Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Cradle Will Rock Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 13, 2018

Tim Robbins starred in Robert Altman’s “The Player,” with the 1992 movie managing to boost his career critically and creatively. In 1999, Robbins attempted to repay the favor by making “Cradle Will Rock,” an ambitious picture about politics, passion, and the arts that’s clearly influenced by Altman’s oeuvre, with Robbins trying to pull off a sophisticated cinematic braid that ties performance, music, and storytelling reach together. It’s a messy film, taking a very long time to go nowhere specific, but the ride is what matters most to the helmer, who delivers an intelligent, intermittently charged journey into America during the 1930s, investigating the churn of class and political divide while creating an evocative look at the shining light of the theater scene in New York City as it’s attacked by government forces trying to stifle radical thought.

In the mid-1930s, the Depression is bringing America to its knees, with a Presidential order trying to bring the theater scene back with the Federal Theater Project, developing plans to bring cheap entertainment to citizens in need of an emotional outlet. For playwright Marc Blitzstein (Hank Azaria), a chance to share his latest opus, a pro-union musical titled “The Cradle Will Rock,” graduates from a dream to a reality, with Orson Welles (Angus Macfayden) and John Houseman (Cary Elwes) electing to take on the project, which makes government officials very nervous. While homeless woman Olive (Emily Watson) finds purpose in the musical, actor Aldo (John Tuturro) struggles with his extended family’s values and political slant, trying to remain focused on the creation of theatrical art. When Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) requests the creation of a mural for his building, he turns to Communist artist Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) to complete the job, receiving a charged offering of social and political commentary he can’t handle. And Hallie Flanagan (Cherry Jones) is the head of the FTP, facing renewed criticisms of the plays the program assembles, refuting claims of subversive content, while vaudeville ventriloquist Tommy (Bill Murray) joins FTP employee Hazel (Joan Cusack) in suspicion, fearing Communism is taking over the program.

The Altman-esque touches are all over “Cradle Will Rock,” but they’re especially pronounced in the opening of the movie, where Robbins organizes a “single shot” through the lives of a few of the characters, trained primarily on Olive as she moves from temporary shelter to the street, taking on the challenge of a new day in a badly bruised America. There’s also Marc, who’s going slightly mad in his cramped apartment, working on his musical while conversing with imaginary people, inventing creative perspectives while on his own. There’s already a lot for Robbins to manage, as “Cradle Will Rock” is teeming with personalities, some known and others invented, laboring to whip up a community of the haves and have nots as they embark on a mission to define, destroy, and protect art while the world around them is chipped away by paranoia and power plays, with communism a supervillain that’s returned to repeatedly in Robbins’s screenplay.

“Cradle Will Rock” is a major juggling act, and Robbins pinches from his former boss, staging an Altman-style collision of actors in a widescreen space, keeping his camera fluid as it winds around streets, stages, and households, drinking in mounting hostilities as the FTP is challenged by government officials, who ultimately come for Marc’s musical, showing discomfort with a show that celebrates the working class during an era of corporate domination, necessitating the rise of union power. Robbins gets off on the thrill of revolt, building a war zone one spinning scene at a time, positioning characters and testing their resolve as new challenges come into play, and there are debates to track, with a few of the participants sucked into the geopolitical ready positions of the day, with WWII just beginning to take shape, altering relationships as a new reality comes for those already fatigued by the current one.

Robbins does well with his Altman love, and perhaps this is the only way to successfully attack the story, which carries off into multiple directions, including the ways of Italian art dealer Margherita Sarfatti (Susan Sarandon) and her relationship with the New York Elite, which Robbins not-so- subtly compares to French nobility. The most alert areas of “Cradle Will Rock” belong to the battle between Rockefeller and Rivera, with the businessman aghast that a communist painter would create a politically charged mural, battling with the artist over changes Rivera has no intention of making. The genesis of “The Cradle Will Rock” is also engaging, finding Welles a brutal director trying to manage newcomers to the theater, working to shake up the scene with Marc’s musical, while Hallie is forced to defend her creative selections in front of congressmen who want to crucify her for communist ties she doesn’t have.

Cradle Will Rock Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation appears to be sourced from an older Disney scan, with brightness a bit excessive at times, finding hot light sources and certain room environments slightly blasting out some frame details. Colors are also cranked to a certain degree, finding a few stretches of blazing reds, while skintones run very hot at times. Primaries are mostly appealing, enjoying period fashion and the world of art, keeping paintings pronounced. Textures struggle with clothing and facial surfaces (some baked-in filtering is present), as do theater and commercial spaces and their decorative highlights. Delineation solidifies at times. Source is in fine shape, without elements of damage.

Cradle Will Rock Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA track attacks a complicated sound mix, which goes the Altman route with overlapping dialogue and loose performances. Everything remains open for inspection, handling thespian quirk and volume levels, which capture a range of romantic whispering to the thunderous projection of stage acting. No distorted extremes are detected. Scoring needs are met with sharp instrumentation and position, supporting the period mood with band performances. Atmospherics are provided without concern, capturing the feel of street and theater movement, and office activity is also noted.

Cradle Will Rock Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features writer/director Tim Robbins.

• Featurette (8:02, SD) is an EPK offering that summarizes story and character, using interviews with cast and crew. In many ways, the salesmanship presented here is more effective than the dramatics in the movie, getting to the heart of personalities and fears faster than the film does.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:18, SD) is included.

Cradle Will Rock Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Cradle Will Rock" has something to say about the power and necessity of art, matching the development of the musical to the human spirit itself. It's obviously politically minded too, playing to Robbins's interest in the balance of power in work and life. However, it's a long road to get anywhere in the picture, with many scenes carrying on for far too long, and the general crowding of the film feels suffocating at times, making the viewing experience feel intermittently like work instead of enlightenment. Robbins goes very big for "Cradle Will Rock," trying to achieve a universal sense of unrest and duty during a turbulent time in American history, and period details are secure, creating a lived-in effort. Dramatically, he bites off a little more than he can chew, unable to trim the feature down to a more manageable size. For better or worse, he follows Altman's lead right into the editing room as well.