Great Balls of Fire! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Great Balls of Fire! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 27, 2018

Jim McBride's "Great Balls of Fire!" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"So if I'm going to Hell, I'm going there playing the piano."

I don’t know if it is possible to separate Jerry Lee Lewis’ legacy from all the drama in his personal life. Marveling the former but ignoring the latter would be like standing in front of the iconic Big Ben in London and admiring its architecture but completely ignoring its rich history. It makes zero sense, and you just can’t do it.

Jim McBride’s film Great Balls of Fire! attempts to offer a credible glimpse into the rock and roll star’s life by pretending to be a light comedy with an attractive retro vibe. I don’t blame the director for choosing to do it this way because it is certainly the safest way to introduce different points of view in it while avoiding criticism that he is missing something crucial that any ‘serious’ film about Lewis should focus on. So by unloading plenty of comedy material in the narrative, McBride essentially bypasses all the critics that would otherwise be acting like judges.

The film begins with a short prologue in which two kids secretly visit a popular bar known for hosting black artists that play ‘the Devil’s music’. They instantly recognize it and one of them runs away. The other kid, Lewis, stays and is seen completely mesmerized by the wild rhythms and harmonies that are forcing people inside the bar to shake their bodies in all kinds of odd ways. A few decades later, not long after the folks at the Sun Records label have allowed RCA Victor to take over the recording contract of their biggest star, Elvis Presley, the camera begins following closely Lewis (Dennis Quaid). He is already a great performer, but no one is willing to recognize his talent because his music just isn’t right for white people. This drives Lewis crazy and it seems like he is about to snap and do something really stupid. Then one day he finally gets a break and the top guy at Sun Records hands him a contract.

The rest of the film is a bit chaotic, but it probably needed to be because after jumping to the very top of the Billboard singles chart Lewis marries his thirteen-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown (Winona Ryder) and in a matter of weeks heads right back to the bottom. His first international tour is a total disaster and after he is forced to prematurely end it and return home it begins to look like his controversial marriage might have irreversibly broken his bond with the crowds that once loved his music.

Quaid’s performance is such that it will either make or break the film for a wide range of viewers. It oozes a lot of energy that feels appropriate, but the actor also tends to exaggerate many of the weaknesses that reportedly defined ‘The Killer’ as his life started to spin out of control. There are just too many random mood swings that are so extreme that it feels like they would be far more appropriate for someone that is constantly under the influence of hard drugs. Add to the mix the light humor and the whole thing begins to look like a colorful parody of some sort rather than a legit film about a legendary rock and roll star.

The film has a cracking soundtrack that just about makes up for all of its shortcomings. Lewis reportedly rerecorded many of his hits for it while Quaid learned how to lip-sync them. The best new recordings are for “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On”, “I’m on Fire”, and “Wild One”.

Great Balls of Fire! 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, Jim McBride's Great Balls of Fire! arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from an older master and rather predictably there are some minor but noticeable fluctuations in terms of density and delineation. The darker/indoor footage is where you are likely to spot the majority of them, as light black crush frequently sneaks in and grain simply isn't as well exposed and defined as it should be (see screencapture #17). Overall the film also looks a bit softer than it should, though this has everything to do with the quality of the master and the manner in which the encode was handled, and nothing to do with recent or new digital adjustments to repolish it. In other words, even though there are some limitations on display that reveal the age of the master, there are no obnoxious digital anomalies to report. Colors are stable, but saturation and the range of nuances could be better. Overall image stability is very good. A few flecks pop up, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, or warped and torn frames. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Great Balls of Fire! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The stable, clean, and quite nicely balanced. Depth is also very good, allowing a nice range of nuanced dynamics to flourish throughout the film. If the audio is fully remastered, I really do not know if there would be a dramatic difference to report. Perhaps some background improvements will be introduced, as well as balance enhancements, but the overall quality will be extremely similar. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

Great Balls of Fire! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original U.S. trailer for Great Balls of Fire!. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Great Balls of Fire! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a lot of interesting and good things that happen in this film, but I am not at all convinced that Dennis Quaid was the right actor to play Jerry Lee Lewis. I find many of his mood swings to be completely random and actually hurting the authenticity of his famous character. On the other hand, I am convinced that Jim McBride had the right idea about how to structure his film and what type of identity to give it so that it accomplishes its goal. It is why it is still somewhat entertaining. Olive Films' new Blu-ray release of Great Balls of Fire! is sourced from an old but mostly decent master. RECOMMENDED.