Who's Crazy? Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Who's Crazy? Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 6, 2017

1966’s “Who’s Crazy?” is a filmed project for The Living Theater, an experimental theater group co-founded by Julian Beck, who starred as Kane in “Poltergeist II: The Other Side” (surely not his finest hour, but his most recognizable turn). Keeping up with the group’s mission to explore the inner and outer space of life through performance, “Who’s Crazy?” is an explosion of imagery, symbolism, and musical performance, offering a buzzing, swirling, swooping jazz soundtrack to support the endeavor, created by Ornette Coleman, David Izenzon, and Charles Moffett (with vocals by Marianne Faithfull).

“Who’s Crazy?” is interpretational cinema, offering only a few scraps of story to follow, and even that shouldn’t be trusted. It’s an experience, not a narrative-driven feature, embracing its avant-garde roots with the cast, who spend the run time engaging in ceremonies and acting exercises. Directors Thomas White and Allan Zion aren’t guiding the effort, they’re barely corralling it, masterminding situations where The Living Theater is permitted to explore spaces using their theatrical training.

Who's Crazy? Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Previously believed to be lost, "Who's Crazy?" is sourced from a French-subtitled film print with extensive damage. Some restoration work was done to create the AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation, but this is far from a clean viewing experience. Jumpy and skipped frames are common, along with scratches and speckling. Wear and tear is heavy, but most of the movie survives, with detail reaching as far as it can go, remaining soft and flat throughout. Delineation is passable.

Who's Crazy? Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rarely does one come across a sound mix that's intentionally uncomfortable, but "Who's Crazy?" offers a 2.0 DTS-HD MA track that's all about extremes. It's not a pristine listening event, with age often clouding the instrumentation, but jazz chaos is understood, working to provide edges for the feature. Dialogue exchanges are minimal and hampered some by limited equipment, but nothing is lost. Highs are often distorted, but perhaps intentionally so, with the film seemingly out to disturb instead of engage. Some volume riding might be necessary to locate a comfortable middle ground. Hiss is present throughout.

Who's Crazy? Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (ten pages) contains an essay by Adam Shatz.

• "David, Moffett, and Ornette" (28:14, SD) is a 1966 episode of "Tempo International" covering the recording of the "Who's Crazy?" soundtrack, studying the jazz musicians as they find their groove and discuss their mission.

• "Thomas White Q&A" (27:49, HD) was recorded in March, 2017 at the Lincoln Center. The "Who's Crazy?" director seems a little startled by the event, doing his best to answer audience questions, going out of his way to avoid assigning meaning to most of the film.

• And a Revival Trailer (:58, HD) is included.

Who's Crazy? Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Who's Crazy?" isn't for everyone, and it doesn't pretend to be. It's underground cinema best suited for those with an appreciation for the bizarre, and it doesn't hurt to possess the ability to withstand the more extreme moods of experimental jazz. While it's nice to have a feature on Blu-ray that was previously left for dead 50 years ago, "Who's Crazy?" does test patience in a major way.