Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Wild in the Streets Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 30, 2016

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Film Editing, Barry Shear's "Wild in the Streets" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Rebel with a cause

Wild in the Streets is a cracking film. It shows how drugs can transform normal people into monkeys that would enthusiastically do all sorts of stupid things so that they can keep poisoning their bodies at will. It also delivers a strong argument in support of the notion that in America mass brainwashing has always been a popular sport.

It follows closely a young fellow named Max Jacob (Christopher Jones, Three in the Attic), who has absolutely no idea what he wants to do with his life. This is the very reason why he is perpetually angry and feels an inexorable urge to break and burn things. A casual encounter with LSD, however, changes things for the better -- at least initially. Suddenly, his brain sends a powerful message that he must become a rock star, and he immediately starts a band. Soon after, he also adopts a new stage name: Max Frost.

The band becomes so big that some politicians begin seeing Max as a powerful voice that can actually disrupt the status quo in Washington. It is then that Senator Johnny Fergus (Hal Holbrook, Magnum Force) decides to use Max in his election campaign so that he can win the votes of the largely apathetic young Americans. Max agrees to help, but shortly after campaigning begins, he throws a surprising curveball -- he demands that the voting age in the country is lowered to 14.

Gradually, Max becomes obsessed with the political game and decides to run for President of the United States. He promises his fans real change -- and everything else that pops up in their drugged-out minds. But the more Max’s chances of winning the presidency increase, the more absurd and flat-out dangerous his personal goals become.

The scenario that is presented in Barry Shear’s film is utterly ridiculous. The film basically mocks the entire political system and the institutions that make it function, and then rips apart the classic image of the ‘traditional politician’. The partnerships that emerge in this soap opera are so flawed that none of the progress Max makes after he teams up with Fergus is even remotely plausible.

But the exaggerations are needed to highlight the incredible opportunities the political system actually offers to people like Max. The system is also revealed as a dangerous machine that can completely brainwash a massive portion of the electorate and create an environment in which even the most ridiculous promises sound perfectly logical. (Some of the ‘groundbreaking’ ideas Max and his young advisors bring to the table are actually the type of material that current politicians have been eager to promote).

The finale is appropriately outlandish, but it feels like Shear could have gone even further to really hammer home his message. (A year after this film was released, William Klein directed the equally fascinating Mr. Freedom. This film does go in overdrive mode, but for the most part lacks the vision and political substance of Shear’s film).

There are some interesting cameos: a young Richard Pryor plays Stanley X, Ed Begley becomes Senator Allbright, and Millie Perkins is Mary Fergus.

The film was lensed by cinematographer Richard Moore (Paul Newman’s Sometimes a Great Notion, Michael Sarne’s Myra Breckinridge).

Wild in the Streets Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Barry Shear's Wild in the Streets arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The master that was used to produce the release must have been struck a while ago, but the film has an all-around solid organic appearance. Indeed, depth ranges from good to very good, while clarity remains pleasing throughout the entire film. Depth is also very good, but there are a few areas where some minor fluctuations pop up. Obviously, it is easy to see that there is room for improvement, but there are no traces of digital anomalies that hurt the integrity of the visuals (degraining, sharpening, color/contrast boosting). Grain is visible throughout the entire film, but some optimizations could have been made to ensure that it is even better exposed. There is a good range of organic primary colors, but I feel that ideally saturation should be better. Image stability is very good. There are a few tiny specks that pop up here and there, but there are no large damage marks, cuts, stains, or torn frames to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Wild in the Streets Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

There are no obvious anomalies to report. Clarity and depth remain convincing. There are no balance issues between Lex Baxter's score and the dialog, though in the mid/high registers perhaps there is some room for minor enhancements. Overall, however, considering the native limitations of the production the lossless track is indeed very solid. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions.

Wild in the Streets Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Wild in the Streets. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

Wild in the Streets Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Barry Shear's Wild in the Streets is just an inch short of being an absolute masterpiece. Before the current election cycle, it probably would have been quite easy to dismiss as a wacky period piece that emerged from an era when an LSD cocktail was as popular as skim milk latte is today, but now it looks like quite the prophetic film. If you enjoy offbeat films, you should not miss it. (I'd also recommend seeing some of William Klein's films from the same period). Olive Films' technical presentation of Wild in the Streets is good, but the only bonus feature on the Blu-ray is an original theatrical trailer. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.