7.1 | / 10 |
Users | ![]() | 5.0 |
Reviewer | ![]() | 3.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 3.4 |
A classmate introduces teenage Owen to a mysterious late-night TV show -- a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen's view of reality begins to crack.
Starring: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Conner O'Malley, Amber Benson, Danielle DeadwylerHorror | Uncertain |
Drama | Uncertain |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | ![]() | 3.0 |
Video | ![]() | 4.5 |
Audio | ![]() | 5.0 |
Extras | ![]() | 2.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 3.0 |
Writer and director Jane Schoenbrun has a lot to say about I Saw the TV Glow, and while quite a bit of that discussion (delivered in both an audio commentary and a making of featurette included on this disc as supplements) may frankly seem more than a bit self serving (to the point of being self congratulatory), Schoenbrun does discuss how music and the choice of both source cues and on screen performances helped to define what I Saw the TV Glow was going to offer, at least subliminally. In that regard, it might be salient to remember the veritable "olden days" when the precursor to online retailers (which later became an online retailer), K-Tel, used to offer "greatest hits" packages via television commercials, often building packages around genres or years / decades. In that regard, it may seem like A24 is aping K-Tel in a way, with the recently reviewed Love Lies Bleeding paying homage to the eighties, and this film doing similar service for the nineties, as overtly mentioned by Schoenbrun. That emphasis on the nineties includes an allusion to the television version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which Schoenbrun mentions was a personal favorite, here refashioned as a series called The Pink Opaque. There's quite a bit of "opaque" (colored or otherwise) suffusing I Saw the TV Glow, a film which flirts with surrealism or at least psychedelic / hallucinatory aspects while offering a portrait of two "misfits" who bond over their love of The Pink Opaque. That précis hardly begins to describe a film that is actually fairly short on narrative but strong on mood and peculiar visuals.
I Saw the TV Glow is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of A24 with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (often) in 1.85:1 (occasional interstitials documenting the "old school" television series The Pink Opaque are in 1.33:1). Perhaps surprisingly, I Saw the TV Glow was shot on good old fashioned 35mm film, though the look here might arguably be compared to Super 16 at times, since there's an emphasis on pretty heavy grain and a highly textured appearance. Detail levels are typically great throughout, though there are such aggressive grading and lighting choices at times that fine detail can occasionally at least slightly ebb. It's the palette that will probably strike most eyes as the instantly defining thing about the presentation, and there's a really striking level of suffusion in the sometimes peculiar combination of tones that are thrust next to each other in the frame.
The Pink Opaque features a nicely boisterous Dolby Atmos track that probably really struts its surround stuff the most noticeably in terms of some of the aforementioned music, which is bountiful and even includes a quasi-club scene with on screen performances. There is also some good use of the side and rear channels in particular to establish spatial relationships even in relatively quieter scenes involving Owen and Maddy. A few outdoor scenes also have good placement of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
- Burger Express (HD; 00:33)
- Clown Dance (HD; 1:23)
- Election Oner (HD; 1:46)
- Marco Dance (HD; 1:27)
- Marco Polo Dance (HD; 1:57)
- Morning Durst (HD; 1:18)
- Outside Movie (HD; 00:36)
- Owen in Snow (HD; 00:39)
- Projector (HD; 00:28)
- TPO Locker (HD; 00:33)
- Tux and Fanny (HD; 1:23)
- Yap (HD; 00:50)
Schoenbrun certainly has an eye for showy visuals, but perhaps not quite so much flair with crafting a comprehensible screenplay. There are a ton of interesting ideas floating through the surreal landscape of I Saw the TV Glow, but they're simply never woven together very authoritatively. Technical merits are solid for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
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