Amorous
Women Of Tang Dynasty
(1984/88 Films*)/Babygirl
(2024/A24 Blu-ray)/Mick
Jagger: The Ultimate Performance
(2001/Trinity/R2R/Darkside Blu-ray)/Joan
Jett: Bad Reputation
(2019/Magnolia Blu-ray)/Performance
4K
(1970/Warner/Criterion 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Play
It Cool
(1970/Arrow/*both MVD Blu-rays)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B-/B/C+/B-/B/B- Sound:
B-/B+/C+/C+/B-/B- Extras: B/B-/C-/C+/B/B- Films:
B-/B-/B-/B/B-/C+
Now
for some films that mix sex, music, style and even surrealism in all
kinds of ways, including two music icons who sets the standards for
these kinds of works...
Eddie
Fong's The
Amorous Women Of Tang Dynasty
(1984) is one of the last films from the famed Shaw Brothers Studios
and features Pat Ha as a poet wanting to be free and happy in a
conservative place and time, partly achieving this in the sexual
encounters she has and how it relates to her art and expression.
Done
with the utmost realism and seriousness, the acting is very
convincing, the eroticism handled in a mature, advanced way connected
well to the narrative and the solid cast is matched by the sets,
locales and production values. I was surprised this worked as well
as it did, as the studio was doing way too much comedy at this point,
but it is a one-of-a-kind special film and shows where the studio
could have gone and what they could have achieved had they not
folded. Definitely one to catch, even if you might not think you
would like it at first.
Extras
include:
Halina
Reijn's
Babygirl
(2024) is one of the most controversial films of the year, with
Nicole Kidman picking up in ways where she left off in Kubrick's Eyes
Wide Shut
(1999, reviewed elsewhere on this site) but as a different character,
a married corporate business professional who seems to have a happy
life. She has great kids and a solid husband (Antonio Banderas,
purposely cast well here to make the point) but yet, she is still
unhappy.
This
gets more dire when she becomes attracted to an intern at her company
(Harris Dickinson) who she finds attracted to after seeing him handle
a dog on the loose. This triggers her and she starts to approach
him, then he starts to agree and a wild sexual relationship begins.
However, its built on her secrets, a threat to their jobs, her family
and more. Where will this go?
Well,
I won't answer that question, which would require a long essay with
spoilers, but this is very good despite some slight predictability
and oddly reminded me of another 'woman-in-surreal-midlife-crisis'
film that it competed with during awards season: The
Substance
with Demi Moore, who is also great in her film. And both featuring
ladies who have aged well, can act, understand how their sexuality
looks on the big screen and are both willing to take risks when a
solid script comes along.
I
knew this would likely be good because Kidman usually knows how to
pick the best screenplays for herself and even now, she gets way more
than we'd imagine, so she gets to get prime works like this and its
yet another triumph for a lady whose talent is still a little
underestimated. If you can handle the serious subject matter, see
it!
Extras
include a solid Feature Length Audio Commentary track with Writer &
Director Halina Reijn, ''Directing
Desire with Halina Reijn''
featurette, ''Power
Looks: Dressing the cast of Babygirl''
featurette featuring Costume Designers Kurt & Bart, Deleted
Scenes, and BTS Photography by Niko Tavernise.
Robin
Bextor's Mick
Jagger: The Ultimate Performance
(2001) is an older documentary coming out around the same time as the
1970 film we cover with Jagger here and it is not bad for a then
hour-long look at the icon (the disc's copyright is 2021!!!) and
lasts only an hour like so many produced at the time in case it could
fit not a time slot for the A&E Network's then massively
successful Biography series. Holding up on its own, there are all
kinds of interviews, stills, music and vintage footage to fill in the
time.
No,
it is not sweeping and vast, plus its almost a quarter-century old,
so it is just a capture of the legendary singer (sometimes doing solo
work) but he and the band have continued to tour and survive, so it
has some unexpected moments of amusement and knowing what was to
come. Yes, ti was the year of the 9/11 attacks, so that's another
odd factor when viewing. Fans will be happy and the curious will not
be heavily disappointed.
Extras
include a trailer for this and some other Trinity releases.
Kevin
Kerslake's Joan
Jett: Bad Reputation
(2019) is another great portrait of a great music legend by the
legendary music video director who can do more than that. Jett first
worked to success in The
Runaways,
for which an underrated feature film was made about 15 years ago as
we post this that you can read more about at this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10179/The+Runaways+(2010/Sony+DVD
The
band had all kinds of talent and the gals were more groundbreaking
than even critics, fans and the industry realized at the time, but it
was Jett who broke out and (wisely) decided to get backed by an
all-male band. The results were Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
having hits like I
Love Rock N Roll,
Do You
Wanna Touch?,
Fake
Friends
and a popular cover of Crimson
and Clover.
Every label turned down her album (including Arista, where even the
golden ear of Clive Davis missed it all or just did not want to deal
with music this rough and tough) so the band came up with a
multi-platinum smash and the rest is history.
This
runs about 90 minutes and I was impressed how much they were able to
fit form her start, young life, her musical success and all the other
work she has done on and off the stage. As it continued, I realized
how long she has been with us and how she has stayed a success
through all kinds of changes in the music and entertainment industry.
It also shows her amazing character and why she is one of the great
artists, underrated and never sold out.
Kerslake,
whose Music Videos with Jett, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Mazzy Star,
Soundgarden, Primus, Bob Mould, Faith No More, Smashing Pumpkins,
Pantera, Depeche Mode, Prince, Matthew Sweet, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Stone Temple Pilots, Simple Minds, Bush, Filter, Liz Phair, The
Offspring, Velvet Revolver, Henry Rollins, 311 and so many more make
him as much of a legend behind the camera and also a bit underrated.
He totally understood his subject.
Extras
are pleasantly more than expected and include Theater Performance:
"Bad
Reputation"
& "Fresh
Start"
acoustic set (6:49)
Sound Check "Bad
Reputation"
& "Fresh
Start"
(7:11)
"Backstage:
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony"
featurette (3:06)
Classic, Original Music Videos for....
"Any
Weather"
(3:29)
"Bad
Reputation"
(2:47)
"Change
the World"
(3:19)
"Fake
Friends"
(3:17)
"Fetish"
(Live) (3:38)
"French
Song"
(3:36)
"Little
Liar"
(Concert Version) (3:55)
and Bonus Trailers for Joan
Baez: I Am a Noise,
The
World According to Allie Willis,
The
Stones and Brian Jones,
and Once
Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson & The Band
(9:35).
Donald
Cammell and Nicolas Roeg's Performance
4K
(1970) is an unexpected and welcome upgrade to the solid Blu-ray
Warner Archive released a few years ago that we reviewed at this
link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12720/Gotterdammerung+(2013/Wagner/Barenboim/Art+Haus
Despite
how decent that version was, Warner decided to let Criterion reissue
it and in 4K Ultra HD, getting more out of the film than even I
thought they could. The ever freaky film about identity, good &
evil, sexuality, criminality and even music as the counterculture
raged on in the U.K. (et al) has Jagger better in the role than it
first seemed to many and
James Fox more than able to go all out. The supporting cast,
offering both sides of living in the world presented, remain totally
convincing and I enjoyed seeing the film all over again despite my
last viewing not being that long ago.
Now
more than ever, Performance
is a key film all true film fans should catch and I highly recommend
it.
Extras
expand well beyond the older Warner Archive
Blu-ray and include:
• Donald
Cammell: The Ultimate Performance
(1998), a documentary by Kevin Macdonald and Chris Rodley
• Influence
and Controversy: Making ''Performance''
(2007), a documentary about the making of the film
• The
True Story of David Litvinoff,
a new visual essay by Keiron Pim, biographer of dialogue coach and
technical adviser David Litvinoff
• Performers
on ''Performance,''
a documentary featuring actors James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita
Pallenberg, and others
• The
Two Cockneys of Harry Flowers,
a program on the dialogue overdubbing done for the U.S. version of
the film
• Memo
from Turner, a program featuring behind-the-scenes footage
• Original
Theatrical Trailer
• PLUS:
An essay by film critic Ryan Gilbey and a 1995 article by filmmaker
and scholar Peter Wollen.
Yasuzo
Masumura's Play
It Cool
(1970) has the popular
Japanese hit singer Mari Atsumi as an unknown college fashion student
dealing with sexist, rough nightclubs in Tokyo while living in a
small home with her mom (Akemi Negishi) and horrid stepfather, who
forces himself on her often. This leads to her trying to defend
herself and instead of successfully protecting herself, she's the one
who gets in trouble and goes to jail. When she gets out, new bad
things follow, but a new young man in her life might help change
things.
Though
the film can be predictable and have down moments, I still thought
this was worth a look and knowing who our lead really is, the film
has a new side making one compare her to the many female singers of
today and how their acting ventures (feature film, cable TV, etc.)
compare and this did turn out a little better than Joker
2,
but not as well as Wicked.
The look is consistent, the cast convincing enough and locales
palpable, so Play
It Cool
deserves rediscovery and Masumura (Giants
and Toys)
proves he has more going for him as a filmmaker than he might be
getting credit for.
Extras
include:
Brand
new audio commentary with critic and Japanese cinema specialist
Jasper Sharp and professor and Japanese literature specialist Anne
McKnight
Too
Cool for School,
brand new video essay on Play
it Cool
and the career of writer-director Yasuzo Masumura by Japanese film
scholar Mark Roberts
Original
theatrical trailer
Image
Gallery
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony
Stella
and
an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film
by Earl Jackson.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Performance
4K
looks great and even better than the older Warner Archive edition,
which was one of those transfers that windowboxed the opening credits
to avoid losing any of the image to overscan, a policy which is
fading now that 4K and newer HDTVs do not need that compromise in
their video transfers. The 4K scan comes from the original 35mm
cameras negative and where there were issues, a 35mm internegative.
Then,
a 35mm three-strip dye-transfer Technicolor print and 1990 35mm
safety print were used to determine the final color, resulting in a
transfer even better than the previous Blu-ray. The 1080p 1.85 X 1
digital High Definition image on the regular Blu-ray also looks good
and is not thew same as the Warner Archive Blu-ray, but the 4K is the
one to beat and it is impressive.
The
PCM 1.0 Mono is from the original 35mm magnetic soundmaster and
though I prefer a 2.0 Mono track like the one on the Warner Archive
edition, you can hear how clearer and more detailed this can be to a
good extent.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Amorous
Women Of Tang Dynasty
can be a little soft throughout, but color is good and
at least some softness might partly be by choice. The PCM 2.0
Cantonese Mono sound is good enough and is as good as this film will
ever sound. The combination is good for its age.
The
1080p 2.00 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Babygirl
looks good
with its compositions, nice shots, color, some detail and depth. The
lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) has
some clever sound design, mixing and is easily the sonic winner on
this list, which says something for the interesting sound and music
we get in all releases here. It is a fine combination, but I bet the
4K edition is even more effective.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Joan
Jett: Bad Reputation
is a mix of new HD footage and older sources that includes low
definition digital, low def analog, photochemical film and various
stills, so you get the usual ups and downs for such a project, but it
is well edited and more than watchable just the same. The DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix does its best to bring out the sound,
but more than a bit of the older sound is just dated and rough, so
only so much can be done. Much of the newer interviews are just talk
and are not exactly going to set off the surrounds. The combination
is as good as can be expected.
The
1080p 1.66 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Mick
Jagger: The Ultimate Performance
is a late analog (or low def digital) production, so this is rough
and maybe some of it is upscaled, though that only goes so far. I
can be hard to watch at times, but is historical enough and fans will
happily suffer through the aged materials. This might have been
produced in 1.33 X 1 and they cut off the top and bottom, but who
knows. The lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound is rough and has
trouble handling music. Guess this would sound worse lossless?
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on
Play
It Cool
looks good for its age and has some good color, but the older
anamorphic lenses have flaws that add softness, plus we do not know
the condition of the source material. In fairness to the film, some
of it is stylized, so at least some softness might be by choice, but
more of it is not and expect some others to not be as nice as I am to
the results here. The
Japanese PCM 2.0 Mono sound has been well-restored and is also as
good as this film will ever sound.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
