Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Smithereens Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 29, 2018

Susan Seidelman's "Smithereens" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new video program with director Susan Seidelman and actor Susan Berman; archival audio commentary; and two short films. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Rebecca Bengal and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked'.

Everything will be different in LA

Treat others the way you want to be treated. The soundness of this statement will never age, ever. Regardless of the ways in which a society evolves, one’s life is always defined by just a few crucial choices and the type of interactions that one engages in because of them. How well one manages the latter then determines the quality of one’s life. This is essentially the secret behind happiness.

Susan Seidelman’s directorial debut is set in New York City during that very specific moment when the punk movement started dying and the majority of its ‘true believers’ were gradually flushed out. Its main character, Wren (Susan Berman), is a young girl who not only does not yet recognize the irreversible trend, but is actually convinced that the big and liberating punk wave is still rising. It is why she does not have the patience to focus on relationships that may require her to change the way she lives her life -- if anyone, including her old friends, even casually suggests that she commits to anything that might disrupt her journey, she instantly walks away.

But one day she bumps into Paul (Brad Rijn), who is handsome, kind, and just the right guy that a girl would want to fall in love with, and the two spend some time together. Wren even visits his funky van with which he made the trip from Montana after he decided that an aspiring artist like him ought to try his luck in the Big Apple. The two quickly realize that there is some genuine chemistry between them, but as soon as Paul tries to convinced Wren to end her journey and begin a new one with him she abandons him. Around the same time Wren also meets Eric (Richard Hell), an egoistic ‘star’ who is convinced that it is only a matter of time before a studio scout recognizes his talent and then offers him a pile of cash to sign a record deal. Wren then allows him to convince her that she would make a perfect manager, and while she plans to move to LA with him gets thrown out of her apartment. For a short period of time she attempts to use the people that she knows like her idol Eric does his ‘friends’, but very quickly comes to realize that while being on her journey she has alienated all of them and they no longer care about her.

Smithereens has a good number of very funny moments, but it actually uses the awakening of its star to highlight how a ruthless socio-economic grinder basically transformed the punk idealists into permanent social outcasts. In the final phase of this transformation many of these people lost their lives because they either could not make the necessary adjustment to survive, or simply did not think that the recovery was worth the effort. This truly was a very, very sad cycle.

The ugly from the final phase is avoided, but on the other hand there are no attempts to glamorize the inevitable either. (And this is the exact opposite of what occurs in Alex Cox’s classic punk drama Sid & Nancy). Seidelman gives Wren plenty of time to deal with her misery and when at the end she finally grasps the exact nature of her reality walks away from her. In other words, the film’s primary focus is on the destruction of Wren’s idealism, not on her actual journey and physical self-destruction.

The leads are good, but some of the supporting actors are definitely overplaying their characters. The seemingly perpetually horny guy that tries hard to convince Wren’s girlfriend to have a hot bubble bath with him is especially unconvincing.

The original soundtrack features a few very cool tracks from The Feelies: “The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness”, “The Loveless Love”, and “Original Love”.

Smithereens Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Susan Seidelman's Smithereens arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner from the 16mm A/B camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline, Susan Seidelman.
Colorist: Gregg Garvin/Roundabout Entertainment, Burbank, CA.
Restoration: Criterion Post, New York."

I do not have a DVD release of Smithereens in my library to perform direct comparisons, but what I saw on the Blu-ray release is enough for me to declare that the film has not looked this healthy and vibrant before. The visuals have all of the strong organic qualities that very recent masters ensure on a large screen they become quite pronounced. Density in particular is outstanding, and when native fluctuations occur the visual effects look very authentic. There are no traces of sharpening adjustments. The primary colors are stable, nicely balanced, and properly saturated. There are no age-related imperfections. 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).

Smithereens Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The soundtrack incorporates plenty of organic sounds and noises, but it also uses some really great tunes from indie bands that a special flavor to the action. So dynamic intensity is limited, but all of the basic qualities that we scrutinize in our reviews -- clarity, depth, balance, and stability -- are excellent. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

Smithereens Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Susan Seidelman and Susan Berman - in this new video program, director Susan Seidelman explains how her fascination with cinema began and discusses the tremendous impact the work of Lina Wertmuller (The Seduction of Mimi, Seven Beauties) had on her, her appreciation for the cinematic style promoted by the French New Wave directors and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and the genesis of Smithereens and the cultural scene in New York City at the time. Actress Susan Berman also addresses the sense of freedom that defined the city at the time and the personality of the characters from the film. The program was created exclusively for Criterion in 2018. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• And You Act Like One Too (1976) - presented here is a short film that Susan Seidelman directed while she was a film student at New York University. The short can be viewed with a new video introduction by the director. In English, not subtitled. B&W. (26 min, 1080p).

• Yours Truly, Andrea G. Stern (1979) - presented here is a short film that Susan Seidelman directed while she was a film student at New York University. The short can be viewed with a new video introduction by the director. In English, not subtitled. Color. (38 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, Susan Seidelman explains in great detail how the idea for Smithereens emerged while she was still living the East Village, how and where different parts of the film were shot (apparently over three different periods), how Richard Hell essentially played different variations of himself, how the 16mm version was funded and the additional 35mm version edited with additional music (Jonathan Demme's role in introducing The Feelies to her), the film's screening at the Cannes Film Festival, etc. The commentary, which is moderated by David Gregory, was recorded for Blue Underground in 2004 and initially appeared on the label's DVD release of the film.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Rebecca Bengal's essay "Breakfast at the Peppermint Lounge" and technical credits.

Smithereens Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Right before the punk movement died and the arrival of AIDS, New York City was an affordable playground that attracted a lot of colorful characters that were simply happy to live their lives one day at a time. But then the good times ended and many of them were transformed into permanent social outcasts. Susan Seidelman's first feature film, Smithereens, is about a punk idealist who loses everything and then suddenly realizes that she will have to spend the rest of her life struggling to survive in a 'new' and unforgiving world. It is a lovely little film that offers a very unique trip back in time. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a solid new 2K restoration that was supervised by director Seidelman. RECOMMENDED.