Goya’s Ghosts (2006/Umbrella Entertainment/PAL Region Zero/0//DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C-
Film: C
PLEASE
NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on machines capable of playing back DVDs
that can handle Region Zero/0 PAL format software and can be ordered from our
friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided at the end of
the review.
Milos
Forman was once a premiere world class filmmaker, but he has slowly lost his
touch in recent years. When he takes
risks, he can come up with gems like The
People vs. Larry Flint or One Flew
Over The Cookoo’s Nest, but he has his misses like Hair and Valmont. After Amadeus,
he has not been able to pull off a costume period piece as good and after Valmont did not work out, he has made Goya’s Ghosts his first film in seven
years and it went barely noticed. Now on
DVD from Umbrella in Australia,
we can see why.
An odd
mix of drama and politics, Stellan Skarsgard is the great artist Francisco
Goya, who must endure the stupidity of the Spanish Inquisition in its death
throes. Part of the trouble comes from
the Vatican as expected, specifically from the devious Father Lorenzo (Javier
Bardem in a role and performance that almost backfires) who intends to torture
Goya and his female inspiration (a bold Natalie Portman) in the worst possible
ways. He is interested in her as well.
Though
the set up is interesting, the film gets away from Forman and never totally
works. The mistreatment of Portman’s
Inez is overdone and reminds us that he sometimes has problems with female
characters. But ultimately for all that
goes on, no great points are made and we see, hear and learn nothing new, which
sort of happened with his film of Ragtime. The film covers 15 years into the rise of
Napoleon and even that does not work out as well as it could have. Randy Quaid and Michael Lonsdale as the main
Inquisitor General also show up, but they cannot help this work either.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is a little weak than expected for such
an expensive, good looking film shot in 35mm, but it has some good moments as
lensed by Director of Photography Javier Aguirresarobe of The Road, The Sea Inside,
Vicky Cristina Barcelona and first
two Twilight sequels. The look for the film helps to save it form
being worse. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
is not bad and has some good surround moments, but it is not a great mix,
though this is a limited lossy codec that made me wish for DTS. A trailer for this and a few other Umbrella
DVD releases are the only extra.
As noted
above, you can order this PAL DVD import exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
