G.I. Jane
(1997/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B Extras: D Film: C
There is
a period after Thelma & Louise
and before his recent resurgence in which Ridley Scott made some of his oddest
high profile films. One of those was G.I. Jane in 1997. An ambitious tale about how Jordan O’Neil
became the first woman to enter the all-male ranks of the Navy SEALs and how
rough a road that was.
Odd in
its original release, tons of jokes were made of Moore bald, a few with
comparisons with her to Sigourney Weaver in Alien 3 and even a Sinead O’Connor joke or two. With Viggo Mortensen (now associated with Lord Of The Rings and outspoken outside
of film with matters of peace) as her drill sergeant, he is good, but it is
hard to get past how his reputation has grown despite how good he is here. Another joke was that this was two hours of
her being beaten senseless. Part of that
comes from the limits of the David Twohy/Danielle Alexandra screenplay. Another is a film that is trying to be on the
fence about its military stance and not knowing where to go.
Some may
erroneously label this quasi-Fascist in what could be seen as an endorsement of
the military as “just a natural part of life” when such a stance would be
insidious. War and becoming a solider is
a serious commitment not to be treated lightly or entered into as such. Scott’s elongated training sequences do not
have enough ironic distance to offset that perception, like Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket or Joseph Sargent’s Tribes.
That you have a male director and another male co-writer telling the
story may ultimately be the film’s biggest failing.
The
supporting cast includes Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe, Kevin Gage and Jim
Caviezel, whose portrayal of Christ in Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ received the same comments about
beatings.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 image was shot in Super 35mm by Hugh Johnson, who worked with Scott
briefly in this period, including on Scott’s previous White Squall. Images are
often soft and meant to be that way, including almost amusing scenes of
training in the rain where the rain just looks too phony. At least it is not all digital. Colors are somewhat muted and you get more
blue than usual since Super 35 lends itself to that. The PCM 5.1 16/48 sound mix is better than
previous Dolby Digital versions, including the one included on this disc and
though not the greatest mix ever made, is consistent with Scott’s tendency for
superior sound fidelity and mixes with character. Not among his best, the mix has some good moments
and Trevor Jones’ score is mixed.
There are
no extras on the 25GB disc, but this is a better presentation than the DVD,
though far from the best on Blu-ray.
- Nicholas Sheffo
