Candy Mountain Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Candy Mountain Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 30, 2025

For anyone who grew up playing either piano or organ, or for anyone who may have chosen a song from a jukebox back in the days when there were jukeboxes, the name of Wurlitzer should be instantly recognizable. The company was founded by a guy named Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer, and several generations down the line, two thirds of the founder's name were "ported over" to a descendant, one Rudolph (Rudy) Wurlitzer, born in 1937. This particular Rudy Wurlitzer ended up making a name for himself with his writing, and a certain demographic of (cult?) film fans will probably recognize his name from such efforts as Two-Lane Blacktop, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Walker and/or Little Buddha*. That said, the maybe slightly subliminal connection between the Wurlitzer family name and music is very much at hand in this fascinating film, which was actually co-directed by Wurlitzer, along with Robert Frank. As some of the supplements get into, this might be perceived as another of Wurlitzer's "road movies", a la Two Lane Blacktop and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, but in another way it's a kind of (anti?)hero's quest a la Joseph Campbell, albeit with maybe just a sprinkling of what I might jokingly call a "musical Apocalypse Now" element in terms of a guy in search of a mysterious shaman type hiding in an isolated location, a "searcher" who may end up getting something other than what he bargained for once he does in fact find what he's after.

*Note: The last link points to an Australian release.

A typical plot summary is probably both inadequate and unnecessary, since Candy Mountain is almost the very definition of sui generis, at least in terms of a kind of "shaggy dog" approach toward narrative that as a supplement repeatedly mentions can be deliberately "opaque". The basic momentum in this "road story" comes courtesy of struggling guitarist Julius (Kevin J. O'Connor), who sets out to find secretive luthier Elmore Silk (Harris Yulin), for probably mostly venal reasons. What ensues is a vignette driven enterprise that sees Julius interacting with any number of eccentric characters as he tries to find out where Silk may be hiding, something that ends up leading him into the wilds of Canada, which ended up reminding me of some really isolated far northern locations used in a memorable season of Race Across the World.

If Candy Mountain already has the bona fides for a genuine cult film, what will give this outing special allure for lovers of cult musicians, though, is its actually kind gobsmacking array of supporting (acting) performances by the likes of Tom Waits, Dr. John, Leon Redbone, Joe Strummer, Arto Lindsay and David Johansen, which can't help but give the film a really distinctively gonzo ambience.

Candy Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Candy Mountain is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. As usual with their releases, Film Movement doesn't provide a wealth of technical information on the transfer, though there is a passing mention of a "new 2K restoration" in the insert booklet included with this release. This is a really nice looking transfer, though some may share my opinion that things can look just slightly too dark at times. That darkness may actually help to improve the perception of a nicely saturated palette, though I found color timing to be maybe a bit too oriented toward yellows, which may be discernable in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. That said, there's a generally very natural look here that supports the kind of "backwoods" story that ultimately ends up happening, and a somewhat thick but still nicely resolved grain field helps to support that organic appearance.

Candy Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Despite the amazing cast list mentioned above, Candy Mountain is not really a musical in any meaningful way, and as such audiophiles probably needn't be concerned that there is no surround or stereo offering on tap, just a nicely balanced and listenable LPCM 2.0 Mono track. When music is employed, it sounds fine, with no distortion, and all spoken material is delivered cleanly and clearly (even Tom Waits, and, yes, that's a joke). Optional English subtitles are available.

Candy Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alex Cox on Candy Mountain (HD; 10:58) offers some fun reminiscences from Cox, who was (kind of unbelievably) offered the part of Julius. Cox often tends to be a bit eccentric in these supplements (one of my favorite Cox moments is him spinning madly around in a chair and introducing himself on a Radiance release supplement), and here he's driving his truck for no discernable reason while speaking.


• The Road Goes on Forever (HD; 6:17) features professor David N. Meyer offering his thoughts on the film.


• Candy Mountain Trailer (HD; 1:17)

A nicely appointed insert booklet offers a good essay by Jonathan Dixon, along with stills and cast and crew information. The sleeve has an inner print. The original exclusive Vinegar Syndrome release evidently had a slipcover, but the review copy sent to me did not.

Candy Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When I was a kid starting to experiment with electric keyboards and before I was able to afford what was then the rather expensive Fender Rhodes 88, I had a wonderful Wurlitzer electric piano, a model with an instantly discernable "harder" sound than the Rhodes, and a sound which some may associate with such great tunes as Mama Told Me Not to Come by Three Dog Night or The Logical Song by Supertramp. If the sound of a Rhodes might be compared to the diaphanous Impressionism of, say, water lilies by Monet, a Wurlitzer might be more like a cactus painted by Georgia O'Keefe. The same "gritty" that cool old Wurly offered in sonic form is here, actually in sonic form as well (even if guitars are used more than keys), but more importantly in terms of a kind of hardscrabble look and feel to things that is kind of peculiarly authentic seeming despite what is almost a magical realist quality to the storytelling.