Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Stay Hungry Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 30, 2017

Bob Rafelson's "Stay Hungry" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no bonus features on the release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Gotta close the deal, man

Just a few summers ago most folks likely would have dismissed Bob Rafelson’s film Stay Hungry as being 'a bit out there’. There is no denying that it has an uncommon sense of humor -- or at least this is what folks that are unfamiliar with Rafelson’s work would conclude, though in reality it is very common for his style -- but it actually offers a pretty accurate deconstruction of the system that helps America choose its winners and losers. In other words, instead of being structured as a straightforward satire, the film blends elements from a couple of different genres and while it has plenty of fun with its eccentric characters produces a number of factual observations about a range of serious social subjects.

The film is set in Birmingham, Alabama sometime during the late 1970s and follows closely the wealthy bachelor Craig Blake (Jeff Bridges), who is about to become the main player in an ambitious scheme that would transform the city’s downtown area. On paper the scheme seems doable: Craig must purchase the last privately owned building in the heart of the city, an old and crumbling fitness club named Olympic Spa, and then surrender it to a group of investors with murky backgrounds that will immediately begin construction work. A year later, the investors will basically control the entire city because anybody that wants to be somebody and be visible there would have to go through them before establishing a presence in the downtown area. So shortly after the group’s final meeting Craig heads to Olympic Spa to meet its owner (R.G. Armstrong) and figure out a way to convince him to sell it, but instead of developing a business relationship with him begins dating the bubbly receptionist Mary (Sally Field). Through Mary Craig also befriends Joe Santo (Arnold Schwarzenegger), an Austrian bodybuilder who has been able to come to America with the financial assistance of the club’s owner and now plans to win a major tournament to pay him off, and after he learns more about him begins looking at life and his wealth from an entirely different angle. At this point Craig also begins to have second thoughts about his ‘business associates’, and as his relationship with Mary evolves decides that the best thing for both of them would be to cut them loose. However, his surprising decision causes a lot of people to lose their cool, and then start improvising in some quite dangerous ways.

Based on Charles Gaines' novel, Stay Hungry is yet another excellent reminder that Rafelson was an incredibly smart fella who knew how to identify the wrong and ugly in America with a great sense of humor. From corruption to dirty politics and cultural fallacies, his film basically hits all of the big and sensitive subjects that contemporary America is still trying to sort out.

The bodybuilding tournament was a damn good pretext to make Schwarzenegger relevant in the film because without it all of the footage with his character undoubtedly would have been junked. In fact, the sequences in which he ‘plays’ the violin should have been cut because it is painful to watch him even trying to hold it right, let alone pretend that he knows how to use it.

The final twenty or so minutes are classic Rafelson. First the owner of the club decides to take advantage of the 'gift' that has been sent his way to help him change his mind and sell, but after he inhales some incredibly powerful aphrodisiac he loses his mind and nearly destroys the building. Then Santo, half-naked and oiled, abandons the bodybuilding tournament and heads to the club with hordes of other contestants behind him that turn the city upside down. A great piece of wild Americana.

Stay Hungry Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.84:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bob Rafelson's Stay Hungry arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from a pretty good but slightly uneven remaster. A lot of the daylight close-ups, for instance look very nice, but elsewhere some optimizations could have been done to help density and fluidity. A new master would have certainly eliminated some of the black crush that sneaks in during the indoor footage. The good news here is that there are no traces of any sort of problematic digital tinkering. So while some very light unnecessary becomes evident, the entire film retains a pleasing organic appearance. Colors are healthy and natural, but some of the nuances can be expanded. Image stability is good. A few specks pop up, but there are no distracting large cuts, debris, stains, warped or ripped frames to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Stay Hungry Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

While the audio may not have been recently remastered, fidelity and overall balance are very nice. Also, there are no traces of distracting age-related imperfections, such as heavy background hiss, pops, or distortions. Dynamic intensity is decent, but the film's original sound design is unlikely to make an impression on folks that appreciate the potent mixes that contemporary films have.

Stay Hungry Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no bonus features to be found on this release.

Stay Hungry Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a lot of other films in Bob Rafelson's filmography that get much more attention from mainstream critics, but some of his best work is actually right here in Stay Hungry. The final twenty or so minutes where R.G. Armstrong goes nuts is pure gold, as well as a prime example of the great unconventional material that disappeared from American films after the big studios effectively distanced themselves from the auteurs and focused on quantity over quality. Olive Films' new Blu-ray release of Stay Hungry is sourced from a good master, but there are no bonus features on it. Regardless, I think that this is definitely a film worth owning. RECOMMENDED.