Page 70 - 2022-08-01 Sound & Vision

1776

LONG BEFORE Lin-Manuel Miranda set the American Revolution to music,
playwright Peter Stone and composer/lyricist Sherman Edwards gave
us an entertaining history lesson of their own, set in 1776. An unpopular
John Adams, poetic Thomas Jefferson, and impish Ben Franklin are
focused on a future free of British oppression, despite the danger of such
a declaration, but when the decision is made that such a vote must be
unanimous, the challenge becomes much more difficult. While a far cry
from the hip-hop beats of Hamilton, the songs here do a remarkable job of
conveying facts and weaving a compelling story that’s worth telling again
and again.
The film was treated by some as a redheaded stepchild (reportedly
Richard Nixon didn’t like its themes, which prompted producer Jack L. TRUE ROMANCE
Warner to order some painful cuts), and its physical elements had fallen into
disrepair over the years. Significant restoration was required to create the
four different versions of the movie offered in this three-disc set. The long- THESE DAYS, you’re not likely to see a Quentin Tarantino script directed
MIA 1992 laserdisc version, cobbled together with limited resources at the by someone else, but there was a time when the young filmmaker-
time, is presented in standard definition with Dolby Digital stereo audio and, cum-video-store-clerk was raising funds to make his directorial debut
at almost three hours, is the longest. The original theatrical cut, the shortest (Reservoir Dogs) and sold True Romance, which was ultimately helmed by
Top Gun’s Tony Sco . The movie took a few years to find its audience—
and current cult status—but is now hard to see as anything but inspired
and uniquely entertaining.
Minimum-wage kid Clarence (Christian Slater) meets Alabama (Patricia
Arque e), a hooker with a heart of gold, and they fall madly in love. Things
get really complicated really fast as they discover hitherto untapped poten-
tial and flee Detroit for sunny L.A. with a suitcase of missing drugs and the
mob on their trail.
Sco ’s films have a conspicuous visual style, which is celebrated in the
beautiful 4K restorations of both the theatrical and unrated cuts, the la er
boasting snippets that intensify the film’s violence, notably in the sequence
when mob enforcer Virgil (James Gandolfini) confronts Alabama. Deep,
organic blacks are nicely balanced against Dolby Vision-enabled highlights,
and the clarity of the 4K transfer is striking, despite the constant presence
version, is presented in high definition with a DTS-HD Master Audio stereo of light film grain and an occasional mushy shot that risks spoiling the fun.
soundtrack. There’s also the “Extended Cut,” a bit of a kitchen sink with Most memorable are the vibrant candy colors of Los Angeles, a far cry from
extra verses of songs and an additional gag thrown in here and there—not the gri iness of the Motor City.
particularly seamless but not terribly jarring either. The 5.1-channel mix positions music—vintage needle drops and Hans
The star of the show, however, is Peter Hunt’s director’s cut, presented in Zimmer’s compositions—squarely within the soundstage. The low-end is
4K with upgraded Dolby Atmos sound and respectable and the movie has a welcome
two archival commentary tracks. Faces and spaciousness, though the overall volume
costumes, which favor finely pa erned prints, is considerably higher than most of the
are the main beneficiaries of a transfer also discs I’ve been watching lately, requiring
notable for its bright colors. Though some some adjustment. An uncompressed stereo
noise and video compression are evident, track from the original 1993 release is also
there is also a slight but undeniable boost included.
in sharpness, notably in the brick facade of This “Limited Edition Deluxe Steelbook”
Independence Hall, when compared with of True Romance (one of several different
the HD Blu-ray disc, which appears to be the editions) is the latest in Arrow Video’s
2015 release with new artwork and is likely wave of fan-favorite 4K releases, which
born of the same 4K master. includes John McNaughton’s prurient Wild
A male chorus belting out dramatic and Things. It arrives with two discs in a metal
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY ULTRA HD BLU-RAY
sometimes funny tunes makes for a powerful case housed inside an impressive box
STUDIO: Sony, 1972 STUDIO: Arrow, 1993
Atmos track that reveals a faint echo applied ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1 ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1 with a poster, lobby cards, and a perfect-
to certain singing voices, while preserving HDR FORMAT: Dolby Vision, HDR10 HDR FORMAT: Dolby Vision, HDR10 bound book packed with photos, essays,
the reverberant quality of the main Congress AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master interviews, and Edgar Wright’s 2012 eulogy
TrueHD 7.1 core Audio 5.1
chamber where most of the action takes for Tony Sco . Three decades’ worth of
LENGTH: 165/168/142/178 mins. LENGTH: 119/121 mins.
place. Whether indoors or outdoors, the DIRECTOR: Peter H. Hunt DIRECTOR: Tony Scott legacy content is presented in on-disc
soundtrack conveys a soundstage that is STARRING: William Daniels, STARRING: Christian Slater, extras, comprising deleted and extended
enjoyably full without ever resorting to overt Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, scenes, four full-length audio commentaries,
Donald Madden, Blythe Danner, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer,
gimmickry. including a rare (and wonderful) track by
John Cullum Gary Oldman
Most of the supplements are on the HD Tarantino, scene-specific commentaries by
Blu-ray disc and include a treasure trove of members of the star-studded supporting
previously released deleted/alternate scenes cast, and fresh retrospectives from the
and screen tests. O CHRIS CHIARELLA Sony Arrow talented crew. O CHRIS CHIARELLA

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70 August September 2022 soundandvision.com