Here we will cover up the Blu-ray review on the cinematic art of some talented late director’s movies. Join us as we unravel the storytelling, innovative techniques, and lasting impact of these filmmakers, celebrating their profound influence on the art of cinema.
Straub-Huillet, F.W. Murnau, and Juraj Herz stand as distinctive pillars in the realm of filmmaking, each contributing a unique and influential voice to the cinematic landscape.
The collaborative duo of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, collectively called Straub-Huillet, carved their niche with an uncompromising approach to cinema, characterized by rigorous formalism and exploring political and historical themes.
Their collaboration spanned several decades, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of avant-garde and European cinema. F.W. Murnau, a pioneering figure in the silent film era, created timeless classics such as “Nosferatu” and “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.”
Together, these filmmakers have significantly shaped the trajectory of cinema, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire and challenge contemporary filmmakers.
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Blu-ray Review: Casa de Lava (1994) Grasshopper Film
Pedro Costa’s second feature, “Casa de Lava,” serves as a reimagining of Jacques Tourneur’s atmospheric horror classic “I Walked with a Zombie” (1943).
Showcasing Costa’s adeptness in picking up Tourneur’s visual legacy. Renowned for his mastery in creating sensual, captivating imagery through digital filmmaking.
Exemplified in films like “In Vanda’s Room” (2000), “Colossal Youth” (2006), and “Horse Money” (2014), all exploring the impact of colonialism on Cape Verdean people, Costa equally proves his prowess with traditional tools in this shot-on-film endeavor.
Set against the otherworldly volcanic landscapes of a Cape Verde island, the film follows Portuguese nurse Mariana (Inês Medeiros) accompanying Leão (Isaach De Bankolé) back to his hometown after a construction accident leaves him in a coma.
Costa’s hazily dreamlike narrative unfolds as Mariana navigates a community that seems oblivious to Leão’s existence, blurring the lines between reality and the ethereal.
Medeiros delivers a searching performance, her bright red dress punctuating the temporal uncertainty of the situation.
Grasshopper Film’s Blu-ray release, the first in the US, presents a solid 1080p, 1.66:1 transfer, improving upon previous releases with enhanced clarity, despite minor imperfections like haloing and a brief mastering error.
The uncompressed mono track maintains cleanliness and clarity.
Bonus features, primarily from the Second Run disc, include a featurette on Costa’s production texts, an interview with cinematographer Emmanuel Machuel, and Jonathan Rosenbaum’s booklet essay.
The new edition introduces an additional booklet essay by Darlene J. Sadlier, extracted from a volume on the Portuguese diaspora.
As a rising distributor, Grasshopper Film continues to impress, contributing to the film’s accessibility and appreciation in the US.
Moses and Aaron (1974) Grasshopper Film
Released by Grasshopper just after Casa de Lava, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet’s adaptation of Arnold Schoenberg’s unfinished opera is an apt companion piece.
It’s also an encouraging sign to see some of these old New Yorker Films titles finally getting released, and this Blu-ray is tremendously better than what was made available on the endlessly delayed New Yorker disc.
Bringing their famously austere style to Schoenberg’s intense telling of the Exodus story, Straub-Huillet set nearly the entire film in an unadorned amphitheater.
Many of the film’s compositions are similarly spartan, but there’s a tension between what’s shown and what exists just out of frame.
The film opens with a shot of Moses (Günter Reich) from behind, admonishing the Israelites to follow a new God and come out of Egypt.
Every cut, like the one that reveals the Israelites, is deliberate, and every camera movement, like the pan up and across the desert sky that follows the film’s opening shot of Moses.
Even for an opera neophyte like myself, it doesn’t take much to get on the film’s wavelength, which feels far more frenzied than the concrete nature of Straub-Huillet’s images might suggest.
When Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the law, Aaron (Louis Devos) leads the people into a more hedonistic way of living, complete with choreographed dancing.
Throughout, there’s a tension between the two leaders’ disparate ways of thinking and conceptions of God, a contradiction that’s acutely felt in Straub-Huillet’s telling.
Sourced from a new 2K restoration, Grasshopper’s 1080p, 1.33:1 transfer is absolutely gorgeous, with exceptional clarity, a stable grain structure and healthy levels of fine detail.
The uncompressed mono soundtrack offers an excellent, forceful showcase for the music.
Three bonus Straub-Huillet films easily tip this over into essential disc territory: shorts Introduction to Arnold Schoenberg’s “Accompaninment to a Cinematographic Scene” (1972) and Machorka-Muff (1962).
Along with their feature debut Not Reconciled (1964), an adaptation of Heinrich Böll’s novel Billiards at Half-past Nine that examines the effect of the rise of Nazism on a family.
Also included is an insert with an essay by Ted Fendt. Also of note: A small logo on the cover that says “The Straub-Huillet Collection”; let’s hope this is just the first release of many.
Desert Hearts (1985) The Criterion Collection
In Donna Deitch’s groundbreaking film, “Desert Hearts,” a notable cut marks a pivotal moment as Columbia professor Helen Shaver (Vivian Bell) and free-spirited Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau) share their first kiss.
This cinematic choice, unusual in the film’s otherwise languorous pace, captures the sudden surge of attraction overcoming reservations.
The film, adapted from Jane Rule’s 1964 novel “Desert of the Heart,” distinguishes itself by presenting a lesbian love story without succumbing to tragic clichés.
Set in 1959, it follows archetypal characters navigating societal expectations, with Bell and Charbonneau delivering performances that exude genuine collaboration.
Criterion’s release, featuring a 1080p, 1.85:1 transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the 2K restoration, showcases the film at its visual peak.
Robert Elswit’s Western photography is rendered immaculately, with a grain structure that appeals to enthusiasts.
The uncompressed mono soundtrack maintains clarity, handling dialogue and the country soundtrack well.
Bonus content includes a Deitch audio commentary, new interview featurettes with Deitch, Jane Lynch, Bell, Charbonneau, Elswit, and production designer Jeannine Oppewall.
Excerpts from a 1994 documentary offer insights into the book’s author, Jane Rule, and an insert featuring an essay by critic B. Ruby Rich completes this Criterion release.
“Desert Hearts” remains a lovely and emotionally rich film, now revitalized with a release worthy of its significance.
Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017) Kino Lorber
There’s a recurring event in Bill Morrison’s documentary/fantasia Dawson City: Frozen Time, where reels of highly flammable nitrate film are responsible for a devastating fire.
The infernos are like signposts in this historical record, marking moments of seemingly inevitable destruction as time marches on.
Morrison has always had a deep respect for celluloid and the decay that is its inextricable partner.
His 2002 film Decasia found transcendence in the decay, as he partnered with it to refashion and repurpose archival footage.
Dawson City: Frozen Time has more trappings of a traditional documentary, packaged inside a not terribly elegant frame story about the discovery of hundreds of reels of silent film footage, buried beneath an old ice rink in the Yukon.
Talking-head interviews with two historians bookend the film (and it’s worth it for an adorable payoff), but the film feels more on Morrison’s turf once he delves into history.
Using both archival photographs and unrelated, but thematically correct, clips from the rediscovered footage to tell the story of the Yukon gold rush.
And all its voracious appetites, rights of indigenous peoples be damned and the aftermath, where a town that was the end of the line for movie distribution simply dumped the reels when they were finished.
Morrison is an exceptional editor, cutting between the real and the fictional and setting them on equal footing.
By giving us glimpses of these rediscovered films — some of which are ringed with the nitrate decay that Morrison seems to revel in — he illuminates history and complicates it.
There’s an unspoken assertion that these pieces are only a fraction of what has been lost, and our histories will always be incomplete.
That makes the improbable resurrection of all these included bits of film all the more thrilling.
Kino’s Blu-ray sports a 1080p, 1.33:1 transfer that’s well-equipped to re-create all the celluloid glory, and there’s a pleasing clarity and detail to many of the shots, despite obvious damage.
Everything shot recently looks fine, if a little flat, but the textures of the rediscovered film bits make this well worth the Blu-ray purchase.
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is a showcase for Alex Somers’ sweeping score. Morrison isn’t shy about using music to evoke emotion, but the elegiac, eerie score is so irresistible, it’s hard to mind.
Extras include half a dozen reels from the Dawson City discovery, a featurette on the preservation of the films and a brief interview with Morrison.
A trailer and a booklet with essays by Lawrence Weschler and Alberto Zambenedetti are also included.
The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, 1968) Second Run
Juraj Herz’s “The Cremator” immediately establishes a chilling atmosphere, marking itself as a surreal horror masterpiece and a powerful exploration of the encroachment of fascism.
The film opens with a disorienting prologue, featuring jagged cuts and oddly composed close-ups, introducing Karel Kopfrkingl (Rudolf Hrušínský) and his family.
As Kopfrkingl nostalgically recalls his past in front of leopards, Herz employs filmmaking techniques that drain the scene of warmth, foreshadowing the horrors to come.
Hrušínský delivers a performance that deserves a place in the pantheon of all-time horror turns, portraying the hygiene-obsessed cremator with unsettling smarminess.
As Kopfrkingl’s fixation on purity and rightness extends beyond funereal procedures to the living world, the narrative coincides with the impending Nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia.
Herz skillfully balances the hideous and the hideously entertaining, infusing dark comedy into this disturbing tale while maintaining formal control that enhances every tonal shift.
Second Run’s region-free Blu-ray, featuring a 1080p, 1.66:1 transfer from a new HD scan by the Czech National Film Archive, showcases the film beautifully despite some marks on the source material.
The deep blacks and impressive clarity, especially on a large projected screen, highlight the fine detail and film-like grain reproduction.
The LPCM mono track, while showing some limitations, handles Zdenek Liska’s evocative score well.
The Blu-ray review includes features such as a Quay Brothers introduction, a biographical audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, a Projection Booth podcast episode.
Herz’s debut short film “The Junk Shop” (1965), and a booklet with an essay by Daniel Bird.
This release is a testament to the enduring impact of Herz’s masterful and disturbing cinematic work.
The Last Laugh (Der letzte Mann, 1924) Kino Lorber
While there may be narrative critiques of F.W. Murnau’s seminal silent film, “The Last Laugh,” the film’s visual impact and approach undeniably overshadow any storytelling nuances.
Murnau opts for minimal intertitles to depict the poignant narrative of a doorman’s rapid descent from his prestigious position at a luxury hotel.
Emil Jannings, portraying the doorman, infuses immense pride into his seemingly menial job, and his physicality becomes crucial in conveying the heart-wrenching demotion to a bathroom attendant.
The film masterfully captures the indignities faced by the working class, showcasing Jannings’ transformation through wide shots and close-ups that reveal his shock and disappointment.
Kino’s 1080p, 1.33:1 transfer, sourced from a 2001/2002 restoration, presents impressive detail despite underlying damage, maintaining consistency in sharpness and clarity.
Grayscale separation is well-executed, with rich black levels and stable whites.
The release offers two 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks for Giuseppe Becce’s original 1924 score and a newer option from the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra.
Kino’s exclusive extras include an audio commentary by historian Noah Isenberg and a bonus DVD featuring the international export cut, providing a fascinating glimpse into a different edit intended for the American market.
While the unrestored image of the export cut is murkier, it serves as a valuable curiosity that underscores gratitude for the restoration of the original cut.
Kedi (2017) Oscilloscope Laboratories
For those enchanted by the charm of feline companionship — and really, who hasn’t given them a fair chance?
“Kedi” is akin to irresistible catnip. Clocking in at a delightful 80 minutes, this documentary serves as a serotonin boost, offering an intimate look into the lives of Istanbul’s street cats and their harmonious coexistence with humans.
The film introduces us to feline characters like the devoted mother Sari (also known as Yellowshit), the polite deli-meat enthusiast Duman, and the jealous lover Psikopat.
Director Ceyda Torun, along with cinematographers Charlie Wuppermann and Alp Korfali, skillfully follows these cats through their daily routines, capturing their independence and amiable nature.
While “Kedi” might not showcase the ambitious structures seen in some top documentaries, it acts as a captivating anthropological document, exploring the meaningful relationships that have developed between humans and cats.
The film’s micro-focus on individual cats unveils reflective and enigmatic stories of the people in their lives, providing essential truths about the human experience.
Oscilloscope’s Blu-ray offers a sharp 1080p, 1.78:1 transfer with vibrant colors and fine details, complemented by a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack capturing the sounds of the city.
Extras include a commentary track with Torun, Wuppermann, and editor Mo Stoebe, a “commentary track” featuring some of the feline stars, a making-of featurette, deleted and extended scenes, and a trailer.
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