Page 69 - 2022-08-01 Sound & Vision

A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS

ON THE way to cooking up the all-time great spaghe i western, Sergio
Leone began here with Rawhide star Clint Eastwood, eager to break out of
his “white hat” TV persona and take his cra and career to the next level.
Together they birthed an anti-hero who would become known as The Man
with No Name, indelible and ultimately at the center of For a Few Dollars
More (also new to 4K) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (released last
year). While neither are direct sequels, rather tonally similar vehicles for
their so -spoken, steely-eyed creation, this unofficial “trilogy” is defined
by its originality, brutality, and a protagonist who is ruthless yet strangely
fallible. Fistful has an esteemed pedigree, essentially a remake of Akira
Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, the story about a town controlled by two rival gangs
and the stranger who gets in the middle, stirring up trouble to achieve his
own ends. Saddle up for a wild ride and a crucial chapter in genre history.
LICORICE PIZZA

OSCAR-NOMINATED for best picture, direction, and screenplay, Licorice
Pizza is a story of first love between a 15-year-old kid and a woman of
25 who’s working at his high school. From their first conversation, Gary
(Cooper Hoffman) pushes for a date, which Alana (Alana Heim), resists
aggressively, but having already become a minor TV and film star and
successful entrepreneur, he’s soon able to charm her. Given his age,
though, she just wants to be his friend; he, on the other hand, recog-
nizes his future wife. From this conflict, an awkward romance emerges
in adventures involving memorable appearances by Sean Penn, Tom
Working with the restoration provided by Italy’s L’Immagine Ritrovata, Waits, Bradley Cooper, and John Michael Higgins, each playing an older
Kino Lorber Studio Classics brought dozens of hours of new shot-by-shot absurdly macho/sexist type.
color grading to the 2.35:1 picture. Fistful was originally a low-budget ‘60s Wri en and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Pizza is set in the
production set in a bleak locale, so the results are not particularly pre y or San Fernando Valley of 1973 and echoes movies from the late Sixties and
especially colorful, with substantial grain that can lead to occasional flicker. early Seventies in mood, episodic style, and visuals—the most obvious
Blacks are crushed, but I’ve seen worse. Where the image excels is in the being Harold and Maude. There are also nods to Bob & Carol & Ted &
increased detail, right down to the fibers of Clint’s poncho. I must mention Alice, Bu erflies Are Free, The Goodbye Girl, and even direct quotes from
that the movie is presented in standard dynamic range, likely due to the The Graduate and Taxi Driver. Recreations of the era’s godawful fashions,
limited quality of the original film elements that yielded this 4K master. haircuts, and furnishings are authentic and convincing in a way that takes
The movie’s soundtrack has been available in rechanneled 5.1 before, you back to the Seventies.
and it’s a fine option with its wider sound Blacks are deep and whites are bright thanks to good contrast and detail,
field, but it’s not showoff material. More which also allows the period’s dreadful pa erns to remain distinct amid the
interesting is the new, correctly synced muddy browns and yellows that abound in wallpaper, sofas, carpets, the
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack. plentiful pastels and occasional primaries in
This synchronization is particularly important clothing, and the puce-, lime- and mustard-
as spaghe i westerns used the “Tower of colored telephones.
Babel” approach where each member of Pizza’s score kicks off with a glorious
the international cast spoke in his/her native recording of Nina Simone performing
language with English dubbed in later during “July Tree.” Sound comes at you from all
post-production. The dialogue matches the channels in an unusual, shiver-inducing
actors’ delivery as best it can, and there is mix that finds Simone’s shimmering voice
a clean precision overall, particularly in the emanating from the rear surround channels
whistling. Likewise, Ennio Morricone’s score with the orchestra up front. The rest of the
displays outstanding fidelity. soundtrack is a powerful and well-balanced
The 4K disc offers two expert audio jukebox of music from the likes of Bing
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY
commentaries, one old and one new, while Crosby, Todd Rundgren, Paul McCartney
STUDIO: KL Studio Classics, 1964 BLU-RAY
the HD Blu-ray disc adds a vast archive of ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1 STUDIO: Universal, 2021 and Wings, Stephen Stills, and Blood,
interviews, feature es, and other curiosities HDR FORMAT: N/A ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1 Sweat & Tears that never interferes with
AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master
from Fistful’s storied past. O CHRIS CHIARELLA the film’s crisp, sonorous dialogue. The
Audio 2.0 mono Audio 5.1 Wings performance of “Let Me Roll It” was
LENGTH: 100 mins LENGTH: 133 mins.
DIRECTOR: Sergio Leone DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson particularly stirring and expansive as sound
STARRING: Clint Eastwood, STARRING: Alana Haim, Cooper moved out into the room.
Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Hoffman, Bradley Cooper, Joseph Extras include a reel of fluff material
Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Cross, Benny Safdie, Anthony and unused takes, a deleted scene, a fake
Sieghardt Rupp, Joseph Egger Molinari, Sean Penn, Tom Waits commercial for Fat Bernie’s waterbeds, and
KL Studio Classics Universal a collection of stills and videos from the

set—charming but disappointingly thin a er
such fun. O JOSEF KREBS

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