Hollywoodland Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

Hollywoodland Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 21, 2020

Allen Coulter's "Hollywoodland" (2006) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include new audio commentary by author and critic author Bryan Reesman; archival featurettes; deleted scenes; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It is not normal to consider ending your life because your career isn’t progressing as you wish it did. But how do you profile someone that would do it? A coward? An egotistical psychopath? And how do you communicate with this person once you discover what has been happening in his head? Do you stay with him and try to help him? Or do you walk away and hope that he slowly comes to his senses? It is a difficult dilemma, and it becomes even more difficult if this person is a well-known public figure.

If you study the many interesting articles about the premature death of George Reeves that have been published over the years, you will realize that there is a sizable group of people who believe that he was exactly that kind of a troubled person. They seem convinced that Reeves had a very particular vision of his career and when it began disintegrating, he took his life. A few of them simply cannot agree on the exact chronological order of the events that forced Reeves to put a bullet in his head.

There is a much bigger group of people, however, that remain unconvinced that Reeves committed suicide. They do not dispute the fact that before his death Reeves was deeply frustrated with the evolution of his career, but they think that someone used his misery to get rid of him and then sold his murder to the public as a personal tragedy. It is an interesting theory, but how much evidence is out there that can make it appear legit?

Allen Coulter’s film Hollywoodland dispatches a fictional private eye named Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) to do precisely that kind of investigative work and figure out what happened to Reeves. However, while Simo goes on the road, digs deep and attempts to reconstruct Reeves’ past, the film also spends a great deal of time recreating a particular vintage appearance of Los Angeles that nowadays seems largely forgotten. In other words, there are completely different types of discoveries that begin to emerge as Simo’s investigation progresses.

Unfortunately, the authoritative material that is needed to confirm what might have occurred before Reeves’ death never materializes. In fact, the film accomplishes something completely different -- it takes the personal drama from Simo’s life and for some very odd reason injects it into the mystery surrounding Reeves’ death, causing different layers of imaginary realities to begin overlapping and in the process almost completely destroy the integrity of its mission.

When eventually the time comes to wrap up the investigation, Reeves’ death feels almost like an unfortunate distraction. A series of flashbacks quickly produce a couple of odd summations relying on plausible but unprovable possibilities and Simo convinces himself that he has gone as far as he could. It is a convenient way to exit the mystery, but the resolution is indeed hugely underwhelming.

The quality of the acting is equally underwhelming. Ben Affleck is particularly unconvincing and in a number of episodes actually looks borderline bored with his troubled character. In the worst of the bunch a very odd smirk keeps reappearing on his face. Adrien Brody’s private eye would have fit better in a contemporary drama about recovering alcoholics. Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins visibly struggle with their parts as well.

What the film gets right is the vintage appearance of Los Angeles. The good locations and special effects produce visuals that successfully trick the mind to accept that the trip back in time is entirely legit. Julie Weiss’s costume designs look great as well.

Hollywoodland 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, Hollywoodland arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an old and quite disappointing master. The film's unique stylized appearance can hide some of the limitations of the master, but there is simply too much that does not look right. For example, delineation ranges from mediocre to average, which is why many darker areas where nuanced shadows are prominent can look uncharacteristically flat. There are also traces of filtering that have further compromised delineation. (You can see an example in screencapture #3). Quite predictably, depth becomes problematic as well, so wider panoramic shots with different ranges of highlights and shadows typically look poor. Colors are stable, but if properly remastered and regraded the film will have much more convincing ranges of nuances. The primaries should look mostly as they do now. Image stability is very good. My score is 2.75/5.00. (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).

Hollywoodland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the lossless 5.1 track and did not detect any issues to report in our review. The dialog was very clear, clean, and stable. Marcelo Zarvos' jazzy soundtrack has an important role to play but the dynamic contrasts that emerge throughout the film are unlikely to make an impression on folks that appreciate strength.

Hollywoodland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Hollywoodland. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a couple of deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Behind the Headlines - a vintage featurette with clips from old interviews with cast and crew members. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Hollywood Then and Now - a small featurette about a city and industry that are seen in Hollywoodland but no longer exist. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Recreating Old Hollywood - a vintage featurette about the stylistic appearance of Hollywoodland. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Commentary One - this archival audio commentary by director Allen Coulter also appeared on the old North American DVD Release of Hollywoodland.

• Commentary Two - an exclusive new audio commentary by author Bryan Reesman.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. True Confessions
  2. Mulholland Falls
  3. Summer of Sam
  4. Love the Hard Way

Hollywoodland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ben Affleck's performance in Hollywoodland is very problematic. It leaves the impression that he is being forced to endure a character transformation that bores him to death, and I don't quite understand how this did not become an issue during the production process. He isn't George Reeves and does not look like a deeply frustrated individual with dark thoughts on his mind. His failure to connect with his character also hurts the integrity of other performances the film relies on to appear legit. Needless to say, I think that Hollywoodland is a very unfortunate misfire. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an old and quite weak master.