Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Before Night Falls Blu-ray Movie Review

Havana Syndrome.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 20, 2023

Julian Schnabel's Oscar-nominated biographical drama Before Night Falls, led by a breakout role for Javier Bardem, concerns the turbulent life of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas from birth to death at age 47. It feels curiously compact despite the breadth of its subject matter, with only very specific portions of Arenas' eventful life dwelled upon for a few scenes at a time. This gives it a fractured quality and, though the film is stitched together by terrific visuals and music cues, it nonetheless feels like a "greatest hits" album that's missing a few essential deep cuts.

Before Night Falls -- based on the eponymous novel by Areas as well as Jana Boková's 1990 documentary Havana, which is not to be confused with the Sydney Pollack film released that same year -- takes place over several decades beginning in the 1940s, where a very young Reinaldo is seen growing up in squalor, unburdened by the complications of a large city and the technology that comes with it. The boy's fractured family life is dominated by women including his single mother (Olatz López Garmendia) and its oldest generation is portrayed as unsympathetic; his grandfather (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.), for example, is furious to learn of Reinaldo's aptitude for poetry and even chops down several young trees on which Areas has carved his work. Factors like this would contribute to the direction of Reinaldo's adult life, including a move to Havana in the 1960s where he mulls over his interests and sexuality. A talented writer, he's even recognized as the uncrowned winner of a local contest and given the chance to publish his first novel.

Ultimately though, Before Night Falls reminds us that circumstance often plays an even bigger role than genetics, natural talent, or ambition. Among other sticking points, Reinaldo's burgeoning homosexuality stands in stark contrast with what's allowed in the political climate of Cuba during Fidel Castro's rule, which culminates in multiple run-ins with the law including his wrongful imprisonment for suspected rape as well as publishing his work abroad without official consent from the government. Multiple escape attempts prove unsuccessful, but Reinaldo finally makes it to the United States in 1980 with his close friend Lázaro (Olivier Martinez) where he lives out the rest of his life.

While spelling out the path and ending of any documentary (or in this case a quasi-biopic, albeit one that shrewdly sprinkles in real footage of Cuba during Castro's reign) can't really be considered spoiler territory, Before Night Falls is, like most films, more about the journey than the destination. To be fair, it's a compelling story about an interesting life, one represented by a courageous lead performances and punctuated by effective music cues, memorable visuals, and a mostly game supporting cast. (A few minor parts reek of stunt casting, including a small but memorable dual role for none other than Johnny Depp and an even smaller appearance by Sean Penn as "Cuco Sanchez", which isn't quite as ridiculous as it sounds.) And while the emotion is real and Before Night Falls succeeds as a moving drama more often than not, it takes a few rather odd detours along the way that hamper its overall tone and pacing. It's nothing that derails the film entirely... but at 133 minutes it somehow feels too long and too short, if that makes sense.

Nonetheless, Before Night Falls is a largely successful film that has aged well during the last almost quarter-century, which makes it one of Warner Archive's "newest" catalogue titles. The reliable boutique label has historically prioritized much older material pulled from deep inside studio vaults and given life-saving restorations, but occasionally focuses its attention on contemporary titles that might not have been given a fair shake in the era of DVD's infancy. Though Before Night Falls actually got a decently well-rounded DVD release from New Line all the way back in 2001, it's nonetheless been given a solid A/V upgrade and features a few vintage supplements ported over for good measure.

Before Night Falls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Before Night Falls was shot using a chocolate filter on the camera lens, giving its visuals a neutral warm and subdued appearance that fits the subject matter and periods in which it primarily takes place. So while I wouldn't necessarily call this difficult source material, it can't necessarily be graded on the same scale as other turn-of-the-century films. Either way, as usual Warner Archive's 1080p transfer -- created from a new 4K scan of the camera negative -- wrings as much detail as possible from this very particular-looking film, presenting a clean and accurate representation that has clearly had no noticeable amount of post-processing applied. Textures and fine detail are quite good in the right environments, and night scenes can sometimes be overwhelmed by grain and noise but not to a distracting degree. Trace amounts of ghosting can be seen in the most extreme moments of darkness. but this is like a source material issue and in no way a fault of the encoding by Warner Archive, which presents Before Night Falls on a dual-layered disc with a supportive bit rate. Like many of the boutique label's catalogue releases, whether a relatively "new" one like this or a film from the early 1930s, it's truly a best-case scenario for purists and a major step up from the previous DVD edition.

Before Night Falls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner Archive's DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is more straightforward in direct contrast, employing a mostly front-forward presentation that's filled out nicely by sporadic (and very effective) music cues, as well as some well-placed light discrete effects in busier environments. Bardem's first-person narration, which either arrives in the form of inner monologues or occasional recitation of poetry, is confined to the center channel and sounds a bit thin and gauzy, but I suspect this is inherent to the original recording as no other sonic elements of Before Night Falls share the same fate. Like the film itself, it blends stark realism with intermittent flights of fancy, and since no damage or other issues are present, it's hard to give this lossless surround presentation anything but a near-perfect rating.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film itself, but unfortunately none of the bonus features listed below... and you'll probably need them, given the strong accents. Occasionally, forced subtitles are offered for sporadic translation of Spanish dialogue; these are clearly part of the original source(s) and not player generated.

Before Night Falls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc set ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts of any kind. The varied and mostly engaging bonus features are presumably pulled from the film's only other domestic home video release (a 2001 DVD released by New Line), as some look a bit dated with obvious interlacing issues.

• Audio Commentary - This collage-like commentary track features mostly scene-specific audio clips sourced from then-recent interviews with prominent cast and crew members including director Julian Schnabel (who also moderates), actor Javier Bardem, screenwriter Lázaro Gómez Carriles, composer Carter Burwell, and co-director of photography Xavier Pérez Grobet. Not surprisingly given the lineup, it covers a wide variety of subject matter that runs the gamut from technical to personal and should be of great interest to fans of the film.

• Interviews with Reinaldo Arenas (6:59) - This short collection of video interviews was recorded for the long-form 1984 documentary Improper Conduct, co-directed by Néstor Almendros and Orlando Jiménez Leal, during which the real-life Arenas (and other subjects) was featured and speaks about his life and persecution.

• Behind-the-Scenes Home Movie (7:43, HD) - Director Julian Schnabel's daughter Lola narrates over a few snippets of candid behind-the-scenes footage captured during production of the film.

• Little Notes on Painting: Artwork by Julian Schnabel (14:32) - The film's director, who is also an avid painter and sculptor, returns for a video interview regarding his artwork, which has been featured in various venues including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:16) - This original promotional piece can also be seen here.

Before Night Falls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Julian Schnabel's biographical drama Before Night Falls, concerning late Cuban poet/novelist Reinaldo Arenas, is a mostly engaging and effective affair whose greatest strengths are its visuals, music, and a breakout performance for Javier Bardem, who was nominated for an Academy Award. The film nonetheless has a few noticeable problems with tone and pacing in key areas, which can make some portions of its story either difficult to follow or distract from more important parts. Yet the positives far outweigh the negatives and Before Night Falls is well worth a watch... and it feels right at home as part of the Warner Archive Collection, as this well-rounded Blu-ray edition offers terrific A/V merits and a solid collection of legacy bonus features. Strongly recommended to the right audience.