Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 9, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Two Takes by William Greaves.

Maybe some of you have done the fun if perhaps slightly unsettling approximation of “infinity” by standing in front of a large mirror while holding another mirror in your hand aimed at the larger mirror. If you can line everything up just the right way, you can get an ostensibly never ending trail of reflections within reflections, giving a perhaps apt visual analog for the sleight of hand William Greaves attempts to pull off in his pair of exorbitantly named features, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One and Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 ½. Poised rather precariously if ultimately artfully between documentary and narrative approaches, Greaves' films explore the supposed filming of traditional fictional narratives, but with at least one layer (and arguably more than one) of "meta" aspects intruding since the filming is also being filmed by a documentary crew. But, wait, you also get — a second and third crew (in the first film at least) which are tasked with documenting further “strata” of the event from their own incrementally wider perspectives.

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ is a manifestly different experience than Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, though it employs many of the same actors and is at least somewhat tethered to the raucous, overtly theatrical "two hander" scene that a variety of actors perform in the first film. And in fact, this "sequel" starts up pretty much where the first film ended, with archival footage from that outing, which then ultimately gives way to "contemporary" sequences. Those involve the first film being screened and then William Greaves and Steve Buscemi partaking in a Q & A session which ultimately segues to new footage being shot featuring two of the actors from the first film, once again reprising their roles as a dysfunctional couple.

This doesn't have the audacious structural conceits of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, though perhaps for that reason (and frankly for others, as will be discussed), this film has more emotional resonance. Without the "layered" approach of the first film, the actual story of Alice and Freddie pokes through at least a little more, but what adds some heft to the proceedings is the simple fact that time has passed and we're revisiting both "fictional" and "real" characters (those are most definitely relative terms in an effort like this) after that passage of time, and with significant water under the bridge.

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Criterion only provided a check disc for the purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any information about the transfer that might be included in the insert booklet, though the closing credits roll discloses how many different shoots over a number of years were needed to complete the film, and so its somewhat heterogeneous appearance can probably be at least partially explained due to those circumstances. The opening section of the film is culled from the original footage, blown up to 1.78:1 but still featuring rather good detail levels and a decently suffused palette. Some of the later material, which I'm assuming was culled from video masters, can be accompanied by some significant noise (see screenshot 10), as well as combing artifacts and what look like upscaling anomalies such as stairstepping (look at screenshot 2 in full resolution to get some idea of what I'm talking about).

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ features an LPCM Mono track that works perfectly well for this pretty talky film. As with the first film, there are some inherent mix and/or amplitude fluctuations in terms of the on the fly recording done at the park, but most of the rest of the "contemporary" footage offers consistent clarity. Some cool tunes by Ron Carter are utilized and sound fine. Optional English subtitles are available.

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Criterion has packaged both of these films on one disc, and so some of the supplements are not exclusively about just one film.

• Discovering William Greaves (1080i; 1:01:15) is a 2006 piece that features William Greaves and his wife and producing partner Louise Archambault Greaves, along with St. Clair Bourne, Ruby Dee, and Scott MacDonald. This is actually a superb starting point for anyone who is either unacquainted with Greaves (who has had a rather remarkable life and career) or especially the two films in this set.


• Steve Buscemi (1080i; 12:41) is featured in a 2006 interview, where he discusses his interest in the first film and participation in the second.


• Trailer (1080i; 1:20)

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There was probably no way for William Greaves to "out meta" himself with this ostensible sequel to Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, but if accepted on its own merits, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½ probably has more honest emotion in it and seems decidedly less self aware and gimmicky. Video encounters some obstacles, but audio is fine, and the supplemental piece on Greaves is outstanding. With caveats noted, Recommended.