6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Shire is the subject of a perverse obsession by a Lesbian neighbor, Andrea, who not only is in lust with her but hires a rapist in order to get audio tapes of her moaning.
Starring: Talia Shire, Elizabeth Ashley, Kay Medford, Joe Cortese (I), Michael GorrinPsychological thriller | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Surreal | Insignificant |
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 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
1672 kbps
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
After filming for the likes of Alan J. Pakula, Francis Coppola, and Woody Allen, Gordon Willis tried his own hand at directing with the dark thriller, Windows (1980). Producer Mike Lobell initially offered the film to Bob Fosse, who turned it down to fulfill a contractual agreement with Columbia in order to to make his dream project, All That Jazz. Willis was not that impressed with Barry Siegel's script (originally titled Corky) but agreed since he was so itching to direct. Windows was not only the first feature that Willis directed (and the sole, as it turned out) but also the twentieth movie that the esteemed cameraman photographed. Windows's personnel was made up of "Woody's crew" because a number of Allen's filmmaking colleagues team had collaborated together on other pictures. Taking place amid Willis's favorite New York City locations, Windows stars Talia Shire as Emily Hollander, a museum worker and part-time speech therapist whose soon to be divorced from her employer, Steven (Russell Horton). Emily walks home one night and upon entering the inside of her Brownstone apartment, she is ambushed in the dark by a male assailant. After the attempted rape, Emily is greatly shaken but receives comfort from Detective Bob Luffrono (Joseph Cortese), who investigates her case and becomes her boyfriend. Another individual who takes a special interest in Emily's plight is her neighbor, Andrea Glassen (Elizabeth Ashley), a poet who is apparently well-off. When the same stalker comes to Emily's doorstep, Andrea literally shuts the door on him. While Andrea mollifies Emily, sinister things are at play. Andrea has her own agenda and plans for Emily, who moves to a Brooklyn Heights apartment with her orange cat.
Detective Luffrono and Emily.
Windows makes its global debut on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. Willis's solo directorial effort was unavailable for many years until MGM released it MOD as part of the studio's "Limited Edition Collection." Eric Cotenas of DVD Drive-In critiqued the image quality on that DVD-r, discerning: "The transfer appears to be new with neon colors leaping off the screen during the opening credits and well-defined blacks in the silhouetted and rimlit chiaroscuro setups; however, the master has not undergone the type of clean-up one expects of MGM's HD restorations, and there are several intermittent passages of white speckling (usually at the reel-changes). It still looks good, but not what one expects of a studio title." Shout! advertises their BD as a "high-definition transfer of the film taken from the interpositive," although it seems to be extracted from similar source elements as the DVD. Appearing in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the film looks possibly the best it's ever looked. The picture spots the same white speckles that Mr. Cotenas noted but they seem to occur with less frequency. There are very few obvious damage marks that mar the presentation. Willis was so finicky about black levels that after he watched the dailies and was displeased, he brought a Eastman Kodak lab technician in to eradicate any gray areas. This transfer by Shout! honors Willis's intent with completely solid, pitch blacks. Contrast is excellent, particularly when the director uses harsh light on faces (see Screenshot #3). There is a layer of medium-level grain. Shout! has given the main attraction an average bitrate of 29995 kbps, with the entire disc sporting a total bitrate of 33.44 mbps.
Shout! supplies twelve scene selections, which can be accessed via the menu. (The user can access nine chapter breaks on the DVD but that is probably by remote control only.)
Shout! renders the movie's original sound track as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Dual Mono (1672 kbps, 24-bit). The track is without distortions or dropouts, although I did hear hiss and a little buzz/hum. MGM very likely gave Shout! the best available master and considering the low budget and age, the recording is solid. I had to resort to the optional English SDH on a few occasions but dialogue comes across fairly well. Ennio Morricone's score is one of the Italian maestro's most relatively unknown and underrated works. His "Emily's Quartet" and other pieces are key to enhancing the film's atmosphere. The movie wouldn't be as good in their absence. The music sounds clear across the front speakers.
Although critics treated Windows harshly, the movie outperformed its production budget and stayed in theaters for at least a while. A decent number of patrons did pay to see it, although I wasn't able to obtain conclusive aggregate data on box office intake. Shout! Factory finally brings this overlooked thriller to high-def with a nearly faultless transfer and a couple of wonderful new interviews. I suspect that viewers will not have as repulsive a reaction to seeing Windows as critics did in 1980. For fans of Willis and Shire, this is a MUST BUY while curious cinephiles should see it at least once.
2018
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