6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who’s attracted the unwanted attention of two men. One is a sexually frustrated private detective hired by her employees. The other is a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Starring: Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, Bruce Davison, Gordon Hunt, Annie PottsDrama | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Romance | 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 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Ken Russell never really subscribed to the “less is more” ethos, preferring instead an “excess is best” approach. Russell’s fascinating filmography is filled to the brim with outré offerings, including several biographies of composers (The Music Lovers, Mahler, Lisztomania), adaptations of literary classics (Women in Love, The Devils), musicals (Tommy, The Boy Friend), as well as occasional forays into science fiction (Altered States) and even quasi-horror (Gothic , The Lair of the White Worm). Even with all of that, Russell’s 1984 opus Crimes of Passion holds a special place in the director’s oeuvre. What exactly is this film, anyway? It’s a question that may actually be more salient for those who’ve seen it already than for those wondering about it as newcomers. Crimes of Passion toys with several niches (if not outright genres) in its tale of a fashion designer named Joanna Crane (Kathleen Turner) who “moonlights” as a working girl named China Blue. China’s adventures in the prostitution trade bring her into contact with a whole coterie of odd types, none odder than a Bible thumping “street reverend” named Peter Shayne (Anthony Perkins). Ostensibly more “normal” is a surveillance expert named Bobby Grady (John Laughlin), who is hired to tail Joanna since she’s suspected of stealing haute couture designs, but who then gets wrapped up (literally) with Joanna’s alter ego since Grady’s own marriage to the sweet if somewhat dowdy Amy (Annie Potts) isn’t exactly a wonderland of sexual delights. Russell, who kind of reminds me of the directorial equivalent of Hunter S. Thompson, goes for the gonzo gusto at virtually every turn (and/or Turner) of Crimes of Passion, and reactions to the film will probably depend on just how tolerant various viewers are of Russell’s tendency to push comfort envelopes and indulge in stylistic whimsy.
Crimes of Passion is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with two versions (see supplemental info for details) encoded via AVC and presented in 1080p with 1.85:1 aspect ratios. For the record, screenshots 1-10 are from the Director's Cut and screenshots 11-19 are from the Unrated Cut. Additionally screenshots 20 and 21 provide extra information about the two versions. Arrow's typically informative booklet contains the following verbiage about the restoration:
Crimes of Passion has been exclusively restored in 2K resolution for this release by Arrow Films and is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo sound. (Note: Whoops! Somebody goofed! See the audio section below.)As should probably be expected given the above, the Unrated Cut has a more homogeneous looking appearance than the somewhat cobbled together Director's Cut. Even with that said, though, there are still noticeable variances in clarity, sharpness and especially grain resolution and management from shot to shot in both versions. Compare, for example, screenshot 2 (and its counterpart 12), one with manifestly chunkier grain and coarseness, with screenshot 1 (and its counterpart 11) for just some indication of the differences in store. Though the restoration efforts apparently addressed both stability and density, there are still minor bugaboos in both categories with opening credits just a bit wobbly in both versions and densities looking a bit shallow in several sequences (see screenshots 9 and 19). The palette is rather healthy looking overall, nicely supporting the purple and blue hues that Russell and director of photography Dick Bush exploit. Detail levels are somewhat variable, especially in the Director's Cut, but in decent lighting and especially when close-ups are employed, they're quite good, offering nice support for elements like China's brittle wig or even the ribbed cover of Shayne's Bible.
The original 35mm interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution at Fotokem. Picture grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve at Pinewood Studios. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris and light scratches were removed using PFClean software. Overall image stability and instances of density fluctuation were also improved. All restoration work was completed at Pinewood Studios.
Tape materials were sourced to complete the longer Director's Cut Version, as they represented the best quality materials available.
To quote a certain crime solving Great Dane: Ruh Roh. The booklet accompanying Crimes of Passion discusses a 4 track stereo mix, but the Blu-ray disc only contains a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track for both versions. However, before folks start clamoring for Arrow heads to roll, the IMDb lists the film as having been released in mono, so if I were to hazard a guess, I'd simply say that the booklet was wrong (if any folks can provide authoritative information about a stereo release of the film, please pass it along and I'll happily update the review—some cursory Googling done at the time of researching background for the review turned up nothing that even addressed this issue, and certainly nothing I would term authoritative in any case). While a stereo track would have probably given better support for Rick Wakeman's synth heavy score (utilizing reworked cues from Antonin Dvorak), what's here is actually quite robust sounding, providing ample support for the score. Interestingly, the commentary by Russell and Sandler details some distortion in the original (on the set) recordings which were apparently ameliorated by post looping, and I personally noticed nothing that I would term problematic in terms of crackling or other distractions.
For better or worse, I have always kinda sorta loved Ken Russell's over the top antics, and so that probably made me more partial to Crimes of Passion's unbridled excesses than other, more reserved, folks might be. The film is a whirlwind of kinkiness and it's certainly quite unique in a number of ways. Turner and Perkins have a field day chewing all available scenery, and Russell's typical visual sense is nicely on display. Video has some hurdles to overcome, but audio is fine and the supplemental package inviting. At least for those not suffering from faintness of heart (or some other organ), Crimes of Passion comes Recommended.
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