Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - The Ballad of Little Jo -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Those whose main diet is super-hero films, Marvel tent-poles and Star Wars spin-offs, may want to avoid Maggie Greenwald's The Ballad of Little Jo.

It has no explosions, car (or space ship) chases, no strange creatures excepting some men of the olde west, and no hyper-special effects.

If, however, you find the works of Kelly Reichardt an appetizing concept, Little Joe may be the film for you, as it is for me.

Eschewing flashy film-making, and staying with the basics, Maggie Greenwald creates an insular world in which our heroine/hero survives.

I seldom get into cast specifics, but Suzy Amis is a superb Jo, and while it's difficult to envision her as male, one does get used to the concept. I'll go no further, and allow those who have never seen the film to live in the moment.

In a way, it's Mrs. Doubtfire or Yentl taken to dangerous extremes.

It was shot on film by Declan Quinn, who was also behind Ms. Greenwald's The Kill-Off. He may be best known for Leaving Las Vegas. One of his most recent is a musical entitled Hamilton.

The film was produced at a low budget point, and it tells it's story without excess.

As a new Blu-ray from Kino, based upon a 4k scan of the OCN, it beautifully mimics a 35mm print. As to audio, the original DVD was released as DTS 5.1, while the new Blu is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, which may have been the original mix. It works just fine.

Image – 10

Audio – 10

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Worth your attention - 7.5

Slipcover rating - 1

Upgrade from DVD - Absolutely

Recommended


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[jayembee]

Those whose main diet is super-hero films, Marvel tent-poles and Star Wars spin-offs, may want to avoid Maggie Greenwald's The Ballad of Little Jo.
[...]
If, however, you find the works of Kelly Reichardt an appetizing concept, Little Joe may be the film for you, as it is for me.

I'm a fan of both Marvel films and the works of Kelly Reichardt!

And it's really nice to have this on Blu-ray after years of only having it on DVD. The Blu-ray looks great.

 

[JoshZ]

Either James Cameron pulled some strings to get this movie yanked from obscurity, or someone at Kino Lorber is a clever opportunist timing it for release in proximity to the long-awaited discs for The Abyss, True Lies, etc.

 

[Robert Harris]

Either James Cameron pulled some strings to get this movie yanked from obscurity, or someone at Kino Lorber is a clever opportunist timing it for release in proximity to the long-awaited discs for The Abyss, True Lies, etc.

You might want to explain the connection for those who may be unaware.

 

[JoshZ]

You might want to explain the connection for those who may be unaware.

What would be the fun in that?

 

[Thomas T]

Either James Cameron pulled some strings to get this movie yanked from obscurity, or someone at Kino Lorber is a clever opportunist timing it for release in proximity to the long-awaited discs for The Abyss, True Lies, etc.

What does Mrs. James Cameron have to do with The Abyss or True Lies other than a wedding ring?

 

[SD_Brian]

I'm a fan of both Marvel films and the works of Kelly Reichardt!

Sorry, you're only allowed to like one or the other.

 

[SD_Brian]

What does Mrs. James Cameron have to do with The Abyss or True Lies other than a wedding ring?

She played one of the NTIs in The Abyss and there is a wedding ring attached to the hand-grenade pin on the True Lies poster, though that may have belonged to one of the previous Mrs. James Camerons.

 

[B-ROLL]

In a way, it's Mrs. Doubtfire or Yentyl taken to dangerous extremes.

Um I think my grandma had to put Yentyl... in her old car or it wouldn't run! (I think they later changed the name to HY-Test)... Barbra's seminal film was called Yentl ... ...

 

[Robert Harris]

Um I think my grandma had to put Yentyl... in her old car or it wouldn't run! (I think they later changed the name to HY-Test)... Barbra's seminal film was called Yentl ... ...

View attachment 210657

Barbra’s film had far nicer citizens, and more songs.

 

[JoshZ]

What does Mrs. James Cameron have to do with The Abyss or True Lies other than a wedding ring?

You have a better explanation for why this particular film, that probably only half a dozen people on Earth remember, would be released on disc right at this particular moment, other than that the current Mrs. James Cameron asked her husband to throw his weight around and make it happen while he was already doing the same for some of his own movies?

(No offense to the film, which is a perfectly fine piece of work. But it certainly hasn't had any staying power in the popular consciousnessness over the past three decades.)

Just seems like amusing timing to me, is all.

 

[jayembee]

Sorry, you're only allowed to like one or the other.

You can pry my Marvel discs or my Reichardt discs -- your choice -- out of my cold dead fingers...

 

[SD_Brian]

You have a better explanation for why this particular film, that probably only half a dozen people on Earth remember, would be released on disc right at this particular moment, other than that the current Mrs. James Cameron asked her husband to throw his weight around and make it happen while he was already doing the same for some of his own movies?

I assume you're joking, but for the sake of argument, let's say you're not: If Mr. Cameron threw his weight around, I would expect this to be a Disney 4K UHD release with Dolby Vision, Atmos, and the latest AI up-sampling thrown into the mix. Also, I would have expected the street date to have been timed to the release of Titanic, which actually features the future Mrs. Cameron in a speaking role, rather than to the release of his other titles. Kino rescues a lot of movies from semi-obscurity. This is one of them.

 

[JoshZ]

If Mr. Cameron threw his weight around, I would expect this to be a Disney 4K UHD release with Dolby Vision, Atmos, and the latest AI up-sampling thrown into the mix.

Well, my thought is that the guy might humor her, not that he'd put a lot of effort into it.