Nestor_Ramos
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Lilith
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star
Year: 1964
Rated: NR
Film Length: 114 Min.
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Color/B&W: B&W
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, Japanese
MSRP: $24.96
When we first see Lilith, it’s in an over-the-shoulder shot, with the camera looking out from behind her. Everyone is looking over someone’s shoulder in director Robert Rossen’s nearly-forgotten final film.
But I’m getting ahead of myself – we’re not properly introduced to the title character for some time. Vincent Bruce (Warren Beatty) has recently returned from World War II. He’s the sort of guy who drinks beer in his bedroom while watching exceedingly violent newsreel war footage and muttering to himself about death. Naturally, he’s immediately hired to work with patients at a local insane asylum. Or whatever we’re calling nut houses these days.
Lilith (Jean Seberg) is a patient at the hospital, and she also does odd things with her leisure time, like playing a homemade flute and staring out the window. It should be noted here that Seberg, for those who don’t know, is stunning.
Vincent, trying to learn how to relate to the people in the asylum, develops a bond with Lilith. Her dementia is not the raving, slobbering lunacy of typical asylum films, and in fact Vincent finds himself all the more attracted to her “little world.”
This was one of Beatty’s first lead roles, and he’s a smoldering presence. Heck, I’d probably sleep with the Warren Beatty of that era. And I’m straight. There’s not a ton of acting for him to do, but what there is he handles well, conveying deeply buried pain and seriousness. In a scene shared by Beatty and Hackman (young Hackman’s only scene in the film), the two actors play off one another beautifully, as Hackman, the thoughtless lout, assails Beatty, who recedes into his collar in embarrassment.
Rossen’s skill with the camera was ahead of its time, the equal of better-known directors like Michelangelo Antonioni, whose work this resembles in many ways. Though the plot meanders and then sprints forward when the finish line is in sight, and much of the treatment of mental illness is irredeemably dated, it’s an effective film overall, thanks primarily to the strength of the performances and the masterful, intelligent direction.
Video
This is a splendid transfer, considering the film is now forty years old. There is minimal grain and film artifacts (dust, scratches on the print). Check out the weave in Beatty’s jacket early on – the detail is nearly up to the standards of a film shot and transferred yesterday. The wonderful black and white cinematography is crisp when it needs to be, with fine brightness and shadow. Overall, a very good job. For a film of this age, there’s really nothing to complain about.
Audio
Dialogue is fairly clear, but the sound overall is a bit tinny, as if the soundtrack were recorded off of television. Fortunately, there are almost no sound effects. This certainly could have been a better mix, but it doesn’t detract much from the film.
Special Features
Ain’t none. There are a few previews, one nifty one for the re-mastered Easy Rider. Otherwise, nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Conclusion
The lack of any special features – nothing? NOTHING? – makes this a bit of a hard sell. Still, it’s a fine film, particularly for admirers of the period, or of Beatty. It’s a splendid transfer of a forgotten film, and Sony should be praised for making a solid effort when it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Let’s face it: the chances of this being a money-maker are exactly zero. In that regard, it’s a welcome addition to my library.
