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Visiting my mother, so I brought over A Matter of Life and Death, as well as The Color of Pomegranates. She enjoyed both, having never seen them before. A Matter of Life and Death is halfway into Powell & Pressburger's amazing stretch of seven masterpieces (the others being The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I'm Going!, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, and The Small Back Room). This hits all the right notes. Thrilling, touching, beautiful, and just fun. David Niven and Kim Hunter are wonderful, but Roger Livsey's voice is the aural equivalent to wrapping a warm blanket around one's self. He's amazing in Colonel Blimp, as well as I Know Where I'm Going!. I particularly love how the film plays with its premise without talking down to the audience. As expected, Sony's 4K restoration is loving gorgeous. It's up there with The Red Shoes and Colonel Blimp for the best Technicolor Blu-rays. The Color of Pomegranates is the polar opposite to Sergei Parajanov's previous film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (which is one of my all-time favorites). Whereas he kept the camera moving almost constantly, he opts for absolute stillness with the camera... but creating shots resembling icons or miniatures. Sometimes the frame is bursting with color, other times it's almost monochrome. It's also richly textured with references to period art and poetry (James Steffen's video essay is a must to watch). I actually recommend seeing this when you're a little tired because it does sort of take on a dream-like feel because it's such a different sort of film. It's also really obvious Tarsem is a fan of Parajanov's work (especially with The Fall and Mirror Mirror). The restoration is astonishing considering the prior video edition was a laserdisc-era master with artifacting and burned-in subtitles. Hopefully Criterion gets to release the rest of his films.
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Jul 28, 2018 05:32
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 20:12 |
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