Badlands Criterion Collection review copy

Actors: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek

Director: Terrence Malick

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: March 19, 2013

Run Time: 94 minutes

 

 

            Terrence Malick is a filmmaker who does not make films just for the sake of having another project to work on. Each of the filmmaker’s few films over the decades have had similarities in style and cinematic approach despite varying storylines, but the one thing that has remained the same in each of his films is passion. Badlands is one of the great American debut features, stamping Malick’s place in film history from then on, and taking actors Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek to new heights in their career in the process.

 

            The story was based on the notorious killing spree of Charles Starkweather and his underage girlfriend in the late 1950s, though the names are changed for the film. These two went on a killing spree that shocked the nation, and Malick takes an unsentimental look at the possible behavior behind the brutal murderers. Martin Sheen stars as Kit, a 25-year-old trash man who clearly longs to be James Dean. When he meets 15-year-old Holly (Spacek), the two begin an awkward romance.

 

Malick imagines Kit as a socially stunted man and Holly as an emotionally unequipped young girl. Though they become fugitives together after the first string of murders, there is a sense of romance that comes with the celebrity. As easily as this film’s unsentimental approach is comparable to In Cold Blood, the celebrity worship can also be compared to Bonnie and Clyde. The main difference seems to be the fact that neither Kit nor Holly much seem to enjoy each other’s company, or the murder spree, for that matter.

 

The new Blu-ray release includes a newly restored 4K digital transfer which was approved by the director. There is also an all-new making-of documentary and new interviews, as well as a 1993 television episode about the real-life case which inspired the film. The package has a booklet with an essay by filmmaker Michael Almereyda.  

Sansho the Bailiff Criterion Collection Blu-ray review

Actors: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: Japanese

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: February 26, 2013

Run Time: 124 minutes

 

 

            Sansho the Bailiff is a remarkable period drama adapted by the “Sansho the Steward” stories by Ogai Mori. Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi in post-WWII Japan, Sansho the Bailiff is a thoughtful and well-paced drama. This is the work of a seasoned filmmaker, the 81^st film of an illustrious cinematic career. Other Japanese directors were more established internationally than Mizoguchi, but this should not detract from his monumental importance nationally. Sansho the Bailiff is a perfect example, a lesser known film from a director worth studying.

 

            The film follows the trials and tribulations of a governor’s family after he makes the mistake of disobeying the reigning feudal lord by acting on his own conscience. Before he is cast into exile, he speaks a few profound words of wisdom to his son. Among other things, he says, “Without mercy, man is like a beast,” leaving us with the religious and moral subtext for the remainder of the film. When his wife and children attempt to find the exiled governor, they are instead captured and sold into slavery. The slave traders separate the mother from her children, who spend the remainder of the film trying to find a way back together.

 

            The brutality of the film comes with the fact that each act the family members take to reunite simple wrenches them further apart, until fewer and fewer remain for the reunion. The Buddhist ideology is easily found in the way the family members selflessly think of others before themselves. The father sacrifices for the family, the mother for the children and the sister for the brother. It is a never-ending cycle of giving, though the bitter-sweet element of their nature comes with the nature of the world surrounding them. Though they are selfless and good, this is often not nearly enough to overcome the despicable nature of those around them, specifically Sansho the Bailiff, who has no hesitation in brutally punishing slaves so that they behave.

 

            The Blu-ray release of this complex classic has a presentation in high definition, through new digital restoration. There is also an optional audio commentary track featuring Japanese-literature scholar Jeffrey Angles and interviews with select crew members. The highlight of the package, however, may not be on the disc. The booklet insert has an essay by scholar Mark Le Fanu, paired with two versions of the story which the film is based on. 

On the Waterfront Criterion Collection Blu-ray review

Actors: Marlon Brando, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden

Director: Elia Kazan

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: February 19, 2013

Run Time: 108 minutes

 

 

            Most give John Cassavetes credit for the beginning of independent cinema in America, but it was not unheard of evening the days of strictest studio control for a film to be produced independently. It was rare, but happened and Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront was one of these exceptions. Kazan’s credibility as a filmmaker at the time gave him the freedom to take risks that others may have been unable to see through. But On the Waterfront is more than just an excellently made film with some of the best film acting ever captured onscreen; there is also a historical significance which makes the film that much more compellingly complex.

 

            This 1954 shipyard drama tells the story of boxer-turned-longshoreman Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), a man who must make a difficult moral decision when forced to choose between protecting a mob-connected union boss (Lee J. Cobb) and innocent victims getting hurt by the ruthless thugs. The decision is complicated further because of Terry’s brother, Charlie (Rod Steiger), who is the right hand-man to the brutal union leader, and the guilt Terry feels for his own involvement. In the opening of the film, Terry helps to lure a man into the open, for union thugs to attack and kill. When Terry develops a relationship with the man’s grieving sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), it is further reason for him to feel guilt for his involvement and motivation to sacrifice for the sake of justice.

 

            The controversy surrounding this film at the time has more to do with what was happening in the country than what happens in the film. At the time there were trials and even a committee for un-American activity. Red scares were on the rise and a fear of communism would eventually blacklist many in Hollywood from ever working again. Kazan was one of the few who made public that he was testifying and giving names of colleagues with suspected communist involvement. This decision was carried with Kazan for the rest of his life, and did not make him the most popular man. It is easy to see the correlation between justifying a thug’s decision to testify against a corrupt union leader and a filmmaker’s decision to give the names of communist colleagues. Whether or not the comparison is just or fair is somewhat irrelevant, though certainly worth examining and discussing. On the Waterfront will remain a classic, not just because of the historical significance or the quality of the film itself, but because of the way both come together to form a piece of art. You may not be able to hang it in a museum, but it has the same purpose.

 

            The Blu-ray release comes with a new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack, as well as an alternate 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio track. There is also a second disc which contains two alternate aspect ratio presentations of the film, in both 1.85:1 (widescreen) and 1.33:1 (full screen). Disc one has the film in 1.66:1. The first disc also comes with an optional audio commentary with authors Richard Schickel and Jeff Young, and a conversation about the film with critic Kent Jones and Martin Scorsese. There are many additional special features, including many new interviews and an unbelievable wealth of making-of documentaries. The package also includes a 40-some page booklet insert with essays, interviews and old newspaper articles which give even more real-life significance to the film.  

Chronicle of a Summer Criterion Collection Blu-ray review

Actors: Marceline Loridan, Mary Lou Parolini

Directors: Jean Rouch, Edgar Morin

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: French

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: February 26, 2013

Run Time: 91 minutes

            The concept for this film seems to ensure that it was dated the moment that it was completed. It is a film which examines the lives of a random polling of people in a specific place during one specific summer. The things that were happening at that time in that place are specific to this exact film, and even if another was made it could never be the same. This is the type of film which cannot be copied, duplicated or remade. These views are specific to the people in Paris during the summer of 1960.

 

In some ways the topics in this film are dated, as well as nationally specific. There is a great deal of discussion over the French-Algerian War, which had been going on for nearly a decade already. In other ways, Chronicle of a Summer seems just as relevant today as it was the day it was made. There are similarities between the cultural views towards the war than many could make correlate with Americans and their views on the war in Iraq.

 

But even beyond the political similarities of the times, there are commonalities which can be found in mere humans. The most relevant questions asked of the people interviewed simply seem to probe what they live like, and whether or not they are happy. In the end, the same issues follow people, regardless of time or place. There will always be grief and sorrow, just as surely as there will always be happiness and hope.

 

Filmmakers Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin make themselves a part of the discussion, and even expose their film to criticism and evaluation in the final sequence. Their film is more of an anthropologic study than a narrative feature; an experiment which resulted in something of a cinematic time-capsule. The Blu-ray release includes a new 2K digital master from the 2011 restoration. Also included is a feature-length documentary about the film, with additional footage. The special features also include archive and new interviews, with the filmmakers and scholars. The package includes a 35-page booklet with an essay by Sam Di Iorio.