Blu-ray Review: 3 Women (Arrow Academy)

The film industry is all about dreams, and Robert Altman's "3 Women" has its roots in a dream experienced by the director while his wife lay ill in hospital.
Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall) works as a therapist at the Desert Springs senior care centre, helping the aged during their final years. Millie is a word-aholic, endlessly talking to colleagues and neighbours who largely ignore her endless patter.

Enter Pinkie Rose (Sissy Spacek) who starts work at the centre, and is immediately taken with Millie's personality, telling her she's the most perfect person she's ever met.
While Millie spins tales of her male conquests and tries so hard to make them a reality, Pinkie stays in the background, causing Millie to react in an increasingly harsh manner.

The 3rd woman in this triangle is Willie (Janice Rule); the pregnant spouse of Edgar Hart (Robert Fortier) who claims he used to be a stunt double, and who divides most of his time between drinking and cheating on his wife. Willie reveals a talent for painting and it's her work that creates a series of striking murals depicting strange creatures. While she has little dialogue to deliver, Willie cuts an imposing presence whenever she's on screen, and has a major part to play before the credits roll.

Pinkie's character is another interesting one to follow, and undergoes a real sea-change following a fateful incident which also has a profound effect on Millie. Shelley Duvall actually wrote a lot of the dialogue for her character which was basically a magazine creation, following advice and trends in an attempt to become the type of person she'd read about. Her relationship with Pinkie establishes her as the dominant one, barely tolerating the new kid in town who possibly reminds her of the person she used to be before fake trappings took over.

Those of you yet to see this film, and who number Bergman's "Persona" and Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" as firm favourites will find much to stimulate and intrigue with "3 Women". The relationships, the transformations, the use of water and mirrors, even the dream sequence combine to make this an essential film in Robert Altman's illustrious career.
It's also a film that's difficult to get a handle on, though there's a conversation on twins (inspired by sisters who also work at the centre) that's says a lot about the central theme here, and its development en route to the haunting finale.

The Blu-ray presentation emphasises the overexposed, desaturated colours, with stable images and delicately handled grain.
The soundtrack is clear as a bell, with dialogue easy to follow (optional English SDH subtitles are available, but as someone who has hearing problems I didn't need them) and Gerald Busby's eerie atonal score is clear and crisp, greatly adding to the overwhelming sense of foreboding.

The supplementary features begin with a Shelley Duvall interview (5m 45s) in Cannes where she won Best Actress (Spacek won in New York for her performance as Pinkie). She recalls how her acting career began in a most unusal manner, and goes on to discuss her role in "3 Women". She explains how Altman shot in sequence as much as possible and why he got to really know his cast prior to commencing shooting.

'David Thompson On 3 Women' is a 37m 7s video essay by David Thompson, editor of "Altman On Altman" and was recorded in May 2015.
David talks about the director's early industrial films and his television work, prior to gracing the big screen.
We hear about Altman's interest in personality exchange; the dream that inspired "3 Women"; how he saw Spacek as "a lost soul looking for a body to inhabit" and how he saw her in "Welcome To L.A. and decided to cast her.
We also learn why Willie's dialogue was stripped down. It's a bonus feature to savour before settlign down to watch the film again as "3 Women" will richly reward multiple viewings.
A gallery and theatrical trailer draw the curtain on the disc itself, although there is another extra in the form of a booklet containing essays, stills and notes on the transfer.
"Women In The Dunes" by David Jenkins provides background on the film, and explores each of the leading 3 female characters.
There's also an extract from David Thompson's "Altman On Altman", where the director talks about the dream sequence (which he didn't particularly care for); a painting he did that was the genesis of his film; Gerald Busby's score and his admiration for the performances.

"3 Women" is available to buy now. it's locked to Region B, and is highly recommended.

Blu-ray Review: The Long Goodbye

Robert Altman's take on Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel takes private investigator Philip Marlowe and moves him from 1949 to 1970s Hollywood. Health concious California is the setting for Rip Van Marlowe (Elliott Gould) whose character appears to have woken from a 20 year slumber to emerge as a chain-smoking stranger in a strange land. Marlowe's best friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) has gone missing and the cops haul Marlowe in for questioning, telling him that Lennox's wife has been beaten to death. Enentually, Marlowe is released with the police now declaring Terry is dead, and the case is closed. Of course, Marlowe isn't put off that easily, and an encounter with local hood Marty Augustine (Mark Rydell) hardens his resolve to discover the truth; particularly as Marty reveals Lennox stole $355,000 from him and accusing Marlowe of knowing where the money is stashed. Add to this a juicy sidebar involving the elegant Eileen Wade (Nina Von Pallandt) and her hard-drinking husband Roger (Sterling Hayden) and you have an industrious plot containing some major diferences to Chandler's book.
Inevitably, many Chandler devotees did not take kindly to Leigh Brackett's screenplay, feeling too many liberties were taken, and certainly the ending is a major revision from its source, together with Roger Wade's demise, yet both scenes work beautifully, in my opinion.

Happily, time has been kind to Altman's film, now banishing the original negativity to emerge blinking in the bright sunlight of critical acclaim. Elliott Gould really does excel in the role he was born to play, and there's a fine supporting cast at work with the shocks and surprises that keep you glued to the screen: check out Mark Rydell as the truly nasty Augustine who figures in a shocking act of violence designed to show Marlowe that he#s not fooling around like some lightweight crook.
It's well past time that The Long Goodbye was treated to a feature-packed high definition outing and the Arrow Academy Blu-ray does the job beautifully. Image quality maintains the high standard output adopted by Arrow, and DOP Vilmos Szigmond provided detailed colour notes so the master could better match the original look intended from 1973. The result is a transfer with muted, desaturated colours and plenty of detail that will surely satisfy fans of this film.

On the extras front, the Channel Four documentary Robert Altman: Giggle And Give In is a 56 minute look at Altman and his work, which was screened on 17th July 1996 by Channel Four. Here, Alan Rudolph, Elliott Gould and Shelley Duvall hold forth, with the latter declaring Altman to be "the best at depicting Americana". 'Giggle' was shot around the time of the 'Kansas City' release, so there's a slice of proceedings given to this film, and also clips from other key works such as 'Three Women' and 'Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean': how I would love to see this long-neglected classic hit Blu-ray in 2014!

Next up is the 53 minute Elliott Gould Discusses The Long Goodbye. This really is an absolute joy, as Gould reveals this to be his favourite role, and throws in many anecdotes (including a wonderful harmonica story) and recalls Altman's generosity - particularly with regard to actor's improvisation - recalling the Al Jolsen scene and that immortal line "I've seen all your movies". One feels a genuine sense of regret when this absorbing Q&A ends, and a word of thanks to Michael Connelly who is an excellent host, and who declares he watches The Long Goodbye once a year, acknowledging that it changed his life.

Vilmos Szigmond Flashes The Long Goodbye is next on the agenda, being a 14 minute interview with this great cinematographer. Szigmond has been in much demand recently with Blu-ray documentaries, and his talents add so much to Altman's film. Szigmond chats about Altman's value as a great director, about his use of the zoom lens, and shares memories of this film and of the great McCabe And Mrs Miller.

David Thompson On Robert Altman is a 21 minute interview with the writer and filmmaker which centres on Altman's work, describing the remarkable 'Images' as his European art movie; discusses how he mixes actors with real people playing themselves and how Altman felt liberated by his break from television to the big screen.

Raymond Chandler enters the spotlight next, as Tony Williamson (author of a book on Chandler) gives a 14 minute interview, explaining how Chandler discovered Pulp and his relationship with Billy Wilder, writing the screenplay for 'Double Indemnity'.

Finally, we have crime writer Max Jakubowski on Hard Boiled Fiction (14 min) where the names of Cornell Woolrich, Ed McBain and Jim Thompson crop up along the way. Devotees of The Long Goodbye will also be pleased by the inclusion of a trailer and a booklet containing new writing on the film, including a piece fro Brad Stevens (which I didn't receive a copy of).
Oh, and do check out a remarkable theory amongst these extras. it centres on the scene where Marlowe is knocked down chasing a car driven by Eileen Wade, possibly getting killed in the process. This puts a whole new spin on the ending, and is well worthy of your consideration.

The Lon g Goodbye is a Region B release, and comes out in the UK on 16th December. It's a tremendously satisfying package, and a worthy contender when the Best Blu's Of The Year lists are rolled out.