Cocoon
(1985/20th Century Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B Extras: C Film: C+
On the
success of Night Shift and comedy
hit Splash, Ron Howard continued his
fight to transform himself from actor to director by taking on the “feel good”
cycle of films launched by Stephen Spielberg’s success with Cocoon, a 1985 Science Fiction Comedy
with some Drama and nuance about a group of elderly people in a shared living
facility who one day get the chance to be young and live longer again when an
alien force lands and this includes mysterious rocks in their swimming
pool. The film was a hit, thanks in part
to its cast.
Though a
variant of the classic Twilight Zone
episode Kick The Can (remade at that
time by Spielberg in the awkward feature film that did not lead to a revival
series), the film is also an implied tribute to great Hollywood
actors of the past who appear and some who don’t. Don Ameche, Jessica Tandy, Wilford Brimley,
Hume Cronin, Maureen Stapleton, Gwen Verdon and Jack Gilford are among the
residents who have a close encounter, while Brain Dennehy, Linda Harrison,
Tahnee Welch and Steve Guttenberg round out the interesting cast in a film that
holds up in mixed ways. Not a big fan to
begin with, I thought it took its ideas and stretched them too thin, but it is
still a smoother film than many such feel-good films made later and certainly
more sincere in intent. It is worth
revisiting for fans and worth a look for those interested. Otherwise, try one of Howard’s newer films.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 AVC @ 19 MBPS digital High Definition image was shot on 35mm film by
Director of Photography Donald Peterman, A.S.C., who has an interesting history
for creating memorable-looking work in Horror (the original When A Stranger Calls, The Ripper pilot episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker) and lensed
one of the first Music Video Movies in Flashdance,
so he gives this film a first-rate look.
Too bad this transfer is softer than it should be, undermining his fine
work throughout. Likely, this is an
older HD master. The DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) lossless 5.1 mix upgrades the Dolby magnetic 70mm blow-up 4.1 sound, but
shows it to be compressed and aged somewhat, though James Horner’s score is not
bad.
Extras
include three TV spots, theatrical teaser, theatrical trailer, Ron Howard
Profile, Howard’s feature-length audio commentary track, piece on the actors, Underwater Training featurette, Creating Antareans featurette and
trailer for the ill-fated, unnecessary sequel.
- Nicholas Sheffo
