When Jim Henson passed away in 1990, the creator of the Muppets left us with only a few, fleeting glimpses into his potential as a purveyor of fantasy projects beyond the scope of Kermit and Miss Piggy. Henson only directed three theatrical features in his career: the second, and best, Muppet movie (1981’s “The Great Muppet Caper”); the epic fantasy “The Dark Crystal” (1982), which he co-helmed with Frank Oz; and “Labyrinth” (1986), a live-action fantasy, produced with George Lucas, that flopped at the box-office.
Now restored in a sparkling new 4K UHD release is THE DARK CRYSTAL (***½, 93 mins., 1982, PG; Sony), Henson’s directorial magnum opus — a visually striking tale of a pair of human-like Gelflings who attempt to put their fragmented, fairy-tale world back together by restoring a broken crystal that resides in the dark catacombs of a castle belonging to the lizard-like Skeksis.
Unrelentingly serious and packed with imagination in virtually every frame, “The Dark Crystal” is an ambitious film that shows Henson at his most creative and audacious. Artist Brian Froud worked with Henson in creating an entire mythic universe with its own living beings, set against real-life English backdrops that establish a world that’s familiar yet foreign, from the marvelously detailed Mystic and Skeksis puppets to excellent special effects that have lost none of their magic.
David Odell’s script is straightforward fantasy stuff, but it serves as the perfect template for the work of Henson, Oz, Froud and their teams of artists, who breathtakingly transport the viewer into another time and place, with Oswald Morris’ widescreen cinematography and Trevor Jones’ outstanding score adding to the adventure. At a time when so much of genre cinema looks the same, watching a handcrafted film like “The Dark Crystal” in 4K makes – as Lisa Henson mentions in her liner notes – the filmmakers’ achievement all the more impressive.
4K Rundown: “The Dark Crystal” makes its 4K UHD debut alongside a remastered Blu-Ray with one, brief new special feature: a 10-minute segment with Lisa Henson entitled “The Myth, Magic and Henson Legacy,” which looks back on the film and this new restoration. Sony’s ace in the hole, of course, is their new HVEC encoded 4K transfer (2.39), which retains the opening Universal logo and offers not just enhanced detail but a wider color gamut that stands out even more on UHD through the use of HDR. This is the kind of gorgeous catalog release that Sony routinely brings us in 4K, and the work of Henson, Oz, Morris and their production team is even easier to appreciate here thanks to a lyrical new transfer that was supervised by Brian Henson specifically for this restoration. The Dolby Atmos audio is also robust, actively channeling the original Dolby Stereo mix for rear activity and 7.1 systems as well. A Digital HD copy is also included.
Other extras are reprieved from prior releases. What’s carried over from the 2007 disc is a superb commentary from Brian Froud, who discusses the five years he worked on the film alongside Jim Henson, plus the innumerable challenges the filmmakers faced in making their fantasy world come to fruition. Froud is relaxed and spins many anecdotes that “Dark Crystal” fans will love to hear throughout the course of the film’s 93 minutes.
Also from that release is “Reflections of the Dark Crystal,” a two-part, 40-minute retrospective on the picture’s production. Featuring never-before-seen test footage and fresh interviews with Brian Froud, Brian Henson, David Odell and others, this is an excellent look back on the movie’s production, as well as a nice compliment to the original 1982 Making Of program, “The World of the Dark Crystal,” which is also on-hand here, offering ample backstage footage of Henson and the filmmakers at work.
The deleted funeral sequence and original language workprint scenes are also carried over from previous releases; David Odell’s introduction and storyboard tracks reappear as well, from the most recent Blu-Ray; and brought back for the first time since the 1999 DVD are two theatrical trailers, making for a highly-recommended package all around.
Also New & Noteworthy
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI 4K UHD (***, 115 mins., 2017, R; Fox): Writer-director Martin McDonagh’s films can be an acquired taste, but he mostly gets it right in this well-acted tale of a grieving, frustrated mother (Frances McDormand) who takes to publicly criticizing her town’s local sheriff (Woody Harrelson) over the lack of information regarding her daughter’s brutal rape and murder. In putting up a series of billboards on the outskirts of their small Missouri town, McDormand’s character stirs up a swath of emotions both for herself and her teenage son, as well as other colorful characters in town – most particularly a child-like deputy (Sam Rockwell) who lives with his mother and pet turtle.
“Three Bilboards” is an entertaining and interesting film, constantly straddling the line between disturbing violence and comedy while populated by characters filled with contradictions. McDormand is, as always, marvelous while Rockwell is dynamic as a character who veers from being despicable to commendable (both were just rewarded with well-deserved Oscars). As with some of the director’s past work, certain viewers may not care for the jarring tonal shifts between pain and lightheartedness, but the mix is nevertheless potent and more satisfying here than in much of McDonagh’s prior efforts.
4K Rundown: Fox’s 4K UHD combo pack of “Three Billboards…” includes a HDR enhanced, and highly satisfying, HVEC encoded (2.35) transfer with DTS MA 5.1 audio. A Digital HD copy is also included plus the Blu-Ray, deleted scenes, a Making Of, gallery, and McDonagh’s Oscar-winning short “Six Shooter.”
I, TONYA Blu-Ray (**½, 119 mins., 2017, R; Universal): Surprisingly lightweight — and disposable — dramatization of the infamous figure skater’s life and times isn’t nearly as interesting as one of the real documentaries on Tonya Harding herself (ESPN’s “Price of Gold” 30 for 30 documentary most specifically).
In a project she also produced, Margot Robbie gives a capable performance as the talented – and troubled – Harding but director Craig Gillespie’s film is as annoyingly interested in the peripheral details of the hangers-on who essentially sunk her career, from her mother (a strong, Oscar-winning turn from Allison Janey) to her deadbeat boyfriend/husband (Sebastian Stan). The movie employs a freewheeling approach that’s never as clever or funny as it thinks it is; the skating sequences are vibrantly edited and Robbie has one effective scene near the end (when Harding tearfully receives her lifetime ban from a judge), but it’s not nearly enough to recommend this disappointingly shallow affair.
Universal’s Blu-Ray combo pack is out March 13th, including a nice 1080p (2.39) transfer, 5.1 DTS MA sound, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes segment, commentary from Gillespie, trailers, a DVD and Digital HD copy.
LADY BIRD Blu-Ray (**½, 93 mins., 2017, R; Lionsgate): If I just walked into Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut and had heard nothing about it, I’d have thought “Lady Bird” was a familiar, mildly enjoyable yet superficial film about an extroverted Sacramento teenager (Saoirse Ronan), yearning for “something more,” and her senior year at a private Catholic school. That this little movie was universally acclaimed and nominated for a slew of Oscars, though, is hard to figure.
Gerwig’s movie is distressingly short on development, introducing a series of would-be subplots that must’ve been jettisoned in the editing room as they serve no point at all, while the film artlessly moves from one predictable “high school” standby (Lady Bird constantly blows up at her hard-working mother [Laurie Metcalf], only to realize she shares something in common with her; Lady Bird ditches her best friend for a more popular clique; Lady Bird finds out neither of her romantic pursuits are all they’re cracked up to be) to the next. It all ends right at the 90 minute mark, in a neutral position that pretty much sums up how I felt about this well-performed yet overpraised picture.
Lionsgate’s now-available Blu-Ray includes a soft and somewhat murky 1080p (1.85) AVC encode with 5.1 DTS MA audio. Extras include commentary from Gerwig and cinematographer Sam Levy, a featurette, DVD and Digital HD copy.
Warner Archive New Releases
LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III (*½, 1990, 85 mins., Unrated; Warner Archive): I’m not a huge fan of Jeff Burr’s third entry in the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” series – which stars Kate Hodge as well as a young Viggo Mortensen — but the film does have its fans, all of whom should be delighted by Warner Archive’s essential (for them) new Blu-Ray release of the film. The disc includes the movie’s extended Unrated version and a bevy of deleted scenes, including an alternate ending. TCM aficionados long lamented the various MPAA-imposed cuts the movie suffered when it was trimmed for its theatrical run, and generally felt the Unrated version was a mild improvement. There’s also a commentary track from the filmmakers, a revealing Making Of program documenting the troubles the production encountered in the days leading up to its release, trailers and more. Transfer wise, the disc’s 1080p (1.85) transfer is superb and the 5.1 DTS MA soundtrack preserves the original sound design. Well worth a look for horror buffs and TCM nuts, though the movie itself — a mostly routine rehash of the original — isn’t anything to write home about. For Leatherface fans, though, this is high-def nirvana (everyone else has been warned!).
Two Paul Newman efforts with the star playing Richard MacDonald’s private eye Archer – here renamed Harper after it turned out the producers purchased rights to the author’s books but not the character – debut on Blu-Ray for the first time.
Produced nearly a decade apart, Newman’s HARPER (121 mins., 1966) and THE DROWNING POOL (108 mins., 1975, PG) offer the star as an L.A. private eye in two films that are markedly divergent in their overall entertainment value.
“Harper” is clearly the more satisfying of the duo, with Newman’s detective hired to track down Lauren Bacall’s missing husband. Jack Smight directed an early William Goldman screenplay for a sometimes-cluttered yet enjoyable film with Newman surrounded by a terrific supporting cast (Shelley Winters, Julie Harris, Arthur Hill, Janet Leigh, Pamela Tiffin, and Robert Wagner) and vivid Panavision lensing by Conrad Hall.
While “Harper” helped to usher in a series of moody, then-contemporary mystery thrillers (the likes of which ran the gamut from a remake of Blake Edwards’ Peter “Gunn” to James Garner’s “Marlowe”), “The Drowning Pool” felt like an afterthought in the wake of Altman’s “The Long Goodbye.” Though atmospherically shot in widescreen once again (this time by Gordon Willis), this belated sequel sends Harper to New Orleans and a less appealing, more complicated scenario concocted by director Stuart Rosenberg and screenwriters Tracy Keenan Wynn, Lorenzo Semple and Walter Hill. Playing off wife Joanne Woodward and character actors Murray Hamilton and Tony Franciosa among others (including a young Melanie Griffith), Newman is coolly laid back and “Drowning Pool” isn’t entirely without merit, but it is a curious and inferior follow-up just the same.
Both Warner Archive Blu-Rays offer crisp and detailed 1080p (2.35) AVC encoded widescreen transfers with DTS MA mono audio and trailers – the scores provided by Johnny Mandel (“Harper”) and Michael Small (“Drowning Pool”), respectively. “Harper” also includes a Goldman commentary while “Drowning Pool” offers an archival featurette.
Finally, an oddball and rarely-seen romp from the turbulent late ‘60s, THE CHASTITY BELT (110 mins.) finds its way to DVD for the first time. An Italian production co-written by Larry Gelbart and Luigi Magni, this Warner release stars Tony Curtis as a medieval knight who can’t finish consummating his marriage when he’s tapped to participate in the Crusades. His new wife (Monica Viti) follows him along on his adventures – wearing a chastity belt – in this strained and strange comedy from an era in which on-screen sexuality and adult content was just starting to become more explicit. Warner’s Archive DVD includes a 16:9 transfer (1.85) and mono sound sporting a Riz Ortolani score.
Quick Takes
FACES PLACES Blu-Ray (89 mins., 2017, PG; Cohen Media Group): Agnes Varda collaborated with French photographer/artist “Jr.” for this unusual documentary/road trip movie, wherein the 83-year-old New Wave filmmaker and the noted muralist take to the road, finding inspiration in the residents of assorted French villages. The duo then produce a series of massive portraits of their subjects, displaying them across the land in a humanistic, highly enjoyable documentary both about their passion for art and their friendship with one another. Cohen’s Blu-Ray is available this week offering several featurettes, a 1080p transfer and 5.1 French DTS MA audio with English subtitles.
MAJOR CRIMES – Complete Sixth and Final Season DVD (657 mins., 2017-18; Warner): TNT dramatic series brings back Mary McDonnell as LAPD captain Sharon Raydor for one last go-around, continuing to spearhead investigations across Los Angeles and its diverse neighborhoods. The final 12 episodes of “Major Crimes” didn’t exactly go in a fan-friendly direction, however, as they (spoiler) killed off its lead character before the series even ended! Die-hards are likely to be disappointed for that reason, though Warner’s DVD at least caps the series’ run with 16:9 transfers, 5.1 sound, a featurette and blooper reel.
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM – The Complete Ninth Season DVD (368 mins., 2018; HBO): Larry David returns for the ninth season of the hit comedy series, preserved this week on DVD from HBO. The acclaimed series offers more of what’s made it a favorite among David devotees, including scrapes with real-life folks (playing themselves) and fictional supporting characters. HBO’s DVD is out featuring Ultraviolet copies, 16:9 transfers and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtracks.
SCORCHED EARTH DVD (94 mins., 2016, R; Cinedigm): Gina Carano plays a bounty hunter in an ecologically-ravaged future Earth, tracking down a ruthless hunter until she finds one of his slaves, who bears a passing resemblance to her dead sister. Standard-issue action stuff in this Canadian production from director Peter Howitt. Cinedigm’s DVD is available this week featuring a 16:9 transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound…Also new from Cinedigm is WHEN THE STARLIGHT ENDS (86 mins., 2017), the story of a frustrated writer (Sam Heughan) writing out his relationship with his muse (Arabella Oz, daughter of Dr. Oz) and struggling to find the proper ending to their story. Adam Sigal’s film is on DVD from Cinedigm this week sporting a 16:9 transfer and 5.1 audio.
NEXT TIME: Criterion’s WOMEN IN LOVE. Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!
