7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The story of two boxers and their problems. One of them is on the decline of his career while the other one just begins his ascent in this sport.
Starring: Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell, Candy Clark, Nicholas ColasantoDrama | 100% |
Sport | 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 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
John Huston’s name looms so large in the annals of 20th century filmmaking that its monolithic import can sometimes overshadow the fact that the iconic writer-director (and sometimes actor) actually had relatively long spells when he figuratively couldn’t get arrested, or literally offer a hit to cinema audiences. A cursory sampling of titles created under Huston’s aegis, films as legendary as The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, and The African Queen, would seem to suggest that Huston merely coasted from one huge success to the next, but even in his early directing career there were relative dips, as evidenced by the little remembered 1949 drama We Were Strangers. Huston’s output started to slow as the fifties gave way to the sixties, probably not so coincidentally at around the time Huston started appearing in more films as a performer. While the 1960s saw a number of interesting if flawed efforts from Huston like the fascinating if overwrought The Misfits and the goofy, gimmick laden The List of Adrian Messenger, by the end of the decade, most wags considered Huston a has been, an adventurer whose go for the gusto ethos had left him a burnt out shell of his former swaggering self. From our 21st century perspective, it’s easy to see that Huston still had a great deal of life and/or creativity left in him, as revealed in such 1980s outings as Prizzi's Honor, but in 1972, when Fat City arrived to almost universal acclaim and surprising box office returns, several “experts” seemed to be somewhat gobsmacked that Huston was still able to create something as visceral as this film detailing the squalid lives of small time boxers in and around Stockton, California.
Fat City is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is another Twilight Time release culled from a new 4K scan, and the results are quite impressive, at least given an understanding that Huston and legendary cinematographer Conrad L. Hall opt for a tamped down palette that often exploits the dusty streets of Stockton and drab interiors of various boxing environments. When the film ventures out into more scenic territory, as in some scenes when characters become "migrant workers" of a sort, harvesting crops to make a few pennies, the palette pops quite vividly, with deep blue skies and lustrously golden fields. While this is not an overly "sharp" looking presentation by contemporary standards (nor should it be), fine detail is frequently excellent in close-ups, something that is slightly detrimental when it comes to some of the makeup that various characters wear after they've been "beaten up". This is a fairly grainy presentation, and at times the grain attains a chunky and multicolored look, though it never looks overly digital or processed. When there are elements like the optical zoom that caps the film, the tendency of the grain to splotch slightly and have a yellowish cast are understandably exaggerated (see screenshot 19).
Fat City features a repurposed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, as well as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track recreating the film's theatrical exhibition. The surround track isn't overly showy, but it does open things up considerably in the fight sequences, offering spills of crowd sounds throughout the surround channels, while also placing discrete effects into various channels to offer good levels of immersion. Dialogue and score (which includes Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through the Night" as well as a couple of other source cues) sound clean and clear. The 2.0 iteration offers clarity and precision as well, with a slightly less fulsome low end in some of the action sequences. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range very wide.
Huston has often done spectacular work looking at putative "losers" who are jonesin' for a Golden Ticket to the bigtime. He finds two near perfect examples of that type in Tully and Munger, and Keach and Bridges do exceptional work bringing the doleful and hopeful aspects of their characters fully to life. Tyrrell and Clark are also memorable in supporting roles, and the large secondary cast is very colorful and enjoyable. This is one of Huston's most interesting films, one which doesn't shy away from its inherent sadnesses, but one which remains strangely defiant and maybe even triumphant as it wends it way toward a bittersweet conclusion. Highly recommended.
1974
Shout Select
1973
2008
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1932
1974
10th Anniversary Edition
2004
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Warner Archive Collection
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Herz aus Glas
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