Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Wonderwall Blu-ray Movie Review

This is your film on drugs.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 5, 2014

The Beatles were nearing the end of their long and winding road (sorry) when Wonderwall briefly—very briefly—played a few United Kingdom cineplexes in January 1969 (just a couple of weeks before The Beatles’ iconic rooftop performance which would signal the end of their public partnership), after having been screened to no particular acclaim at Cannes in early summer 1968. Perhaps because the film came and went so quickly and featured a heroine named Penny Lane (Jane Birkin), not to mention the fact that it contained music by George Harrison, Wonderwall attained a certain cult status. The film is certainly a relic of a bygone age, a psychedelic fable of a voyeur that plays out anecdotally without much indulgence in traditional narrative forms. Harrison’s music is clearly from his Eastern Mystical phase, and seems at times to almost be channeling Ravi Shankar. If Wonderwall is no recently unearthed formerly forgotten masterpiece, it weaves its hallucinogenic spell rather artfully, but it will be an “acquired taste” for many, even those used to the surrealism of such filmmakers as Luis Buñuel.

Oscar Collins (Jack MacGowran) is the very model of a modern (well, circa late sixties) absent minded professor. He carries note cards in his pocket which keep him on track, but he’s so distracted that he misidentifies his coworkers when they bid him goodnight at his lab one evening. Oscar’s home life is no more comforting, and indeed he seems to be inhabiting a flat that presages some of the worst episodes of Hoarders that would show up on cable television decades later. One evening he becomes even more distracted by music emanating from the next door apartment and in a fit of pique he throws an alarm clock (or “time machine”, as he calls it) at his wall, making a small opening in it. Suddenly he’s flooded with the seductive silhouette of a very curvaceous young woman. Needless to say, Oscar’s interest is piqued.

That woman turns out to be the aforementioned Penny Lane, a world famous model whose life seems exotic to Oscar, who continues to spy on her through an increasing number of holes in his wall, but who in reality lives a fairly pedestrian existence that includes an unplanned pregnancy. Wonderwall continues to explore this bizarre voyeurism that plays a bit like a drug addled Vertigo. Scenarist Guillermo Cabrera Infante (adapting an original story by frequent Roman Polanski collaborator Gérard Brach) attempts to make some salient commentary about the generation gap and illusions about “the other”, but the film is often too bizarre to ever connect on a traditional narrative level.

It’s perhaps notable that the film’s so-called Director’s Cut is actually several minutes shorter than the original theatrical version, as if helmsman Joe Massot realized there might simply be too much in the film for many people to relate to. The film is probably best enjoyed—and it is enjoyable—as a curio, a cinematic time capsule of an era which has become storied but which was, at the time, a bit chaotic. The production design (by the collective The Fool) is fascinating, especially the two apartments of Oscar and Penny, both of which seem ported in from various time periods. While Harrison’s music is about as anachronistic as the film itself, and is not always used to good effect (quick fades tend to bring too much attention to themselves), it’s also a fascinating relic of an early attempt at World Music or “fusion”. According to the extensive notes included in the excellent insert booklet accompanying the Blu-ray disc, the soundtrack for Wonderwall was actually the first album released under the then new Apple label, and was a major bestseller.

Wonderwall Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wonderwall is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory, Hollywood Classics and Fabulous Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Considering the way this film was curated through the years, this Pinewood restoration looks amazingly good most of the time. Colors are beautifully saturated and accurate looking, and fine detail is quite excellent in midrange and close-up shots. There are still some issues extant with this release, however. It's obvious that either the elements were badly damaged in various places or (perhaps more likely) this was sourced from different elements. There are some jarring differences in sharpness and color at various moments (compare, for example, screenshots 6 and 7). The fact that these segments are also accompanied by extra grain leads me to believe that some of this transfer may have been sourced from dupes. There are also occasional issues with low contrast, making some of the dimly lit interior scenes in Oscar's crowded apartment hard to make out.

Wonderwall Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While Joe Massot's fascinating notes in the insert booklet discuss the film's original mono optical track and how he knew he would need to access the original stereo masters to create his Director's Cut, there's unfortunately no information about how the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track included on this Blu-ray was created. The truth is this is not an overly active surround mix, other than Harrison's music, which is splayed decently throughout the channels. On just a couple of occasions, there's a bit of midrange distortion in the music, but it's never very distracting. Some of the dialogue suffers from a slightly phased sound as well. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, the music is mixed oddly at times, fading in and fading out without much regard to the dramatic goings on.

Wonderwall Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Publicity Gallery includes:

  Stills Gallery (1080p; 00:49)

  Poster Scan (1080p)

  Publicity Booklet (1080p; 00:25). You should have your remote handy so you can press the pause button to actually read the various pages.

• Publicity Text includes:

  Casting Story (1080p)

  Press Release (1080p)

• Biographies include:

  Jack MacGowran (1080p)

  Jane Birkin (1080p)

  Iain Quarrier (1080p)

• The Comic Art of Jack MacGowran (480i; 2:11) focuses on the film's star.


• Reflections on Love (480i; 12:09) is the short by Joe Massot which ultimately led to Wonderwall. Yes, that is The Fab Four at Heathrow about to leave for the States and The Ed Sullivan Show.


• The Art of Marijke (480i; 1:27) is a brief look at some of the paintings that show up in the film.


• Eric Clapton - Skiing (480i; 00:32) plays to scenes from the film and the Reflections on Love short.


• John Lennon Poem (1080p)


• The Remo Four Music Video (480i; 3:27). This is the "new" piece George Harrison uncovered for the restored version of the film, playing out here once again to scenes from the film and the Reflections on Love short.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:18)


• An Outtake (1080p; 2:41) offers the original Harrison opening theme for the film which was deleted from the Director's Cut.


• Theatrical Cut (1080p; 1:32:06) and Director's Cut (1080p; 1:14:57)


• Insert Booklet. Readers of my reviews know I almost never include these as actual supplements, but in this case, I feel the content of the booklet warrants special mention. There are absolutely fantastic articles by Joe Massot and members of The Remo Four, among others. There is some really fascinating information here, including the sad fact that Massot almost went to the Polanski house the night of the Manson killings.

Wonderwall Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wonderwall is a completely peculiar film that is about the closest cinematic equivalent to what I imagine an LSD trip might be like (there's even a superhero character who wears an LSD insignia). The story here is probably incidental to the visuals and music, both of which are anachronistic and odd, but also weirdly alluring. This kind of fever dream will not be to everyone's taste, but those who love George Harrison and/or Jane Birkin will no doubt find a lot to like here. This Blu-ray release features mostly excellent video and very good audio (at least with regard to most of the music), and comes with great supplements. Recommended.