Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 10, 2011

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Czech director Milos Forman's "Taking Off" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Carlotta Films. The supplemental features on the disc include a video interview with director Milos Forman; short introduction by director/writer/critic Luc Lagier; and video interview with writer/director/producer Jean-Claude Carriere. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Vincent Schiavelli - This is a joint!

I like smart films and I love smart films that make me laugh. Milos Forman’s Taking Off is a smart film that had me laughing so hard I had to pause my player twice because I was literally in tears. It is a shame that during the years no one bothered to release Taking Off on SDVD in the United States.

The film begins with a bizarre rock audition somewhere in New York City - a group of young girls, amongst them the legendary Carly Simon, attempt to impress a supposedly competent jury of hippie musicians. The passion in the room is admirable but most of the singing is beyond terrible. One of the girls is Jeannie Tyne (Linnea Heacock), and she dreams of being a star. When her turn comes to impress the judges, however, she simply asks to be excused and walks away.

Fastforward. Jeannie goes back home - and then quickly disappears. Assuming that she has left for good her parents, Larry (Buck Henry, Heaven Can Wait) and Lynn (Lynn Carlin, Faces), panic. Larry starts looking for Jeannie and ends up in a café where the owner gives him a box with pictures of other missing girls, one of which happens to be there. He phones her mother, Ann (Audra Lindley, The Heartbreak Kid, Desert Hearts), who later on invites him to join the Society of Parents of Fugitive Children (S.P.F.C.).

Eventually, Lynn and Larry end up at an S.P.F.C. meeting. There they meet Ann and her husband Ben (Paul Benedict, The Man with Two Brains), and they quickly reveal to them that having their daughter "missing" has actually been extremely beneficial for their shaky marriage. At the end of the meeting a strange character (Vincent Schiavelli, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) gives the parents a masterclass on marijuana.

Director Forman’s Taking Off is an outrageously hilarious film that pokes fun at a myriad of stereotypes that were common in America during the 1970s. Unlike the Czech director’s equally great Loves of a Blonde and especially The Firemen’s Ball, however, there are hardly any political overtones in it.

The film is comprised of uneven episodes that constantly overlap each other, and the best are the ones where the parents of the missing teens are forced out of their comfort zones. Various perceptions about decency, discipline, freedom and morality are amongst the film’s many targets.

Once the parents of the "missing" girl realize that there is a whole new world out there that they do not quite fit in the film evolves into a chess game - at first the parents begin guessing and then improvising; their actions soon trigger a series of reactions from other parents that range from hilarious to bizarre to sad.

Taking Off was director Forman’s first American film, and was inspired by a newspaper article about a teenager who ran away from home to East Village. The critical responses after its premiere in New York in 1971 were overwhelmingly positive - during the same year the film also won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival - but it flopped at the box office. As a result, director Forman was quickly fired by the company that financed the film.

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Milos Forman's Taking Off arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Carlotta Films.

During the SDVD era Taking Off was a film that was extremely hard to find. It was never released on SDVD in the United States, and, to the best of my knowledge, in Europe it was available only through a Scandinavian distributor. I have never seen or tested the Scandinavian release.

The transfer Carlotta Films have used for their Blu-ray release of Taking Off has been struck from a dated source. Generally speaking, contrast levels and clarity are quite good. However, occasionally big lumps of grain mixed with plenty of noise pop up here and there and give the film a somewhat harsh look. Light edge-enhancement is also easy to spot (see screencapture #4), though it is never overwhelming. During the darker scenes light to moderate noise is present as well, but clarity and detail are still good. The color-scheme is surprisingly strong; the reds, blues, greens, grays, and blacks are rich, healthy and consistent. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. Lastly, the transfer has been cleaned up quite a bit, but occasionally tiny specks and damage marks are indeed easy to spot (see screencapture #3, bottom left). Still, in motion the film looks quite vibrant and surprisingly stable. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0 and French LPCM 1.0. For the record, Carlotta Films have provided optional French subtitles for the main feature. (Use your remote control to turn them on and off).

The English LPCM 1.0 track has a shockingly strong dynamic amplitude. I was expecting a modest loseless track and was pleasantly surprised by the depth and dynamic strength of the English LPCM 1.0 track. The audition scenes, for instance, sound great. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review.

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in 1080/50i. Therefore, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting 1080/50i to 1080/60i, or a native Region-B player and a TV set capable of displaying 1080/50i content, in order to view them in North America.

• Preface de Luc Lagier - a short introduction to the film by director/writer/critic Luc Lagier. In French, not subtitled. (7 min, 1080/50i).

• Avant "Taking Off": Milos Forman en route pour l'Amerique - a wonderful video interview with the Czech director in which he recalls how Taking Off came to exist and the socio-political climate in Europe and the United States during the 1960-70s. Filmed in May 2000 at the Lantz Office in New York City. In English, with optional French subtitled. (30 min, 1080/50i).

• Deux Europeens a New York - writer/director/producer Jean-Claude Carriere recalls his work on Milos Forman's Taking Off. In French, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080/50i).

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've seen and enjoyed Milos Forman's Loves of a Blonde and The Firemen's Ball - both available on SDVD as part of the Criterion Collection - you do not want to miss Taking Off, the Czech director's first American film. I've been trying to track down a copy of it on SDVD for my library for years, and having it on Blu-ray now is simply perfect. Let's hope that a decent, English-friendly release of Black Peter will also appear on the market. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of French distributors Carlotta Films, is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.