Mister Johnson Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Mister Johnson Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 18, 2015

Winner of Best Actor Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Bruce Beresford's "Mister Johnson" (1991) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new interviews with Pierce Brosnan; new interview with producer Michael Fitzgerald; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Neil Sinyard's essay "Off the Beaten Track". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for he main feature. Region-A "locked".

"I could teach you to be a civilized lady... and you could do no work at all."

Bruce Beresford directed Mister Johnson in 1990. The film is based on Joyce Cary’s 1939 novel of the same name, which is one of four novels the English writer completed after he spent seven years in Nigeria as a political officer.

In a small village somewhere in Colonial Nigeria, Mister Johnson (Maynard Eziashi) feels blessed. He is an educated black man who has started working for a strict district officer, Harry Rudbeck (Pierce Brosnan, The World Is Not Enough), whose ambition is to build a large road. Mister Johnson makes sure that all of Rudbeck’s documents are in order and that his letters to his superiors in London are dispatched on time.

Mister Johnson also pays very close attention to Rudbeck’s manners and anything he has to say about England. He is fascinated by its history and traditions, and though he has never visited the country, he even considers himself English. Occasionally, he enthusiastically reminds the villagers and the local tribal leaders that he is different.

A few unwise decisions, however, dramatically change Mister Johnson’s life. In a short period of time, he loses his clerk job and soon after that his beautiful wife (Bella Enahoro) leaves him. An altercation with the bubbly English owner (Edward Woodward, Breaker Morant) of the only general store in the village also forces his former employer to arrest him.

The film’s main point is that the English system of values cannot be imposed on another nation without seriously undermining its identity and in the process creating great tension between those who are willing to embrace it and those who reject it. The various mistakes Mister Johnson makes throughout the film highlight the key reasons why.

There is another very good point, however, which remains relevant today. Rather surprisingly -- or not -- the most discriminating character in the film is actually Mister Johnson. His enthusiasm for his newly adopted identity is so overwhelming that eventually his actions discredit nearly everything that he supposedly believes in. Rudbeck and some of the local tribal leaders can see Mister Jonson’s dangerous transformation, but they both fail to confront him for seemingly good reasons. Shortly after, a misguided and dangerous monster emerges and it is only a matter of time before innocent people die. To some this entire scenario may seem rather dated because the old colonial order is a thing of the past, but it is difficult not to think of some of the most controversial political leaders today as slightly more complex replicas of Mister Johnson. (One could even successfully argue that through various political and financial organizations the old colonial order has been restored and big nations once again easily dictate the fates of small nations).

The film was shot on location in Nigeria and at times the visuals are truly quite extraordinary. Special reflectors were used in a variety of different ways to create the very warm and rich yellow look. The film was lensed by cinematographer Peter James, who also collaborated with director Beresford on the multiple Oscar winner Driving Miss Daisy.

The period orchestral score was composed by Georges Delerue (Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist, Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt).

Mister Johnson 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, Bruce Beresford's Mister Johnson arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at Deluxe London. The color grading was supervised by director Bruce Beresford. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, flicker, and jitter.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline.
Colorist: Gregg Garvin/Modern VideoFilm, Burbank, CA."

Virtually the entire film has a very lush period yellow look, which is beautifully recreated by the new restoration. Depth and clarity are outstanding, regardless of whether there is an abundance of natural light or light happens to be restricted (see screencaptures #7, 8, and 10). Contrast levels remain stable. There are absolutely no traces of compromising degraining or sharpening adjustments. As expected after a new 4K scan, the grain is evenly and beautifully resolved throughout the entire film. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, the film looks spotless -- there are no large debris, cuts, stains, or damage marks. To sum it all up, the new 4K restoration of Mister Johnson is fantastic, and I am convinced that it will be the definitive presentation of the film. (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).

Mister Johnson Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Clarity and depth are fantastic, but you should not expect any sizable dynamic movement. Indeed, the film's original sound design is fairly modest and there are only a few sequences where Georges Delerue's soundtrack effectively makes its presence felt. The dialog is crisp and clean and it is very easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Mister Johnson Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bruce Beresford - in this brand new video interview, director Bruce Beresford discusses the many challenges he and his crew faced while shooting Mister Johnson on location in Nigeria, the unique warm look of the film and cinematographer Peter James' lensing, some of the key themes in the film, the new elements some of the actors brought to the film (which were not scripted), the film's critical reception, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080p).

• Michael Fitzgerald - in this new video interview, producer Michael Fitzgerald discusses his involvement with Mister Johnson, which was apparently John Huston's dream project. Michael Fitzgerald also explains how and why he approached Bruce Beresford and how Maynard Eziashi was cast to play the main characters in the film. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Maynard Eziashi - in this new video interview, actor Maynard Eziashi recalls how he was cast to play Mister Johnson and the preparation process for the role, and discusses some of the symbolism in the film, his relationship with Bruce Beresford during the shooting of the film, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 1080p).

• Pierce Brosnan - in this new video interview, Pierce Brosnan discusses his contribution to Mister Johnson, the experience of making a film in a completely unknown country, Bruce Beresford's directing methods and his attention to detail, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - original trailer for Mister Johnson. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Neil Sinyard's essay "Off the Beaten Track". (The author is Emeritus Professor of Film Studies at the University of Hull in the UK).

Mister Johnson Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I found Mister Johnson's enthusiasm both admirable and unsettling at the same time. In a way it is just as damaging as the system of values that has been imposed on his country and his people and therefore his downfall is hardly surprising. The film is wonderfully directed by Bruce Beresford and Maynard Eziash is very convincing as the ambitious clerk. Criterion's upcoming release of Mister Johnson is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration, which I think is every bit as impressive as the one that was done for Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant. RECOMMENDED.