Act
Of Violence
(1948/MGM/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/American
Gigolo 4K
(1980/Paramount/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray*)/Six
In Paris
(1965/Icarus Blu-ray)/Tchao
Pantin
(1983 aka So
Long, Stooge/Radiance
Blu-ray/*both MVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B Sound: B- Extras:
B/B/C-/C+ Films: B-/B-/C+/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Act
Of Violence
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
These
dramas involve enough crime and darkness to be in Noir territory,
even if most of them are not fully Noir....
Fred
Zinnemann's Act
Of Violence
(1948) is a Post-WWII revenge Noir film with Robert Ryan as the
damaged soldier out to expose and even the score against the fellow
soldier (Van Heflin) who is now respected and successful with a happy
family in the suburbs and money to boot, but actually is a coward who
only survived by selling out the lives of other soldiers. He's going
to get him back no matter the cost.
Well
directed and paced, this has some genuine suspense and the darkness
is never backed away from, a story more true to real life than is
often discussed today, an interesting combination of actors in the
role that work. This is an early Zinnemann film and shows how solid
a journeyman director he was even then, but the film is a little more
forgotten than it should be. Glad to see it being save, restored and
reissued. Janet Leigh, Mary Astor and Phyllis Thaxter are excellent
in their supporting roles.
Extras
include an excellent feature length audio commentary track by Drew
Casper, Original Theatrical Trailer, featurette Act
Of Violence: Dealing with The Devil
and two classic animated theatrical cartoon shorts: Goggle
Fishing Bear
and The
Shell-Shocked Egg.
Paul
Schrader established himself as one of the big writers of the gritty
side of life and U.S. life by writing and/or directing the likes of
Taxi
Driver,
Hardcore,
Blue
Collar,
Rolling
Thunder
and Obsession,
but the latter De Palma film also pointed to both his character study
strengths and Old
Boyfriends
was another set in that direction. So when he wrote and directed
American
Gigolo 4K
(1980,) he was in a new place of growth and the result was a
breakthrough hit. Richard Gere is male hooker Julian, fulfilling the
fantasies of rich women all over the place, something the film does a
great job of showing.
The
upscale world is well portrayed, backed by Disco/New Wave music that
has not aged as bad as if it were all-Disco, ahead of what would
become the look and fell of the 1980s, for better and definitely for
worse. Things are going well for Julian, then one of his female
clients turns up dead and he is the number one suspect.
Of
course, he did not do it, so this becomes a mystery/chase film until
its conclusion. Gere was already becoming a star and had already
handled lead roles, but this put him over the top and kept him on the
A-list for decades, even with some down time. The supporting cast
here is also convincing and solid, including legendary supermodel
Lauren Hutton who can act, Nina Van Pallandt, Hector Elizondo, K
Callan, Frances Bergen, Bill Duke, Carole Cooke, Macdonald Carey and
TV producer William Dozier (Batman
1966) in a rare acting turn. Schrader's Old Hollywood tendencies add
authenticity to the film.
The
other side of all this is a few controversies, including Julian's
enjoyment of clothing, dressing and fun not being 'masculine' enough
for some, then you have the debate of this film versus William
Friedkin's controversial leather bar murder thriller Crusing
(also from Arrow, elsewhere on this site) with Al Pacino. The late,
great film scholar Robin Wood debates that though Crusing
got the big protests and anger thrown at it by the gay community, et
al, Wood says Gigolo
is actually the more homophobic, racist and casually disturbing film.
I think is is correct about this film, but it has some of the same
issues as other Schrader films. However, Crusing
also has a bunch of issues, so maybe those crowds should have
protested both, which have some great moments mixed with bad or dumb
ones.
I
could only go into that as a separate essay and only after addressing
what Wood says in his brilliant film book Hollywood
From Vietnam To Reagan ...And Beyond
(also reviewed elsewhere on this site) which I strongly recommend. I
would recommend doing a double feature of both films, then see what
your reaction is. Now that they have been reissued in these great
upgrades, that will be all the easier.
Extras
include a
rand new feature-length audio commentary with film critic Adrian
Martin
There
was a recent TV series remake of the film that offered mixed results
we hope to catch up with soon, but this original's iconic status is
as strong as ever and seeing it in 4K is worth your time and trouble.
Besides
all the great feature film classics the French New Wave produced, it
produced more than its share of short films and even anthologies,
like Six
In Paris
(1965)
featuring six of the top directors of the time and of the movement:
Saint
Germain-des-Pres
by Jean Douchet
Gare
du Nord by
Jean Rouch, with filmmaker Barbet Schroder in an acting role.
Rue
Saint Denis
by Jean-Daniel Pollet
Place
de l'Etoile
by Eric Rohmer, who also narrates.
Montparnasse
et Levallois
by Jean-Luc Godard
and
La
Muette
by Claude Chabrol, who plays the dad in the segment.
The
first three segments are good, if not great, the Rohmer
segment is the best here with its energy and wit in the New Wave
spirit, then you have the last two parts by Godard and Chabrol. I
don't know what they were thinking, but they are silly, bitter, lame
and disappointing. That makes this a mixed anthology, but all
serious film fans should give it a look for themselves.
Extras
(per the press release) include three behind-the-scenes interviews
from 1965 made for Swiss Television in black & white, featuring
Barbet Schroeder and his then assistant Patrick Bauchau on producing
films and the importance of Parisian cinematheques, Eric Rohmer on
the importance of walking in his films, and Jean Rouch on how an old
master like himself came to be involved with making the film. This
all run 18 minutes.
Claude
Berri's Tchao
Pantin
(1983) is a big deal of a film from the time in French cinema, a tale
of a man (Coluche as Lambert) who used to be involved in darker
activities, now just quietly running a gas station when he befriends
a young man (Richard Anconina as Bensoussan) who deals in drugs, et
al. They become friends and things move along well enough until
Bensoussan starts to have some trouble.
When
it gets very, very bad, Lambert is too involved and decides to
intervene, dealing with the darker forces that were too much for
Bensoussan. A revenge tale with added character study of the men and
France itself, it becomes an early document of the horrors ahead in
the Reagan/Thatcher era after all those decades of successful French
resistance and courage, speaking to the heart and soul of the
country. The book was a big sensation and the film also hit the nail
on the head. We have had a sometimes lame cycle out of Hollywood
lately of older men in revenge action films, but they are usually
formulaic and shallow versus Tchao
Pantin.
See this one and experience the difference.
Extras
include
Once
Upon a Time... Tchao Pantin
- A documentary on the film featuring interviews with writer-director
Claude Berri, novelist Alain Page, stars Richard Anconina, Mahmoud
Zemmouri, Agnes Soral, cinematographer Bruno Nyutten and others
(2003, 55 mins)
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo
Di Battista
and
a Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Manuela Lazic.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on American
Gigolo 4K
looks the best it ever has on home video and can show its age, but is
the closest to a non-faded film print (35mm or
16mm) you can get of the film. The stylized approach by Director of
Photography John Bailey, A.S.C., is iconic and vivid, joining his
other great work in Cat
People,
Ordinary
People,
The
Big Chill
and The
Pope Of Greenwich Village
as both definitive and defining of the era. It is also some of the
best work the time before regressive 1980s Hollywood ruined the look
of films to appeal to mall customers and VHS machines.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray is
passable and fine for what it is, but no match for the 4K, which
comparing the two will show you the smart, subtle points of the
visuals you have been missing for decades. The soundtrack is the
same on both and despite the great Giorgio Moroder soundtrack and hit
records, this was never sonically the best film all around, but you
get lossless choices of PCM 2.0 Mono, PCM 2.0 Stereo and a
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix shows this, with the Stereo
being the most naturalistic option, Mono too low and limited for its
own good and 5.1 that is really pushing it and trying to make up for
its sonic limits.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer on Act
Of Violence
can show the age of the materials used, but the film has been
restored very well and the results are some nice detail, depth and
clarity, while the original theatrical monophonic sound has been
restored as as presented in its DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix, is easily the best the film
will ever sound.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Six
In Paris
has consistent color between the six story segments and rarely shows
the age of the materials used, not looking as old as one might think.
Featuring 2K scans, its nice the original 16mm camera materials
survived as well as they did and we get PCM 2.0 Mono from the
original theatrical mono misses and that makes this also sound as
good as it ever will. The combination is solid. The legendary
Nestor Alemendros lensed Saint
Germain-des-Pres
and Place
de l'Etoile,
Alain Levent shot Rue
Saint Denis
and Albert Maysles shot Montparnasse
et Levallois.
That
leaves the 1080p 1.66 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on
Tchao
Pantin also
rarely showing the age of the materials used, colorful yet dark
without overdoing it. The
lossless PCM 2.0 Mono sound is as good as this film will ever sound
and they have done a fine restoration here too.
To
order the Act
Of Violence
Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive
releases at:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20
-
Nicholas Sheffo
