6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Martha Travis is a psychic who travels the rural American South with her alcoholic father, Walter, promoting her mystical trade to credulous locals. In reality, Martha is a con woman whose only gift is the ability to defraud those desperate to contact dead loved ones. One night, however, she has a genuine vision of a violent crime which has yet to transpire.
Starring: Rosanna Arquette, Jason Robards, Tom Hulce, Mark Joy, Olek KrupaThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There’s a rather interesting if arguably flawed 1974 film from Frank Perry titled Man on a Swing which gave Joel Grey a chance to strut his stuff in the wake of his Academy Award winning turn in Cabaret. Grey played a supposed psychic who has “inside” information on a murder, though how he came by that knowledge is a bit of a mystery, with a policeman (played by Cliff Robertson) trying to figure out if the Grey character is really in touch with the “other side”, or who is in fact a charlatan who may be a murderer. Man on a Swing came and went quickly in theaters, and even its Blu-ray release a few years ago didn’t seem to stir up a whale of a lot of interest, but the film may make for an appropriate double feature with Black Rainbow, a film which posits Rosanna Arquette as an Aimee Semple McPherson type who travels the South and who instead of outright evangelizing, gives her audiences a peek into the afterlife by supposedly channeling dead relatives of them for a little conversation of sorts. Grey’s approach in Man on a Swing was to create a character out of tics, and his mannerisms, while unavoidably fascinating, may ultimately be off putting. Arquette on the other hand in her portrayal of Martha Travis is positively subdued a lot of the time, which may actually help to establish the ambiguity as to whether Martha is in touch with the “other side”, or is in fact a charlatan, though in this case there’s no issue as to whether she may or may not be a killer, since Black Rainbow isn’t especially discursive about who is wreaking havoc in a backwater industrial town.
Black Rainbow is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following verbiage on the restoration:
Black Rainbow has been restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 and stereo sound.This is another great looking transfer of a cult item from Arrow, one that offers generally excellent detail and fine detail levels, along with an often nicely saturated palette. Some tricky potential problem spots like the screened door through which Wallace attempts to interrogate Martha early in the film resolve beautifully (see screenshots 4 and 9). Bright colors, like Martha's blood red lipstick or even the silken choir robes that some supporting characters in some of the church scenes wear all resonate with depth. There's a just slightly purplish or bluish undertone to some scenes, but nothing I found overly problematic. There are occasional moments where the grain field spikes and detail levels falter (see screenshots 18 and 19).
The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at Goldcrest Films. Colour grading and restoration was completed in 2K resolution at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The audio mixes were supplied by Goldcrest Films.
This restoration has been approved by director Mike Hodges. All original materials have been made available by Goldcrest Films.
Black Rainbow features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. Both offer excellent fidelity, but the surround track definitely opens up elements like the use of gospel (and occasionally a bit more anachronistic rock) music, as well as some of hall ambience of some of the venues that Martha "plays". Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly in this problem free presentation.
- Jason Robards (1080p; 2:23)
- Rosanna Arquette (1080p; 2:17)
- Tom Hulce (1080p; 2:22)
- 8 Minutes (1080p; 8:22) is basically an EPK with interviews and scenes from the film.
- Disasters (1080p; 2:12) focuses on the film's ecological aspect.
- Seeing the Future (1080p; 2:19) examines the desire to know the future and Martha 's clairvoyant capabilities.
- Behind the Rainbow (1080p; 20:32) is another more generalist overview and includes more interesting interviews.
Commentators Ellinger and Deighan go into what they perceive as the film's combo platter of supernatural and thriller aspects as being perhaps unmarketable, but I think it's Hodges' attempts to stuff so many disparate elements into this story which may have ultimately ended up hobbling its original attempts to find an audience. Still, it's often quite provocative, and it offers Arquette, Robards and Hulce good opportunities. For a film that also seems to take place "out of time", the production design is also interesting and well realized. Technical merits are first rate and Arrow has assembled another really appealing assortment of supplements. Recommended.
Limited Edition | Includes 'The Hatred'
2019
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1972
1989
2015
2019
1987
Collector's Edition
2021
2017
Unrated
2017
2015
1971
Extended Cut
2015
Haunted
2014
Collector's Edition
1986
Collector's Edition
2001
2013
1964
1970
Slipcover in Original Pressing
2021
The Presence / The Haunted
1989