6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An actor limited to stereotypical roles because of his ethnicity, dreams of making it big as a highly respected performer. As he makes his rounds, the film takes a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood.
Starring: Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craigus R. Johnson, Helen Martin (II), Starletta DuPoisComedy | 100% |
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
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There was quite a brouhaha this year when the Academy Award nominations were seen through the prism of racial equality (or inequality, as the case may be), with many minorities lamenting the dearth of non-Caucasian honorees. While much of the umbrage was focused on director Ava DuVernay, whose Selma snagged a Best Picture nomination but which failed to score in DuVernay’s category or indeed any of the performance niches, there was an overall reaction that the Oscars were not properly recognizing the diversity of the film industry's workers. Of course it probably goes without saying that minorities need to actually find work in the film industry before they can become eligible for nominations (not to mention actual awards), and that conundrum drives much of the enjoyable 1987 satire Hollywood Shuffle, a film recounting the trials and tribulations of struggling actor (is there really any other kind?) Bobby Taylor (Robert Townsend, who also co-wrote and directed) as he attempts to make his way in a not exactly glamorous Hollywood. In fact the film is rather relentless in portraying the grimy, at times uncultured, ambience of La-La Land as hordes of would be stars are put through their audition paces, only to find out casting agents and producers are looking for “another type.” Hollywood Shuffle is both agreeably whimsical but also surprisingly poignant at times, offering an unvarnished look at what it’s really like for a black actor without a surname like Poitier or Smith to wend through the labyrinthine hallways of the film industry.
Hollywood Shuffle is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Elements have pretty typical age related wear and tear, with minor if continual minus density, scratches, nicks, dust and dirt. There's a rather wide variance in the grain structure throughout this presentation, with grain occasionally clumping a bit unnaturally and inorganically looking, something that in turn tends to affect sharpness and clarity. I'd wager a hunch that some of the interstitial film parodies were actually shot on 16mm (see screenshots 16 and 17 for just two examples), for there are moments that are decidedly more grainy and fuzzy than the bulk of the presentation. (IMDb does in fact list both 16mm and 35mm among negative formats for this release.) Colors are still surprisingly vivid, with reds and blues especially deeply saturated. There are some issues with shadow detail throughout the presentation, with elements like costumes (and, frankly, even faces) tending to get swallowed up by surrounding darkness. Detail is generally quite commendable and close-ups can reveal abundant fine detail (see screenshot 3). There a very slight bluish tint generally speaking throughout the presentation, but not to any hugely problematic level.
Hollywood Shuffle features a very enjoyable lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, one which offers great support for the wonderful score by bizarrely underappreciated keyboard genius Patrice Rushen. Patrice's sunny voice is heard on several tunes (though whoever edited the tunes over the final credits did a really sloppy job). Dialogue and effects are rendered accurately, with excellent fidelity and no problems of any kind whatsoever.
There are no supplements on this Blu-ray disc.
Hollywood Shuffle is good natured but just slightly angry at times, probably much like Townsend and Wayans were back in the mid- to late eighties. The film manages to balance its uproarious parodies with more emotionally compelling content involving Bobby's struggles with his career, but it's frankly probably those parodies which end up being the most memorable thing about the film. Townsend is an incredibly winning presence, and it's really rather sad that he either didn't pursue or wasn't offered more regular work in front of the camera. Technical merits are very good if occasionally slightly problematic in the video arena. Recommended.
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