Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Jinxed Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 21, 2016

Don Siegel's "Jinxed!" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The girl who had a plan

Willie Brodax (Ken Wahl, The Wanderers) is a lonely blackjack dealer with a serious problem. He has gotten a job in a casino in Reno and wants to keep it, but lately he has been losing a lot of money to professional gambler Harold Benson (Rip Torn, The Cincinnati Kid). He does not know why or how. When he deals, Harold simply always wins.

The security guys in the casino are also puzzled. They have been monitoring Harold with secret cameras and are certain that he isn’t a cheater. They also know that Willie and Harold are not a team. So how does Harold do it?

While trying to figure out why Harold is so lucky when he visits his table, Willie meets his mistress, Bonnie Friml (Bette Midler, Ruthless People), a fast-talking lounge singer who has been following him around for years. He quickly seduces her and they begin seeing each other. The two then figure out that their lives could be much less complicated if Harold wasn’t around -- Willie will keep his job while Bonnie won’t have to do the things Harold asks her to do when he is in a mood to have a good time.

They decide to kill Harold and then collect the money from his life insurance. Bonnie tells Willie that she knows exactly how it will be done and he would have to do is follow her instructions.

But a few days later Harold goes back to the casino determined to bet all of his savings on Willie’s table and something very odd happens that surprises everyone. It also forces Bonnie to improvise and Willie to question her integrity.

Don Siegel’s final film, Jinxed!, easily could have been directed by Robert Altman. It is refreshingly casual and frank, and has a large dose of that very dry sense of humor that makes so many of Altman’s films delightful to watch.

Siegel was apparently not a huge admirer of Midler, but this may have actually helped quite a lot because the awkwardness of the lounge singer is what in a way makes the film look special. Indeed, just about all of the fascinating contrasts that emerge throughout the film rely on her less than perfect, over-the-top, or flat-out wacky reactions in various seemingly normal situations. Frankly, more often than not it feels like the camera picks the right angles and shots to ridicule her personality, but she seems completely unaware and as a result the weight of the story shifts quite dramatically. The end result resembles a period soap opera that was assembled by a couple of editors whose sense of humor could not be any more different, but it works wonderfully well.

The two male leads are also hilarious. Wahl’s dealer is an unfinished version of a playboy who wants to do something meaningful with his life but does not mind risking his freedom, and everything else that comes with it, after he unexpectedly falls in love with a woman that could be slightly crazy. Torn’s gambler is a dominant weirdo who is full of surprises.

The great Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond lensed the film. While the use of light, shadow and colors is not as spectacular as it is in The Rose, another very temperamental film with Midler, there are many wonderfully done sequences that have the qualities his style was known for. (Zsigmond frequently described his style as “poetic realism”, emphasizing the natural beauty of things).

Jinxed 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, Don Siegel's Jinxed! arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

I was very much looking forward to see how light/shadow and colors are reproduced because Vilmos Zsigmond's preference for lighter nuances and earthy contrast is practically lost on the old R1 DVD release. I am happy to report that even though the release is sourced from a pre-existing master the film looks lovely in high-definition. Indeed, color balance and especially fluidity are very convincing (see screencaptures #1, 5, and 7). There are a few sequences where density does fluctuate a bit -- the most notable example is the sequence in which Bonnie asks Willie to kill her man -- but the effect is actually produced by very light natural wear and it never becomes distracting. Depth and clarity are consistently pleasing. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Grain is present throughout the entire film and appears quite well resolved. Also, there are no traces of recent sharpening adjustments. A new scan certainly would have introduced some improvements in terms of depth and shadow definition would have been more convincing, but the current master never disappoints. Image stability is very good. There are a couple of tiny flecks, but there are no distracting cuts, damage marks, stains, or torn frames to report in our review. All in all, there is certainly room for some minor improvements but this is a very solid and generally well balanced presentation of Jinxed! that makes it enormously easy to enjoy the film and appreciate the artistic vision for its creators. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Jinxed Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

Plenty of music is heard throughout the film, but its role is secondary. In fact, the film has a fairly simple organic sound design that reminds of Robert Altman's early work. Balance is good but occasionally some natural unevenness can be noticed during the mass scenes (see the casino footage). There are no audio dropouts, pops, background hiss, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Jinxed Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Jinxed!. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

Jinxed Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Don Siegel's final film, Jinxed!, is a quirky gem oozing the type of atmosphere that is frequently found in Robert Altman's 1970s work. I loved its sense of humor and the static energy that exists between its main protagonists. They make it look very fresh and quite unpredictable. Olive Films' technical presentation of the film is wonderful. My only criticism is that the release does not have any interesting supplemental features. Regardless, if you enjoyed The Rose, consider adding this release to your collections. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.