The Thing Called Love – Director’s Cut
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: C+
Peter Bogdanovich has gone to The South for three of his
films, the masterwork The Last Picture Show, its problematic sequel Texasville
and the Country Music film A Thing Called Love from 1993. Originally, the film was released in a
choppier version no one liked, but the film was sadly saved by the early,
untimely loss of its lead actor, River Phoenix. Now, as his brother Joaquin makes a huge splash playing Johnny
Cash in Walk The Line, Paramount and Bogdanovich finally are offering a
longer cut of the film closer to what Bogdanovich and River Phoenix had in
mind.
Though still not one of the best Bogdanovich films, often
haunted in some odd way by Robert Altman’s Nashville (1975) also about
young talents trying to make it in the Country field, this less political work
is nicely acted and directed. However,
there is a strange flatness the film always had and even though this is a better,
fuller cut, that sense has not been altered.
Furthermore, since Country has become so the opposite of what it once
was with its flash and regressive nature, this film also marks the end of an
era of honesty and authenticity that once made Country Music so great. The songs here were written by the cast for
the most part, which adds some authenticity, but like The Western itself, many
of the aspects of the film feel like we have already been there even if the
characters supposedly have not.
Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, K.T. Oslin, Anthony Clark and Sandra
Bullock (a year away from huge success) co-star. Pam Tillis and Trisha Yearwood, two true talents in the business,
even show up!
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 shows its age a bit,
but is a newer transfer because a new cut was made. Peter James, A.C.S., provides some interesting cinematography
throughout typical of what Bogdanovich’s films tend to demand more than most
filmmakers. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
is a decent remix of the old Dolby A-type analog surround the film was
originally released in, while a weaker Dolby 2.0 mix similar to the A-type mix
is also included. Extras include the
original trailer, a retrospective “look back” at the film (22:16) and smaller
segments The Look Of The Film and Our Friend River (both 7:39
each) that further enhance the final film of one of the best actors of his
generation with one of the best directors of his.
- Nicholas Sheffo
