7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.
Starring: Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Kim Stanley, Bart Burns, Jonathan BanksDrama | Insignificant |
Biography | Insignificant |
Romance | 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 2.0 Mono
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Spanish, English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B, A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This is officially a Region B release, but appears to be region free and played without any issues in my Region A players.
They say "don't believe everything you read", but in the case of Frances, it may be best to slightly alter that to "don't believe everything
you
see". Longtime readers of my reviews may already know I got sucked into a Frances Farmer rabbit hole at a relatively young age, and in
fact seeing the film currently under discussion on a double feature with the "real" Frances Farmer's star making turn in Come and Get It (still inexplicably unavailable on Blu-ray) was part of what started my "burrowing". It wasn't long before I
made a connection with Frances' late sister Edith, who lived for much of her life in Portland where I reside, and a lot of sleuthing (much of it done
considerably pre-internet) also
delivered additional information about the enigmatic star of the 1930s and 1940s who rather infamously was institutionalized for several years,
even if
she did not suffer the horrifying fate depicted in the climax of this undeniably viscerally disturbing film. A lot of people say things along
the
lines of "that movie changed my life" without really meaning it in any literal sense, but I can truthfully say that seeing the double feature of
Come
and Get It
and Frances inarguably changed the trajectory of at least some of my film journalistic efforts. (Those interested can read a more detailed
account of my double feature adventure and its immediate aftermath here,
in an excerpt from a book I was writing which was scheduled for publication by a niche film publisher until they alerted me they didn't have the
budget
for any pictures, which I wanted to include).
Frances is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Divisa with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Kind of interestingly this film has never had a Region A release on Blu-ray, and this features a StudioCanal masthead along with Lionsgate, so I'm not completely sure of the rights and therefore element provenance(s), but from the looks of things this may well be an older master. In its best moments, things pop quite agreeably and detail levels are very good, but there are a number of deficiencies, including some chroma anomalies on grain (especially against brighter backgrounds) and a somewhat yellowed appearance. I saw Frances theatrically, per my above comments (and more than once, actually), and it had a somewhat golden hued, soft look, which is duplicated here. Very small signs of age related wear and tear can be spotted.
This Spanish release offers Spanish and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono options, though the English language track comes with forced Spanish subtitles, which may turn off some prospective buyers for this region free offering. One way or the other, both tracks provide good, fluid listening experiences, with both offering a rather sumptuous accounting of John Barry's really beautiful score. The disc offers two Spanish language options, one without subtitles and the other with. Subtitles can not be toggled on and off.
Frances is an emotionally devastating film, but it's quite simply far removed from the real story, which in its own way is in fact stranger than fiction. Technical merits are generally solid for anyone considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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