Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Wanda Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 16, 2019

Barbara Loden's "Wanda" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include a remastered vintage trailer for the film; an archival episode of The Dick Cavett Show with the director; an archival documentary produced by Katja Raganelli and Konrad Wickler; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Reigon-A "locked".

Wanda

Drifting through life. You know the expression, and you have probably used it a few times, but what does it describe exactly? Is it a reaction to a medical condition where a person has temporarily lost the ability to trust his instincts and is only able to observe the events that are occurring around him? Is it a serious psychological issue that allows the mind to randomly unplug itself from reality, forcing a person to routinely act as a ‘drifter’? Or is it possible that it refers to a trauma of some sort that is responsible for a profound transformation that has essentially made the person a stranger in his own body?

If you pay close attention to everything that Barbara Loden’s character, Wanda, does in this film you will begin to realize that drifting through life could mean all of the above, and then plenty more. For example, when Wanda arrives in the court room and casually admits before the judge that she is ready to walk away from her husband and their children, she is already ‘drifting’. When later on Wanda begins a random conversation with a total stranger who then spends the night with her in a lousy motel, she is again ‘drifting’. And when eventually she bumps into some slightly kooky robber (Michael Higgins) and begins following him around while he plans his next job, she is once again ‘drifting’. So, drifting through life can describe a variety of activities, but more importantly a cycle in which a person essentially begins taking a wide range of risks that could produce a lasting behavioral switch.

There is a rather long stretch of this film, however, where it does look like Wanda is just being passive. But it is a misleading appearance because the longer the camera follows her, the clearer it becomes that deep inside she is broken, perhaps irreversibly so, and hurting a lot. So, Wanda’s passiveness is actually her desperate attempt to shield herself from the misery that has started creeping into her life. All of the risks that she takes, the people that she allows to use and abuse her, it is the best that she could do to reset her life and bring back the normalcy that once made her feel happy and alive.

But Wanda’s Hail Mary move to evade the misery does not produce the desired result. In fact, when she begins following the robber it exacerbates the pain and even threatens to take away her freedom to choose how to be miserable. It is when she nearly hits the absolute rock bottom, the place that ‘drifters’ like her never return from.

It may seem like Loden’s Wanda is one of those fluid ‘70s road films where all sorts of exotic characters bump into each other, but it is actually a unique psychological dissection of a woman’s struggle to overcome the bad hand that life has dealt her. It works really well for two simple reasons: First, it is completely immune to the soapy melodrama that many big-budget Hollywood productions that featured struggling female characters promoted at the time. Second, it never pretends to fully understand the thought-process of its protagonist, and as a result does not attempt to explain it to its audience. So, the dissection only identifies the different phases of her struggle, and then leaves it to the audience to ponder her choices. (A reminder: Wanda’s passiveness can be, and it frequently is, quite deceiving).

The acting is loose and from time to time a bit rough. It is comparable to the one that plenty of John Cassavetes’ famous films from the same period promoted, but often times it actually feels far more authentic. On the other hand, there is significantly more stylization here, especially as far as the management of light and color is concerned, though the film’s organic low-budget appearance is never compromised.

*This upcoming release is sourced from a recent 2K restoration of the film that emulates its original 35mm theatrical presentation. The film was shot in 16mm.

Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1008p transfer, Barbara Loden's Wanda arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"This restoration was undertaken by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by Gucci. In accordance with the film's original release in 35mm, the original 16mm color reversal A/B rolls were were optically blown up to 35mm color negative film at Cinetech in Valencia, California, and this negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a Northlight film scanner by Ascent Media in Santa Monica, California. The image was then digitally restored and remastered by Modern VideoFilm in Burbank, California. Additional restoration was performed by the Criterion Collection.

Restoration supervisor: Ross Lipman.
Colorist: Gregg Garvin/Modern VideoFilm, Burbank, CA.
Sound restoration: John Polito/Audio Mechanics, Burbank.
Sound transfers: Shawn Jones, NT Picture & Sound, Santa Monica, CA."

The cinematography utilizes light and colors in some rather unique ways, especially for a low-budget production from the '70s, that can produce different types of density fluctuations; highlights and shadow definition are also impacted. The 16mm to 35mm transition has further some of these fluctuations. As a result, when there are shifts in density it is usually quite easy to tell. On the other hand, despite the minor fluctuations and stylistic choices, depth and clarity remain very nice. (Of course, as it is usually the case with 16mm content, they do not have the fine delineation and nuances of those that native 35mm content would produce. See examples in screencaptures #6, 19, and 14). The primary colors are stable and healthy, plus there are equally nice ranges of strong and healthy nuances. Image stability is excellent. There are no large debris, cuts, stains, or damage marks, but early into the film I spotted a few nicks. Great restoration and presentation of the film. (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).

Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The quality of the soundtrack immediately gives away the fact that Wanda was an independent project that was shot with limited funds. Indeed, it incorporates plenty of unfiltered organic sounds and noises and in some areas there are pretty obvious dynamic fluctuations. On the other hand, I am convinced that during the film's restoration some very specific stablizations and enhancements were made to improve balance because the lossless track does not have any abrupt spikes and drops that would frequently appear on unresotred aged content. In other words, expect a more flexible but organic soundtrack that was very nicely reproduced by the lossless track.

Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - an original remastered trailer for Wanda. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• I am Wanda - this archival documentary focuses on the production history of Wanda and the life and working methods of its creator, Barbara Loden. Included in the documentary are clips from interviews with the director, cinematographer Nicholas Proferes, and acting teacher Paul Mann. The documentary was produced Katja Raganelli and Konrad Wickler in 1980. In English, not subtitled. (63 min, 1080p).

• The Dick Cavett Show - presented here is an archival episode of The Dick Cavett Show in which Barbara Loden discusses Wanda and her background. The episode was broadcast on March 4, 1971. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080i).

• Barbara Loden at the AFI - presented here is an archival audio recording in which Barbara Loden discusses her love for cinema and some of the obstacles that an aspiring young director will have to overcome. The recording comes from a session that was part of the Harold Lloyd Master Seminar series at the American Film Institute, which was held on April 2, 1971. In English, not subtitled. (62 min, 1080p).

• The Frontier Experience (1975) - Barbara Loden directed and starred in this half-hour educational film about a young woman trying to survive with her family on the Kansas prairie. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 1080i).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Amy Taubin's essay "A Miracle" and technical credits.

Wanda Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It would not be wrong to view Barbara Loden's Wanda as a slightly exotic piece of Americana that preserves some of the social flavor and rhythm of life that the '70s promoted. (A few of John Cassavetes' famous films from the same period can also be approached this way, but you would almost certainly miss the bulk of what makes them special. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is perhaps the lonely exception because like Wanda it is actually a chameleon of sorts that can also function as a time capsule). However, I think that Wanda becomes a lot more interesting if viewed as a unique psychological dissection of a woman's struggle to overcome the bad hand that life has dealt her, with the focus being on her supposed passivity and transformation into a 'drifter'. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a very nice 2K restoration of the film which emulates its original 35mm theatrical presentation. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.