6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A farm boy and a banker's daughter fall in love in a small Texas town in 1949, bringing their opposing backgrounds to light.
Starring: Matt Dillon, Cindy Fisher, Margaret Blye, Susan Tyrrell, Tonja WalkerDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
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.
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 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.
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.
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