Before Stonewall/After Stonewall (1985/1999/First Run DVD Set) + David Hockney – A Bigger Picture (2009/First Run DVD) + Word
Is Out (1977/Milliarium
Zero DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ (Before: C) Extras: C/C+/B/B Documentaries: B/B-/B/B
A new wave of DVDs on Gay subject matter has arrived
recently, including a reissue of two documentaries First Run issued separately,
which we covered as such at these links:
Before
Stonewall
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1108/Before+Stonewall+(Documentary)
After
Stonewall
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1762/After+Stonewall+(Documentary)
Then we have a sequel of sorts to Jack Hazan’s David
Hockney documentary A Bigger Splash (1975), the original of which we
reviewed a while ago as well:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3610/A+Bigger+Splash
Long after his love affair has ended, Hockney is still
painting classic canvases and trying to apply his talents and unique form of
visual representation to other visual medium when he is joined by Director/Narrator
Bruno Wollheim for three years in what turned into the new documentary David Hockney - A Bigger Picture
(2009) and though it only lasts an hour, it is very good, though it should have
been longer and the deleted footage included in the extras proves this, but
this marks Hockney’s return to England and his paintings go from simple
canvases to some of the most ambitious works of his career. It is amazing to see the man at work and to
see a true auteur in his element in worth going out of your way for.
That leaves us going back again to what is the oldest work
here, the 1977 gay documentary Word Is
Out, a multiple-director project by the Mariposa Film Group in a film that
brings together the testimony of many gay men and women to discuss what it is
like to live in a society that was especially hateful of them before the
breakthroughs (and unfortunate AIDS epidemic) changed gay life forever for the
better and worst. Before, it was easier
to ignore gays, but now it is not. What
results is a key record (and rare one at that) of lives that battled to have
respect and dignity in a world of uncertainty despite the gains of Stonewall.
Little did any of them know the 1980s backlash that was to
come, but no one here is exactly naďve and we meet 26 people in all. Ironic and important, the film was only
restored in 2008 and could have been lost like so many orphan films of all
kinds, but UCLA and others intervened and this key film has been saved and is
definitely worth seeing. Whether
contrasted to today or not, it is an enduring work meant to last and the makers
have succeeded.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Hockney and 1.33 X 1 image on Word are even with the Stonewall installments and all are shot
on film except Hockney, which is an
HD shoot with some film and video footage from other sources. That includes imperfections on analog video,
flaws on film and motion blur from the HD, but it is fine for a
documentary. Word is all shot in 16mm and thanks to the restoration, looks good
for its age. A Blu-ray might bring out
even more good qualities.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Hockney has its share of location sound issues and older audio,
while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Word
is not bad, especially for its age, but some location audio issues also
exist. Only Before Stonewall has audio problems and as compared to Word, needs
a restoration of its own.
Extras on Hockney
include two featurette on Hockney at work, a Making Of featurette and Leading
Art Figures on Bigger Trees Near Warter, while Word adds a 2008 trailer, Afterthoughts, DVD Executive Producer
David Bonnett on the film, Mariposa Film
Group Remembers Peter Adair piece, Outfest PSA, Word Is Out: Then & Now Thirty Years Later documentary and
restoration & DVD credits.
- Nicholas Sheffo
