Opening Night Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Opening Night Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 4, 2013

Winner of Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival, John Cassavetes' "Opening Night" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include two original trailers for the film; archival video interview with actors Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara; archival video interview with producer and cinematographer Al Ruban; and an excerpt from an archival audio interview with director John Cassavetes conducted by film scholar Michel Cement. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring essays by Gary Giddins, Kent Jones, Kiselyak, Stuart Klawans, Dennis Lim, and Phillip Lopate; writings by and interviews with Cassavetes; and tributes to the filmmaker by director Martin Scorsese; actor and writer Elaine Kagan, Cassavetes’s former secretary; and novelist Jonathan Lethem. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Myrtle Gordon

Note: Opening Night is part of Criterion's upcoming John Cassavetes: Five Films Blu-ray box set.

After an exhausting rehearsal, Broadway star Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands, Gloria, A Woman Under the Influence) witnesses the accidental death of a young girl who has been waiting in the pouring rain to see her. Deeply disturbed, Myrtle returns to her hotel room, pours herself a drink, and begins thinking about life.

The girl’s death unleashes a sea of thoughts that push Myrtle on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown. The alcohol temporarily calms her down, but then the painful realization that she is aging crushes her. When Myrtle’s acting partner Maurice Aarons (John Cassavetes) tries to console her, she quickly rejects him because she is convinced that he does not understand what she is going through.

But Maurice does. He also understands that Myrtle is an alcoholic and needs serious help. He can’t offer any, but when rehearsing together he does his best to cover the signs revealing that she is an emotional wreck. It has been working well until recently, but not anymore.

Manny Victor (Ben Gazzara, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Anatomy of a Murder), who has been directing Myrtle for years, knows exactly why. In the new play they are preparing, Myrtle plays an aging woman who is also falling apart. It is the perfect role for Myrtle, but also the cruelest one she has ever had to play - because the woman’s weaknesses, frustrations, and pains are the same ones Myrtle has secretly been washing away with alcohol.

It is impossible not to compare Opening Night to A Woman Under the Influence. Both films are similarly chaotic and at times so tense and direct that they become incredibly difficult to endure. Also, in both films Rowlands is enormously impressive.

A Woman Under the Influence, however, is a far better film. Perhaps the biggest reason why is the fact that in Opening Night there isn’t a second strong figure, such as Peter Falk’s Nick, to absorb some of the tension. Manny and Maurice are often around Myrtle, but they are nothing more than friendly observers of her misery.

The sense of intimacy, which in A Woman Under the Influence brings the viewer in Nick and Mabel’s world, is also missing in Opening Night. It is clear why Myrtle is collapsing, but left alone with her thoughts she looks like a valuable patient who is repeatedly placed in different situations for no other reason but to study her reactions. For awhile the experiment works, but eventually it becomes seriously off-putting. (A few of the scenes where Myrtle humiliates herself on stage are particularly difficult to watch).

Tighter editing most likely would have transformed Opening Night into a far better film. The second act in particular, where Myrtle still does her best but fails to maintain some balance in her personal life, feels seriously bloated.

Rowlands and Gazzara are terrific, but this should not be surprising as both were very comfortable with Cassavetes' directing methods. On the other hand, the character Cassavates chose to play is very unusual. You will know why after you see the film.

Opening Night 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, John Cassavetes' Opening Night arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"This high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit DataCine from the original 35mm camera negative and restored by Criterion. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm magnetic audio track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.

Transfer supervisor: Maria Palazzola.
Colorist: Gregg Garvin/Modern VideoFilm, Burbank, CA."

The numerous extreme close-ups boast very good detail and depth. The outdoor footage also conveys pleasing fluidity. Despite the frequent camera movement, contrast and sharpness levels also remain stable. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Sharpening adjustments also have not been applied. Image stability is excellent. There is a good range of warm and well saturated, stable and natural colors. There absolutely no traces of color boosting. Furthermore, there are no compression anomalies, but there are a couple of scenes where some extremely light artifacts sneak in (see screencapture #19). Lastly, there are a few tiny flecks that pop up, but there are absolutely no large cuts, damage marks, debris, stains, or warps to report in this review. All in all, this is a very good organic presentation of Opening Night that should please its admirers. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Opening Night Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
br> Opening Night does not have a prominent music score. Unsurprisingly, dynamic intensity is fairly limited. The dialog is consistently crisp, clean, and very easy to follow. For the record, there are no pops, audio dropouts, problematic background hiss, or distortions to report in this review.

Opening Night Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - two original trailers for Opening Night. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080i).

• Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara - in this archival interview, actors Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara discuss their contribution to Opening Night, which is the one and only film directed by John Cassavetes in which they appear together. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion at Rowland's home in Los Angeles in 2004. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080i).

• Al Ruban - in this archival interview, Al Ruban discusses his professional relationship and work with director John Cassavetes. Mr. Ruban was Opening Night's producer and cinematographer. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080i).

• Cassavetes Audio Interview - an excerpt from an audio interview with director John Cassavetes conducted by film scholar Michel Cement in 1978. In English, not subtitled. (29 min).
  
  1. The play within the film
  2. Cinema vs. theater
  3. A very difficult role
  4. A new departure/The actress
  5. The last scene

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring essays by Gary Giddins, Kent Jones, Kiselyak, Stuart Klawans, Dennis Lim, and Phillip Lopate; writings by and interviews with Cassavetes; and tributes to the filmmaker by director Martin Scorsese; actor and writer Elaine Kagan, Cassavetes's former secretary; and novelist Jonathan Lethem.

Opening Night Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Opening Night, the final film in Criterion's John Cassavetes: Five Films Blu-ray box set, is arguably the most difficult one to endure. It is an incredibly tense and at times seriously disturbing film that is too focused on its main protagonist's misery. Unsurprisingly, however, Gena Rowlands is spectacular as the disillusioned alcoholic. See Opening Night after you have seen the rest of the films in the collection. RECOMMENDED.