Tanner '88 (DVD)
APPROX. 353 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1988 - MPA RATING: NR
" Jack can only shake his head in despair when his discussion of the civil rights movement at a campaign event prompts the question: “What’s Selma?”
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Altman and Trudeau resist the urge to portray Jack as the liberal "dream date" candidate; for one thing, he never seems to commit fully to a position, instead hesitating and looking for feedback from others. He´s also more than a little aloof, frequently making his campaigners, most of whom work for nothing, feel alienated and unappreciated. The filmmakers do, however, indulge in a bit of leftist fantasy when naming Tanner´s hypothetical Cabinet, the highlights being Gloria Steinem as Secretary of Health and Human Services and Ralph Nader as Attorney General. You can practically hear the Wall Street brokers scrambling to buy puts.
Altman claims Tanner ´88 inspired him to do his most creative work. Whether you agree with him will depend on the degree to which you find this political subculture interesting. No doubt, die-hard political junkies will treasure this series. Personally, while I enjoyed the film for Murphy´s subdued, assured performance and Cynthia Nixon´s naïve energy, I had only a lukewarm response to the considerable time spent on the day-to-day machinations of Tanner´s campaign. A simple test: if you love Doonesbury, you might love Tanner ´88.
The series ends somewhat abruptly in Episode 11 as Jack decides whether or not to continue his campaign. Altman had planned to shoot one or two more episodes but they never materialized. However, he did return to his cast of characters 16 years later, in 2004´s "Tanner on Tanner." My review of that series can also be found here on DVDTown.
VIDEO:
The DVD is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The series was shot on video with extensive handheld work though also with some fairly elaborate camera movements. The net result is something which looks like part newscast, part home movie and part student film. The transfer is clean and professional just as you would expect from Criterion.
AUDIO:
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Surround. The sound design is pretty simple and the dialogue is clear. The incredibly grating "Exercise Your Right to Vote" theme song, in all its permutations, is also well mixed. There are no elaborate sound effects. There are no subtitles. Optional English language closed captions support the audio.
EXTRAS:
For a Criterion release, this DVD is shockingly bare bones. The one and only extra is a 20-minute discussion between Altman and Trudeau. It´s a treat for fans of either man but it´s quite surprising that Criterion couldn´t offer anything else, not even any promotional features. If you buy this DVD, you´re buying it strictly for the series.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
Michael Murphy bears at least a passing resemblance to John Kerry and some of the other parallels seem striking. How much have things changed since 1988? Try this quote on for size: "(Today we have) a White House that is intellectually inert… and bored by introspection and ideas of substance." Were those words spoken by Jack Tanner in 1988 or John Kerry in 2004? I guess it doesn't matter.
Trudeau once went in search of Reagan´s brain. I wonder if he ever imagined we might have a president who would make the Gipper seem like a hidebound Ivy League academician.
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