Miller’s Crossing
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: C Film: A
The Coen Brothers have turned out to be two of the most
important filmmakers today, but they were only on their third film when they
did Miller’s Crossing in 1990.
It was part of a watershed year for Gangster genre pictures that
included a third Coppola Godfather film, Stephen Frears’ The Grifters,
Phil Joanou’s underrated State of Grace, Peter Medak’s The Krays,
and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.
The Coen’s film is the only one that takes place in the Classical era of
Gangsterdom in the 1920s, and offers dialogue that is some of the sharpest you
will ever hear in a film. That an
exceptional cast delivers it makes it all the more remarkable. That there is an amazing story here about the
Irish Mob and they are all at the top of their game makes this the best of the
many great films they have made to date is outstanding.
It opens with a meeting between the Italian (Jon Polito)
boss who plays second fiddle in the scheme of things with his bodyguard (J. E.
Freeman), not happy with the way things are going. He is explaining this to uberboss Leo (Albert Finney, in one of
his great later works) and his assistant Tom (Gabriel Byrne), neither very impressed. Leo explicitly states his lack of concern
for any discomfort he is experiencing.
This immediately sets the tone for what we are in for.
Dialogue is written with the intensity of the one thing
Gangster Films and Screwball Comedies had in common, the rapid pace of city
life. There is calmer moment, as well
as more dramatic ones, but the pace is non-stop brilliant, which is matched by
action, superior camera work, and its complex narrative that also succeeds in
character studies all around.
Along comes “the girl” (Marcia Gay Harden, incredible in
her first feature film role), who is involved with both Tom and Leo, leaving
their hold on power potentially disrupted at the worse time. This is also for the first time, but these
are not the only changes coming, but to say more would ruin the film, except to
say that it is even smarter and more complex than can be relayed here without
ruining the film for those who have not seen it or should rewatch it. This is a gutsy R-rated film for adults, by
adults, with a brain, that does not hold anything back.
This was the last film the Coens would make with
cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who went on to become a director (Get
Shorty, the Men In Black franchise, the ill-advised Wild, Wild
West remake), but you have to wonder if they could have ever topped
this. The anamorphically enhanced 1.85
X 1 image looks fair, but is recycled from an analog master source. The film was first issued in the full-frame
it was shot in on VHS and LaserDisc when it arrived on home video. Later, Fox mated the film at 1.85 for
another LaserDisc, which did not stay in print as long. That is what is here. Really, this film will not look right until
a high definition transfer is done, which Fox should strongly consider for the
D-VHS/D-Theater format. The film was
shot with a combination of muted colors and hard (read city) colors in mind,
and the visual play of the two is extremely effective.
The 4.0 Dolby Digital discrete sound is the best by
default, but no match for the PCM CD Pro Logic the LaserDiscs offered, which slights
the depth of the sound, the dialogue somewhat, and Carter Burwell’s stunning
score. The film was released
theatrically in Dolby’s underrated analog SR system, but like so many 5.1
remixes from SR, this 4.0 mix is not representative of the film’s true sound as
it should be. It will pass, but diehard
LaserDisc owners have nothing to be concerned about.
There are some extras never issued before on home video,
including original interview footage from Byrne, Harden, and John Turturro, 23
stills on the film, a featurette by Sonnenfeld, and trailers that include this
picture and Barton Fink.
Despite some performance quality issues, this is a good
DVD to get, especially since the well-crafted film holds up extremely
well. Many images are unforgettable and
you can see where so many talents we now know of found artistic breakthroughs
that got them noticed industry-wide. Miller’s
Crossing is simply an unrecognized classic.
- Nicholas Sheffo
