|
|
|
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Powerhouse Films Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (31st October 2024). |
|
The Film
 Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder were two of American cinema’s best-loved comic actors, and this box set collects three of their classic collaborations. In Stir Crazy, Skip (Wilder) and Harry (Pryor) are sentenced to 125 years for a bank robbery they didn’t commit and must rely on each other to survive in a maximum-security prison. In See No Evil, Hear No Evil, blind Wally (Pryor) and deaf Dave (Wilder) team up to foil a murderous gang of thieves. Finally, in Another You, compulsive liar George (Wilder) is mistaken for the heir to a fortune, to the delight of conman Eddie (Pryor). This essential three-disc collection features an array of fascinating contextualising extras, including newly recorded commentaries, interviews, and critical appreciations, as well as a 100-page book containing new and archival writings. Strictly limited to 6,000 individually numbered units.
Video
Stir Crazy (1980) was a film I first saw on HBO circa 1981 when I lived in the USA and I don't think I've seen it more than once since, probably on UK TV. It's a solid film, no classic but the two leads play likeable characters and their chemistry works well. There are some laugh out loud moments here and there. It didn't need the undeveloped and rather perfunctory romance (with Jobeth Williams) but that's not a major issue. The other two films in this set I had never seen before having heard bad things about them down the years, so I never felt the need to seek them out. Obviously I watched them to create this review and sadly, their reputation as stinkers is well deserved. A sad footnote is that itKs obvious Richard Pryor's health was failing in the decade between Stir Crazy and the 1989-91 films. Both See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991) feature poor scripts and the leads aren't likeable in either of them despite still having some chemistry. The former is slightly better than the latter but I doubt I shall ever revisit these two misfires again; the scripts fall back on more swearing in the latter two as if characters saying fuck alot is inherently funny; Stir Crazy wasn't nearly as foul mouthed. From the booklet: Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Another You were sourced from Sony’s HD remasters. The films’ original soundtracks were remastered at the same time.All three are shot very much in keeping with commercial Hollywood films of their eras. Stir Crazy fares best in that it has that heavier denser look than the other two which were made nearly a decade later and with a couple of years of each other. All three are in shot (I presume in soft matte) 1.85:1. Stir Crazy has a hotter, warmer cast with rich flesh tones and plenty of detail in evidence; the other two are brighter and have less warm flesh tones but are about the same in overall look. Black levels and contrast across all three are strong, deep and supportive of fine detail with grain much on display ranging from course to fine depending on the scene. Optical transitions show mild density differences but that's pretty standard for the photochemical, pre-digital era. The encoding of these excellent Sony masters is typically excellent from Fidelity in Motion. Overall these transfers are excellent and present the films on their best behaviour shy of a 4K HDR presentation ('A'). 1080p24 / AVC MPEG-4 / 3 x BD50 / 1.85:1 / 111:02, 102:01, 94:33
Audio
English LPCM 1.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) (Stir Crazy) English LPCM 2.0 Stereo (48kHz, 24-bit) (See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Another You) Subtitles: English HoH Sound is fairly basic on all three titles. In 1980 not all major films were made in Dolby Stereo (the cheaper Ultra-Stereo was a few years away) and Stir Crazy not being an action spectacle was made in 1.0. It's an excellent track for what it is; no distortion, limited range, clear dialogue over music and sound effects. Mono sound recording was by this point excellent so this gets the job done well for the purposes of this dialogue focused production. The latter two films were made in Dolby Stereo which was increasingly the norm, certainly for major studio productions by 1989-91. As encoded on these discs the stereo plays purely left, right and centre t the front. To get any surround you'll need to switch on ProLogic II or similar and then we get some modest surround activity. Mainly relegated to music and ambiance with some directionality. These aren't demo level tracks designed to give your system workout. The envelopment obviously works best in action scenes. Excellent English hard or hearing subtitles are provided. Overall rating is 'B+'.
Extras
Audio commentary on Stir Crazy by film historians Max Evry and Bryan Reesman (2024) Audio commentary See No Evil, Hear No Evil by film historians Maz Evry and Bryan Reesman (2024) Audio commentary on Another You by film historians Kim Newman and Nick de Semlyen (2024) Three yaktraks cover the wills well. I'd not come across Evry & Reesman before but they know their stuff and provide excellent accompaniment to the films. I'm also not familiar with de Semlyn but am with Newman but they work well bouncing off each other filling their track with information. Frankly, these commentaries are the preferred way to watch the two latter films as the commentators are not blind to the films flaws and prove a much more satisfying viewing experience. Presented in lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono with no subtitle options. "Gene Wilder in Conversation: Conducted by Adrian Wootton at the National Film Theatre, London on 8 June 2005" plays as an alternate audio track over Another You (63:49) A vintage recording that has the game Wilder sparking well in an interview conducted by Wootton. Filled with fascinating detail and anecdotes on his pong career. These screen talk recordings are possibly amongst the most valuable extras on these releases, especially when - as here - the subject is no longer with us. Presented in lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono with no subtitle options. "Law and Order Funk: Composer Tom Scott on Stir Crazy" 2024 interview (11:57) "The Defiant One: Michael B. Gillespie on the Career of Sidney Poitier and Representation in Stir Crazy" 2024 interview (15:35) "Fairlight Entertainment: Composer Stewart Copeland on See No Evil, Her No Evil" 2024 interview (4:15) "Partners Forever!: Benedict Morrison on the Complementary Collaborations of Richard Ryor and Gene Wilder" 2024 interview (27:57) A collection of new interview pieces totalling 59:44 that cover in some detail Poitier's career focusing on obviously on his work as director, composer Copeland talks about his work on See No Evil, Hear No Evil getting into the technical nuts and bolts of the score and equipment he used and finally Morrison focuses on the collaborations of the two stars starting with the 1976/film Silver Streak (sadly not in this set). Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with no subtitle options. "The Making of See No Evil, Hear No Evil" 1989 featurette (8:06) Vintage EPK puff piece dating from the films production. Has interviews with various members of the cast and crew. Nothing special but nice for fans to have. Upscaled 1080p24 pillarboxed 1.33:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono with no subtitle options. Stir Crazy Theatrical Trailer (1:31) See No Evil, Hear No Evil Theatrical Trailer #1 (2:02) See No Evil, Hear No Evil Theatrical Trailer #2 (1:20) Another You Theatrical Trailer (1:47) Vintage promos for all three films; the middle production gets two. Presented in 1080p24 1.85:1 with English LPCM 2.0 mono / stereo and no subtitles. Stir Crazy Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (69 images) See No Evil, Hear No Evil Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (36 images) Another You Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (57 images) 162 images cross the three films in HD. 100-page book with new essay by Jeff Billington, extracts from archival interviews with Pryor and Wilder, archival production reports on Stir Crazy, extracts from the films' pressbooks, an overview of contemporary critical responses and full film credits Engrossing, interesting, weighty little tome that provides plenty of contextual added value for the films. As with my comments on the commentaries above, for the second and third films, much more interesting than viewing the movies.
Packaging
Not sent for review.
Overall
Three of the four Wilder & Pryor cinematic collaborations get the deluxe treatment from Powerhouse Films in the UK for UK sale only. All three are from the Sony catalogue (Silver Streak, their first film together is from a different studio and Powerhouse obviously don't have the rights). All three are excellent transfers utilising excellent Sony HD masters and are on their best behaviour providing their best-ever home video release. These could only he bettered by 4K and HDR. Extras are solid, decent are supportive and arguably more interesting than the films. If you're a fan of these movies then this is must have release. Recommended ('B+').
|
|||||
|