6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The story of a day in the life of a lonely, sensitive, exhuberent, attractive, young woman. Her exploits, encounters, and frustrations as she attempts to find a "special" someone, a caller who has "class", as she puts it.
Starring: Sarah Kennedy (I), William Hickey, Norman Rose, Jill ClayburghComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Perhaps experimental sex comedies were a dime a dozen in the early 1970s, but I fail to see a reason why anyone would get all worked up over “The Telephone Book.” About as arousing as a tax audit and funny as jury duty, the picture is a surreal journey into random confessions and pig-masked monologuing, imagining itself to be a wonderland of carnal delights and cutting satire, wafting over its audience like a wave of marijuana smoke. For the clean and impatient in 2013, “The Telephone Book” emerges as an oddity from 1971, but not a particularly compelling one. With its outlandishness napping and its sense of humor missing, this X-rated relic is best served to fans of obscure exploitation cinema, those brave souls able to somehow appreciate the feature’s idiosyncrasies and its Vietnam-era taboo-smashing tastes.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation emerges from numerous 35mm print sources, and considering how obscure "The Telephone Book" is, its Blu-ray debut is actually quite appealing. The prints are understandably in rough shape, with damage, dirt, and harsh reel changes, but it's manageable aging, rarely distracting. Grain is largely intact, with a welcome filmic appearance that identifies changing stocks and processes. Fine detail is available for study, offering textures on the feature's ample amount of nudity, while room decoration is easily surveyed, along with varied street life. Mr. Smith's pig mask is also crisply exposed. Blacks are agreeable and communicative, while whites are controlled, never blown out beyond recognition. The color burst in the finale brings about heavy reds, making an immediate impression, stable and fresh. While rough around the edges, the care to bring what remains of "The Telephone Book" to Blu-ray shows, and while it lacks an exhaustive restoration and access to the original negative, what's here is perfectly suitable.
The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound mix is basic in design and execution, with a satisfactory frontal position that manages the extremes of the track without much in the way of distortion. Dialogue exchanges are balanced, with rerecording keeping verbal activity crisp, while musical efforts hold steady as intended, supporting the visual elements without aggressive emphasis. There's a natural shrillness here that's easy to handle, arriving with a few of the more anarchic explorations of animation and comedy. Again, the age of the prints and the obscurity of the title factor into minor elements of hiss and pops, but as a whole, "The Telephone Book" makes an accurate impression on the ears.
"The Telephone Book" makes a transition to color in the final reel, eventually switching over to animation as Mr. Smith and Alice finally experience the pleasures they've been seeking. It's an R. Crumb fantasyland of walking penises and gaping vaginal imagery that's roughly crafted, and, like everything else in this numbing picture, it drags on for far too long. I'm all for a bonanza of oddity and naughty behavior, yet "The Telephone Book" remains an insufferable grab bag of encounters and staring contests, missing its moon shot to become a triumphant cult experience, whiffing with its allegedly provocative elements.
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