6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Mel is a New York-based advertising man who goes through hell when he loses his job. The gods seem to conspire against him as he tries to cope with his unemployed status; he is particularly depressed over the fact that he must now subsist on the income of his wife.
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Anne Bancroft, Gene Saks, Elizabeth Wilson, Florence StanleyDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Based on a hit Broadway play by Neil Simon, who wrote the screenplay, Melvin Frank’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) is a tightly-wound drama that focuses almost completely on two New Yorkers slogging through one of the worst weeks of married life. Mel Edison (Jack Lemmon), having recently lost his job after more than a decade of loyalty, grows increasingly despondent and angry with himself during the next few days. Unable to work up enough courage to tell his dutiful wife Edna (Anne Bancroft), Mel internalizes everything and begins to lash out at everything and everyone in his path. Noisy neighbors? He bangs on his Upper East Side apartment wall hard enough to crack the cheap plaster. A visit to his married brother’s posh home in the country? Non-stop complaining. Hell, his wife just has to be in the same ZIP code to incur Mel’s wrath, which becomes increasingly unwarranted as his attitude grows more poisonous. The heat wave doesn’t help matters, nor does a burglary that leaves their apartment completely trashed.
You wouldn’t know it by the synopsis or original trailer, but The Prisoner of Second Avenue was primarily marketed as a comedy -- a black comedy, to be sure, but it teeters dangerously close to irredeemable territory by making its central character an almost completely unlikable jerk. There’s almost no beating heart inside The Prisoner of Second Avenue and, though it has a few funny moments and interesting revelations, the monotonous tone ultimately kills what could have been an interesting, grounded character study of two unwitting souls put through the wringer. Other than a few stray moments that almost flirt with brilliance, the film's only other saving graces include Lemmon and Bancroft’s measured performances and a terrific original score by Marvin Hamlisch (and, of course, a small early role for Sylvester Stallone just one year before Rocky). More often than not, The Prisoner of Second Avenue ends up being an exercise in patience: Mel technically gives the film its name, but his wife seems to be the real prisoner here.
Not surprisingly, The Prisoner of Second Avenue was not well-received by critics and audiences
alike back in 1975, and it hasn't aged very
well either. While newcomers should obviously proceed with caution, die-hard fans will nonetheless
appreciate Warner Archive Collection’s
brand-new Blu-ray presentation of the film. Sourced from a recent remaster, the A/V presentation is a
purist’s dream and is paired with a few
lightweight but enjoyable extras from the DVD era.
Presented in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio (rounded up to 2.40:1 on the packaging), The Prisoner of Second Avenue looks as terrific as expected on Warner Archive's new Blu-ray. Like most other WAC catalog releases, this 1080p transfer is sourced from a new scan of a fine-grain master positive that's been cleaned up nicely with no heavy-handed processing or color alterations. Purists will be incredibly pleased with this presentation: the well-lit interiors and time-capsule shots of 1970s Manhattan boast a strong amount of fine detail, textures, and excellent color reproduction. Skin tones appear accurate, primary colors fare especially well, and the image even achieves a solid amount of depth despite the rather plain environments. Grain levels are pleasing and steady, aside from one or two stray shots where the levels are much higher; this is clearly a source material issue and no fault of the restoration or disc authoring. No obvious digital imperfections -- edge enhancement, excessive noise reduction, aliasing, banding, etc. -- could be spotted along the way, and this 99-minute film gets a lot of room to breathe while enjoying a very healthy bit rate. Overall, it's a top-notch presentation that easily beats their parent company's respectable 2004 DVD.
Similarly, the DTS-HD 2.0 (original mono) mix does an outstanding job with the source material. As expected, this dialogue-heavy production feels appropriately cramped and even claustrophobic during interior scenes but remains clearly intelligible even at higher volume levels; The Prisoner of Second Avenue's mood changes drastically from quiet to loud at a moment's notice but distortion or tinniness are nowhere to be found. Depth is similarly achieved in a few cases, but mostly during scenes in which three or more people are talking -- quite rare, believe it or not -- or when the film ventures outdoors. Marvin Hamlisch's excellent original score also gets a nice boost and sounds quite full and dynamic at times. No major defects, drop-outs, or sync issues were detected along the way.
English subtitles are included during the main feature but, like most WAC releases, are formatted in ALL CAPS.
As with all WAC Blu-rays, The Prisoner of Second Avenue includes extras from their parent company's DVD edition.
Melvin Frank's The Prisoner Of Second Avenue is a well-acted production that, despite its solid premise and clearly defined lead characters, remains a rather tough and frustrating watch. Jack Lemmon's Mel Edison is almost impossible to root for as the film lurches forward: we rarely see him genuinely happy and his work ethic is almost non-existent, which makes his further downward spiral all the more distancing. More often that not, my sympathies leaned towards his neighbors and wife. Speaking of Anne Bancroft's Edna, she's the real "prisoner of Second Avenue", trapped in the same awful apartment and city but without the benefit of a loving, supportive spouse. These complaints would be null and void if everything culminated in some kind of redemption or permanent emotional growth for Mel, but instead it devolves into a rather sloppy farce that insults anyone with a real mental illness. The film still has its moments and the performances are great, but its premise deserved a much better and more grounded story to fill in the blanks.
Despite my reservations about the main feature, Warner Archive's Blu-ray offers an outstanding A/V presentation and a few short but enjoyable bonus features. For obvious reasons, it's recommended to established fans only.
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