Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Player Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 8, 2016

Robert Altman's "The Player" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; archival audio commentary with director Robert Altman, writer Michael Tolkin, and cinematographer Jean Lepine; deleted scenes and outtakes; footage from a press conferences held at the Cannes Film Festival; exclusive new new documentary film featuring new interviews with screenwriter Michael Tolkin, production designer Stephen Altman, associate producer David Levy, and Tim Robbins; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring writer Sam Wasson's essay "The Screenplayer". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"Guys, have your lawyer give me a call. You've got a deal."

The entire film is sort of a litmus test. Robert Altman points his camera at good ol' Tinseltown and its beauty and glamour suddenly disappear. The new place that emerges is like a giant mental institution that has admitted all sorts of dangerous crazies with grandiose ambitions. At first it is fun to watch them play and screw each other over and over again, but eventually the games and backstabbing become quite depressing.

Tim Robbins is Griffin Mill, a cocky studio executive who knows how to spot a diamond in the rough. Each day he is bombarded with phone calls from ambitious writers who are convinced that they have the perfect idea for a new film that will turn out to be the next Casablanca. A few occasionally intrigue him, but most of the time he finds them so utterly ridiculous that he feels that it is his duty to give back some of the pain he has experienced while wasting his time with them.

A series of odd events push Mill on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown. While trying to finalize an important project, he accidentally discovers that he could lose his job because a new executive (Peter Gallagher, Sex, Lies, and Videotape) has made his boss (Brion James, Blade Runner) realize that the studio can be a lot more efficient while dealing with unsigned talent. Around the same time he also begins receiving threatening postcards which convince him that there might be a maniac on the loose who is not only determined to see his career destroyed, but possibly even have him stuffed in a plastic bag. Mill attempts to restore balance in his life, but the harder he tries, the more his professional image begins to crack.

The film is loaded with stars that don’t do a whole lot of acting. There are a few pre-scripted juicy lines that pop up here and there, but the majority of the chatter and attitudes on display are authentic. It is quite the circus. These people are so detached from the real world that it frequently feels like they are actually sleepwalking though their lives. The only time when they appear awake is when they get hurt or lose someone special.

It is hard to feel sorry for anyone that voluntarily enters the circus and endures the abuse. Altman finds some humor in the awkward contrasts that define the place, but there are no innocent souls there. The circus is full of hypocritical chameleons who are convinced that on the road to success there should be no rules protecting the weak.

Mill is a seasoned player who has reached the top. There are bigger players that he must be careful with, but he feels comfortable where he is. His goal is to remain there for as long as possible and walk away only when he is ready. The film chronicles his maneuvers to preserve his power while other players try to force him out of his comfort zone.

The fluid cinematography makes the film look strikingly modern. It is a bit like an unedited documentary that could end up being about a lot of different things -- a murder case, a paranoid executive, the quiet revolution in a studio with big ambitions, or the fractured and dangerous reality of hypocritical Hollywood. It is a difficult film to profile, but absolutely fascinating to behold.

The film is based on a script from Michael Tolkin, who adapted his own novel.

The Player 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, Robert Altman's The Player arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the original 35mm negative, using as color reference a 35mm answer print and a video transfer that were approved by director Robert Altman, editor Geraldine Peroni, and cinematographer Jean Lepine. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, flicker, and noise management.

The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX4. Please be sure to enable Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to properly play the Dolby 2.0 surround soundtrack.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Colorworks, Culver City, CA."

The film looks much fresher now. A lot of the darker footage also boasts fine nuances that are simply missing on the previous Blu-ray release. The obvious crushing is eliminated as well and as a result depth is substantially improved. Grain is wonderfully distributed and resolved (compare screencapture #8 and screencapture #2 from our review of the older release). The primary colors are lusher and better balanced; there is a wider range of nuances that complement them as well. Contrast levels remain stable. I feel that the highlights could have been toned down a bit in a couple of sequences, but the overall balance is actually very good (see screencapture #9). I would like to specifically mention that on the new transfer fluidity is dramatically improved and when projected the film really has an entirely different appearance. Overall image stability is excellent. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Player Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Because The Player is primarily a dialog-driven feature dynamic intensity is quite modest. However, separation and clarity are excellent and there are actually a number of sequences where the organic sound design can be quite effective (see the murder sequence). The dialog is clean and stable but also quite fluid since the camera freely moves between different characters and at times even chooses to observe them from unique angles. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in our review.

The Player Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this truly wonderful audio commentary, director Robert Altman, writer Michael Tolkin, and cinematographer Jean Lepine discuss in great detail how the initial idea about The Player emerged, the very fluid structure and visual style of the film, the poisonous atmosphere in Hollywood and how the novel and the film depict it, some of the more interesting double jokes, the overlapping of different themes, the improvisations done by the stars, etc. The audio commentary was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 1992.

• Trailers and TV Spots -
  
  1. U.S. Trailer - in English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).
  2. Japanese Trailer - in English and Japanese, with printed Japanese subtitles. (2 min, 1080i).
  3. TV Spots - In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).

• Opening Shot - presented here is the famous long opening shot of the film with two optional audio commentaries. The bulk of the comments address the specific framing choices that were made and importance of different objects and lines/exchanges.
  
  1. Robert Altman Commentary - in English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).
  2. Michael Tolkin and Jean Lepine Commentary - in English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scenes/Outtakes - presented here are five scenes that were removed from the final version of The Player and a few outtakes from the Lonely Room scene with Lily Tomlin and Scott Glenn. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Arrival at Dick Mellen's Party. (1 min, 1080p).
  2. Columbia Bar & Grill. (5 min, 1080p).
  3. Jeff Daniels Swings a Club. (2 min, 1080p).
  4. Patrick Swayze Spars with Stuckel. (1 min, 1080p).
  5. Al Capone's Hideout. (4 min, 1080p).
  6. Outtakes: The Lonely Room. (2 min, 1080p).

• Map to the Stars - this big interactive map identifies the massive number of stars that appeared in The Player. (1080p).

• Robert Altman's Players - presented here is a short documentary which was shot during the filming of the celebrity fund-raising scene. The stars that appear in the scene actually participated in a real fund-raising event that was held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on July 20, 1991. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080i).

• Cannes Press Conference - presented here is footage from the press conference that was held at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992, where The Player won Best Director and Best Actor Awards. Director Robert Altman, Tim Robins, Brion James, Whoopi Goldberg, Dina Merrill, writer Michael Tolkin, and production designer Stephen Altman, amongst others, answer a variety of questions. The event was moderated by Henri Behar. In English, not subtitled. (56 min, 1080i).

• Robert Altman - in this archival interview, director Robert Altman discusses the structure of The Player, the use of different elements from other films, the use of different genre techniques (with specific color preferences), how the large number of actors that played themselves were managed in different parts, the casting of Tim Robbins and his terrific performance, the significance of Greta Scacchi's character, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in New York in December 1992. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080i).

• Planned Improvisation - in this brand new documentary film, screenwriter Michael Tolkin, production designer Stephen Altman, associate producer David Levy, and Tim Robbins discuss the novel that inspired The Player, the initial lack of enthusiasm for the material (amongst certain big stars and producers), Robert Altman's vision for the film and the production team he gathered, the visual style of the film, the iconic locations that were used in the film, etc. (After the end credits there are a few additional comments from Tim Robbins). The documentary film was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (46 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring Sam Wasson's essay "The Screenplayer". (Mr. Wasson is the New York Times best-selling author of Fosse, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman, books about Blake Edwards and Paul Mazursky, etc).

The Player Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is unfortunate that Robert Altman is no longer with us because it would have been fascinating to hear his thoughts on the current state of the film industry. There is a new wind blowing through Hollywood now, but its elite's current obsession with political correctness has actually strengthened and expanded the hypocrisy the great director targeted in The Player. The industry isn't better now -- it has evolved a bit but there are even more players with much bigger egos and larger agendas. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release of The Player is sourced from a lovely new 4K remaster that will surely remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.