The Vagrant Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The Vagrant Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 24, 2023

If you live in a relatively populated area in the United States, chances are you have either seen or read news reports of "squatters" taking up residence in abandoned homes. My hometown of Portland has actually made the national news in that regard more than once, including a story that recurred last year when a new owner of a supposedly long empty home had to repeatedly work overtime to get unwanted (and unpaying, obviously) "tenants" out of his new residence. For anyone who has been disturbed about such events, which are probably due at least in part to the incredible series of misfortunes the entire globe has experienced over the past couple of years, the "humor" of The Vagrant may not be particularly effective, since it may seem to make light of what was at the time of the film's production probably a passingly minor issue if it was considered to be an issue at all, but which has in the interim assumed a much more devastating and serious aspect. That said, for those who like their comedy blacker than black, The Vagrant may provide a passing giggle or two, as nerdy up and comer Graham Krakowski (Bill Paxton) purchases a house, only to find out he has to deal with the title character, a horribly disfigured and quite obviously crazy guy known only as The Vagrant (Marshall Bell).

Shout! Factory released The Vagrant on Blu-ray several years ago, and Stephen Larson gets into some of the manifest hurdles the production encountered in his The Vagrant Blu-ray review of that release. Suffice it to say Chris Walas unabashedly calls the shoot "cursed" in his interview included on this disc as a supplement, and that negative aspect evidently then continued past the actual production period. The upshot is that the film's trailer may provide a more consistent dark comedic tone than the finished film, which has moments of genuine scary humor mixed with some less effective elements.

Graham is kind of like the horror movie equivalent of Jack Lemmon's C.C. "Bud" Baxter character in The Apartment, a well meaning schlub being ground up in the cogs of the corporate world. Unlike Bud, who is content with his walkup flat, Graham wants to grab the brass ring of American Dream home ownership, which is when his troubles really start. A disturbingly unkempt homeless guy pulling around a bizarre cart that has music box tinkling emanating from it is first seen in Graham's kitchen, but who then shows up frighteningly in several other rooms, not to mention times of the day and night. Graham becomes increasingly unhinged as the story develops, to the point that I almost thought Graham would soon be seen as a vagrant himself, which does kind of happen, though perhaps not as "dramatically" as with the title character.

There's some supposed ambiguity in the story which suggests haltingly that maybe all of the mayhem is taking place in Graham's increasingly addled mind, except that thesis may not actually be supported by some of the more overt aspects the screenplay offers, including a "secret identity" and perhaps questionable motivation for the title character. Colleen Camp makes a case in her interview included on this disc as a supplement that the real subject of the film is paranoia, and in that regard, Graham's increasingly fearful reactions are certainly borderline neurotic.

The Vagrant perhaps ends up tipping too much into cartoonish territory, as some of the other interviews on this disc get into. That's certainly the case with Michael Ironside's over the top cop Lt. Barfuss, who gets involved in the "case" for all the wrong reasons, and probably even more so after Graham finds himself ground up by other cogs, namely the wheels of ostensible justice, which then sends him on the run to encounter a bizarre cast of characters seemingly ripped from a bus and truck version of Nightmare Alley. It's all very peculiar, but it does have a distinctive if uneven tone, and the cast is generally very enjoyable, despite any qualms some of them may have in looking back at this troubled production now with the benefit of hindsight.

The Vagrant Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Vagrant is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information about the restoration:

The Vagrant is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo audio.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at Company 3, Los Angeles. The film was graded and restored in 2K resolution at Dragon DI, Wales. The original audio mix was remastered by MGM.

All materials for these new restorations were made available by MGM.

Rather interestingly, the insert booklet also contains a really interesting and rather heartfelt essay by James Pearcey, a member of the Arrow Films Restoration Department, and someone who is evidently a big fan of this film. Pearcey offers these additional comments:

Working with Dragon DI were were able to really bring out the zing in the colors from the 4K scans. The bold colors tempered by a lot fhte sandy sun bleached exteriors look beautiful and really brought new life to the film. The picture clean up has taken the edge off the wear and tear the original cmaera negative had been put through over time. In short, the film hasn't looked this good since it was first screened to audiences from print in 1992.

Now with an understanding that someone involved in the restoration might be prone to a bit of unavoidable hyperbole, I'd say based on what can be the iffy method of comparing screenshots that the palette here looks rather similar to the Shout! Factory release (which I admittedly have never seen). That said, Stephen Larson mentions both noise reduction and seemingly minor but still noticeable damage, and I'd say neither of those issues is on display here. Grain is generally tightly resolved here, though a couple of scenes do show increased grittiness and there are a couple of brief moments of image degradation, as in the big shootout scene when Barfuss and his goons basically blow up Graham's house (it seems based on screenshots that Shout!'s version showed this same downturn in quality). Detail levels are generally excellent when lighting allows, and some of the close-ups of the title character may actually provoke a bit of squeamishness in some. My score is 4.25.

The Vagrant Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Vagrant features a nicely expressive LPCM 2.0 track that I assume is very similar to the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that was on the Shout! Blu-ray release. It's actually rather refreshing to hear Chris Walas single out composer Christopher Young in his interview included on this disc, and Young's score, which combines "found" elements like breathing edited to be rhythmic, along with more traditional orchestral cues, sounds nicely full bodied throughout. Other sound effects, including the squeaky cart and its charmingly terrifying music box tune, also reverberate well. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Vagrant Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Vagrant Memories (HD; 15:52) is a 2022 interview with director Chris Walas, who gets into the many problems the production encountered.


• You Are in Hell! (HD; 14:59) is a 2022 interview with Marshall Bell, reminiscing about things like the arduous makeup process.


• Barfuss, Homicide (HD; 12:16) is an alternately raucous and heartfelt 2022 interview with Michael Ironside.


• Handling His Property (HD; 12:08) is a 2022 interview with Colleen Camp, who discusses Mel Brooks' involvement and some perceived ambiguity of the script.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:05)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally, Arrow provides its typically well appointed insert booklet. The keepcase insert is reversible, and the keepcase itself houses a folded mini poster. Finally, packaging features a slipcover.

The Vagrant Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As someone who has pretty seriously taken Brooksfilms to task for the "fictionalizations" it offered in Frances, the supposed biography of Frances Farmer, I'll just assume that the problems this Brooksfilms production encountered were some kind of cosmic karma payback (maybe Frances herself having revenge not just on Seattle, so to speak). According to our scores, I evidently liked The Vagrant quite a bit more than Stephen Larson did, and while I may not be at James Pearcey levels of appreciation, I echo his comments in his essay that the film deserves a wider audience. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.