Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Taking Tiger Mountain Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 5, 2019

To quote Oliver Stone’s “JFK,” 1983’s “Taking Tiger Mountain” is an “A mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma.” Up is down, left is right in the picture, which only provides a vague sense of storytelling as it attempts to become the most esoteric endeavor of the 1980s. However, the actual effort can’t compete with the saga of its creation, where director Tom Huckabee acquired an entire film shoot from 1973 (under the care of helmer Kent Smith), taking footage that wasn’t assembled and featured no sound, gifting himself an editorial challenge to make something out of the initial work, which starred Bill Paxton, making his screen debut. It was a puzzle turned into a…well, a larger puzzle, as Huckabee elected to transform the B&W movie into a futureworld thriller, with only sound design and a few additional shots to help manipulate the initial footage into something baffling yet driven by a singular artistic vision.

If there is a plot to “Taking Tiger Mountain,” it concerns Billy (Bill Paxton), a young man who doesn’t want to participate in World War III, submitting himself for conditioning by a radical feminist organization looking to create sleeper agents to help bring down organized prostitution rings. Billy’s brain is scrambled, soon sent to Wales to pursue a flesh peddler in a small village, interacting with locals as he waits for a sign to complete his mission.

“Taking Tiger Mountain” has the initial promise of a strange adventure, but Huckabee is only using genre suggestion to help give shape to the footage. There’s no action in the movie or sense of tension. It’s more of an artful descent into Huckabee’s imagination, where he’s trying to manufacture an entire world out of the Kent shoot, questing to make sense of what was initially created. “Taking Tiger Mountain” goes inward, examining how the feminists have pulled Billy apart and put him back together again (there’s mention of the man enduring two gender reassignment surgeries), altering his sexuality and frying his brain, hoping to turn the young man into a killing machine. This isn’t a Hollywood production, with the prison footage mainly consisting of Paxton trapped in a hotel room emoting for the camera, putting on lipstick and walking around with an exposed erection, offering his thoughts on sexual fantasies and assorted psychological issues, with some scenes allegedly even using hypnotism to keep the actor in a fully submissive state. It’s a murky welcome for “Taking Tiger Mountain,” but that’s the whole idea driving the feature.

Once Billy is released into the wild, “Taking Tiger Mountain” loses even more definition, simply following the character around as he takes in the sights of the village, battles with paranoia, and often loses himself in nightmare realms, unsure how to discern reality. There’s sex as well, with Billy picking up women to satisfying previously restricted carnal appetites, leading to a few unexpectedly hardcore shots with Paxton and random ladies. Supporting the viewing experience is a sound design that’s continuously pumping out information, with Huckabee layering radio broadcasts over character interactions, soon adding strange scoring selections to encourage an overwhelming sonic presence. It’s an unusual choice, almost intending to work against the film at times, but Huckabee doesn’t drop it, giving “Taking Tiger Mountain” a running monologue that soon becomes a kind of rhythm for the production, keeping the informational beat.

Taking Tiger Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

After spending the last 35 years distributed via bootleg, "Taking Tiger Mountain" makes its HD debut with Vinegar Syndrome's AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation. The source has some wear and tear, dealing with debris, scratches, and mild warping, while some marks on the negative are intentional, adding to the artful journey. Delineation is strong, dealing comfortably with shadowy encounters, and whites remain stable. Detail comes through with care, highlighting the textures of the locations, surveying rough brick houses and unpaved roads. Skin surfaces are defined. Grain is pleasingly resolved.

Taking Tiger Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA track for "Taking Tiger Mountain" certainly has a lot to offer, with the feature investing in layered sound, with performances, radio broadcasts, and scoring stacked on top of one another during most scenes. Clarity is appreciable, but not always intended, with the chaotic sonic push of the effort hoping to scramble viewer minds. Music retains definition, and performances are fully dubbed, making it easy to follow certain dialogue exchanges. Hiss is present throughout the listening event.

Taking Tiger Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Intro (:24, HD) is a short greeting from director Tom Huckabee.

• "Taking Tiger Mountain: Revisited" (75:11, HD) is Huckabee's 2019 take on the 1983 picture, summoning the spirit of George Lucas to rework the feature, adding digital effects, new sounds, and a post-credits sequence that visually doesn't match the rest of the movie. Think what Lucas did to "THX 1138" in 2004, and that's close to the viewing experience of "Taking Tiger Mountain: Revisited."

• Taking Over 'Tiger Mountain'" (27:56, HD) returns to Huckabee, who tries to communicate just what "Taking Tiger Mountain" is. It's not an easy job. The helmer recounts the picture's 1973 origin as a project for Kent Smith, who shot 10 hours of footage with short ends from "Lenny." Huckabee recalls meeting Bill Paxton and collecting the original footage, spending years decoding what Smith shot, which was offered without story and sound. How a workable edit was created is shared, along with specific influences from William St. Burroughs. The interviewee discusses Paxton's gung-ho spirit, happily dealing with stunts and interactions with a live vulture, even going as far as to be hypnotized for a scene. The eventual 1983 release of "Taking Tiger Mountain" is detailed, along with its disappearance for the next 15 years, eventually returning to view online thanks to a terrible bootleg.

• "Revisiting 'Tiger Mountain'" (17:46, HD) explores the resurrection of the picture, with Huckabee delighted to receive a chance to go back to the original effort and rework it in many ways. The helmer discusses the visual effects he added to the movie, and provides a vague understanding of a new post-credits scene, which is meant to reflect the wisdom of age, not the nihilism of youth. It's been a 45-year-long journey for the feature, and Huckabee seems like he's only getting started, happy to continue restructuring and decorating "Taking Tiger Mountain" for years to come. Brief summaries of Burroughs's involvement in the movie and viewer interpretation are also included.

• "Interviews with Welshmen" (16:25, HD) is a short film by Kent Smith.

• A Trailer has not been included.

Taking Tiger Mountain Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Taking Tiger Mountain" is impenetrable, and that's what Huckabee is aiming for, taking inspiration from experimental writers (William S. Burroughs is credited on the film) and cinema artists to craft a full immersion into the unknown. It's certainly different, but not always compelling, as a little of the movie goes a long way, especially when one can clearly see Huckabee trying to make something out of the footage that was never meant to be. For Paxton fans (and who isn't?), seeing the late, great actor in his debut is the real treat of "Taking Tiger Mountain," giving himself completely to the cause, offering fearless work that's always the most exciting onscreen element in any given scene.