Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Gingerbread Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson July 2, 2019

On paper it'd seem like an odd partnership to see John Grisham, literary master of the popular legal thriller, teeming up with Robert Altman, whose thirtieth big-screen feature, The Gingerbread Man (1998), was the nonconformist filmmaker's first thriller. But their "collaboration" was indeed short-lived. First, it's important to clarify that The Gingerbread Man was neither a novel or short story penned by Grisham. He may have initially wrote a treatment but the fact is this was the author's first screenplay. When Altman first read Grisham's script, he thought that it needed a complete rewrite. Altman rewrote it “from page one,” making the hero a very un-Grisham-like, “very flawed character,” according to the Daily News (NY). PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, the movie's distributor, was incensed at the changes Altman made. “They were pissed off at me because they thought they were going to have a John Grisham film," Altman recalls. “And I didn’t give them a John Grisham film, nor was I ever going to give them a John Grisham film.” But from a commercial standpoint, who could blame PolyGram for desiring another Grisham film? As film critic Michael Wilmington has noted, the first five films adapted from Grisham's books grossed $475 million at the US box office. Altman states on the recycled commentary on this Kino Lorber disc that PolyGram took the film out of the director's hands after test screenings and exit cards indicated it wasn't catering well to teenagers from the shopping malls. Joshua Mooney of BPI Entertainment News reported that the now-defunct studio didn't think the film was commercial enough so proceeded to re-edit it against Altman’s wishes. But preview screenings of the new cut reportedly went even worse so PolyGram bequeathed Altman with his original cut. The final screenplay credits went to "Al Hayes," Grisham's nom d'autuer. Apparently, Grisham was so unhappy with the script's overhaul and the expletives Altman inserted that he took his name off the film. Altman isn't even listed on any of the printed writing credits.

With all the damage inflicted to both sides, could Altman and PolyGram still work together to give The Gingerbread Man a respectable release? Unfortunately not. Altman told Paul Willistein of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call that PolyGram only made a total of seventeen prints. "We have evidence where cinema owners in dif­ferent places begged for it and they’d say, ‘We don’t have prints. We don’t have prints.’ And finally they’d get it and let it run for exactly a week. They’d sell out. And then they’d pull it. But that was a vindictive order from the guy who was running [Poly­Gram]. He was so [mad] at me. And he literally told them, ‘I want this movie killed.’ ” The Gingerbread Man took in $700,000 during its first six weeks and tallied a final gross of $1.6 million. October Films later bought out PolyGram and promised Altman that if Cookie's Fortune, Altman's next picture which was backed by OF, was a commercial success, it would give The Gingerbread Man a small re-release. There's no evidence that ever happened, probably because Cookie's Fortune just barely made the money back from its production budget of $10 million.

The inmate seated and the PI standing in the courtroom's near pew will later become father/son in THE JUDGE.

The obligatory courtroom scenes seem to be all that remain from Grisham's original script. The rest of The Gingerbread Man is all Altman and his typical ensemble cast. The film stars Kenneth Branagh as Rick Magruder, a Georgia lawyer, who willingly (but at the same time, unwittingly) becomes heavily involved with a troubled woman (Mallory Doss, played by Embeth Davidtz) whose being stalked by her grizzled, schizophrenic father (Robert Duvall). After Dixon Doss (Duvall) is apprehended for trespassing and breaking into his daughter's home, he's sentenced to a psychiatric ward by the judge. But Dixon's rag-tag friends break him out and Mallory goes back to feeling unsafe again.

The Gingerbread Man benefits from several very fine supporting performances, including Daryl Hannah as Magruder's law clerk, and Robert Downey Jr. as Magruder's PI, Clyde Pell. (The alcoholic Pell seems like a distant cousin of Philip Marlowe's [Elliott Gould] from Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973).] Tom Berenger appears in less than a handful of scenes but his character is arguably the "hidden engine" that drives the plot forward.

It's rare that a critic will cite a dialect coach in a review but Julia Adams deserves special mention. If no one knew anything about Kenneth Branagh before watching this film, s/he would swear he's really an American Southerner and not a Brit based on the Southeastern accent he adopts as Rick Magruder. Adams previously coached Branagh for a small, uncredited role he had in Swing Kids (1993). I also thought that the accents delivered by Hannah and Downey passed the test. After all, each aspect related to the dialogue in an Altman film was equally important.

The Gingerbread Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Gingerbread Man makes its American debut on Blu-ray courtesy of the Studio Classic's division of Kino Lorber on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25. The movie appears in its original theatrical exhibition ratio of 1.85:1. Unlike the dated print Kino worked from for its transfer for The Chamber, this one is noticeably more pristine, though a touch on the soft side. It rains frequently in the movie (particularly at night) so the transfer boasts a subdued palette. The rain actually produces a rather polished look thanks to the street lights accenting the raindrops. Red, burgundy, and green are nicely rendered. Age-related artifacts have been minimized. The main feature sports a mean video bitrate of 20965 kbps.

The 114-minute feature has been given Kino's standard eight chapter selections.

The Gingerbread Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kino supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (2278 kbps, 16-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (1413 kbps, 16-bit). Sound was always critical and intrinsic to Altman's cinematic worlds and the 5.1 track does not belie that importance. The original mix superbly captures the rain cascading down on the streets. There's one scene where a laundry truck and semi whooshes by on the road obstructing the spectator's view of Magruder (Altman playing with the audience here) and it delivers good directionality on the front speakers. Mark Isham's jazzy and suspenseful score (unreleased on album) has decent range and is used occasionally on the surrounds.

Optional English subtitles are available.

The Gingerbread Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Director Robert Altman - this commentary track first appeared on Universal's non-anamorphic widescreen version of its flipper disc back in 1998. Altman gives a candid reflection of the shoot, his thoughts on the actors and crew members, and his battle with PolyGram. The only drawback is there are several gaps in between his remarks. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:19, 480i) - an unrestored, full-frame trailer for The Gingerbread Man.

• Bonus Previews - trailers for other '90s films in Kino's catalog including The Chamber, China Moon, and Bad Company.

The Gingerbread Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Gingerbread Man has suffered from a poor release history both in theaters and on home video so kudos to Kino for bringing this excellent, underrated Altman work to high-def for the first time in the US. Koch Media has also released the film in Germany on a BD-50 with presumably better compression, though I've not seen the transfer. That edition also includes some cast/crew interviews likely pulled from the film's EPK. In either case, the consumer will get the final theatrical version that is also Altman's preferred cut. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED and a must-own for fans of the late director.