6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 1.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
The interlocking stories of blue collar workers in 1970s Germany as they confront issues of the day, such as the unfairness of the work power structure, making ends meet and facing Germany's changing social mores.
Starring: Gottfried John, Hanna Schygulla, Werner Finck, Wolfgang Schenck, Rudolf Waldemar BremForeign | 100% |
Drama | 81% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
German: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Bruce Hornsby exploded onto the airwaves in 1986 with “The Way It Is”, a kind of curious song in the annals of Number One charting singles in that it addressed a whole host of socio-economic issues, certainly not the traditional “stomping grounds” for a Top 40 tune. Many folks probably (not totally inaccurately) remember Hornsby’s song as a critique of racism, but there is actually other content in the lyric mentioning perhaps unavoidably linked aspects like unemployment and the disparity between the “haves” and “have nots”. Hornsby’s lyric repeatedly uses the trope “that’s just the way it is” to sum up how many people respond to a world that is obviously broken in some indelible way(s), and rather remarkably if understandably that very line turns up as a mantra of sorts in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 — 1973 five episode television offering Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day, an outing which perhaps ironically in some ways includes the sobriquet “a family series”. That description is explicated in some of the supplements included on this release, in that German television often had so-called “family series” which were typically dramas about middle class clans that might be analogs, at least in some ways, to American shows like, well, Family, the ABC entry starring Sada Thompson and James Broderick that aired for several years just a few years after Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day did in Germany.
Eight Hours Don't Make a Day is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Every episodes includes a brief text card which more or less repeats verbiage about the transfer found in the accordion style foldout insert included with this release:
Eight Hours Don't Make Day is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. On widescreen televisions, black bars will appear on the left and right of the image to maintain the proper screen format. This new digital restoration was undertaken at Arri Film & TV in Munich by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation from a transfer created in 2K resolution on an Arriscan film scanner from the 16 mm reversal positive."16 mm reversal positive" are probably the operative watchwords when assessing this transfer, as can most likely be readily seen in the screenshots accompanying this review. The often kind of peach or tan ambience that can accompany CRI sources are very much in evidence here, something that can tend to give the entire palette a somewhat odd and unnatural look at times, perhaps most noticeable with regard to (but not limited to) flesh tones. There can also be a somewhat bluish undertone to selected sequences, notably some of the factory material. That said, some primaries like red actually pop quite nicely. Fassbinder's prevalent use of close-ups (however skewed at times) offer good levels of fine detail, but some midrange shots, especially some outdoor material, can look fairly fuzzy, without much in the way of fine detail. I noticed no compression anomalies, and the entire presentation boasts a nicely organic appearance without overt signs of over zealous digital tweaking.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 16 mm original mix tapes.
Eight Hours Don't Make a Day features a fine sounding LPCM Mono track in the original German. The series has a rather nice, if somewhat cheesy, orchestral score by the wonderfully named Fuzzy, which sounds full bodied and distortion free. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, though there are certain scenes with groups gathered around tables (a lot of this miniseries features such scenes) can occasionally offer moments where individual lines might be slightly swallowed in the back and forth. Sound effects in the factory scenes and ambient environmental sounds in general sound decently energetic and expressive on this problem free track.
I frankly seem to be something of an outlier among my film fan friends who know about Fassbinder: most of my acquaintances are rather strongly split into either "love him" or "hate him" camps. I'm a bit more ambivalent, often appreciating Fassbinder's ambition at tackling long form works that have novelistic approaches, but also chafing at times to some of his stylistic excesses and penchant for overheated dramatics. Eight Hours Don't Make a Day will almost certainly appeal to those who are firmly in the "love him" camp, but others who either can't stand Fassbinder at all or find themselves more aligned with my "take him or leave him" reaction may find this piece a bit of a slog, though that said, this is an unusually "cheerful" (a relative term) effort from Fassbinder. Technical merits are solid with an understanding of the source element used for this transfer, and as usual Criterion includes some appealing supplements.
Die Ehe der Maria Braun
1978
Angst essen Seele auf
1974
Scener ur ett äktenskap
1973
Till glädje
1950
Tystnaden
1963
The Decalogue
1988
Hamnstad
1948
Törst
1949
Nattvardsgästerna
1963
Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant
1972
Gycklarnas afton
1953
Riten / The Ritual
1969
Skepp till Indialand / A Ship Bound for India
1947
Kvinnodröm
1955
Efter repetitionen
1984
Viskningar och rop
1972
En passion
1969
Såsom i en spegel
1961
Smultronstället
1957
Nära livet
1958