7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A pregnant children’s author suspects her husband of having an affair. While holidaying in Ireland, her mental state becomes increasingly unstable resulting in paranoia, hallucinations and visions of a doppelgänger.
Starring: Susannah York, Rene Auberjonois, Marcel Bozzuffi, Hugh Millais, Cathryn HarrisonDrama | 100% |
Horror | 41% |
Psychological thriller | 19% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The commentary on this new Blu-ray by Katt Ellinger and Samm Deighan of Diabolique Magazine makes an acceptable if perhaps debatable case that Images should be seen as part of a supposed Robert Altman triptych that also includes 1969’s That Cold Day in the Park and 1977’s 3 Women. While it’s true that there are certain through lines linking this trio of films, one that offers some refractions of character and even plot that help inform all three within a wider context, there’s perhaps a more salient “extracurricular” cinematic referent that some viewers might think of when they first encounter Images, and that would be Ingmar Bergman’s Persona. In fact when I first saw Images years ago as a teenager, I actually thought that Altman may have been attempting some sort of sly remake of the now legendary Bergman outing, since both feature a comely blonde heroine who is a creative type, but who is under the throes of some sort of mental instability. Altman doesn’t offer the same visual acuity that Bergman does in Persona, and he also doesn’t attempt to depict incipient schizophrenia in the same way Bergman does, but both films have a really unsettling ambience that in some ways at least is quite strikingly similar.
Images is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:
Images has been exclusively restored for this release by Arrow FIlms. The film is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with mono sound.This is quite a winning presentation of some typically lustrous cinematography by the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond. A lot of the film has been intentionally cast in a kind of dewy soft ambience, so that even some close-ups of York (and there are a lot) can be somewhat lacking in fine detail. While some brief problematic moments are probably due to the dupe elements (see screenshot 19 for a likely example), there are actually moments that look like Altman may have had Zsigmond smear Vaseline or something over the lens to increase an almost hallucinatory ambience but which obviously also tends to tamp down at least fine detail levels. The palette is just a trifle on the cool side to my eyes, but looks generally fresh and decently suffused. Aside from the aforementioned occasional spikes in grain, the presentation is commendably organic looking and encounters no undue compression anomalies.
The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution on a pin-registered Arriscan. Picture grading was performed on a Da Vinci Resolve. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, picutre instability and other instances of film wear were repaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques.
There are a couple of instances in which next generation dupe materials were inserted into the cut negative. At these points the quality of the image is reduced and the film grain in elevated to a noticeable level, but we have attempted to make these shots fit in with the surrounding footage as closely as possible.
The original mono soundtrack was restored from the original DME mag reels.
All restoration work was completed at Silver Salt Restoration in London.
All materials for this restoration were made available by HandMade Films via Park Circus Group.
Images features a clear sounding LPCM Mono track, one that capably supports one of John Williams' more modernist scores (one that is itself interpolated with some really modernist moments from Stomu Yamashta). The score and ambient environmental sound effects really help to develop this film's hallucinatory qualities, and everything sounds fine here, if obviously narrow. Dialogue is also presented cleanly and clearly and there are no issues with damage or dropouts.
Images may not in fact "mean" anything in the final analysis, but it's a riveting viewing experience, perhaps ironically due in part to its very incoherence. York famously won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her work here, and it remains one of her most arresting performances. Technical merits are first rate, and as usual Arrow has assembled a nice package of supplements. Recommended.
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