7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Fade In: A rundown New York apartment. We find Adolpho Rollo (Steve Buscemi) and his 500 page script. Tortured by self-doubt, financial ruin, and unrequited passion for his next door neighbor (Jennifer Beals), Adolpho places an ad offering his mammoth screenplay to the highest bidder. Enter Joe (Seymour Cassel) a fast-talking shyster who promises to produce the film but has his own unique ideas regarding film financing. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, director Alexandre Rockwell's absurd and wonderful comedy features a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Cassel and hilarious support from an amazing cast including Sam Rockewll, Stanley Tucci, Will Patton, Debi Mazar, Jim Jarmusch, and Carol Kane.
Drama | 100% |
Dark humor | 18% |
Comedy | 5% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
BDInfo & PowerDVD corrected (lossy only)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The Sundance Film Festival was once a place where idiosyncratic moviemakers could share their visions with a sophisticated audience capable of understanding the quirks and horrors contained in these features. In the early 1990s, the Festival offered a special magic, with 1992 the year of “Reservoir Dogs,” “Brother’s Keeper,” “Johnny Suede,” “Mississippi Masala,” and “The Living End.” Emerging as one of the more popular Sundance titles of this year was “In the Soup,” with writer/director Alexandre Rockwell offering a dark comedy about the frustrations of ambition, the realities of unrequited love, and the determination of opportunists. A black and white ode to French cinema, John Cassavetes, and New York City atmosphere, the endeavor gave Rockwell a career, establishing his unusual sense of humor and love of actors, with stars Steve Buscemi and Seymour Cassell often the only reason to stay invested in this semi-meandering offering of indie storytelling.
A successful Kickstarter campaign helped to bring "In the Soup" back from obscurity, with the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation offering a "new 4K restoration" of the movie. The black and white look (the feature was originally shot in color to achieve a special cinematographic quality) for "In the Soup" is pleasing on the Blu-ray, with deep blacks and silvery whites. Detail is acceptable, capturing some facial surfaces and fibrous costuming. New York City locations retain dimension, and interiors showcase decaying apartment life. Grain is heavy but film-like, with a few brief encoding anomalies along the way. Source is in good condition, with some mild speckling. Brief banding is detected.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is largely a frontal affair, with music occasionally reaching into the surrounds. Scoring selections deliver sharp instrumentation and support. Dialogues exchanges are clear, balancing quieter narration and more animated antics with Cassell. Low-end isn't challenged.
A commentary is listed on the main menu, but isn't included on the disc.
"In the Soup" has oddity and a lived-in sense of confusion, with Rockwell presenting an amusing overview of filmmaking pretentiousness colliding with the reality of production, watching Aldolpho manage Joe's erratic focus as he offers more scams to the young man, who gets in deeper with every step forward. There's commentary on the reality of the movie business, and "In the Soup" has decent character details to chew on, including Joe's hyperactivity and almost fatherly way with Aldolpho. "In the Soup" loses its way in the final act, getting bogged down in New Year's Eve partying, leading to a limp conclusion, but Rockwell has enough of a journey here to hold attention, and there's Cassel, who's unleashed here, giving a downright magical performance as a possible psychopath either befriending or slowly destroying Aldolpho, filling the frame with huge energy and improvisational unpredictability. Rockwell would have an interesting study of moviemaking woes without Cassel, but the seasoned actor brings his special sauce to the production, elevating it every chance he's given.
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