Birdman
Of Alcatraz
(1962)/Judgment At
Nuremberg (1961/United
Artists/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-rays)/L'Avventura
(1960/Criterion Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: C+/C+/B- Extras: B-/B-/B Films: B/B+/B+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Birdman
Of Alcatraz
and Judgment
At Nuremberg
Blu-rays are now only available from our friends at Twilight Time,
are limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies
last from
the link below.
Here
are three motion picture classics finally getting their due on
Blu-ray...
John
Frankenheimer's Birdman
Of Alcatraz
(1962) is
an epic drama that works and more than justifies its length as a
early character study of the title character (Burt Lancaster in one
of his best roles) as a jail prisoner circa 1912 who is embittered,
hardened and wants nothing (including sympathy) from no one,
including his warden (Karl Malden easily holding his own against the
star) who tries to connect with him to no avail. Who he is comes out
in his reading, studying and to everyones surprise, love of birds.
Based on a true story that seems true for once, the makers take the
long way to tell the story without pulling punches and being as raw
as a film of its time could.
Like
Dog Day Afternoon, the
main character has been cleaned up a bit so the star can make him
sympathetic, but it makes for still-honest drama and acting that
never stops once it starts. With the black and white and the way it
is shot, you feel like you are in the prison, yet not totally so you
have some slight distance to experience what the filmmakers intended.
It may not be the easiest film to sit through, but if you give it a
good chance, the rewards are one-of-a-kind experience that few
filmmakers could deliver. The supporting cats including the
underrated Thelma Ritter, later horror film icon Neville Brand,
Edmond O'Brien, a young Telly Savalas who even had it then, Betty
Field, Whit Bissell and Hugh Marlowe round out a great cast.
Stanley
Kramer's Judgment
At Nuremberg
(1961) finally gets a Blu-ray edition, receiving a Twilight Time
Limited Edition Blu-ray release with some nice extras. We previously
covered the MGM DVD at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1455/Judgment+At
I
agree with my fellow writer that the film is powerful, takes its time
showing what it needs to show and makes the big statements as only
Kramer could. A film that looks at the insidious nature of murder,
genocide and evil by taking on the true trial of the century and
asking us the tough questions. It is easy to forget how great this
film is, which is why it needed and it, as well as we, deserve this
terrific upgrade. Outside of a really good 35mm print, this is the
way to see the film with its stunning all-star cast that plays
against Classical Hollywood conventions in dealing with had to be
dealt with. Looking and sounding better than the older DVD with
ease, this is a must-see and for serious film collectors, must own
disc. Just remember, they are only making 3,000 copies, so get yours
now!
And
then there is Michelangelo
Antonioni's L'Avventura
(1960), a masterpiece of world cinema that is one of the most
important films ever to come out of Italy. Antonioni had been a
director for years in the business, making documentaries after WWII
ended, then made a few films of note like I
vinti
and Il
Grido,
but with L'Avventura,
Italian Neo-realism, Italian Modernism and the ironic emptiness of
the world after the fortunate Allied victory arrive in the cinematic
world here with great space that is beautiful, yet alone and makes
its characters more alone then they realize or suspect. That it
involved the Italian rich is exactly the point, that even their money
cannot buy happiness or buy off the opposite as the theme of the
search permeates the film throughout.
Anna
(Lea Massari) is having a good time meeting with her friends when she
suddenly disappears, much to the dismay of her boyfriend (Gabrielle
Ferzetti of On Her Majesty's Secret Service among other films)
who goes looking for her with her good friend Claudia (Monica Vitti),
but the more they look, the more Anna cannot be found, then they
start to get unexpectedly involved despite not planning to. This
also addresses the concept of Italian alienation where those in the
society tend to be more inward and want their solitude, which also
speaks to susceptibility to the fascism the country eventually
invented. How Marxist the film is can be argued, but something more
than and beyond politics is here and that is why it is such a major
classic.
The
fact that it is a new writerly cinema on a higher level is one aspect
of its success and its visuals are like nothing we had ever seen
before, beautiful but deceptively troubling. Vitti became an
international sensation off of this and fortunately for us, worked
with Antonioni again in what became the conclusion of this trilogy:
La Notte (1961, issued by Criterion) and L'Eclisse
(1962, reviewed on Criterion Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) all in
black and white, then followed by a full color trilogy of equally
compelling films including The Red Desert (1964, reviewed in
two special editions on this site, including the Criterion Blu-ray),
Blow-Up (1966, also on this site) and the underrated Zabriskie
Point (1970). This is yet another classic worth seeing and
reviewing all over again, holding up as well as ever. Bravo!
The
1080p digital High Definition black and white image transfers on all
three Blu-rays are very impressive and only some brief moments where
they can show the age of the materials used are they a little off.
Otherwise, these presentations are top rate, film-print worthy and
serious film fans are bound to be impressed. L'Avventura is
here in its 1.85 X 1 aspect ratio from a new 4K transfer from the
original camera negative and a fine grain print. The rest are in
their original 1.66 X 1 frames via new HD masters produced by MGM
from their United Artists holdings.
All
far superior a transfer to all previous releases of these films on
home video, Video Black is always rich, Video White clean and gray
scale on the money all the way. The respective genius Directors of
Photography are Aldo Scavarda on L'Avventura, Burnett Guffey
(and John Alton at some point) on Alcatraz and Kramer
collaborator Ernest Laszlo on Nuremberg. All are
unforgettable in their imagery and show the greatness of monochrome
filmmaking without having to say a word, it is like never having seen
these films before for those who have.
As
for sound, all offer different soundtracks. Alcatraz
has a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mix, Nuremberg
has a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that brings out as
much of the nuance of the sound as possible and L'Avventura
has PCM 2.0 Mono from its original optical soundmaster and just edges
out the other films as sonically the best entry here. Note the smart
use of sound and music in all three films, all in different ways for
different purposes.
Extras
with all three films include illustrated booklets on each respective
film including informative text and essays by Julie Kirgo, save
L'Avventura
(a paper pullout with many pages) with an essay by Geoffrey
Nowell-Smith and Cannes
announcement on the film by Antonioni himself, while all three discs
add Original Theatrical Trailers. Birdman
adds a feature length audio commentary track by Julie Kirgo, Paul
Seydor & Nick Redman and an Isolated Music Score Track.
Nuremberg
also adds an Isolated Music Score Track and three vintage
featurettes: In
Conversation with Abby Mann & Maximillian Schell,
The
Value Of A Single Human Being
and A
Tribute To Stanley Kramer.
L'Avventura
adds a
feature length audio commentary track by Gene Youngblood, Jack
Nicholson reading the words of & talking about Antonioni, the
1966 Antonioni: Documents & Testimonials documentary (58 minutes)
by Gianfranco Mingozzi and Olivier Assayas analyzing the film in
three parts.
To
order
the Birdman
Of Alcatraz
and Judgment
At Nuremberg
limited edition Blu-rays, buy them while supplies last (along with
other great exclusives) at this link:
www.screenarchives.com
-
Nicholas Sheffo
