Kino Lorber recently revived the celluloid lives of three near-obscure films via 4K/Blu-ray discs. All three had difficult journeys to the screen and even more disastrous release histories. And all three are worthwhile for differing reasons.
A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon — Blu-ray — Kino Lorber
River Phoenix was the kind of promising young actor, like Heath Ledger, who was always compelling, even in mediocre parts, that it’s gutting to think about the onscreen performances he might have gifted us had he not prematurely died. After doing great work in Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me and Peter Weir’s highly underrated The Mosquito Coast, both in 1986, he shot the then titled Aren’t You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye? which was rejiggered when Fox purchased it from writer-director William Richert and not released until 1988, the same year that Phoenix would deliver his best screen performance in Sidney Lumet’s Running on Empty and, at 18, received his first and only Oscar nomination.
Retitled A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, the movie is set in a Chicago suburb in the early 1960s and centers on the sexual misadventures of the titular character, a beat poet wannabe, who can’t decide what he wants to do after high school. The reason to watch the film is to experience Phoenix’s magnetic performance (which he was not happy with). Even when his character is doing stupid or despicable things, we still root for him because the actor is so adorable.
Alas, the movie, based on the book by Richert, can’t decide if it wants to be a sex comedy, a coming-of-age saga or a social satire. And it misses on each count.
It is fun (and a bit sad) to see a very young Matthew Perry in the throwaway role of Jimmy’s bestie. And Ann Magnuson and Ione Skye make the most of their underwritten parts. Marji Banks steals her two scenes as a heavily made up, overbearing mother of a photographer. I just wish Richert had more respect for this actress and not treated her character as a joke
The behind-the-scenes story of how Fox bought the film only to “desecrate it,” according to Richert, is much more fascinating than the film itself. Apparently Fox threw out Elmer Bernstein’s score in favor of a lighter one by Bill Conti. An original song sung by Johnny Mathis and later reprised by Phoenix was excised. Richert’s narration was replaced, etc.…
Years later, Richert made his “director’s cut” available under his original title, Aren’t You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye?, and it’s a shame it hasn’t been included on this disc (probably a rights issue). But it can be rented for $1.99 via Prime.
The director has the dubious distinction of having another major title of his, Winter Kills(1979), recut by a distributor (Embassy Pictures). Richert was able to acquire the rights back and release his own cut of that pic in 1983.
The Kino Lorber transfer of Jimmy Reardon looks terrific and the sound is fine.
The Blu-ray includes a new audio commentary by film historians Paul Anthony Nelson and Perri Cummings who chat about some of the controversy as well as the differences from the book.
https://kinolorber.com/product/a-night-in-the-life-of-jimmy-reardon
K2 – Special Edition 4K/Blu-ray – Kino Lorber
K2 began life as a 1982 stage play, written by Patrick Meyers, that didn’t run very long but won a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design.
Oddly, almost a decade later, in 1991, it was “opened up” into an action-adventure thriller that wasn’t received well by critics or audiences but deserves to be re-discovered.
The Brit director, Franc Roddam, mostly worked in TV and had only made five feature films (Quadrophenia, The Lords of Discipline, The Bride, a segment of Aria and War Party). K2 would be his sixth and last film (and he is still with us).
The narrative focuses on two friends, attorney Taylor Brooks (Michael Biehn) and physics professor Harold Jamison (Matt Craven) who both have one obsessive dream: to climb K2, known as “The Savage Mountain.” They meet a mountaineer assembling an international expedition team and set off. Based loosely in fact, the film suffers from some lousy acting (not from the leads) and cliche dialogue.
What makes it worthwhile are the staggering, often nail-biting climb scenes photographed by Gabriel Beristain.
The film was a success when it premiered at Cannes but had the ill fortune of being acquired by Harvey “Scissorhands” Weinstein who, then, changed the score and pressured Roddam into cutting six minutes and then cutting six more. He then previewed the shit out of it, as was Weinstein’s disgusting way. Hollywood should be thrilled to be rid of this clown who knew nothing about the art of cinema and only cared about money…and raping women. But I digress…
The disc boasts a gorgeous 4K Scan of the 35mm original camera negative. It’s mesmerizing to experience these on-location shots and there are a few truly terrifying sequences.
The Special Features include an informative 46-minute chat with Roddam titled, The Ascent & The Descent. The director goes on at great length about the battles fought, how he had a great time making the film, but that it was the worst post-production time ever. And he details how his movie was partially destroyed by Weinstein. There were two cuts besides his original version, one released in the US, the other in Japan and Europe—with different score (by Chaz Jankel & Hans Zimmer, respectively).
The new audio commentary by entertainment journalists Bryan Reesman and Max Evry discuss the stage play and adaptation, the casting process and the difficult shoot.
Here is yet another disc where it would have been wonderful to have the original director’s cut so we could have it as comparison to what was released —if one even exists—but at the very least, it could have included the two released prints. Here, we only get the U.S. version.
K2 is worth seeing for the spectacular mountain sequences alone. Hope springs eternal that a director’s cut will see the light of day…one day…
https://kinolorber.com/product/k2-special-edition
House of Cards – Blu-ray – Kino Lorber
Celebrated director John Guillermin, who would co-direct the greatest disaster film of all time, The Towering Inferno, in 1974, already had established himself as an impressive filmmaker thanks to his acclaimed WWI drama, The Blue Max in 1966, starring George Peppard, who had nothing but praise for the helmer.
Two years later the two embarked on a neo-noir crime drama, House of Cards, based on the novel by Stanley Ellin and written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. (both Oscar-nominated for Hud and would be again a decade later for Norma Rae). But this project yielded mixed results.
The film begins intriguingly enough. Rene Chenard (Peppard) is an American boxer working in Paris who is hired by a rich and enigmatic French widow, Anne de Villemont (the beguiling Inger Stevens), to tutor her eight-year-old young son. But Rene soon realizes there’s something shady going on. Anne is being held against her will by her ruthless family, led by the mean and nasty Leschenhaut (Orson Welles, having a ball). Rene’s sleuthing uncovers much more than domestic intrigue. He discovers a far-right plan to take over the French government!
Guillermin gets his Hitchcock on, even when the movie becomes too murky and muddled. The cinematography by Piero Portalupi, especially captures the Roman ruins well and future Love Story Oscar-winner Francis Lai provides a fab, period-perfect score.
The film was released in the UK in November of 1968 and was barely released here in the U.S. in September of 1969. And although it received limited VHS, DVD and Blu ray releases in other countries, this is the first time it can be seen in the U.S. on any home entertainment format.
Kino Lorber’s Blu ray looks fantastic in its graininess, keeping true to the 2.35:1 Techniscope aspect ratio. Sound is fine.
Extras include a trailer and a new audio commentary by film historian Gary Gerani.
House of Cards is one of those flawed, lost gems that, thanks to Kino Lorber, can and should be sought out.
https://kinolorber.com/product/house-of-cards
