6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Unhappy housewife Cozy goes on the lam with a guy named Lee, whom she meets at a bar and who has found a gun by the side of the road.
Starring: Lisa Bowman, Larry Fessenden, Dick Russell, Stan Kaplan, Michael BuscemiDrama | 100% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Writer/director Kelly Reichardt is known for spare, observational dramas peopled by characters
who are isolated by circumstance, psychology or both. Hailed as a distinctive voice of American
independent cinema and winner of multiple awards from critics associations and film festivals,
Reichardt is poorly represented on Blu-ray. Cinedigm released Night Moves, her 2013 attempt to
meld her distinctive style with a thriller plot, and Oscilloscope Labs released Meek's Cutoff, her
2010 exploration of American pioneer hardships. Probably her most acclaimed film, 2008's
Wendy and Lucy, remains missing on Blu-ray in this country,
although a region-free disc is
available in the U.K.
However, Reichardt's debut feature, River of Grass, presents special challenges. First seen in
1994 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, River of
Grass was a no-budget project shot on 16mm film and barely released in theaters. An indifferent
DVD was released by Wellspring in 2003, and a standard-definition version was included as a
bonus with The Kelly Reichardt Collection issued in
England by Soda Pictures.
In 2015, Oscilloscope set out to rescue River of Grass with the help of a Kickstarter campaign.
Its efforts have produced a fine Blu-ray rendition of the first effort by this provocative and
challenging filmmaker.
River of Grass was the second film shot by cinematographer Jim Denault, who has since
graduated to studio productions such as Dinner for
Schmucks while remaining a staple of
independent productions like Trumbo. Oscilloscope's 1080p,
AVC-encoded Blu-ray is the product
of a lengthy restoration process detailed in the disc's extras. Under the auspices of the UCLA
Film & Television Archive, the original 16mm negative was sent to FotoKem to create a new IP,
which was then scanned at 2K by Modern VideoFilm Lab, followed by extensive correction for
color and contrast, as well as repair of damage to the negative.
The restored Blu-ray image cannot transcend the film's budgetary limitations, but it reproduces
River of Grass's version of a sun-drenched exurban wasteland with realistic colors and sufficient
detail to convey the "lived-in" feel of the various spaces, all of which were real locations, often
filmed without permits. Detail drops off with the light in night and indoor scenes, but the black
levels appear to be true to the source. Densities and contrast are correct, and the film's natural
grain pattern is finely resolved. Oscilloscope has mastered River of Grass with a generous
average bitrate of 33.09 and a solid encode.
River of Grass's original mono soundtrack has been transferred from the original optical track and, after restoration, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. (Note that the disc menu mistakenly characterizes the track as "stereo", although the sound collapses to the center, as is typical of 2.0 mono tracks.) The dialogue is clear throughout, even when muttered, and the minimal sound effects play with good fidelity, if somewhat limited dynamic range (reflecting the limitations of the source). Incidental music is credited to John Hill, but more memorable are various songs heard as source music, especially "Trav'lin' Light" arranged by Hill and sung by Gail Wynters.
Not every loser has the soul of a poet, and one of Reichardt's most distinctive qualities as a
filmmaker is her refusal to romanticize the forlorn existence of people like Cozy and Lee Ray.
She doesn't ask you to pity her characters, or even to like them. She just reminds you that they're
there. Oscilloscope's restoration is exemplary and recommended.
1948
1980
1980
1972
2002
Deep in the Heart | Slipcover Edition
1983
1958
1928
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2014
Limited Edition to 3000
1966
Special Edition
2000
1993
1968
1955
2014
2009
Ensayo de un crimen
1955
Special Edtion
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