Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 19, 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 British distributors Park Circus. The supplemental features on the disc include a video interview with director Milos Forman and a gallery of stills from the film. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Trust me, baby, I am paying attention...

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 British distributors Park Circus.

The high-definition transfer the UK distributors have used for their Blu-ray release of this classic film looks very similar to the one Carlotta Films used for French Blu-ray release. I noticed the same traces of light edge-enhancement popping up at virtually the same spots (for example, some of them are very easy to see during the intense conversation in the beginning of the film where Larry is forced to go looking for Jeannie). The film grain is again mixed with a moderate amount of noise and occasionally looks blocky. This being said, contrast levels and color reproduction are very pleasing. Clarity is also pleasing, particularly during the daylight footage from New York City. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. I also did not see any large cuts, warps, or damage marks. All in all, this is a fine presentation of a film that has been extremely difficult to track down on any format during the years. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Park Circus have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The Carlotta Films Blu-ray release has an English LPCM 1.0 track (as well as a French LPCM 1.0 dub), which, to me, sounds identical to the English LPCM 2.0 track. During the audition sessions in the beginning of the film, the dynamic levels are exactly the same. And this is definitely good news, because I was quite pleased with the loseless track from the French release. The dialog is again crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. The lack of optional English subtitles on this release, however, is rather disappointing.

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Before Taking Off: Milos Forman's Road to America - an illuminating interview with the Czech director in which he recalls how Taking Off came to exist and discusses the 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, not subtitled. (30 min, PAL).

• Photo Gallery - a collection of stills from the film. (1080p).

Taking Off Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Milos Forman's Taking Off is a witty and irresistibly funny film, on par, if not better, than his Loves of a Blonde and The Firemen's Ball. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the best catalog titles to appear on Blu-ray this year. The UK release, courtesy of Park Circus, is sourced from the same master Carlotta Films used for the French Blu-ray release. Unlike the French Blu-ray release, however, the UK Blu-ray release is Region-B "locked". If you have a Region-Free player, consider importing it. It is worth every penny. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.