brancia) is the hot-headed father who always gets upset with his teenage son Titta Biondi (played by Bruno Zanin).

While Titta gets in trouble most of the time, his mother Miranda (played by Pupella Maggio) is always ready to argue with Aurelio.  Other members of the family include Titta’s younger brother Oliva (played by Stefano Proietti), his grandfather (played by Giuseppe Ianigro) who may look old but can easily remember the ages when he and others had sex and Miranda’s brother Lallo (played by Nando Orfei) and his wife who live at the house.  Needless to say, because of Aurelio’s hot temper and Titta’s mischievous nature, there is never a quiet moment at the house.

When the camera is focused on the teenager Titta, we learn how he and his friends love to get in trouble.  From picking on people, to finding ways to upset their teachers and at times, making fun of their own friends during class.  But these teenagers have one thing in common and that is the fact they are horny teenagers who love to look at a woman’s ass (and also enjoy pleasuring themselves to release their sexual tension).  For Titta, he just loves to look at Gradisca’s body whenever she is walking by and one day hopes, he can try to make a move on her.

As for Aurelio, he is anti-fascist.  Because of his hot-head, his wife Miranda does all she can to prevent him from getting in trouble, this includes locking the gates of their home to keep him inside.  He can’t help but always argue with Titta who loves to get his father upset.  But still, Aurelio takes care of his family.

Gradisca, is the popular single woman in the village.  She dreams of having someone to love and someone to love her right back.  She embodies confidence and knows that men and boys love to look at her when she and her friends are walking around.  And she knows with the fascists coming to town, this is her chance to find a husband.

The film shows us how life is in the village for these characters and everyone around them for the whole year.  Featuring many short scenes may it be Titta and his friends going to school, getting in trouble, looking at beautiful women to Gradisca trying to find “Mr. Right”, “Amarcord” is a collection of events with no real storyline but experiences from Fellini’s life and also his imagination.

VIDEO:

“Amarcord” is presented in color (1:85:1 aspect ratio).  I have compared the 2011 Blu-ray release and the 2006 DVD release and the colors are much more vibrant compared to its DVD counterpart.  More detail of the walls and surroundings of the city can be seen quite clearly on Blu-ray.  As well as the grime on the faces of characters like Volpina, the stained shirts of Titta and the hairy back of Aurelio.  These are much more evident on Blu-ray versus watching it on DVD.  There is a good amount of grain that can be seen on the Blu-ray release and for the most part, for fans of the film, watching it on HD is definitely worth the upgrade.

According to the Criterion Collection, the HD transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm interpositive.  Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean sytem, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Amarcord” is presented in its original Italian uncompressed monaural plus an optional English dubbed soundtrack.  Dialogue and music is clear and understandable.  I didn’t notice any clicks, pops or hiss during the Italian soundtrack.  As for the English dubbed soundtrack, while I try to stay away from dubbed soundtracks, I will have to give a nod for those that worked on it as they tried to match the voices with the lips and some of acting of the voice actors were well-done but some of the voice acting was not too my liking.    Needless to say, I preferred the original Italian soundtrack much more.

According to the Criterion Collection, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm magnetic soundtrack.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.  Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Amarcord – The Criterion Collection #4″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary – Audio commentary by film scholars Peter Brunette (from Wake Forest) and Frank Burke (from Queen’s college, Ontario and author of “Fellini’s Films”).
• Fellini’s Homecoming – (44:15) A fantastic 45-minute documentary on the complicated relationship between the celebrated director, his hometown of Remini and his past.  Fellini’s friends chime in on the characters of “Amarcord” and who they were modeled after.
• Magali Noël – (15:11) Video interview with star Magali Noël (who plays Gradisca).
• Fellini’s Drawings – Federico Fellini’s drawings of characters in the film and showcasing the sketches for “Amarcord”. Using your remote, you can cycle through the various images.
• Felliniana - A presentation of ephemera devoted to “Amarcord” from the collection of Don Young.  Featuring stills and radio ads (about 3 minutes).   Use your remote to cycle through the stills from the film.
• Gideon Bachman Interviews – Archival audio interviews with Fellini and his friends and family, by longtime radio film critic Gideon Bachmann.  Audio interview with Fedrico Fellini (30:39), audio interview with friends and family (58:59).  Featuring photos of Fellini throughout his life.
• Restoration Demonstration – (5:25) The restoration demonstration was included with the 2006 DVD re-release of “Amarcord” and is the same restoration used for the Blu-ray release.
• Deleted scene – (3:03) A deleted scene featuring Contessa’s distraught after losing a diamond ring down her toilet.  Carlini tries to retrieve it.
• Trailer – (3:46) The American release trailer.

EXTRAS:

Included is a 66-page booklet featuring “Federico of the Spirits” by Sam Rohdie and “My Rimini” by Fedrico Fellini.

“Amarcord” is a film that has so many moments, memories and each of these scenes are full of humor that the film is well-crafted and is able to escape from the contrived, mediocrity or the banality of modern films.

There are so many Fellini films that I have watched in my lifetime and thanks to the Criterion Collection, for us in America, we are fortunate to have access to a good number of his films.  But among his masterpieces, there are a few of his films that I tend to rewatch many times and “Amarcord” is one of them.

“Amarcord” is a film that captures everything beautiful, everything ugly, everything about life and what people see day-to-day.  And I can imagine for Fellini, although “Amarcord” is not an exact autobiography nor was it intended to be, it is paying homage to what he experienced throughout his younger years and the people he came in contact with.

What makes “Amarcord” so intriguing, and so fun without the cinema banality that one would be used to seeing, is that we are given a taste of episodes of these villagers and the way its put together, you find yourself as a voyeur of these moments in the lives of these individuals that live in a small village.  There is no real plot line, but it’s a film that features so many of the fun moments that life has to offer that makes “Amarcord” so delightful.

From moments when the Biondi family goes to pick up their Uncle Teo from the mental hospital and the uncle runs up to the tree not wanting to get down and starts screaming of how he wants a woman.  Anyone who dares to get him down is pelted with fruit.  Another scene features Titta and his friends at a parade and celebration for Benito Mussolini aka “Il Duce” and each have their own daydreams of being with a woman.  Or a scene where we watch as Gradisca tries to prepare for a romantic night with a man or when Titta goes to the cinema to pull some of his moves on Gradisca and to see what happens.  Or possibly one of the most memorable scenes is when Titta goes to the big but very busty tobacco saleswoman and manages to experience a woman’s breast, it’s just how its featured on screen, you can’t help but laugh as the young character is not sure what to do and all the woman can tell him “Suck, no blow!”.

But what also works is how the art direction of the film helps to give us that feeling of carnivalesque characters.  Danilo Donati’s awesome costume and production design, Giorgio Giovannini’s surrealistic art direction is fantastic and of course, the cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno is magnificent.  While the writing is not overly polemic, Fellini and Tonino Guerra did a great job of interjecting the sex and politics that are a strong part of the enjoyment of this film.

All the primary characters and supporting characters also add to the enjoyment of the film.  To sum it up, “Amarcord” is a true masterpiece from Fellini!

And I can go on and on about the positives of this film but still not be able to describe it because frankly, I don’t want to spoil anything for the viewer.  Also, as mentioned earlier, this is not one of those films that I can easily describe.  It’s probably best to say that it’s various episodes that happen in a village over a year’s time and keep it at that.

Clearly, “Amarcord” is one of those films that a cinema fan must watch and experience.    And I have to say that when The Criterion Collection released the 2006 DVD, I felt that this was one of the best DVD’s released from the company.  The way it was treated and given special features galore, lengthy and enjoyable, but most of all informative.   And now this film has been given its HD treatment which I found to be quite a gorgeous upgrade from the original 2006 DVD release.  The detail of the village surroundings, the details that are more apparent on the characters, “Amarcord” looks very good on Blu-ray!

And if you haven’t owned the 2006 DVD release (or even its original 1999) DVD release, this is one Fellini film (and I can easily vouch for nearly all Fellini films on the Criterion Collection) that is definitely worth owning.

I’m constantly asked if it’s like “8 1/2″ or “La Strada” and the only thing that I can tell people is forget about those films.  Just enjoy this one and experience it!

And then when you are done, watch the documentary “Fellini’s Homecoming” afterward as you get to know the true story behind “Amarcord” and the complicated relationship that Fellini had with his hometown of Rimini.  And you get plenty of special features which include audio commentary, interviews, radio interviews and also included is a wonderful 66-page booklet (same contents from the 2006 release) which include Fellini’s essay “My Rimini”, a collection of reminisces from the filmmaker when he was laying in a hospital bed (thinking he was going to die) and was being treated by his doctor from his hometown of Rimini.

This latest release of “Amarcord”, aside from being a Fellini masterpiece is literally a grand slam for the Criterion Collection.  It’s one of the most complete Blu-rays released with special features that matter and definitely enhances ones appreciation for the film.

For those who own the wonderful 2006 Criterion Collection re-release on DVD and wonder if  the new Blu-ray is worth the upgrade, my answer is yes!  The film looks great on Blu-ray but if you are watching it on a TV that doesn’t have 1080p capability and you are used to watching movies on your laptop or TV, then probably not but if you are planning to upgrade your equipment or have the equipment to watch films in HD, then most definitely.  There is no major difference in the amount of special features between the 2011 Blu-ray release and the 2006 DVD re-release aside from PQ and AQ differences.  So, if you have the equipment to enjoy “Amarcord” in HD, then yes… I highly recommend upgrading from DVD to Blu-ray as this film looks absolutely beautiful in HD.

Overall, “Amarcord” is a vibrant, beautiful, hilarious and marvelous masterpiece from Federico Fellini. The Blu-ray release of “Amarcord” from the Criterion Collection is a must-own for your cinema collection!  Highly recommended. A+

« Previous Page — Next Page »