Punch-Drunk Love Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Punch-Drunk Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 16, 2016

Winner of Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch-Drunk Love" (2002) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; deleted scenes; new interview with composer Jon Brion; new filmed conversation with gallerist Lia Gangitano and curator Michael Connor; archival cast and crew interviews; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring Miranda July's essay "A Delegate Speaks" and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The shy workaholic

Two key elements of the story this film tells will likely shape your opinion of it. The first is easy to defend. The real world is full of people like Adam Sandler’s character, Barry Egan, eager to spend most of their time in their shells. You probably already know someone like Barry because with the expansion of social media their numbers increased dramatically, too. The second is not easy to defend because the film wants you to accept that they can all adapt to the environment in which they exist as well as Barry does. If you believe this is possible, the story’s quirkiness will never bother you, and you will likely have a great time with the film. But if you do not, it is practically guaranteed that you will be bored to tears by it.

I knew a guy once who was a lot like Barry. He was a big baseball fan, intelligent, and an unapologetic perfectionist. He also had a hard time socializing, and I knew that when he was alone with his thoughts, he routinely felt terrible about his inability to connect with people. He had these periods when he would become severely depressed and literally could not function. Playing baseball was the only ‘cure’ that worked for him. I suspect the feeling that he was part of a team and that his efforts during the game were instantly appreciated helped him bounce back. I have been to a couple of these games and the transformation I would witness at the end was truly amazing. My friend eventually met a girl who permanently forced him out of his shell, and at the right time, having fallen in love, they tied the knot. They have been parents for a while. They have two girls and a little boy who also loves baseball.

In the film, Barry’s path to happiness is different. He also meets a special girl (Emily Watson), but not before becoming involved with some creepy dude (Philip Seymour Hoffman) running a shady business out of a furniture store in Utah. Half the film is about Barry trying to distance himself from the creepy dude and his goons, while the other half is about his struggle to find the courage to reveal before the girl how he feels about her. As a result, there are huge emotional ups and downs in Barry’s daily routine that transform his entire existence into one long, strange, at times even borderline surreal rollercoaster ride. Eventually, someone decides that he has had enough and shuts down the rollercoaster, but before it happens, Barry nearly loses his mind.

The film can be quite entertaining at times but big chunks of its story feel disappointingly artificial. For example, various odd editing choices make the abrupt emotional shifts in Barry’s life look utterly unbelievable. Elsewhere, the film seems a lot more interested in your immediate reactions to some of its visual tricks rather than Barry’s condition, and when this becomes too obvious, it would feel like you are viewing a clip from a very long colorful commercial whose financiers desperately wanted to sell you a product that is not easy to sell. So, between feeling for Barry and feeling that your senses are being tested, viewing the film could be a rather strange experience. I enjoyed it but would have preferred it if it was either painfully realistic or decisively over-the-top with the stylization.

*Punch-Drunk Love was partially inspired by a true story. In 1999, David Phillips, a University of California civil engineer, spent approximately $3,000 on pudding and earned a little over 1.2 million airline miles. (Barry does something similar and vows to follow his girl while she flies around the world).

Punch-Drunk Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"Supervised by Paul Thomas Anderson, this high-definition digital transfer was created from a 35mm interpositive. The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm magnetic track.

Transfer supervisor: James Owsley/Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Colorist: Gregg Garvin/Modern VideoFilm."

The film has a very interesting visual appearance -- natural light, ambient light, and especially colors are filmed and utilized in a variety of ways to capture the essence of the rollercoaster ride that Barry Egan is trying to endure. So at times it feels like one is watching a low-budget documentary, while elsewhere it seems like the film temporarily evolves into an unusually colorful psychedelic commercial. The high-definition transfer recreates these visual contrasts incredibly well. Depth, clarity and especially fluidity are fantastic. Overall image stability is excellent as well. There are no digital or purely transfer-specific anomalies to report. (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).

Punch-Drunk Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The original sound design is surprisingly aggressive. In fact, there are a few segments that you can probably easily use to test the muscles of your audio equipment. I would specifically like to mention separation because during the crash in the second half the mixing is truly impressive. The dialog is always clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow.

Punch-Drunk Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - three original trailers for Punch-Drunk, Love. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Theatrical Trailer. (3 min, 1080p).
  2. Jeremy Bake's Love. (2 min, 1080p).
  3. "Eat Tomorrow" (1 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scenes - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. The Sisters Call. (8 min, 1080p).
  2. "Are You From California?". (3 min, 1080p).

• Mattress Man Commercial - a pretty funny clip featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, Dean Trumbell from Utah. In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080i).

• Blossoms and Blood - presented here is a twelve-minute 2002 piece by Paul Thomas Anderson featuring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson, along with music by Jon Brion. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Scopitones - presented here is collection of twelve scopitones with footage from the film. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).
  
  1. First
  2. Harp Finger
  3. Punchy Doorbell
  4. Mysterio
  5. Boy Businessman
  6. Healthy Choice
  7. He Needs Me
  8. Lena
  9. Come and Get Me
  10. Exit Love Story
  11. Sissy Lake's Love
  12. Waimanalo Walk

• Jon Brion - in this brand new video interview, composer Jon Brion explains how the soundtrack for Punch-Drunk Love was created and how the music was integrated into the film. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (28 min, 1080p).

• Recording Session - presented here is footage from scoring sessions at Abbey Road Studios (December 2001). In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080i).

• Jeremy Blake - in this filmed conversation, New York gallerist Lia Gangitano and curator Michael Connor discuss the digital artist and painter Jeremy Blake's contribution to Punch-Drunk Love and his body of work. The conversation was filmed exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Additional Artwork - presented here is additional artwork that Jeremy Blake created for Punch-Drunk Love. With music. (3 min, 1080p).

• Cannes Film Festival - presented here are studio interviews with cast and crew members that were conducted for the Cannes Film Festival in 2002, as well as the main press conference. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Studio Interviews. With Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Paul Thomas Anderson. (8 min, 1080i).
  2. Press Conference. (38 min, 1080i).

• The Pudding Guy - presented here is an archival interview with civil engineer David Phillips whose fascinating story -- he purchased a massive amount of pudding for approximately $3,000 and earned a little over 1.2 million airline miles -- was inspirational for the creators of Punch-Drunk Love. The interview was aired on NBC in 2000. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080i).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring Miranda July's essay "A Delegate Speaks".

Punch-Drunk Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is not easy to find the right person to fall in love with. The character Adam Sandler's plays in Punch-Drunk Love gets lucky and finds his special girl, but not before his life almost spins out of control. The film is quite interesting, but I cannot agree that it is as easy to like as some of its biggest defenders insist. If you have already seen it and have been wanting to add it to your collection, this new release from Criterion should make you ecstatic. The technical presentation is outstanding. RECOMMENDED.