6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
With a serial strangler on the loose, a bookkeeper wanders around town searching for the vigilante group intent on catching the killer.
Starring: Woody Allen, Kathy Bates, John Cusack, Mia Farrow, Jodie FosterComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The dictionary definition of neurosis typically runs something like:
Mild mental illness involving symptoms of stress, and often including excessive and irrational anxiety or obsession.Woody Allen typically plies neurotic waters in his films, quite often with regard to the characters he himself plays in them. But Allen’s sadsack men are typically neurotic about picayune matters of everyday life as well as overarching metaphysical aspects. In an ironic way, these exhibitions of various neuroses are based upon an essentially rational understanding of the world (despite that above definition), at least insofar that Allen’s characters often sense that there’s a baseline of normalcy available to them, if only they could push through the mishegos that fate or some Divine Presence has thrust in their way like some kind of galactic obstacle course. What, then, to make of a neurotic who exists in a completely irrational, indeed Kafkaesque, environment, where nothing really tends to make much sense and the forces of chaos are so rampant as to make any attempt to carve “meaning” out of existence a largely laughable enterprise? That’s just one of the problems confronting not just Kleinman, the character Allen plays in Shadows and Fog, but any audience member coming to the film itself. This 1991 outing was Allen’s homage to Abstract Expressionism, and it blends a number of cinematic referents, including everything from M to Nosferatu to films not generally thought of as being within the German Abstract Expressionist movement, like The Phantom Carriage, all within a context which recalls the labyrinthine excesses of such Kafka outings as The Trial. But because this is Allen in his quasi-dramatic mode, Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini can’t be very far away, and in this particular instance, it’s probably the Bergman of Sawdust And Tinsel and the Fellini of La Strada, for Shadows and Fog just so happens to also include a story involving various circus folks and their marital discord. The film is visually arresting for its entire running time, but from a story standpoint is often problematic. Allen’s typically fine ear for dialogue also tends to fail him throughout this film, and Shadows and Fog has some extremely stilted moments as a result.
Shadows and Fog is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Of all of Allen's black and white films, it's at least arguable that Carlo di Palma's lensing is his most evocative for the noted director, with whom he collaborated repeatedly. Allen and di Palma repeatedly reference Abstract Expressionist visual ideas, with deep chiarascuro lighting effects that deliberately evoke some of the most iconic motion pictures of an earlier era. Probably due to the fact that so much of the film is shrouded in darkness and/or dimly lit moments, speckling, notably white speckling, is more obvious than it might otherwise be. There's also a rather problematic sequence starting at circa 16:59 and lasting for about a minute and a half where it appears some kind of damage has occurred to the elements. There are repeated smudges which crawl through the imagery here, giving a quasi-flickering look. The grain field is quite heavy throughout the presentation, but the encode, while perhaps not optimal, has no major issues with resolution. Due to both the heavy grain and the dark ambience, many shots have a pretty soft appearance, though detail can still be quite commendable in close-ups. Black levels are equally commendable by and large (there's slightly variable contrast), and gray scale is nicely modulated, especially in some of the extremely moody "exterior" shots of the fog enshrouded village alleyways.
The vintage recordings of Kurt Weill that infuse Shadows and Fog can sound slightly boxy and/or tinny at times (as befits their sources), but otherwise the DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track is surprisingly full sounding, offering good support for the film's dialogue and occasional amibent environmental effect. There's nothing very showy about either the sound design or its presentation, but what's here is solid and problem free.
Shadows and Fog is certainly one of Allen's more provocative efforts, but that doesn't easily translate into quantifiable "entertainment" value. The film is often quite haphazard feeling, and Allen's screenplay, while tangentially brushing up against any number of subjects the auteur tends to favor, is halting and not overly organic feeling, as if it were cobbled together more Frankenstein style than in Kafka's deliberately obfuscatory but cohesive way. Probably best appreciated as one of the more out there curios of Allen's long and varied career, Shadows and Fog at least has the distinction of being something different. There are some passing issues with video quality, but on the whole and with caveats about the film itself noted, Shadows and Fog comes Recommended.
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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