Blu-ray Review: Heaven's Gate

'What one loves in life are the things that fade'.

Based on 'The Johnson County War', "Heaven's Gate" is set in late 1890's Wyoming, where cattle barons wage war on immigrant settlers from eastern Europe. When the odious Frank Canton (Sam Waterston) draws up a death list (with government backing) containing 125 names, James Averill (Kristofferson) must decide whether to help the oppressed settlers or stand aside and allow Canton's hired hands to engage in an orgy of bloodshed.

History records that "Heaven's Gate" cost $44 million to make, took $1.5 million during a brief theatrical run and brought United Artists to financial ruin.

Critical response to the most unjustly maligned film in cinema history was largely unfavourable, with the majority of critics indulging in their own kind of vicious bloodletting: "boring", "at least 90 minutes too long", "sketchy characterisation"...... just a few of the comments aimed at a director who "didn't know when to stop shooting!" Maybe those same 'learned scribes' should sit and watch the two hour abortion occasionally screened on Sky, and then return to Cimino's 219 minute cut. It's here they'll find a film of exquisite beauty, where Vilmos Szigmond's painterly photography ensures damn-near every shot is a work of art, set to David Mansfield's celestial score.

Performance-wise, "Heaven's Gate" almost manages to surpass its sumptuous visuals:Kristofferson and Jeff Bridges (saloon keeper, James H. Bridges) deliver career-bests, Isabelle Huppert (Ella Watson) has rarely been better as the feisty Madame who juggles her emotions between Averill and part-time lover/mercenary Nate Champion (Walken) while John Hurt is unforgettable as the almost permanently blotto William Irvine.

Despite an excellent ensemble cast, the eye/ear candy provided by such splendid sound and vision could result in the screenplay being overlooked: subsequent viewings, however, will reveal an intensely moving script, conveying its characters collective feelings of loss, jealousy and regret. Even the finale is a masterpiece as we realise Averill has spent over 3 hours reliving his past from a ships deck, before ending the film with wordless acknowledgement of a request for a cigarette from his old college sweetheart; possibly the most moving scene in the entire film as Averill's eyes confirm a life that once was so full of promise has now lost all meaning.

So, why did the critics deliver such a savage reaction to this film? Quite simply, they reviewed the consequences of what turned out to be an enormous financial loss, and turned Cimino into a whipping boy, mindful of the possibility that they had possibly gone overboard for their praise for The Deer Hunter, whose success gave Cimino enormous leverage with his employers. This was payback in spades. Was Cimino blinded by his arrogance, with no thoughts for the money he was spending and the vast amount of footage he shot? Yes. Most definitely. But, just look at the film he turned out. Full of frankly terrific performances, from a cast he had carefully selected. Now, Heaven's Gate has emerged from the fire, and is at long last receiving the praise it deserves and we welcome its release on Blu-ray from Second Sight.

I've seen this film on Video, DVD and on the big screen at London's National Film Theatre, and this high definition presentation replicates the theatrical print, resulting in some truly stunning scenery. Indeed, Zsigmund's photography looks wonderful, with so many 'magic hour' shots taking one's breath away, and his aim of the film frequently looking like an old photograph just adds to the overall beauty. Fans of this film are likely to be delighted with how it looks here, and are also in for a treat with the supplementary material.

First up is True Gate. An Interview With Jeff Bridges. This piece has Bridges speaking with warmth about a film he watches every couple of years, recalling the film's premiere and a scathing New York Times review, both of which greatly disheartened cast and crew. He talks of great 'jam sessions' with the wonderful musicicans very night, and draws a comparison between the Johnson County situation with the oil barons of today. 19 engrossing minutes, and a pleasure to hear Jeff talk.

The next featurette is Painting Jackson County: An Interview With Vilmos Zsigmund (18 min) Here, Vilmos criticises United Artists for not standing by the film, and shares some great memories (champagne to celebrate one million foot of film shot), including Cimino's impatience ("But not with me") with some of his cast during the pursuit of excellence. A joy to witness and it nicely leads us into a 55 minute excerpt from the documentary 'Final Cut: The Making And Unmaking Of Heaven's Gate'. Narrated by Willem Dafoe, this absorbing feature tells the story of Cimino's film, from the story of European imigrants suspected of stealing cattle, and the death list drawn up; the original budget of $7.5 million; the reaction and efforts of studio executives who tried to get Cimino onside and the critical pounding it took from critics who decided its sins obscured its virtues. It's all here, with contributions from the likes of Steven Bach, David Field (both UA execs, with the former being the author of the best book on film I've read - Final Cut), Kristofferson, Bridges, and Cimino's assistant editor Penelope Shaw who remains fiercely loyal and makes some telling contributions. All in all, this documentary is worth the purchase price alone.

This Blu-ray release is out now on the Second Sight label, and adds to this film's standing as one of the great American movies. Yes, it's brutal in parts,but also achingly beautiful and, for me, never fails to recall aline from Edith Wharton's novel The Age Of Innocence.

"Next to death, life is the saddest thing there is".

Blu-Ray Review: Betty Blue

"She was a flower with psychic antennae, and a tinsel heart."
So begins the story of Betty Blue (Beatrice Dalle) and her relationship with Zorg(Jean-Hugues Anglade), a handyman and aspiring writer who finds his world turned upside down when Betty pitches camp in his beach shack: "the first time we've met in daylight." Zorg soon discovers his girlfriend possesses a fiery temper, with his boss on the receiving end. After a series of increasingly volatile encounters with the sweaty employer, Betty sets fire to their home and the pair move on to stay with a widowed friend of Betty's (Lisa, played by Consuela De Haviland). Before long, the trio become a quartet when Lisa's boyfriend Eddy (Gerard Damon) moves in and becomes firm friends with the house guests. So, relationships and bonds are formed, but Betty gradually sinks into severe depression, driven by rejections from publishers who turn down Zorg's book and by her inability to conceive.

In director Jean-Jaques Beineix's three hour director's cut, we can better appreciate Beatrice Dalle's iconic performance, and also her character whose decent into mental illness is slower and much harder to bear than in the two hour theatrical version which is also included in Second Sight's Blu-ray release. Indeed, it's a wonderful performance from the (then) unknown Dalle who exhibits a wild horse, impossible to tame nature which actually takes centre stage in the tale, rather than just being the story of someone who is driven mad by life. Zorg (a moving turn from Anglade) does his best to turn the tide, but comes to realise Betty's world exists "not in a meadow but in a gloomy pen."

Prior to Betty Blue, Beineix had delivered two shining stars in Diva and The Moon In The Gutter, but I strongly suspect that Betty Blue will turn out to be the one he's remembered for. Gabriel Yorel's score is instantly memorable, and stayed with me on a permanent basis after I caught the film opening week at the cinema in 1986, while Jean-Francois Robin's photography hits magisterial heights, realising some beautifully lit scenes. Betty Blue is one of those movies where all individual elements and components are exactly right, and the end result is a work that is of its time, and yet also timeless.

Second Sight's Blu-ray release offers exemplary picture quality that will delight fans of this film, with gorgeous candy colours, perfect skin tones and and high levels of detail which replicate the original theatrical release. An added bonus comes with Severin Films' hour-long documentary 'Blue Notes And Bungalows: The Making Of Betty Blue' which includes valuable contributions from Beineix, Dalle, Anglade, Robin, Yorel and first time producer Claudie Ossard who recalls the joy she felt at working with Beineix. We get to hear why Beineix chose to go with an unknown actress; exactly how responsive he was to input from cast and crew and his vision of Betty as an image of female rebellion. Oh, and do listen out for Dalle's great story about an encounter in a bookstore that she swears actually happened! This documentary is beautifully made, exhibiting a real love for the film and it's one you'll return to on future occasions. The remaining extra is 4 minutes of Beatrice Dalle's screentest. Here, she's completely unused to the cold, unblinking eye of a movie camera lens and is spontaneous and completely natural: exactly the kind of girl her director needed, and she comes over that way in the film, too. It's a delightful conclusion to Second Sight's presentation that bestows reverential treatment to one of cinema's great love stories, where the central characters discover the world was not made for them.

Betty Blue is released in the UK on 25th November and is region-free.

Blu-ray Review: Streets Of Fire

Released in 1984, Streets Of Fire cost $14 million to make and took a disappointing $8 million at the US box office.Since then, Walter Hill's 'Rock & Roll Fable' has gained in popularity to become a genuine cult attraction for viewers old and new. The film takes place in an unnamed city as homecoming queen Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) brings her band The Attackers to play a gig in her hometown. During the performance, a biker gang named The Bombers rush onto the stage and kidnap Ellen. Her manager Billy Fish (Rick Moranis) is outraged at seeing his girl snatched and offers $10,000 to her ex-boyfriend Tom Cody (Michael Pare) to get her back. The Bombers - led by the villainous Raven (Willem Dafoe) represent a formidable obstacle but Cody, joined by ex-soldier McCoy (Amy Madigan) is well up to the task. After a thrilling shoot-out, Cody is successful in his mission, but finds his troubles are only just beginning. With affairs of the heart bubbling away in the pot, Cody must reckon with the collective might of The Bombers artillery, which lives up to Raven's boast that he can bring "a lot more guns" to the table. Overall, it's a rather thin storyline and hardly original,yet the whole production works beautifully. Performance wise, Hill's cast tick a lot of boxes: Pare, brooding and resourceful as the ex soldier of fortune, with Madigan equally impressive with her hard-talking, no nonsense character and Moranis gives a more than decent turn as the loud mouthed agent who possesses the balls to challenge The Bombers, but no muscle to back it up with.Diane Lane, already well experienced in the acting profession despite her youth, also impresses as the diva in distress and watch out for The Sorels; a delightful doo-wop band-that-never-was who bring some great music to the party.

The visuals also hit the spot, with some excellent choreography during the concert footage which was lit by Marc Brickman who worked on lighting gigs for Pink Floyd and Bruce Springsteen. Streets Of Fire is the closest Walter Hill has come to directing a musical, and the score is a constant winner with Ry Cooder imposing his considerable style on proceedings while Jim Steinman adds his talent to the mix with "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young" and "Nowhere Fast". The film also inspired a hit single with Dan Hartman's "I Can Dream About You". All in all, it's a satisfying mixture that seals the deal on this films' cult status, and now we have a Blu-ray release to celebrate.

Second Sight's HD presentation really does lift Hill's film to even greater heights. Here, the late Andrew Laszlo's photography benefits hugely from the increased resolution,and the concert footage looks simply gorgeous. Fans will also be delighted with 'Rumble On The Lot' - and 80 minute documentary which features anecdotes and memories from key personnel, including Hill, Pare and Madigan who explains how she persuaded Hill that the part of McCoy should go to a woman. Madigan has excellent recall of the shoot as does Pare who states he can remember every day of what turned out to be an enjoyable filmmaking experience. Both actors clearly relished their time with Hill who goes into various production details, showing pride at the way things turned out, though he does express his regret that Lane's voice simply wasn't strong enough to carry the songs, instead using the combined voices of 2 vocalists. Second Sight have also included the original Electronic Press Kit which gives a nice nostalgic slant on the excitement surrounding Streets Of Fire's road to release, and music videos for "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young", and "I Can Dream About You".
Streets Of Fire is released on Blu-ray from Second Sight on 18th November. It's a great package that will increase this film's cult following and its never looked so good.

Blu-ray Review: Creepshow

Borne out of a shared love for those great E.C. comics, Creepshow - directed by George A. Romero - has endured for more than 30 years, and continues to delight old school admirers while gaining a legion of new fans. The film contains five stories, each linked by an animated interlude and begins with Stan - an overbearing father (played by Tom Atkins) - slapping his son (Billy, played by Stephen King's son, Joe) for the ownership of a comic book that neatly ties in with his love of the macabre. The first story, 'Father's Day', peeks in at the annual get-together of the Grantham family.

Each year, the clan meet on Father's Day, and Sylvia (Carrie Nye) is joined this year by a motley crew, including Cass (Elizabeth Regan), her new husband Hank (Ed Harris) and Aunt Bedelia ( Viveca Lindfors) who avenged the death of her lover by slaying the family patriarch with an ashtray. Now, it's that time of the year again and the in-fighting is rudely interrupted by the re-appearance of a figure from the past who wants more than just a slice of cake. It's a lively opening from Romero, and neatly takes us into 'The Lonesome Death Of Jordy Verrill'. The titular character - played by Stephen King - starts dreaming of a dollar windfall when a meteor crashes near his rundown abode. Kings plays his character straight out of a cartoon, and his hilarious attempts at cooling and then breaking in half this foreign object

leads to his surroundings becoming a green and unpleasant land. Interspersed by the most inane daydreams, this episode of Creepshow works best with a few bottles of beer and a benevolent attitude, though Verrill's gradual demise and the vision of his dead father - a Bava-esque face at the window do linger long in the memory. The third instalment, 'Something To Tide You Over', is, for my money, the most effective of the bunch. Here, martial infidelity and its fatal consequences are on the menu. Harry Wentworth (Ted Danson) receives an unwelcome visit from Richard Vickers

(Leslie Nielson)who has learned of Wentworth's affair with his wife Beckie (played by Gaylen Ross). Vickers, a techno-junkie, devises a unique way of punishing the two lovers, only to discover the dead sometimes don't stay that way. It's a tale supremely well told and not for the first time in this movie, Tom Savini's effects and make-up and effects make a huge contribution. 'The Crate' is the next item on the menu, with a janitor (Don Keefer) discovering a crate

under a basement stairwell dating back to a 1834 arctic expedition. This is pure guilty pleasure entertainment, as Fritz Weaver and Hal Holbrook play major parts in proceedings; the latter keen to dispose of his loud, hard-drinking spouse, played by the wonderful Adrienne Barbeau. A rampaging monster may well prove to be the answer to his prayers, but at what price? The final segment is'They're Creeping Up On You', in which EG Marshall's Upson Pratt character shows himself to be a particularly odious man, who celebrates the suicide of a former employee, and laughs at a grief-stricken phone call from a distraught widow.

Pratt soon finds his sterile apartment invaded by an army of roaches, and it's a genuine pleasure to see him get his just desserts. Creepshow is a successful attempt at bringing comic book excess to the big screen, combining some finely tuned performances with humour and the ability to tap into some of our deepest, darkest fears.

Second Sight's Blu-ray release contains some excellent supplementary features. First off, we get two commentary tracks; the first of which features Romero and the legendary Tom Savini, moderated by Michael Felsher. Here, Romero mentions on several occasions his deep appreciation and respect for the calibre of his cast, and explains why he went with well known faces and of the ingenuity of Savini's effects and make-up. The two of them share some wonderful anecdotes - listen out for the border guard story - and also record the production was in grave financial straits when the cash temporarily ran out. The second track features DOP Michael Gornick, property master Bruce Alan Miller, make-up effects assistant Darryl Ferrucci and actor John Amplas. This brand new track is a little different to the norm as Michael Felsher conducts interviews with cast and crew who missed the boat during the 'Just Desserts' documentary. Gornick recalls his excitement at being chosen for the film, of the challenges posed by some tricky lighting and ambitious camera angles while Miller Ferrucci and Amplas chat about the effects and the real world and comic book world combinations. Comic book artist Bernie Wrightson also gets airtime, revealing he had three months to complete his part of the project, and how a phone call from Stephen King set him on the road. Felsher himself signs off by cataloguing the number of times he spots the famous ashtray during each story, and also invites eagle-eyed viewers to see if he's missed any.

Of course, no special edition would be complete without a deleted scenes section, and Creepshow realised some twelve minutes from all the stories. 'Father's Day' is the most significant beneficiary, and the background info on Bedelia and Nathan could possibly have made final cut. The Verrill segment includes a fantasy visit to the loans office and extended visitations from his father, while 'Tide' delivers additional dialogue and test footage of Harry's disembodied hand. 'The Crate' and 'Creeping' offer just a couple of additions, but nothing that suggests it should have been inserted into the finished product. 'Behind The Screams With Tom Savini' is an informative 26 minute account of some extraordinary make-up and effects work, with 'The Master' holding forth on the methods used to create some very effective sequences. Savini also features on 'Just Desserts', a 90 minute documentary that rounded up key participants from the movie, such as Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Harris and Tom Atkins who reveals he originally wanted the Verrill role. We also hear from composer John Harrison who provided a wonderfully atmospheric score to a film that originally contained library music. Cast and crew clearly had a ball shooting Creepshow (Savini labelled it "5 months of Halloween"), and we get to hear of Danson and Nielson's antics onset - do watch out for Ted's "Can we use your phone?" entrance! Of course, many of you will be familiar with this documentary from the UK 2 disc DVD release, but it does have real replay value, and of course superior image quality in this edition. TV spots, a trailer and photo gallery round off this release, and the high definition picture beautifully showcases the ingenious lighting and macabre effects creations. In terms of image quality, Second Sight's presentation is easily worth an upgrade from your DVD, and is released in the UK on 28th October - just in time for Halloween! This Blu-ray is Region B, and is part of a mouth-watering roster of titles coming soon from Second Sight, including Streets Of Fire, the wonderful Betty Blue and one of the gret American movies, Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate.

Blu-ray Review: Me And You

Shown out of competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Me And You marks Bernardo Bertolucci's comeback film after a decade out of the game. Of course, a lot has happened in this ten year absence. Bertolucci now directs from a wheelchair, and Me And You takes confinement as one of its central themes.

Making his big screen debut, Jacopo Olmo Antinori plays 14 year old Lorenzo - an acne-infested teen who lives with his mother and shuns any activity that takes him out of his comfort zone: in this case, the four walls of his room. For Lorenzo, personal space is everything and thew prospect of a school skiing trip gives him an idea. After pocketing the holiday money, Lorenzo has a key cut for the basement of their house and meticulously chooses enough provisions for seven days and seven nights spent 'underground'. Once settled, Lorenzo seems to enjoy this self-enforced isolation and constructs an ant farm, positively reveling in his time spent devoid of human contact. Then, out of the blue, his half-sister turns up. Olivia (Tea Falco) is apparently a regular visitor to the basement, and comes with a heroin addiction as part of the package.

At this point, the audience may well be expecting a coming-of-age drama where Lorenzo experiences his first sexual encounter, and Bertolucci would certainly not shy away from chronicling an incestuous relationship if that's what he felt was needed: indeed, warning shots are fired early in the film when Lorenzo pitches an end-of-world scenario to his mother which would see him impregnating her to save mankind. However, the director embarks on a different path, contrasting Lorenzo's desire to be alone with Olivia's need for a companion while she goes 'cold turkey'. At this stage of Lorenzo's life, an eleven year age gap shows the dangers awaiting him in the form of drugs and on a more human level, how relationships can be formed, blossom and disintegrate. Soon, shared memories and the occasional familial revelation take centre stage, and a rather touching bond is formed. Although me And You is open to accusations that nothing much happens, it's actually a beautifully directed miniature piece with two very impressive leads who successfully convey just how much of a challenge they face in changing their lives. One standout scene occurs during an Italian version of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity', and the song crops up again a little later; this time in its original cut as the pair hug and suggest doing it again sometime. It's a supremely uplifting moment, and when the camera's freeze-frame captures Lorenzo's smiling face, we guess that while both parties may not be capable of immediate change, one at least is on the right path.

Artificial Eye's Blu-ray presentation is presented in 1.85:1 and looks rock solid, with real depth, bags of detail and well saturated colours. The solitary extra is actually an excellent 48 minute making of documentary. This UK Blu-ray is locked to Region B.

Blu-ray Review: Opening Night

And for every wrinkle, there's a pain
and for every pain, there's a year
and for every year, there's a person

One of the most important home video releases of the year comes to Blu-ray, courtesy of the BFI.
John Cassavete's OPENING NIGHT was released in 1977 and remains a truly inspirational work, and not just for movie buffs.
Indeed, this film should be compulsory viewing for any aspiring director, actor/actress, writer and cameraman.
OPENING NIGHT is built around a play - 'The Second Woman' - which is finishing its out-of-town run before transferring
to New York.
The play concerns a woman who wants to fall in love, but is painfully discovering her time has passed. Myrtle Gordon
(Gena Rowlands) is surrounded by a dream team of a crew: playwright Sarah Goode (Joan Blondell); director Manny Victor (Ben Gazzara); producer David Samuels ( Pual Stewart) and actor Maurice Aarons who are aware they have a star in their midst whose performance will make or break the play.
Myrtle, however, is struggling to accept she is no longer the young girl of 17 who could "do everything", and for her, the play's central theme of growing old gracefully is a little too close to home.
Soon, Myrtle begins to change lines of dialogue and walk offstage in the middle of scenes. This leads to a series of confrontations that reside uneasily alongside the death of a young girl who was knocked down outside the theatre seeking an audience with Gordon.
This is a tragedy that has a profound effect, with Myrtle witnessing an apparition that may either be a ghost or her own younger self, refusing to be ousted by the 'second woman'.
Whichever theory you go with, it's an utterly compelling premise, carried along by Rowlands who can say more with a single look, a gesture, than many artists with two hour's worth of dialogue. This really is a magnificent performance, but it certainly doesn't dwarf the rest of the cast.

Gazzara as the long-suffering director; Blondell and Stewart who run the whole gamut of emotions as their ship slowly sinks and Cassavetes himself, who teams up with Rowland to delive some wonderul improvisation when the play opens in New York, while sharing a love/hate relationship with his leading lady.

As with many great films, it's the small things that leave almost as much of a mark as the major sequences:
Goode asking Myrtle her age - a series of requests that go unanswered as Myrtle cannot bring herself to utter two simple numbers and her arrival at a wake, where one of the grieving relatives declares, "You don't have children. If you had, you wouldn't have come here". It's a devastating encounter, that amplifies the passing of time during Myrtle's unfulfilled life, but still she presses on, determined to find a different way to play the role and find something human in the production

Dollars and reputations may well be on the line, but for Myrtle, the most important thing is to learn to grow old gracefully and brushing aside fears of being typecast as an older woman if the play is a success.
OPENING NIGHT certainly repays multiple viewings, and this BFI disc is the ideal vehicle for such a journey.

The transfer appears in the orignal aspect ration of 1.85:1. The film was transferred in high-definition on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm colour reversal internegtive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches were removes using the MTI Digital Restoration System. The mono 2.0 audio sountrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm magnetic audio track, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce pops, hiss and crackles. The result is a presentaion that exhibits rich, well saturated colours and sharp detail.

On the extras front, we are treated to a commentary track with Bo Harwood ( music score composer)and Mike Ferris
(cameraman), moderated by Tom Charity. The track is a mixture of anecdotal and scene specific - the latter largely taking over for the last half hour - and it's a genuine pleasure to hear two of Cassavetes' 'family' talk about working with the man. Both have excellent recall and hold forth on a multitude of subjects, including how John always got his own way; the challenges of recording sound onstage and offstage simultaneously; the lighting for that wonderful mirror scene and the possibility that Bette Davis may have ended up playing the Sarah Goode role. While it's speculated that Davis would possibly have been harder on Rowland's character that Joan Blondell was, rest assured JC would have had the last word.

This BFI release also has 'Memories Of John' (DVD disc) and 'Falk On Cassavetes' (DVD disc) and an illustrated booklet featuring interviews wit and essays from Tom Charity, Al Ruban and Peter Bogdanovich (who, along with Peter Falk, has a cameo at the end).

Some 35 years and change later, OPENING NIGHT remains an astonishing work, and it's a joy to see it in the best possible light. The Blu-ray is locked to Region B.