Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Short Cuts Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 22, 2016

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Director, Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The special features on this release include original promotional materials; music demos; deleted and extended scenes; archival conversation between Robert Altman and Tim Robbins; documentary film about the life and work of Raymond Carver; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Michael Wilmington. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The cop who liked clowns

Robert Altman’s Short Cuts is one giant puzzle with a lot of different pieces that can be arranged in a variety of different ways. You, the viewer, get to choose precisely what it should be -- an offbeat comedy with a pinch of drama, a vivid soap opera with an attitude, or a deliriously sad condemnation of a failing culture. It truly could be all of these things -- and even more.

The film follows closely more than twenty different characters that have one thing in common: they are in LA and are fed up with their lives. They are doctors, cops, artists, limo drivers, waiters, and sex workers, all breathing the same air and dreaming of moving on to the next phase of their existence where everything that is currently making them feel miserable would be nothing but a distant dream.

In the first half of the film the impatient ones are seen preparing for the change -- by cheating on their partners and asking their lovers to trust them that they know where they are heading. But just about all of them fail miserably and drown in the sea of lies they have personally created. The reluctant ones quietly suffer while struggling to suppress the anger growing inside them.

The mood swings become quite dramatic, especially after one couple loses their only son, but Altman refuses to interfere and restore conventional cinematic balance. This is essentially the main reason why the film can be all of the different things that are mentioned at the top of this article.

The majority of the second half is one big therapy session. A large group of people begin to reevaluate their actions and undergo character transformations that bring them closer to the people that should matter the most in their lives. The healing process then brings into focus all those ‘little things’ that should make their lives worth living.

Because of its length and the fractured structure of its narrative, Short Cuts quite easily could have been a project that demands a lot more than it offers in return. Instead, it very quickly pulls the viewer right in the middle of the world in which its characters exist and allows it to connect with them. Altman does two things that make this possible. First, he chooses not to be a judge and overanalyze their morality and choices, and this immediately brings the entire film down to earth and gives these characters human qualities that make them look and sound like real people. (Even the few oddballs, like Tom Waits’ limo driver, do not emerge as pre-shaped characters that have been given pre-scripted lines to utter). While all of these characters struggle to rebalance and rebuild their lives, Altman also maintains a clear awareness that the viewer shouldn’t be pushed to side with anyone. This ensures that even the most flawed characters are given a fair chance to redeem themselves, while at the same time it keeps the film free of the cliched subliminal messages that big-budget ‘socially aware’ Hollywood productions love to spread out.

The film is based on the short stories by Raymond Carver, but it certainly has the authentic identity of an original Altman project.

Short Cuts Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Altman's Short Cuts arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"This new 4K digital transfer was scanned from the original Super 35mm negative on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision Phoenix's was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track. The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 70mm six-track magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle, were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

Scanning: MPI, Burbank.
Transfer supervisor: Walt Lloyd.
Colorist: Lee Kline."

The film has an excellent all-around solid organic appearance that is quite impressive. I think that viewers with large screens and projectors in particular will be especially pleased with the upgrades because there are entire sections of the film where depth is vastly improved (look for the outdoor footage). The high-quality scanning has also ensured that fluidity is substantially better. The Blu-ray release also offers substantial upgrades in terms of color reproduction. Indeed, there are the primaries look very healthy and there is an expanded range of nuances that are either suppressed or missing from the previous DVD release. There is visible light and very healthy layer of grain. Overall image stability is excellent. (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).

Short Cuts Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 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.

I viewed the film with the 2.0 track and did some random comparisons with the 5.1 track. In terms of clarity and overall stability the 2.0 track never disappoints; the music is also very well balanced, never sticking out and/or creating anomalies. The dialog is easy to follow, but as it is almost always the case with Robert Altman's films there are short segments where occasionally external sounds and noises mix with it. There are no pops, audio dropouts, background hiss, or other age-related imperfections.

The 5.1 track does seem to open up the film a bit better in some areas, but I think that anyone expecting to hear a substantial difference in terms of dynamic movement will be disappointed.

Short Cuts Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Additional Scenes - presented here are two deleted scenes and one alternate take. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. "Smoking". Deleted. (2 min, 1080p).
  2. "Hey, Clown". Deleted. (1 min, 1080p).
  3. "I Threw it Away". Alternate Take. (3 min, 1080p).

• Music Demos - dierctor Robert Altman asked music producer Hal Willner to find songs that could be performed by Annie Ross and her quintet in Short Cuts. Willner got several prominent musicians to contribute material to Annie Ross, including Elvis Costello and U2's Bono and Edge. The filmmakers also chose four songs by Mac Rebennack (a.k.a. Dr. John) and the legendary songwriter Doc Pomus. Three of those songs are presented here, from the rough demo tape originally submitted by Hal Willner. Mac Rebennack sings and plays the songs on piano.
  
  1. "To Hell with Love". (3 min, 1080p).
  2. "I Don't Know You". (5 min, 1080p).
  3. "Full Moon". (4 min, 1080p).

• Luck, Trust, & Ketchup - this documentary film, created by Mike Kaplan and John Dorr, examines the production history of Short Cuts. In English, not subtitled. (90 min, 1080i).

• Marketing -
  
  1. Advertising campaigns - a collection of multiple original promotional materials for Short Cuts.
  2. Teaser, Trailer, and TV Spots -
  
  a) Teaser
  b) Trailer
  c) TV Spot: "You Have Never Seen"
  d) TV Spot: "Cast"
  e) TV Spot: "Thrilling"
  f) TV Spot: "Soap Opera"
  g) TV Spot: "Revised Soap"
  h) TV Spot: "Winner"

• Raymond Carver - this documentary film examines the life and work of Raymond Carver. It was produced by Jean Walkinshaw for PBS in 1992. In English, not subtitled. (57, 1080i).

• Reflections on Short Cuts - in this archival filmed conversation, Robert Altman and Tim Robbins discuss the themes, structure, and message of Short Cuts. The conversation was filmed exclusively for Criterion in June 2004 at Don't Tell Mama Cabaret and Piano Bar in New York City. In English, not subtitled. (29 min, 1080i).

• Music Track - an individual music track.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Michael Wilmington.

Short Cuts Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Revisiting great films like Robert Altman's The Player and Short Cuts on Blu-ray this year has been a bitter sweet experience for me. I could not be happier that these films are fully remastered and look incredible in high-definition, but I have to say that viewing them again has been a painful reminder that Hollywood no longer has big, bold and honest directors that can challenge people with their work and make them see each other and the world they share from a different angle. Today Hollywood is in the business of producing 'safe' films that aim to shut off people's minds and instincts and sell them suspicious political myths as facts. It is so, so sad. Criterion's Blu-ray release of Short Cuts is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration and represents a tremendous upgrade in quality over previous home video releases. Fans of the film will be enormously pleased with it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.