7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
Starring: John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, Pat Hingle, J.T. WalshFilm-Noir | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Grifters really should have been one of those “knock it out of the ballpark” hits, and yet quite strangely, it wasn’t. Released late in 1990, the film was director Stephen Frears’ follow up to his immensely successful Dangerous Liaisons, and it had been a personal pet project of sorts for co-producer Martin Scorsese (one of the film’s other co-producers was noted preservationist and restorer Robert A. Harris). Toplining the cast was Anjelica Huston, whose cachet may frankly have not been quite what it was directly after her 1985 Oscar win for Prizzi’s Honor, but who had just gotten another Academy Award nomination the year prior to The Grifters for Enemies, A Love Story (she would go on to get a Best Actress nod for The Grifters). Also on hand were John Cusack, who had just enjoyed one of his biggest breakout roles in Say Anything... and Annette Bening, not quite yet the major star she would soon become, but who, in the small world department, was just coming off of Milos Forman’s Valmont, another adaptation of the same source material that inspired Dangerous Liaisons. The Grifters was based on a novel by noted pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson (Thompson worked largely uncredited on a couple of Stanley Kubrick films, including The Killing and Paths of Glory, but he wrote the source novels that inspired both versions of The Killer Inside Me and The Getaway). Adapting Thompson’s novel for the screen was another noted author, Donald E. Westlake, a writer who had seen several of his own novels adapted (for better or worse) into films. Finally, The Grifters featured yet another memorable score by the inimitable Elmer Bernstein, working a kind of proto-jazz territory that he had helped to introduce to the film medium back in the 1950s. And yet despite largely favorable reviews and an ultimate four Oscar nominations (Frears, Bening and Westlake were nominated along with Huston), The Grifters never became a bona fide hit, and instead had to develop a lot of its long term appeal in the intervening years of cable broadcasts and home video.
The Grifters is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Echo Bridge Entertainment and Miramax Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While this isn't the sharpest looking high definition presentation imaginable, it's still a considerable upgrade over the DVD, with decently saturated (if sometimes admittedly pallid) color, good fine detail and an obvious layer of natural looking grain (some of the opticals have a good deal more than a mere layer, as should be expected). The elements still reveal some weaknesses, with occasional density and emulsion issues that were also clearly visible on the previous DVD. In one regard, that should put those who fear overly aggressive digital tweaking at ease, since it's obvious no restoration work has been done on the title. But some might have wished for at least a minimal clean up here, as my hunch is this film could look at last marginally better than it does in this presentation. As it stands, The Grifters is well above average, but certainly far short of reference quality.
The Grifters features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that ably supports the relatively modestly structured soundtrack of this film. Some of the more crowded scenes, like Lilly's jaunts at the racetrack and a couple of bar scenes with Roy, have decent enough depth, even if things are obviously fairly narrowly focused across a standard soundfield. Elmer Bernstein's music sounds great and well supported by this lossless track. Dialogue is also very cleanly presented. There's not a lot to write home about with regard to this mix, but there's also next to nothing to complain about, either.
The Grifters, much like its three main characters, isn't quite what it seems to be on its surface. If you're expecting an overly convoluted caper film, you'll probably be at least a little disappointed by this kind of smarmy at times character study. But as a portrait of three destitute characters trying to remain balanced in their own self-imposed vertiginous worlds, the film could hardly be better. The three leads are all exceptional, and Frears directs with his usual flair and economy. Bolstered by some superb supporting performances by the likes of fantastic character actors like Henry Jones and Pat Hingle, The Grifters hopefully will get another chance to hit it out of the ballpark with this new Blu-ray release. While the video and audio here aren't top notch, they're also not half bad. With caveats noted, The Grifters comes Recommended.
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