7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A shrewdly funny film. The story follows a disaster-filled day in the life of a director as he desperately tries to fulfill his vision and shoot his movie despite whining actors, bumbling crew members, exploding lights and malfunctioning fog machines.
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney, Danielle von Zerneck, James Le GrosDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Whether or not Sigmund Freud actually said “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” (or words to that effect) is still being hotly debated in various corners of the internet if not in actual scholarly circles, but the underlying truth of the statement can probably find no more salient example than the reaction that Lindsay Anderson’s If.... engendered when it was first released in 1968 (and even beyond). The fact that Anderson and cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek shot the movie on both black and white and color stock caused all sorts of critical exegesis, much of which tried to tie these different sequences with the film’s concurrent mixing of fantasy and reality. Whole edifices of critical assessment were built upon the sometimes odd juxtapositions of black and white and color segments, with some analysts tying themselves into mounds of pretzel logic in order to try to make sense of whatever their hypotheses were supposed to be. This attempt to find meaning or at least symbolism in something, in other words to make a cigar something else, is a peculiar human endeavor, and it is sometimes such a strong impetus that more mundane explanations can be overlooked in the rush to achieve some kind of cathartic philosophical breakthrough. And so the punchline to this particular example turned out to be the fact that various people involved in If. . .’s production, including Anderson and star Malcolm McDowell, have gone on record stating there was really no “meta” aspect to the crazy quilt approach toward the film’s palette, but instead one that was largely based on economics or at least the economy of lighting and shooting some scenes monochromatically rather than in color. In other words, there was no “reason” for these choices other than the basic necessities of getting stuff committed to celluloid under sometimes trying circumstances. Some similarly prone critics may approach Living in Oblivion with a similar urge to “make it all make sense”, especially since this film not only traffics in the same black and white versus color ambiences that informed If. . ., but ups the ante in a way by having the first of the film’s three sections shot on 16mm, with the last two in the more traditional 35mm format. Add to that the fact that Living in Oblivion actually luxuriates in certain “meta” aspects, including the fact that the film deals with filmmakers making a film called Living in Oblivion (got that?), and it’s certainly understandable why some might go into veritable hyperdrive trying to explain it all. In this case, however, to maybe cop a concept from a certain feline attached to a certain Schrödinger, sometimes a cigar both is just and is not just a cigar.
Living in Oblivion is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. With an understanding about the aforementioned differences in format, this presentation is quite organic and natural looking, with the first sequence looking understandably softer and grainier than the second two. The black and white sequences of the first part of the film have decent if not overwhelming contrast, though black levels are largely commendable. The color is quite nicely suffused in the 16mm sequences. The bulk of the 35mm material looks decently detailed if again quite often on the soft side. Grain resolves naturally most of the time, though there are typical Shout! bugaboos with splotchiness occasionally entering the fray. Elements have a few minor instances of damage along the way, including speckling and white flecks.
Living in Oblivion features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track which more than capably supports this film's rather modest sonic ambitions. Virtually all of the film is simply people talking (and/or occasionally shouting), and as such there's not a lot that can go wrong. Everything is rendered cleanly and clearly, with good prioritization and no damage of any kind.
Living in Oblivion may play a bit better for those who have actually been on a film set or perhaps backstage during the rehearsal process for a stage show, but even those who wouldn't know a gobo from a klieg light will probably find some curious amusement in the eccentric characters wandering through DiCillo's actually loving testament to the art of making art, in this case a film. Probably a bit too outré for mainstream tastes, Living in Oblivion will be appreciated by those with a slightly skewed sense of humor and firm grasp of the absurd. Technical merits are generally very good and the supplemental package is excellent. Highly recommended.
1971
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