Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

Liar's Moon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 26, 2022

Liar's Moon attempts to revisit certain elements of Romeo and Juliet in a late forties timeframe in Texas, but it ends up adding a somewhat salacious element that will be hinted at below, so spoiler-phobes are forewarned (there will be another warning for the unobservant). The film has some decent performances, though perhaps not consistently, but it's probably in the casting itself that many fans will find the most interest. This was Academy Award winner Broderick Crawford's last feature film role, and one of Matt Dillon's first, and stuffed in between them are a variety of familiar and not so familiar names, including Yvonne De Carlo, Hoyt Axton (I kind of weirdly just reviewed another film featuring Axton, Retribution), Christopher Connelly, Richard Moll, Susan Tyrrell, Tonja Walker, Cindy Fisher and Margaret Blye. Now, that's "eclectic", as some marketing guru may have said at the time, but while game, this film's kind of smarmy subtext may unavoidably invite overheated performances from some of the cast.

The film begins with a black and white vignette which is later revisited in "Moishe the Explainer" mode toward the end of the story. A woman with a newborn arrives at a doctor's office, where she has a brief and somewhat baffling interchange with the nurse, at which point the story segues to Texas in the 1940s, now in "living color", or something like that. A dissolve from the black and white sequence suggests that the baby has grown up to be Jack Duncan (Matt Dillon), a good if hardscrabble kid who is the devoted son of Ellen (Margaret Blye, credited as Maggie) and Cecil Duncan (Hoyt Axton). Jack and a couple of his buddies have a "get rich quick" scheme, albeit for only $30, by having Jack catch a greased pig at a county fair type event that evening, a "plan" that goes more than a bit awry, but at least allows him to meet cute (if grimily) with local rich girl Ginny Peterson (Cindy Fisher). Can true romance be far behind?

Suffice it to say it's not very far behind, but of course Ginny's uptight and rich father Alex Peterson (Christopher Connelly) is having none of it, though his reasons seem to be more, um, intense than simply a reaction to Jack's less than prosperous background. It's in this element where Liar's Moon definitely gets into soap operatic territory, though in that regard the "making of" featurette included on this disc as a supplement overtly gets into how some elements of the original story were actually modeled on soap operas, albeit perhaps the "nighttime" variety like Dallas and Falcon Crest, two series which original story co-writer Janice Thompson specifically cites as influences.

And here's where that second and final warning about a potential spoiler comes into play (so read no further unless you want a pretty obvious hint as to some of the underlying story elements). The whole Romeo and Juliet angle might only be salient with regard to Liar's Moon had William Shakespeare's original formulation included an affair between Capulet and Lady Montague which resulted in an illegitimate offspring. The fact that Liar's Moon ends up almost comically eliding all of this in an avalanche of melodramatic events filling the film's third act in particular leaves a kind of unfortunate aftertaste. Interestingly the film evidently had a more tragic ending at some point which is presented here as another supplement and which may have been more in line with The Bard's original version.

Dillon is rather good here, as are Axton and Blye. Some of the rest of the performances are hit and/or miss, including Fisher, who can be quite effective at certain moments but who is almost lethargic in other scenes. Yvonne De Carlo attempts a not very convincing French accent as a boarding house owner that Jack and Ginny end up staying at after they elope. Moll makes for a fun threatening private detective that Connelly (another kind of over the top performance) hires to find the kids.

Liar's Moon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Liar's Moon is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the MVD Rewind Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As tends to be the case with many MVD releases, there's not a ton of technical information provided on the cover, but whatever element was utilized for this presentation has both pluses and minuses. The palette is often (though not always) decently suffused, and some of the outdoor material in particular pops quite well. That said, there are noticeable variances in color temperature which can perhaps be gleaned by parsing through the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. Detail levels can also fluctuate, but are generally very good, especially in the more brightly lit sequences. Grain is pretty chunky looking and more often than not yellowish. Some of the bumps into and out of optical dissolves are especially rough looking (see screenshot 19). There are minor signs of age related wear and tear, but nothing overly problematic in my opinion. My score is 3.25.

Liar's Moon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Liar's Moon features LPCM 2.0 and LPCM 2.0 Mono audio options. One of the undeniable strengths of the film is the contribution of Asleep at the Wheel, which provides some evocative if just slightly too contemporary sounding source cues to the score. A lot of melancholy harmonica and country western vocals pervade the music and add a definite sonic flair to things, and both the stereo and mono tracks provide excellent support. Perhaps surprisingly, there's not a ton of difference in amplitude between the tracks, but there is a noticeable uptick in spaciousness in the stereo track with regard to the music in particular. Dialogue on both tracks is presented cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Liar's Moon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Liar's Moon (HD; 1:44:45) is a well done Zoom like aggregation featuring Janice Thompson (story co-writer), Ray Benson (composer), Tonja Walker (actress), Jeanene Hanna (widow of story co-writer and producer Billy Hanna, who was Janice Thompson's father), Susan Vogelfang (production designer), Maria Caso (set decorator), and David Fisher (screenwriter and director). There's a lot of background information here and some fun anecdotes.


• The Music of Liar's Moon (HD; 13:53) offers Ray Benson again, along with David Fisher, discussing choices for the score and the involvement of Asleep at the Wheel.


• Alternate Ending (SD; 1:57)


• Trailers includes Liar's Moon (Theatrical Trailer) (HD; 2:25) and Liar's Moon (Video Trailer) (SD; 1:21), the latter of which kind of hilariously touts the ability to choose either a happy or tragic ending based on what the "cassette" offers.

Additionally a collectible mini-poster is included, and the keepcase has reversible artwork. Packaging features a slipcover.

Liar's Moon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of any/all of the cast of Liar's Moon will probably find enough here to sustain interest, though the story is kind of sleazy feeling in the long run. There's some nice imagery and a wonderful soundtrack to enjoy. Technical merits are decent if improvable (video) to very good (audio), and the supplemental "making of" featurette in particular is a lot of fun, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.