7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
A wounded mobster holes up in a reclusive rock star's decaying mansion.
Starring: Mick Jagger, James Fox, Anita Pallenberg, Anthony Valentine (I), Michèle BretonDrama | 100% |
Surreal | 41% |
Music | 32% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
The similarity between the artist and the criminal has been a recurring theme since at least Shakespeare's time. Both figures operate by trickery and deception, both tend to live outside social norms and both flout convention. Artists may have become more respectable today, when mass entertainment has allowed some of them to become rich and famous, but then again criminals have done the same thing, because the same era values notoriety above everything else. Mafia dons can be media stars, and convicted felons can be lionized as wolves of Wall Street. Donald Cammell's screenplay for Performance planted this artist/criminal duality in London of the late Sixties, where he knew both the entertainment scene and the seedy underworld of "the Firm" (as local organized crime was known) and its enforcers. Cammell created a story in which one of those enforcers met his doppelganger in the form of a reclusive pop star, and their identities criss-crossed in strange and inexplicable ways reminiscent of his favorite author, Argentine short story writer Jorge Luis Borges. Cammell had always envisioned Mick Jagger as the pop star, and Jagger, who wanted to explore a film career, was eager to play the part. When Marlon Brando turned down the role of the criminal, British actor James Fox stepped in. Since Cammell had never directed a film before, he partnered with respected cinematographer Nicolas Roeg, whose unique eye for color and texture, combined with Cammell's preference for New Wave editing and immediacy, ensured that Performance wouldn't look like most films. Chance played its part as well. When Cammell, Roeg and producer Sanford Lieberson brought their cut to Warner Bros. in 1968, the studio hated it and insisted on various changes. Cammell responded with edits that gave Warner what they wanted but also made Performance more elliptical, hallucinatory and intellectually complex. The studio shelved the film for two years, then gave it a half-hearted theatrical release in 1970. It quickly became a cult classic.
Co-director Roeg served as cinematographer on Performance. His well-known ability to make apparently random clutter look delicate and beautiful has never been more in evidence. The image on Warner Archive Collection's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is remarkable, assuming the viewer has the right expectations. Roeg uses soft, diffused light, but within that limitation he captures plenty of detail, whether in Chas's home, his criminal hangouts with Harry Flowers, or the various rooms and halls of Turner's vast mansion, with its apparently random decor, multiple mirrors and (for the time) state-of-the-art electronics. Colors range from delicate and pastel to rich and saturated; the color red is especially important in the film's design. Blacks are good enough to accurately represent the barrister's robes in the courtroom scene, and contrast is sufficient without being overstated. A fine grain pattern is evident throughout. At a high (for Warner) average bitrate of 30.00 Mbps, Performance has been allotted sufficient bandwidth to support all of its elaborate editing and jagged cuts. Compression issues have not compromised the transfer.
First of all, as promised by WAC, the line "Here's to old England!", which disappeared from the cut of Performance released on the 2007 Warner DVD, has been restored to the "Memo from Turner" sequence. Performance was released in mono, which is presented here in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 with identical left and right front channels. The track has excellent dynamic range, with smooth highs and deep bass extension that provides a solid bottom for "Memo from Turner" as well as for the hum of Turner's synthesizer and the rest of the musical score composed and arranged by Jack Nitzsche (An Officer and a Gentleman ). In keeping with its unusual visual editing, the soundtrack of Performance is an audio collage of voices, vehicles, glass breaking, blows being exchanged, water dripping, phones ringing and dozens of other sounds (and also, on occasion, dead silence). Some of the sound effects are part of the current scene, some belong to the previous scene and some are part of the scene to come. The effects are very clear, and generally so is the dialogue, although some lines are deliberately buried in the mix. Also, the Cockney accents can be hard for an unaccustomed American ear to interpret. If necessary, subtitles are available. Note added on April 3, 2014: An alert reader has spotted another difference between WAC's Blu-ray and the 2007 DVD: the vocal performance by Johnny Shannon as Harry Flowers. If you play the two discs side-by-side, it is obvious that these are two distinct renderings of the same dialogue, although I couldn't say for certain which one is correct. The reader who first spotted the discrepancy maintains that Flowers on the DVD sounds "more Cockney", but to my ear neither version is so heavily Cockney as to be "authentic". An inquiry on WAC's Facebook page prompted the initial response that "[w]ith the exception of the re-insertion of 'Here's to Old England' in the Memo to Turner sequence, the audio tracks on the BD and the DVD are identical"--which is obviously not correct. However, after further consideration (and the publication of this Note), WAC announced that they were investigating the matter. My own view is that this issue is sufficiently minor that it shouldn't affect enjoyment of the Blu-ray, except for long-time fans who know every syllable by heart. More than most films since the silent era, Performance depends primarily on its visuals. But prospective purchasers should be aware of the issue.
I remember sitting in a theater watching Performance when it was first released, realizing that the imagery was too rich to grasp in one sitting and knowing that I would have to revisit it more than once. Every time I've watched the film since then, I see new things, but even now I couldn't say definitively what happens, because the narrative drops in and out of realism in ways that are deliberately left open to interpretation. Performance is a cinematic experience. Much more than any popcorn movie, it's a ride you simply have to take, but this is one where you don't dare turn off your brain, even for a second. WAC has given it a superior treatment on Blu-ray, which is highly recommended.
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