Déjà Vu Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Déjà Vu Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 19, 2017

Anthony Richmond's "Déjà Vu' (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no bonus features on the release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

What is happening to me?

Déjà Vu was funded by the notorious Cannon Group and it seems like it was some sort of an experimental project for the talented cinematographer Anthony Richmond, who lensed some of Nick Roeg’s very best films (Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth). It almost certainly did not turn out as intended because it remains the one and only film that Richmond has directed to date.

The film begins in the 1980s where the talented screenwriter Gregory Thomas (Nigel Terry) and his fiancée Brooke (Jaclyn Smith) attend a theatrical screening of a documentary about the illustrious career of a famous ballerina who has died in a tragic accident. Later on at home, the two discuss the documentary and Gregory decides to find out more about her past. Soon after, he becomes obsessed with the ballerina and discovers that there are actually a lot of gray areas in the official story about her death. At this point, however, a lot of his findings begin to overlap with strange feelings that he might have been in a relationship with the late ballerina despite the fact that she lived in a different era. Utterly confused and terrified that he could be losing his mind, the screenwriter visits a Russian psychic (Shelley Winters) who agrees to hypnotize him and help him decode his odd feelings. But while being hypnotized the man ends up reconnecting with the ballerina, and after the session ends somehow brings back to the present someone that begins sending him anonymous letters that warn him to end his relationship with her at once.

The bulk of the material for Déjà Vu apparently came from Trevor Meldal-Johnsen’s popular novel Always, but it is probably fair to say that the script that Richmond was presented with basically used the novel only as a starting point. Why? Because the entire story has that very familiar chaotic rhythm that plenty of films that Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan produced have. After the time jumps are initiated it becomes quite obvious that someone wanted the film to be taken as a very serious period romantic drama and then someone else insisted that it also ought to be effective as a psychological thriller. This isn’t an awful concept for a film, but striking a good balance between the two identities was a task for a seasoned director, not a first-timer like Richmond. Unsurprisingly, the end result is underwhelming because there are some segments of the film that individually work quite well, but when viewed as parts of a larger story quickly lose their credibility.

The character transformations suffer as well. There is completely different chemistry between the two lovers in the past and the couple in the present and the emotional switches that Terry and Smith do frequently look more than a bit suspicious. There is one particular segment, for instance, where the cranky choreographer scolds the ballerina during a stage rehearsal and then literally moments later enthusiastically takes her in his arms that is part of a buildup that would eventually reveal an important element of their relationship, but the whole thing looks so artificial that it just about collapses it. Such odd moments are all over the film.

In an attempt to make Déjà Vu appear a lot more reputable than it really was the Cannon Group somehow managed to bring on board the great Italian composer Pino Donaggio, who scored many of Brian De Palma’s most successful films (Dressed to Kill, Body Double).

Déjà Vu Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Anthony Richmond's Deja Vu arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from an older master which was provided by MGM. It is very possible that it is the same master that was used for this DVD release in 2003, but I don't have a copy of it in my library and cannot confirm if this is indeed the case. Regardless, the entire film looks quite flat and at times even soft. (I am not referring to the unique stylistic appearance which frequently favors soft primary colors and utilizes plenty of filtered light). During close-ups, for instance, there is light noise that tends to overwhelm the already quite weak grain and on large screens a lot of these visuals simply do not hold up well at all (see screencaptures #1 and 11). It is not that difficult to tell that the dynamic range is also off because and in a couple of different sequences it literally looks as if the visuals have badly faded (see screencaptures #12 and 16). The good news is that there are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments and stability issue. Still, the current master is quite weak and the film does not have the solid organic appearance that it should have on Blu-ray. My score is 2.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Déjà Vu Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is rather easy to follow, but there are different segments of the film where depth is clearly lacking and it feels like the mid-range has a very hard time functioning as it should. When these types of fluctuations occur I tend to describe them as 'thinning', but here the sound can become very flat. On the other hand, there are no obvious signs of aging, so it is possible that this is simply how the audio was mixed when the master was created. All in all, you will be able to watch the entire film without any obvious distractions, but, like me, when the final credits roll you will be left with the impression that if remastered the audio will almost certainly sound drastically different.

Déjà Vu Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no special features to be found on this Blu-ray release.

Déjà Vu Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I did not dislike Déjà Vu but it very quickly became obvious to me that it was directed by a man who was either very indecisive or had to respect the chaotic wishes of its notorious producers, which is why the film looks quite uneven. This is unfortunate because the original material actually seems perfect for a very serious romantic drama. Olive Films' Blu-ray release of Déjà Vu is sourced from an older master with plenty of limitations. There are no bonus features on it.