Performance
Directed By: Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg
Starring: James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, Michele Breton, Johnny Shannon
| Studio: Warner Brothers Year: 1970 Rated: R Film Length: 105 minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Subtitles: English (feature only) Release Date: February 13, 2006 |
Most people are other people.
- Oscar Wilde
"Performance", directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg from an original script by Cammel, is a difficult film to classify. It has an artsy, post-modernist viewpoint that was more common to literature than to studio-financed cinema at the time it was made, and invites both multiple viewings and continued analysis.
The Film
The first half of the movie introduces us to Chas (Fox), an enforcer in the protection racket for London crime boss Harry Flowers (Shannon). We observe him going about his job in a brutally effective manor, including a memorable scene where the paint is stripped off of a lawyer's Rolls Royce with acid and his chauffer is shaved bald. Chas' impulsive nature leads to circumstances forcing him to go on the lam both from the police and from Harry's crew who would rather put him down like a mad dog than see him taken into custody.
Chas finds a temporary refuge by subletting the basement room of a dilapidated house in Chelsea. The house is owned by Turner (Jagger) a former pop star who has lost his muse (referred to as his "demon") and is living a reclusive lifestyle with his two mistresses Pherber (Pallenberg) and Lucy (Breton). Chas becomes immersed in the sex, drugs, and art-soaked lifestyle of Turner, Pherber, and Lucy, who gradually force him to confront the dualities of his professional, sexual, and personal identity, affecting his ability to perform in his "normal" role of gangster.
For anyone with an interest in post-modernism and swinging London, "Performance" is the ultimate cinematic collision of the two. The film is thoroughly saturated in high and low culture with painting, literature, blues, sex, drugs, gangsters, technology, and just about any other preoccupation of late 60s young Britons casually integrated into the characters' environment.
Technically, the pre-MTV rapid cutting style, the innovative Jack Nitzsche soundtrack, the trick mirror shots, and the artsy lighting all underline and comment on the film's themes of duality and identity, while never getting in the way .... Okay, In the interest of full disclosure, I could have done without the ear-splitting synthesizer squeals during the early scenes of Chas going about his gangster business, but that is a minor quibble.
The film rewards and virtually demands attentive viewing. Allusions to literature and art are sprinkled throughout the film, most explicitly in the frequent references to Jorge Luis Borges. Characters blend into each other's roles, sometime in the middle of a scene. Dialog late in the film mirrors that from early in the film. It all amounts to quite a heady brew for viewers interested in connecting the dots.
The film is almost as well known for the circumstances under which it was made as for its groundbreaking content. Many of the participants were at a career cross-roads. It was the acting debut of Jagger. It was the directing debut of both Cammel and Roeg. It was James Fox's last film appearance for almost a decade. Keith Richards was apparently upset about girlfriend Pallenberg's sex scenes (and rumored real fling) with Jagger. Pallenberg descended into a drug abuse tailspin in the years following the film, and at least one participant in the film was subsequently imprisoned for real-life gangster activities. The torturous 2-year post production odyssey (the studio was expecting something more akin to "A Hard Day's Night") foreshadowed problems that Cammel would have getting film projects made through his career. These circumstances add to the film's legend, making it seem the result of a "perfect storm" of production chaos.
The Video
"Performance" is presented in a 16:9 enhanced transfer that is simply outstanding. I do not know whether the transfer clips a bit of a 1.66:1 original aspect ratio or expands a bit on a 1.85:1 original aspect ratio, but the framing did not appear noticeably compromised in either case. A variety of film stocks and photographic techniques were used to give the film its unique look, and they are well repesented on this DVD. Other than the opening and closing titles, which are understandably a couple optical generations down from the rest of the film, and certain sequences shot on 16mm film and/or with heavy filtering for effect, the source element appears to be pristine. A natural filmlike appearance is maintained throughout. Compression artifacts are unnoticeable from any reasonable viewing distance. There are no signs of ringing around high contrast edges. I really could not imagine this film looking any better in standard definition.
The Audio
The Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track is similarly outstanding. Dialog, music, and effects are well balanced in the open, dynamic mix. The audio of this film has something of a checkered past. In some previous releases, certain lines of dialog from the gangster Harry Flowers and the child, Lorraine, were re-dubbed with milder accents for American audiences. This release presents the original voices.
Note: There appears to be a single line of dialog omitted from the film during the musical bridge of the 'Memo from Turner" scene. I am not familiar enough with the history of the sound mixes of the film to weigh in definitively, but there is clearly a bit where Turner's lips are moving and no dialog is heard. It is being discussed in this HTF thread if you would like more detail.
The Extras
Extras consist of two featurettes and a theatrical trailer.
First up is a newly produced "making of" featurette entitled "Influence and Controversy". It is a well made "talking head" piece. Interview participants include Pallenberg, producer Sanford Lieberson, film scholar Colin McCabe, Jack Nietzsche Jr. (son of composer Jack Nietzsche), editor Antony Gibbs, co-editor Frank Mazzola, and associate producer David Cammell (Donald's brother). Topics include the genesis of the film, the collaborative working method of first-time directors Cammell and Roeg, biographical details about Cammell, and the films lengthy post-production travails. It runs 25 minutes and is presented in 16:9 enhanced video with DD 2.0 stereo audio.
Next up is a five minute vintage featurette called "Memo from Turner". It is largely promotional in nature, including a bunch of hyperbole about the greatness of star Mick Jagger and a little information about the film's soundtrack. It also includes about two-thirds of the "Memo from Turner" song segment from the movie, although not the part with the reportedly missing dialog. It is presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen with mono audio encoded in DD 2.0.
Finally, we have the film's suitably trippy theatrical trailer presented in 4:3 full frame video with a mono DD 2.0 audio track. It runs a little under three minutes. The promotional folks went for truth in advertising with this one when they describe "Performance" as "...a film about fantasy and reality...vice and versa...".
Packaging
The film comes in a standard Amaray-type hard plastic case. The cover art, featuring two images of Mick Jagger, mirrors the film's original promotional art.
Summary
While not for everyone, viewers looking for a challenging film that Homer Simpson would classify as more artsy than fartsy will be well-served by this DVD. Audio and video quality are outstanding, although there is reportedly an omitted line of dialog in the sound mix. An interesting and informative "making-of" featurette rounds out the package.
Regards,
Edited by Ken_McAlinden - 7/4/2009 at 06:40 pm GMT
