Mitchum is perfect as the world-weary P.I. with a heart as soft as his mattress.
Video:
The powers that be at Pioneer Video, now distributed by Artisan, have not yet done many feature films on DVD, but that doesn't let them off the hook for the generally below-average quality of this disc's picture and sound. The screen ratio is exactly what it has always been on video tape, 1.33:1 pan-and-scan. OK, we can forgive them for this oversight since the squarish size helps to recreate the illusion of an older, 1940's film.
Worse, however, is that anyone's initial impression of the picture quality must be totally negative. The movie starts out at night, and the colors are dark, mostly shades of red and brown, soft, bleared, and over saturated; then you realize the picture is supposed to be that way, at least at first. The focus never improves and the image gets even more grainy as the movie goes on, but the colors finally become more realistic and relatively natural with the coming of daylight, about twenty minutes or so into the story. As for the dim, neon-blurred tones of the opening, I suppose they help set the mood for the old noir films this one emulates.
Audio:
In addition, the sound is below par. It's remastered in Dolby Digital and it's probably the best it could be, but that isn't saying much. It's all midrange monaural--no highs, no lows, all center channel, with some faint yet discernible background noise. It's audio that's more like 1941 than 1975, but, again, if it's looked at charitably it conveys an old-time movie flavor.
Extras:
Beyond the film, there is little else. A scene index with sixteen chapter stops. Nothing more. If the folks at Pioneer want to sell discs, they might consider offering something more than they do here. Unless, of course, buyers are fully aware how good the movie content is, which in this case entirely makes up for the DVD's lack of bonus items and technical merit.
Parting Thoughts:
Mitchum would later reprise the Marlowe role in "The Big Sleep," but to no avail. The Chandler era had been updated from the forties to the present and the location from L.A. to London, thereby depriving the story of two of its most important elements. As far as "Farewell, My Lovely" goes, it's unfortunate about the picture and sound, but until something better in a private-eye yarn comes along, this one is as good as it gets.
The powers that be at Pioneer Video, now distributed by Artisan, have not yet done many feature films on DVD, but that doesn't let them off the hook for the generally below-average quality of this disc's picture and sound. The screen ratio is exactly what it has always been on video tape, 1.33:1 pan-and-scan. OK, we can forgive them for this oversight since the squarish size helps to recreate the illusion of an older, 1940's film.
Worse, however, is that anyone's initial impression of the picture quality must be totally negative. The movie starts out at night, and the colors are dark, mostly shades of red and brown, soft, bleared, and over saturated; then you realize the picture is supposed to be that way, at least at first. The focus never improves and the image gets even more grainy as the movie goes on, but the colors finally become more realistic and relatively natural with the coming of daylight, about twenty minutes or so into the story. As for the dim, neon-blurred tones of the opening, I suppose they help set the mood for the old noir films this one emulates.
Audio:
In addition, the sound is below par. It's remastered in Dolby Digital and it's probably the best it could be, but that isn't saying much. It's all midrange monaural--no highs, no lows, all center channel, with some faint yet discernible background noise. It's audio that's more like 1941 than 1975, but, again, if it's looked at charitably it conveys an old-time movie flavor.
Extras:
Beyond the film, there is little else. A scene index with sixteen chapter stops. Nothing more. If the folks at Pioneer want to sell discs, they might consider offering something more than they do here. Unless, of course, buyers are fully aware how good the movie content is, which in this case entirely makes up for the DVD's lack of bonus items and technical merit.
Parting Thoughts:
Mitchum would later reprise the Marlowe role in "The Big Sleep," but to no avail. The Chandler era had been updated from the forties to the present and the location from L.A. to London, thereby depriving the story of two of its most important elements. As far as "Farewell, My Lovely" goes, it's unfortunate about the picture and sound, but until something better in a private-eye yarn comes along, this one is as good as it gets.
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[release]2231[/release]