Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Love and Death Blu-ray Movie Review

The Russians are running, the Russians are running.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 25, 2016

Note: This film is also available as part of the set Woody Allen: Six Films 1971-1978.

The six films included in a new set from Arrow comprise some of Woody Allen’s best known and best loved offerings, but they also provide a nice window into Allen’s evolution from a schtick and gag laden auteur to a filmmaker with something obviously a bit deeper on his mind than “only” going for the gusto in terms of laughs. Tracing the kind of frankly odd route from Bananas to Interiors may not provide much grist for a mill interested in narrative through lines, but it at least provides ample evidence that Allen, no matter how he’s seen currently within the context of his external “baggage,” has always been a relentlessly unique force in the contemporary film world. Allen’s filmmaking craft also increases exponentially over the half dozen films in this set, and one of the more interesting things to pay attention to is how his directorial chops noticeably improved in terms of even relatively simple things like framings and how to set up a shot for maximum impact. But Allen’s writing went through a similar metamorphosis, slowly but surely turning away from, or at least relying less upon, sight gags and just downright goofiness in favor of more intellectually prone humor. Allen continues to be a divisive figure, not just in the annals of cinema but (not to state the obvious) for some of the personal choices he’s made through the years (not to mention allegations that have been leveled against him), but these six films, most done before any major “brouhahas” had started to append “meta” analyses to his offerings, are an often stunning example of a brilliant comedic mind who also began to nurture his more dramatic tendencies.

The “death” part of Allen’s bifurcated title is alluded to almost right off the bat in the film, as Allen’s own distinctive voice narrates the upcoming demise of his character, the hapless Boris Grushenko. Boris is the typical Allen hero, a twitching, neurotic, sex obsessed guy who just so happens to be living in Imperial Russia at about the time Napoleon decides he needs a bit more elbow room. Boris’ history, delivered via a series of punchline invested flashbacks, is completely in line with some other typical Allen male youths (one thinks especially of characters like Joe in Radio Days), though being a 19th century Russian, little Boris interacts more with Death (in a piquant nod to The Seventh Seal) than with any decoder ring appointed secret agent.

That interaction with the symbol of mortality indicates early on that Boris is a questioning soul, and Love and Death repeatedly interrupts its narrative flow to have both Boris and, later, his distant cousin Sonja (Diane Keaton) simply stop to indulge in philosophical ruminations about life, love and, yes, death in what are mock serious attempts to divine something akin to that aforementioned “Russian soul.” Boris is of course head over heels in love with Sonja, but both the incursions of Napoleon (James Tolkan) as well as Sonja’s upcoming nuptials to an elderly fish monger (a desperate choice after her first elderly suitor doesn’t quite make it past the wedding announcement) stand in the way of “happily ever after.” Of course with Love and Death being a send up of Russian literature and culture, it might be more accurate to simply remove the “happily” and settle for a simple “ever after.”

What’s both immediately apparent and also rather interesting about Love and Death is how it is easily the most “epic” of Allen films as well as being one of his most intimate. Some of this intimacy is achieved through the gambit of Boris and/or Sonja breaking the fourth wall to address the audience with their ruminations, thereby establishing a kind of “one to one” connection. But there’s an underlying well of emotion that Allen actually manages to tap despite the film’s virtually nonstop array of both inspired sight gags and Allen’s typically urbane verbosity. Within this cloistered technique, though, Allen also completely exploits the visual opportunities afforded by the historical milieu and the epochal events that Boris literally stumbles through (another Allen archetype, of course).

The death sentence alluded to above comes courtesy of what is perhaps the film’s only slight misstep, a trek into more traditional farce territory when Sonja hatches a “madcap” plan to assassinate Napoleon. But even here Allen manages to wrest some surprisingly fulsome content out of an intentionally silly premise. Sonja, the mastermind behind the project and a woman who has shown herself to only care largely about herself, manages to make it through the gauntlet relatively unscathed. Hapless Boris, of course, while being basically decent and well intentioned, is set for one of those troublesome chess matches with a certain shrouded stranger.

Love and Death Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Love and Death is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. I've tried to reproduce several of the screenshots included with our review of the American release, so that those interested can do a full screen compare and contrast, which I often find more instructive than me trying to adequately describe differences. The Arrow release looks just slightly darker than the American Blu-ray, but aside from that difference these two presentations are extremely similar if not identical, down to the same minor damage to the elements at the same places, something that suggests either the same elements and/or same master were utilized for both presentations. The darker overall look of this transfer tends to highlight things like minus density a little bit more than on the American release. As with the American release, grain can occasionally be a little coarse looking, but the overall palette looks fresh and convincing. Eagle eyed observers will note I gave the American release a 4.0, while I'm giving this one a 3.5. This may be evidence I was feeling overly generous with the American release, or maybe am being overly stingy now, but I just wasn't quite as thrilled with the look of the film this time as I was when I reviewed it for its American release. My actual score is 3.75.

Love and Death Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Love and Death features a rather boisterous sounding LPCM 2.0 mono track, which is for all intents and purposes identical with the DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track on the American release. Allen turned to the classics for his music for Love and Death, and the film is awash in the tambourine and trumpet filled spectacular sounds of Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé. Lieutenant Kijé has matriculated into pop and jazz music with rather stunning regularity, including tunes by the Sauter Finegan Orchestra (Midnight Sleigh Ride), The Free Design (their Kijé's Ouija is a really fun song), Blood, Sweat and Tears (40,000 Headmen) and Sting (Russians). Here Allen utilizes it in its original orchestral setting and it provides a perfectly astringent counterpoint to the goings on, sounding clear and clean in this lossless presentation. Dialogue is similarly clean sounding, and this problem free track has no signs of age related damage like dropouts or noise.

Love and Death Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 2:33)

Note: Arrow provided check discs for review purposes, so I can't comment on any additional supplements in terms of insert booklet essays and the like.

Love and Death Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Maybe it's just my genetic predisposition toward feeling simpatico with regard to something this ostensibly "Russian," but Love and Death has always been one of my favorite Allen films. It has the flat out goofiness of early, more nonchalant, entries like Bananas while beginning, if only jokingly most of the time, to address some substantive issues like, well, you know, love and death. Allen and Keaton play their stereotypical roles here, but they play them to the hilt, and Love and Death has a rather unexpectedly epic and sumptuous feel for such an otherwise proto-indie feeling film. Technical merits are generally very strong and even without a bevy of supplemental material, Love and Death comes Highly recommended.