Roxanne Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Roxanne Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 18, 2016

Fred Schepisi's film "Roxanne" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

What could possibly be wrong here?

I avoid discussions where people criticize Hollywood for greenlighting pointless remakes of great films, but I understand exactly why so many are frustrated. Take for example the recent Ghostbusters reboot. Other than exploiting the successful image of the original film, what exactly was the new film trying to accomplish? Maybe if there was a third film with some of the same actors reprising their original roles people would have been more forgiving, but it is pretty obvious that the reboot was in fact conceived as one big and unapologetic cash grab. I am not trying to argue that films should not make money for the people that fund them, but there is a big difference between investing into an original project and supporting it to make sure that it succeeds, and spending big money on a reboot whose one and only goal is to be a magnet for gullible consumers. There are a lot of people that can see the difference and this is precisely why they are frustrated -- they want Hollywood to treat them as intelligent fans, not like clueless consumers.

I don’t know what the target audience for Fred Schepisi’s Roxanne was. It looks like Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac was something of an inspiration for the film, but I think that anyone familiar with the original character would have a very difficult time seeing Steve Martin’s fire department chief as anything else but a Steve Martin character. This is basically what makes and breaks this film. There is a man in it with a long nose and that’s pretty much where all meaningful similarities with Cyrano de Bergerac end.

The entire film is set in a small American town where most everyone acts as if C. D. Bales (Martin) is normal, but occasionally people state the obvious -- that his nose is gigantic -- and he gets upset. Then he reacts and usually someone else’s nose gets broken. Most of the time, however, C.D. is a really nice chap who just loves being silly and helping other people feel better about themselves. The cycle is altered when C.D. welcomes a rookie fireman (Rick Rossovich) into his team who makes quite an impression on the beautiful and single astronomy student Roxanne (Daryl Hannah). C.D. agrees to help Roxanne go out on a date with the fireman, but while working hard to naturally bring them together he unexpectedly falls in love with her. Meanwhile, the more Roxanne learns about the fireman, the more she begins to realize that perhaps her expectations of him might have been a bit too high.

There are a few segments where the film finds a proper tone that works for the type of story it wants to tell, but the majority of it is genuinely unfunny. The biggest problem with the material is that it constantly redefines Martin’s character and he ends up being equally unconvincing as a goodhearted clown and romantic loner who can be the special man that Roxanne sees in her dreams. To make things worse, Hannah and Rossovich are also left to struggle with characters who are so painfully naïve that at times it literally hurts to watch them try to look and sound sincere. The end result is extremely difficult to like. It is really more of a dull parody full of clichés than a charming romantic comedy with Martin appearing in top form.

* This film from Michael Gordon and this film from Jean-Paul Rappeneau actually have something to do with Rostand's original character.

Roxanne Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fred Schepisi's Roxanne arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The master that was used to source this release must have been prepared a while time ago, but I like it a lot. Detail and clarity are very good, with virtually all of the well-lit close-ups looking especially strong. The color scheme also boasts solid primaries and a very good range of healthy nuances. Depth is also pleasing, though I feel that there is some room for improvement during some wider panoramic shots. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Roxanne Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The 5.1 does expand the sound field a bit during a couple of mass sequences, but anyone expecting a dramatic difference between the 5.1 and 2.0 tracks will be hugely disappointed. This being said, there are no purely technical anomalies to report. Basically, the film's original sound design is far from ambitious and this is exactly the reason why dynamic intensity and surround are unimpressive. The dialog is clean, stable, and very easy to follow.

Roxanne Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Roxanne. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Roxanne Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've seen Fred Schepisi's Roxanne a couple of times now and I have never been able to warm up to it. Steve Martin's character is utterly unbelievable and because of him the entire film becomes one very unattractive parody. If you like the film and want to purchase a copy for your collection, you will be pleased to know that Eureka Entertainment's technical presentation is very good.