Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Inside Moves Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 4, 2020

Director Richard Donner was in an incredible professional position in 1979. In 1976, he helmed “The Omen,” giving Donner his first major box office and creative success. In 1978, he guided “Superman” to pop culture dominance, emerging with another monster moneymaker and one of the few masterpieces found in comic book cinema. Donner was riding high, electing to cash in some of his power to make 1980’s “Inside Moves,” which is as far away from Satan and Krypton as possible. Dialing down blockbuster sensibilities, Donner aims for a decidedly human story about friendship and community support, taking inspiration from Todd Walton’s novel, adapted here by Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson. “Inside Moves” is a frustratingly disjointed endeavor, but there’s real passion to the filmmaking, with Donner working hard to share his love for the material and the participants, giving the effort a spiritual boost when basic storytelling is often ignored.

A depressed, lonely man looking for a way to end his misery, Roary (John Savage) attempts suicide by jumping out of an office building. Instead of finding death, Roary is left with a destroyed leg, forced to return to society as a physically disabled man. Happening across Max’s Bar in Oakland, Roary discovers an establishment populated with others just like him, soon making friends with the customers and bartender Jerry (David Morse), who also deals with a bad leg. A die-hard Golden State Warriors fan, Jerry constantly hounds Alvin (Harold Sylvester), a rookie player who has no patience for the public. Accepting a challenge for a one-on-one match with Jerry, Alvin is shocked when he nearly loses, putting the disabled man on a quest to fix his leg through experimental surgery. While Roary is supportive, deeply involved with his pal and his problematic relationship with prostitute Anne (Amy Wright), he begins to sense distance when Jerry backs away from the community, sharing his fears with barmaid Louise (Diana Scarwid), whom he falls in love with.

As with most literary adaptations, “Inside Moves” has a lot of narrative ground to cover and only two hours of screen time to do it. Donner nails select moments, providing a compelling introduction with Roary’s suicide attempt, which carries peculiar energy, and the stranger’s introduction to Max’s Bar is flavorful, offering a customer base of physically disabled men (including Harold Russell, who won an Oscar for “The Best Years of Our Lives”) who welcome the shy newcomer, bonding over games of poker as they share countless beers. Such camaraderie pops right off the screen, giving “Inside Moves” some defined personality and experience to work with while a plot emerges with the saga of Jerry, a defeated man handed a shot at a basketball dream he never though he was capable of achieving.

Subplots mount in “Inside Moves,” especially with Jerry’s relationship with self-destructive Anne, and there’s Roary’s time with Louise, with the new addition to Max’s Bar providing him with a newfound drive to happiness. He finds purpose in work, community as well, but the transitions in Roary’s life are not handled well by Donner, who’s mostly guided by feeling here, not dramatic consistency. As “Inside Moves” unfolds, connective tissue is lost, keeping relationships a bit puzzling, especially Roary’s time with Jerry, as their tight bond doesn’t register with any urgency in the film. Louise is also perplexing, making personal choices that seem downright cruel without pages and pages of character definition helping to clarify motivation.

Inside Moves Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Much like Richard Donner's "Superman," "Inside Moves" is a carefully photographed feature, using a softer look to warm up the material and deal comfortably with difficult characters. Billed as a "New 2019 HD Master," the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation generally preserves cinematographic intent. Detail comes through during the viewing experience, but sharpness is elusive, delivering more of a general understanding of facial textures, which survey all sorts of sweaty, aged characters, and interior decoration, with Max's Bar filled with all sorts of ornamentation and customers. Costuming also maintains a mild sense of material. Distances are dimensional. Colors are respectfully managed for a film that's not flashy, delivering adequate primaries on clothing, with yellow and red basketball uniforms most striking. Bar signage also has some punch. Skintones are natural. Delineation loses some information with heavy shadows. Source is in decent shape, with mild judder and some faint wear and tear.

Inside Moves Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't extraordinary to begin with, dealing with basic dialogue exchanges between active characters, keeping group events intelligible, even in rowdy environments such as Max's Bar and inside a sports arena. Loud elements, including game horns and roaring crowds tend to fuzz out highs, but nothing's sustained. Scoring provides adequate support with decent instrumentation. A few sonic anomalies are encounters, but they appear to be inherent to the original track.

Inside Moves Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (18:28, HD) with Richard Donner opens with his early interest in acting, soon taking advice from Martin Ritt to move over to direction. After scoring massive success with "The Omen" and "Superman," Donner describes his surprising inability to get "Inside Moves" made right away, as Hollywood had no interest in the script. Script changes are highlighted, and locations are detailed, with the production using Silver Lake to sub for San Francisco. For Max's Bar, an empty store was used to create the friendly watering hole, with locals soon stopping by to get a drink. Donner explores his profound fear of heights, inspiring him to push off work on the opening building jump stunt for as long as possible. The cast is lovingly recalled, and Donner is hopeful about the Blu-ray release of "Inside Moves," hoping his "favorite" movie will find a second life after enduring a botched release, fading into obscurity.

• Interview (14:33, HD) with John Savage briefly recounts the actor's childhood, where he was hounded by sickness and transported by books, taking an immediate liking to the themes and characters of "Inside Moves." Savage recalls working with Donner and his co-stars, and offers his assessment of the personalities involved in the story. The interviewee highlights his time working with the physically disabled and the unique challenges that arose during the filming of basketball scenes. While Savage is happy with the legacy of "Inside Moves," he loses focus near the end of the conversation, riffing on the ways of community responsibility and American spirit.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:28, SD) is included.

Inside Moves Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Performances manage to survive the erratic editing of "Inside Moves," giving Savage a chance to showcase his ways with internalization, and Morse shines his film debut, able to communicate the emotional churn within Jerry, which the movie itself isn't always entirely clear on. "Inside Moves" is mangled in many ways, skipping on a rich comprehension of character headspace and personal weaknesses, but it's hard to deny Donner's enthusiasm for the material, working extra hard to capture the friendly bustle of Max's Bar and the personal concerns of the staff and customers, striving for community spirit. It's there, but doesn't dominate the work, which often breaks such concentration to deal with hazily defined individuals struggling to find clarity and connection in truncated tangents and relationship asides.