6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When a youngster needs a break from the pressures of his parents' household, he moves in with his offbeat uncle. From this unlikely pair, his family soon learns some invaluable lessons about life, love and pride.
Starring: Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, Maury Chaykin, Anne De Salvo, Celia WestonComedy | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
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 | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
By 1995, Diane Keaton had already directed episodes from such high-profile TV shows as China Beach (1990) and Twin Peaks (1991), the telefilm Wildflower, as well as the feature documentaries What Does Dorrie Want? (1982) and Heaven (1987). However, she had never been offered to direct a movie for the big screen until producers Susan Arnold and Donna Roth bought the rights to Franz Lidz's 1991 autobiographical book, Unstrung Heroes, and thought that Keaton would be a good fit for the material. Keaton landed the job in large part for her long acting career and her acumen for understanding social behavior in familial contexts. She also learned from one of her masters, Woody Allen, that a director should take a more restrained approach with actors and not use too many takes. (When a director first gets what s/he wants, print that take!)
Keaton was particularly well-suited to gauge the idiosyncratic behavior of the Lidzs, a family of four who live in a middle-class suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles around 1962. The film is narrated by 12-year-old Steven Lidz (Nathan Watt), a bright adolescent whose upbringing is shaped by his eccentric inventor-father, Sid (John Turturro). Steven enjoys teasing his 6-year-old sister, Sandy (Kendra Krull), but his "play" is mainly relegated to observing the results of his dad's latest contraptions. One evening his mother, Selma (Andie MacDowell), falls from her chair and is taken to a hospital for extended observation. When Sid hosts a welcome home gathering of family and friends to mark his wife's return, we're introduced to two of his loony brothers: the obese and endearing Arthur (Maury Chaykin) and the slimmer Danny (Michael Richards; Kramer from Seinfeld), a practical jokester. When Selma's illness returns, Steven moves in with his two uncles. At their transient apartment, he notices rooms packed from floor to ceiling with newspapers, rubber balls, wedding cake decorations, and other accoutrements. Arthur and Danny open up a world for Steven that he didn't get to see back home.
We have a planetarium in our kitchen.
Unstrung Heroes was first released on Blu-ray in 2012 by Mill Creek Entertainment as part of a double feature with A Simple Twist of Fate. I don't have any reason to believe that this isn't the same print as used seven years ago. Kino Lorber has given the main feature an MPEG-4 AVC encode on a BD-25 which averages a video bitrate of 26246 kbps. Appearing in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the transfer noticeably derives from a dated master. There are speckles and dots that materialize in the frame fairly often as well as some light scratches that flash very briefly. The biggest difference between this transfer and the 2003 DVD has to be in the image density and delineation of hues. Green, brown, and yellow pop out especially. The palette is consistent with the theatrical release prints. Fred Haesker of the Calgary Herald describes Garreth Stover's production design as "aggressively stylized — the look is not naturalistic early '60s but memory's early '60s, tinted in golden yellow and browns." Terry Lawson of the Dayton (OH) Daily News likewise praises the "slightly askew, golden-rimmed cinematography." Jeffrey Westhoff of the Northwest Herald (IL) surmises that the film was shot or set in the fall: "the yellow and bronze color scheme seems autumnal." The opening main titles are photographed in black and white so tramlines and film artifacts are intentional (see Screenshot #20).
The 93-minute feature receives the usual eight chapter markers from Kino.
Kino has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (1557 kbps, 16-bit). This is a pretty subdued track but dialogue remains audible and intelligible. There really aren't any notable sound effects that stand out as sound design relies primarily on spoken words and music. Newman received his third Oscar nomination for a New Age score that has largely defined his distinctive style. He incorporates an array of unconventional instruments such as the zither, vibraphone, bowed bass dulcimer, Indian banjo, and pedal steel guitars. The cues "Trace Harm", "Main Title (A Load of Lidz)", and "Home Movies" are the highlights on the Hollywood Records album. On this uncompressed audio mix, they sound warm and lithe, moving gracefully across the center and front channels.
The English-language sound track is accompanied by optional English SDH.
Unstrung Heroes's offbeat and winsome tone grew on me after the film got off to a leisurely beginning. The script is a bit uneven at times but the wonderful cinematography and score kept it engaging and watchable. If you already own Mill Creek's release from seven years ago, you may want to wait for a more comprehensive edition. Although Kino classifies this as a "Special Edition," it only contains one relatively brief interview with Andie MacDowell. Video and audio presentations are solid but undistinguished in comparison to other Hollywood indies from the '90s that have been remastered for Blu-ray. A MODEST RECOMMENDATION for this budget edition of Unstrung Heroes.
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