6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Mickey King, a writer of second-rate pulp crime novels living in Rome, is hired to ghost write the autobiography of a dying movie star known for his on-screen portrayal of and real-life friendships with gangsters.
Starring: Michael Caine, Mickey Rooney, Lionel Stander, Lizabeth Scott, Nadia CassiniThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Star Michael Caine, director Mike Hodges and producer Michael Klinger worked together on 1971’s Get Carter, a film which was met with at least some critical befuddlement at the time of its original release, and which faltered at the United States box office (it did much better in its native UK), but which went on to achieve a pretty considerable cult status. That status hadn’t yet developed by 1972, when the aforementioned trio reunited to make Pulp, a film which, unlike Get Carter, hasn’t ever really come under critical reassessment the way the three’s first collaboration has. Pulp is in many ways the diametric opposite of Get Carter, despite both films featuring a plot that is at least somewhat tethered to the world of organized crime. If Get Carter was an entry determined to bring English filmmaking the same kind of hard boiled crime film that had long been a staple of American cinema, a genre which had perhaps not received its due in the United Kingdom due to that nation’s inherent reserve (and maybe even politeness), Pulp is just a big goofy shaggy dog story that posits Caine as pulp fiction writer Mickey King, who churns out salacious paperbacks by the bucket full under a variety of patently hilarious pseudonyms (S. Odomy, Les Behan, et al.). King is something of a wastrel, as he himself admits in some of the film’s ubiquitous (and often pretty cheeky) voiceover, where he confesses he just up and left his wife and children several years previously in order to pursue his dream of being an author. The film begins with an amusing vignette documenting a “typing service” (if you don’t know what that is, Google is your friend) which is transcribing King’s latest dictation of a supposed masterwork, and Hodges’ often playful screenplay delights in the sights and sounds of a roomful of uptight and evidently very amorously inclined older women listening intently to King’s recitation of various unmentionable acts. When King shows up to pick up his completed manuscript, he’s ushered into the offices of the service’s manager, who is obviously very gay and urges King to privately reach out and touch him (so to speak), even if he also states that King’s work is not appropriate for this particular business. Already the film is engaging in a cheeky sensibility, one which simply continues once King gets hired to ghostwrite the autobiography of a mystery man who has some kind of nefarious past.
Pulp is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The insert booklet included with this release contains the following information on the transfer:
Pulp has been exclusively restored for this release by Arrow Films. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono audio.Perhaps the most interesting thing about this verbiage is the second paragraph, one which might be tooled to keep people from thinking the kind of surprisingly dowdy, brownish look of much of this film was some kind of grading error. Rawi actually talks about the prevalence of browns, beiges, ochres and other tones in this same general spectrum that keep the film from really popping the way you might think something filmed on Malta would, or maybe even "should". The presentation is quite grainy looking most of the time, something that can keep midrange or wide shots from offering a ton of detail (see screenshot 6). While this heavy grainfield resolves naturally, it does tend to occasionally splotch a bit, and there are a couple of scenes in steamy environments where things are understandably hazy looking. The restoration has delivered a nearly damage free presentation, though eagle eyed viewers may still catch some tiny flecks and scratches here and there.
The original 35mm interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director Scanner at EFilm, Burbank. Picture grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve. Picture restoration was performed using PFClean software. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches and other instances of film wear were reapired or removed thorugh a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. Image stability was also improved.
Director of Photography Ousama Rawi supervised the colour grading for this new restoration. The specific visual design for Pulp was carefully created in shooting and lighting. This look has been faithfully reproduced for this presentation.
All original material were made available for this restoration by MGM.
The mono soundtrack was created by MGM.
Pulp features a problem free and serviceable LPCM 2.0 mono track, one which has no problem supporting dialogue, voiceover (which is quite abundant), and a rather charming score by none other than George Martin (if that name doesn't ring any bells, I refer you to my Produced by George Martin Blu-ray review). There are no issues with distortion, dropouts or other damage.
- Gallery 1 (1080p; 8:20)
- Gallery 2 (1080p; 8:20)
- Gallery 3 (1080p; 8:20)
- Gallery 4 (1080p; 8:10)
Pulp has at least a couple of glaring lapses in logic, and it ultimately ends up being a pretty convoluted shaggy dog story, but it's quirky beyond belief and offers some really fun and at least occasionally funny performances. Arrow has assembled a nice package with strong technical merits and some appealing supplements. Recommended.
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