7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
An experimental tale in which master gunfighter and cosmic mystic El Topo must defeat his four sharp-shooting rivals while on an ever-increasingly bizarre path to allegorical self enlightenment and surreal resurrection.
Starring: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, José Legarreta, Alfonso Arau, José Luis FernándezForeign | 100% |
Surreal | 28% |
Western | 6% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Perfection is to get lost.
Must every film be made with an absolute, readily-identifiable purpose? Even if that purpose is only implied by words and actions through which a
correlation may be made between the superficial and some greater reason for being, must there be a definitive, can't-miss point that may require
connections between the visible and the abstract, but still a point even though hidden from view by the generalities of the story, the construction of
the characters, the stylistic choices that shape the film, and the invisible words behind the dialogue? Or does a film need to be something that's
easily-digestible, a picture that's perfectly organized and effortlessly and immediately placed into proper context and fully understood?
Is
there greater value in one form or another -- one may just as easily be as profoundly purposeful as the other -- or does the more underground,
imaginative, even difficult picture by its very nature at least seem to lay claim to the "superior" of the two if only for the greater necessary
involvement of the audience to at least try and more fully appreciate what it is it has to say? Director Alejandro Jodorowsky's (The Holy Mountain) El Topo certainly falls into the
"underground" category -- its title says as much, and the title may be the most easily-read part of the movie -- as a picture so carefully constructed
through the juxtaposition of identifiable elements set against abstract concepts and abnormal interpretations that would seem to allow the movie to
address the hows
and whys of issues man has struggled to define since his time on Earth began, or it may simply be an oddball concoction that only means whatever
meaning one assigns to it, even if that meaning is "nothing." Indeed, El Topo is a picture that may be seen to be either everything or
nothing, a film that's easy to become lost in, difficult to sort out, and impossible to escape.
A journey begins.
El Topo's 1080p transfer is a frustrating one. "New HD transfer from original negative under the supervision of Alejandro Jodorowsky" is how the press release describes what viewers will see, but chances are videophiles might be a little disappointed with the end results, anyway. For the good first, El Topo yields fairly strong detailing throughout, as evident in facial close-ups, the texturing of the sandy terrain seen throughout the movie, or evident in close-up shots of various clothing, both the slick black costume worn by the gunslinger and more ragged garb worn by various characters throughout the film. Colors are strong, particularly evident in the bright blue sky and, again, the earthy, sandy terrain that's nearly ever-present throughout the film. The image is also fairy sharp throughout, with good perceptible depth and only a handful of clumpier, softer scenes. Now for what's likely to perturb some viewers. Though the image generally looks good, it is practically absent of grain, giving it a sometimes scrubbed, sometimes lifeless appearance. Fine detail, as noted, hasn't been washed away, but the image sometimes lacks life. Complicating matters are sporadic edge halos; slight blocking seen in darker backgrounds; and nearly constant, but far from distracting, white speckles, random vertical lines, and the like. It's hard to argue the end result when this is what Jodorowsky has personally approved, but some viewers are still likely to be disappointed that it's not better than it is.
El Topo's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is far from exemplary, but it's a contextually honest presentation that should satisfy fans. Dialogue sounds always thin and tinny with no sense of realism, but it does manage suitable clarity. Most atmospherics -- gusts of wind, for instance -- are handled by the front speakers, and generally crammed up the middle. Indeed, the track rarely spreads out from the center, and the surround channels are hardly, if at all, utilized to any perceptible extent. Most sound effects, whether light ambience or heavier gunshots and the like, play with a cramped, pedestrian tenor that fails to vitalize any part of the soundtrack. Music is a bit harsh and disappointingly dull, crunchy across the high end and lifeless at the bottom. Still, this is a 40-year-old budget "Midnight Movie" picture that wasn't made to dazzle the aural senses. Chances are if most viewers can accept this track for what it is, they should be satisfied with it, "faults" and all.
El Topo rides onto Blu-ray with a small but serviceable and interesting assortment of extras that are sure to be a big hit with fans of the film
and
its director.
As to the question that opened this review -- must every film have within it some definitive, definable, digestible purpose -- the answer, at least as one may choose to answer after viewing and thinking about El Topo, is obviously "no." El Topo is certainly a film that's been interpreted just about every which way a film may be, but to say there's a single answer to exactly what it is, what it has to say, and why it says it would be a falsehood, for the picture is so abstract and so certain to speak to its audiences differently -- or not speak to them at all -- that there's simply no right or wrong way of interpreting it. Whatever one takes away from the experience, which very well may differ with every viewing and depending on one's own state of mind and place in life, is for that moment, anyway, the proper interpretation for that viewer. That the film is so capable of being so many different things is its greatest source of strength; that its superficial elements don't add up to much is inconsequential, and what makes the film so unique, then, is its boldness and ability to so thoroughly confound but at the same time so thoroughly entrance. El Topo isn't for everyone; it's about as far from the mainstream as a film is likely to get, but for audiences with an open mind and a willingness to try something new, there's no better movie to watch. Though there's no guarantee as to whether one will love the movie or hate it, El Topo is a picture that demands at least the respect of a viewing, whenever one is prepared to give it a chance. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of El Topo features a good but somewhat problematic director-approved 1080p transfer, a cramped lossless soundtrack, and a few extras. The film comes recommended, but only those who have seen it and want to see it again should commit to an outright purchase.
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