6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An offbeat, episodic film about three friends, Paul, a shy love-seeker, Lloyd, a vibrant conspiracy nut, and Jon, an aspiring filmmaker and peeping tom. The film satirizes free-love, the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, and amateur film-making.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Jonathan Warden, Gerrit Graham, Richard Hamilton, Megan McCormickDrama | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available as part of
De Palma & De Niro: The Early
Films.
Brian De Palma and Robert De Niro share a lot more than just that “De” in their last names. The two forged their early film careers at least
partially
in tandem, and both have of course gone on to become rather monolithic characters in the world of modern cinema. Perhaps precisely because of
their outsized reputations, it may be hard to think of either of them as “beginners”, but the appealing if sometimes kind of unexpectedly
provocative
movies gathered together in this intriguing new set by Arrow show them in the process of learning their craft(s), and as such there’s a perhaps
more
intimate, visceral feeling attending these early efforts than in some of either of these artist’s later, glossier, outings. While The Wedding
Party bears a 1969 release date, putatively dating it after 1968’s Greetings, from a production standpoint it actually predates the
other
two films in this set by several years, since it was evidently actually shot in 1963 but languished unreleased for several years. It was in fact the
unexpected (if “minor” by today’s standards) success of Greetings that helped, at least in part, to garner attention for The Wedding
Party. Hi, Mom! is actually a direct sequel to Greetings, and features De Niro reprising his role as troubled Vietnam vet Jon
Rubin, in a film one talking head in a supplement included in this set likens to
“Taxi Driver light”.
Greetings is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet lumps two of the three films together for its verbiage on the restorations:
The Wedding Party and Greetings have been exclusively restored by Arrow Films for this release.As befits the source element utilized, Greetings' presentation is just slightly gritty looking, though that may actually tend to help the verité aspects of De Palma's style. That style includes a lot disjunctive edits and at least a few opticals, and grain can be just slightly variable as a result, but to my eyes never looked artificial or poorly resolved. The palette is generally fairly vivid, though slightly anemic contrast can tend to make some interior scenes look a bit dark and murky. Detail levels are fine, with an understanding that De Palma tends to favor midrange shots a lot of the time. My score is 3.75.
The Wedding Party is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1 [sic] with mono audio. The original 35mm camera negative element was scaneed in 2K resolution on a 4K Arriscan at OCN Labs, CT. The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master and restored at R3Store Studios in London. The original mono mix was remastered from the optical negative reels at OCN Labs.
All materials for this restoration were made available by Troma Entertainment Inc.
Greetings is presented in its origina aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono audio. An original 35mm camera internegative element was scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director at EFilm, Burbank. The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master and restored at R3Store Studios in London. The original mono mix was remastered from the optical negative reels at Deluxe Audio Services, Hollywood.
All materials for this restoration were made available by Charles Hirsch and Academy Film Service.
Greetings features an LPCM Mono track which capably supports the dialogue and the rock inflected score (commentator Glenn Kenny kind of throws one of the composers under the bus, saying he was too busy to talk to Kenny for the commentary track). Greetings utilizes the same kind of quick cutting within scenes that is seen in The Wedding Party especially, giving slightly different "takes" and/or angles on the material, and as such there can be very slight differences in ambience even in scenes ostensibly occurring at the same time and place. Fidelity is fine throughout, with no signs of major age related wear and tear.
Arrow has packaged this set with Greetings and The Wedding Party sharing a disc, and with Hi, Mom! on its own disc.
Supplements on each disc are therefore not necessarily devoted solely to any given film (this includes the interviews with Charles Hirsch, which can
momentarily veer off into tangential information), and so I'm providing a list of all supplements on both discs in this
set on all three reviews of the films included in the set:
Disc One contains The Wedding Party and Greetings and the following supplements:
Greetings has some elements that may make it objectionable and even offensive to some viewers, but it's certainly a product of its time in more ways than one. The film has a certain shambling charm, even as it begins to address some rather "heavy" material. Technical merits are generally first rate, and with caveats noted (especially for those who demand political correctness 100% of the time), Greetings comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1970
1969
Special Edition
1967
1957
1944
2016
Limited Edition to 3000
1969
1967
Paramount Presents #24
1975
Special Edition
1967
1940
1975
1969
1947
1968
Limited Collector's Edition
1976
2017
1963
1982
2009