6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Richard Pryor is playing three different roles here. The first being a poor orange picker named Leroy Jones who gets laid off when by mistake he joins the worker's union during one of their demonstrations. Afterwards he is forced to leave his wife and family behind which also includes Leroy's father (also played by Pryor) to go to Los Angeles. Leroy ends up working for the same company that fired him back home. He is a manager at the company but he is now distant from his former pals. He meets and falls in love with Vanetta who is a labor organizer which leaves him splitting time between his wife Annie Mae and Vanetta. When Leroy finds out that the Reverend Lenox Thomas (also played by Pryor) has got his wife pregnant while he was absent, he then make the moves on the reverend's wife.
Starring: Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney, Lonette McKee, Margaret Avery, Morgan WoodwardComedy | 100% |
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
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A remake of Lina Wertmuller's 'The Seduction of Mimi', 'Which Way Is Up?' features legendary comedian Richard Pryor as three different characters. First is Leroy Jones, a poor orange picker who gets fired from his job when he accidentally joins a worker's union during a demonstration. Forced to travel to Los Angeles, he abandons his family, including his wife, Annie Mae (Margaret Avery), and his father, Rufus (Pryor again). There he falls in love with labor organizer Vanetta (Lonette McKee), only to be rehired by his former employers when they realize he's easily manipulated. Back home, Leroy discovers his new managerial role alienates him from his former friends as he tries to divide his time between Annie Mae and Vanetta. When he discovers Annie Mae is pregnant with the child of Reverend Thomas (Pryor's third role), though, Leroy sets his sights on going after a third woman: the pastor's wife.
The Blu-ray release of Which Way Is Up? is presented with a decent 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation. It doesn't feature the dazzling remaster that might bring the movie to real, high definition life, but, sourced from a solid Universal master, it isn't riddled with substantial problems or unsightly issues either. There are blemishes throughout - specks, scratches, spurts of inconsistent grain, and the infrequent yet still present crushed shadows -- but it stands as a welcome exception to Mill Creek's reputation for slapdash quality releases. Colors are lifelike on the whole, as are skintones, and contrast is dialed in reasonably well. Black levels aren't always the deepest, nor is detail always the most revealing. But more often than not, fine textures have been preserved, edges are clean and nicely defined, and grain is intact. Will the video presentation blow you away? Goodness no. But for a film that could have easily disappeared from memory, the encode justifies the Double Feature's bargain price.
While I'd rather have found a more faithful one-channel mono mix on the Blu-ray version of Which Way Is Up?, Mill Creek grants the film an adequate DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track. Toss me in the minority maybe, but splitting a mono audio mix into two channels comes as a slight irritation. Will it bother most people? Most likely not. Dialogue is clear and neatly prioritized, though the kind of ADR-esque hitches in quality and consistency (that litter sound mixes of the era) stand out. Music can get a bit overpowering but rarely at the cost of understanding what an actor is saying, and sound effects are crisp, despite suffering from the canned, tinny tone (again) common to '70s films. There isn't much more to say. A fuller remaster of the audio elements would've certainly been appreciated but I guess beggars can't be choosers.
The Blu-ray release of Which Way Is Up? doesn't offer any special features.
Which Way Is Up? Take it or leave it. But The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings? Worth the cost of the Double Feature admission alone. Regardless of which you prefer, Mill Creek fortunately grants both films decent video presentations and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks. Neither is perfect -- oh, to see two proper remasters -- but take one look at the Double Feature Blu-ray's pricepoint and, even with just Bingo Long in mind, you'll probably come to the same conclusion as I did.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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