Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Five Easy Pieces Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 29, 2015

Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces initially appeared in Criterion's America Lost and Found: The BBS Story six-disc Blu-ray box set. The rest of the films in the box set are Rafelson's Head (1968) and The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider (1969), Jack Nicholson's Drive, He Said (1970), Henry Jaglom's A Safe Place (1971), and Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971).

You can access our review of America Lost and Found: The BBS Story here.

Classical pianist Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson) has left his bourgeois family in Washington and found peace in Southern California, where he works at an oil rig and spends most of his free time bowling. He has also found a girlfriend, Ray (Karen Black, The Great Gatsby, The Day of the Locust), a nice-looking waitress who likes sex and crying on Bobby's shoulder.

After his sister tells him that his father is seriously ill, Bobby heads back to Washington, together with the enthusiastic Ray. Along the way, however, he meets other women and dumps Ray in a motel. At his family house, Bobby is once again confronted with the same pretentious, suffocating bourgeois atmosphere that drove him away years ago.

For additional comments on the film, please see our review of America Lost and Found: The BBS Story.

Five Easy Pieces 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, Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release has been sourced from the same 4K restoration that was accessed when the America Lost and Found: The BBS Story box set was prepared. Rather predictably, the film looks wonderful in high-definition. Close-ups and the larger panoramic shots boast outstanding depth and clarity. Fluidity is also enormously pleasing. Colors are well saturated, wonderfully balanced and very natural. Grain is evenly distributed and well resolved and there are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Finally, image stability is excellent. Also, there are no large debris, cuts, stains, or scratches to report. I spotted a few light artifacts trying to sneak in, but the encoding is very good. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

Five Easy Pieces Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The film does not have a prominent music score. Predictably, dynamic intensity is rather limited. However, clarity, depth, and separation are excellent throughout the entire film. The dialog is stable, clear, clean, and very easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions.

Five Easy Pieces Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Teasers and Trailers - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Teaser 1. (3 min, 1080p).
  2. Teaser 2. (2 min, 1080p).
  3. Trailer (3 min, 1080p).

• Soul Searching in "Five Easy Pieces" - in this video piece, recorded in 2009, director Bob Rafelson discusses various technical aspects from the production of Five Easy Pieces, as well its unique narrative. Also included are clips from an interview with Jack Nicholson. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

• Bob Rafelson at AFI - archival footage from a discussion held at the American Film Institute on May 19, 1976. The discussion features director Bob Rafelson, who addresses the legacy of BBS. In English, not subtitled. (50 min, 1080i).
  
  1. Career background
  2. Industry mavericks
  3. Continuity
  4. Working with actors
  5. Next...

• BBStory - in this documentary feature, director Bob Rafelson, Peter Bogdanovich, Jack Nicholson, Henry Janglom, Karen Black, Ellen Burstyn, Fred Roos, and Richard Schickel, amongst others, discuss the BBS legacy. The documentary was produced in 2009. In English, not subtitled. (47 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Origins
  2. The Monkees
  3. Easy Rider
  4. Five Easy Pieces
  5. The Last Picture Show
  6. A Safe Place
  7. Drive, He Said
  8. The King of Marvin Gardens

• BBS: A Time For Change - in this video piece, filmed in 2010, critic David Thomson and historian Douglas Brinkley discuss the BBS and its legacy. In English, not subtitled. (28 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - audio commentary featuring director Bob Rafelson and interior designer Toby Rafelson.

• Leaflet - illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Ken Jones.

Five Easy Pieces Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces initially appeared in Criterion's America Lost and Found: The BBS Story six-disc Blu-ray box set. This individual release is sourced from the same 4K restoration of the film which director of photography Laszlo Kovacs supervised. Five Easy Pieces is wonderful film, but I would like to encourage you to consider adding America Lost and Found: The BBS Story to your collections. It is one of the very best releases in Criterion's catalog. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.