Big Fish
(Blu-ray)
Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: C- Film: D
After the
catastrophic remake of Planet Of The
Apes, Tim Burton decided to try making a personal epic film about a father
and son involving mythology and the father’s fascinating past. His son (Billy Crudup) has always been on the
outs with his father (Albert Finney, played by Ewan McGregor in early
flashbacks) and they live in a small southern town. But leave it to Burton to literally have a
giant catfish and any sincere attempt to deal with the father/son split is
foiled by endless sentimentality and phoniness that makes this one of Burton’s
largest failures, 2003’s Big Fish.
Like so
many other films from major directors (Steven Spielberg’s Hook, Terry
Gilliam’s Tideland, Oliver Stone’s Alexander) where they reach a point where they are
stuck personally and creatively enough to cause all of their past cinematic distinction
and sensibilities to come back in explicitly and obvious forms that are not
pretty. They all then make for one of
that given filmmaker’s most bizarre and problematic works.
No matter who sincere or culturally rich Big Fish
may be, it once again is a film that only says things the director knows. Outside of references and the obvious, then
even considering the authorship of the screenwriter (John August) and original
book (Daniel Wallace) is lost as the auteur takes over and tries to paint the
cinematic picture intended. Despite a
sometimes odd mix of casting that also includes Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham
Carter, Robert Guillaume, Loudon Wainwright III, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito,
Alison Lohman and Marion Cotillard, this never works and will become the one
Burton film that truly can be called a cult film. Like all cult works, it is celebrated for all
of its failures and that describes this film big time.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot by Philippe Rousselot, A.F.C.,
A.S.C., and though this film has a consistently phony look, it looks about as
good as the 35mm film print I originally saw in its original release. Detail is not bad, nor is depth or color,
which is consistent, but the digital work is dated already and the look is just
not that impressive overall. If the
digital had looked worse, I would have lowered the rating.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mixes are not bad, but nothing special and no match for the PCM
16-bit/48 kHz 5.1 mix, yet that still is falling short of the original Sony
Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS) 7.1 mix where five of the speakers are behind the
screen. That makes this mix a bit
front-heavy, but is at least well recorded.
Future Blu-ray discs are supposed to support 7.1 mixes and you can bet
this will be reissued with that sound mix closer to the original theatrical mix
at its best. Danny Elfman’s score is
prominent and nothing great, but audiophiles will not be disappointed.
The only
extra is the audio commentary track by Burton, but that is all. There may be more extras in a future upgrade,
whether this finally finds a large audience or not. At least it is a solid performer on Blu-ray.
- Nicholas Sheffo
