6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The fictionalized story of Daniel, the son of Paul and Rochelle Isaacson, who were executed as Soviet spies in the 1950's. As a graduate student in New York in the 1960's, Daniel is involved in the antiwar protest movement and contrasts his experiences to the memory of his parents and his belief that they were wrongfully convicted.
Starring: Timothy Hutton, Mandy Patinkin, Lindsay Crouse, Edward Asner, Ellen BarkinDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The celebrated case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg continues to spill out into the American conscience to this day, as evidenced by some relatively recent reports that made many “trending” news feeds which reiterated the fact that Ethel at least was not guilty of passing any information to the Soviet Union which aided the so-called “Evil Empire” in its quest to duplicate the west’s “success” with the atomic bomb. The Rosenbergs’ story is absolutely rife with all sorts of fascinating content that should be salient for any student of 20th century America, especially those interested in the Jewish American experience of that era and how for a certain timespan at least Communism was “cool”. E.L. Doctorow’s novels often play with history, injecting fictional characters into otherwise “real life” settings, including in such iconic works (and later films) as Billy Bathgate and Ragtime, but for whatever reason he deemed necessary, Doctorow just flat out fictionalized history with his 1971 novel The Book of Daniel, a piece which recast Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as Paul and Rochelle Isaacson. Similarly, the Rosenbergs' real life sons Michael and Robert, were transformed in the book into the titular Daniel and a “new” female sibling, Susan. This approach automatically divorces the content from the very subject it’s supposedly fictionalizing, and is perhaps one reason Sidney Lumet’s film version, entitled simply Daniel, fails to ever register on any profound emotional level. Doctorow adapted his own novel for the screen, making a few changes in emphasis along the way, though both he and Lumet were on record as stating ultimately it didn’t matter all that much whether or not their tale hewed closely to that of the Rosenberg’s, for they were interested more in the impact of events on the children rather than those events themselves. That seems a particularly odd thesis given the film’s focus on mid-century leftist leanings for Paul (Mandy Pantinkin) and Rochelle (Lindsay Crouse), for often Daniel does in fact seem to be more concerned with the parents rather than their offspring.
Daniel is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Elements have no egregious damage, but still show regular signs of age, with typical nicks, scratches, dirt and white flecks dotting the premises. There's also slight but noticeable fade in evidence, something that tends to push the sepia toned sequences toward a slight rust color at times. The contemporary sequences are often graded toward the blue end of things, with both color choices tending to slightly mask fine detail at times. That said, when Lumet and his DP Andrzej Bartkowiak indulge in extreme close-ups, as they often do (for example) with Daniel's first person confessionals delivered directly toward the camera, fine detail is quite commendable, offering clear views of tiny elements like the down on Hutton's cheeks. There's a tiny bit of telecine wobble in the opening and closing credits, but otherwise there are no major issues with image instability. Grain looks natural and resolves organically throughout the presentation. A bit of stock footage is used early in the film, some of which looks considerably more ragged than the bulk of the transfer.
Daniel's fairly unambitious soundtrack is presented via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, offering good support for the film's long dialogue sequences, as well as a few sung elements (some interpolated Paul Robeson tunes are utilized). Bob James' minimal piano score adds little to the film's emotional tenor, but sounds fine. Fidelity is fine and dynamic range relatively wide for a drama courtesy of some of the bombastic protest scenes.
There are no supplements of any kind on this Blu-ray disc. The main menu offers both a Play and Chapters option.
My own family history has a somewhat similar incident to the unhappy tale of the Rosenbergs, where one of my uncles was arrested for supposedly spying for the Soviets at virtually the same moment my father (his brother) was nominated to be a Major General in the United States Army. I was very young at the time, but still remember the shock waves that ran through my family, especially after my Mom became convinced that our phones had been tapped (they had been) and that our house had been surreptitiously searched by some federal investigative agency (it had been). There was no death penalty involved (just a stint at Leavenworth for my luckless uncle), and the fact that it was an uncle rather than a parent allowed for a certain "distance", as it were, but the psychology of a kid under this kind of duress is something that I understand on an almost genetic level. Unfortunately, the structure that Doctorow created for this film undercuts any organic link between the two generations, and this issue is further exacerbated by the film's repeated focus on the "then" without bridging it successfully to the "now". There are still fantastic performances by the armful in this film, and fans of any of the players may well want to check this out at least as a rental. Technical merits are generally good for those considering a purchase.
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