A Few Words About A few words about...™ One From the Heart -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Possibly because hybrids are in fashion, Lionsgate's release of their Blu-ray of Francis Ford Coppola's One From the Heart, is hopefully hitting the marketplace at the right time.

I love this film.

Part '40s Technicolor M-G-M musical (Gene Kelly was on set as a consultant), part Broadway musical, that continuously bends and blends the relationship between the two.

Originally planned as a smallish production from the newly anointed Zoetrope Studios in Hollywood, the film blossomed in size, and the rest is history.

Three decades ago, some of the public didn't know what to make of the production. I'm hopeful that by virtue of its inclusion in Lionsgate's Francis Ford Coppola 5-Film Collection, it may finally get its due.

This is a gorgeous film - shot in Technicolored hues (Michael Powell was on set as consultant) with wonderful performances and great music. Photographed by Ron Garcia and Vittorio Storaro, the new Blu-ray is one of those films that the medium was meant to reproduce.

The image is immaculate and perfect. Audio is in DTS-HD MA.

Did I mention that this is part of a 5-Film set?

Currently selling at Amazon for under $29, which is a great price for One From the Heart.

I'm not going to go with the "offer" line, but this one really is great.

Rather like steak knives on line.

Buy One From the Heart on Blu-ray, and Lionsgate will throw in -- absolutely free --

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now Redux

The Conversation

and

Tetro.

Image - 5

Audio -5

Among other extras is a superb non-puff piece documentary on Zoetrope Studios, the original concept and how it was affected by OFtH.

Also, for those who may not be aware, the other four films in the set have all been in previous release, and the quality of every one is superb.

Very Highly Recommended.

RAH

This is an interesting movie. Unlike Mr. Harris, I do not love it, but I think it has superlative visuals. I actually saw this in a theater, and was at the time disappointed, as it felt very much like Coppola was just trying to add another genre to his repertoire without having a real understanding of musicals. Kinski is a very beautiful women, but I do not feel she is a good actress (in spite of her effective turn in TESS -- but that was Polanski). But I will probably purchase it when/if it becomes available serparately, as I have the other four BD's.

Always meant to see this, never did, but it sounds like something I can really get into. I'll get it, but I, too, have the others and will wait to see if an individual release comes down the pike.

Is the version of Apocalypse the one that includes Hearts of Darkness? I didn't plan to get Apocalypse unless it was that version and already own the Conversation.
It's a tricky call because I WOULD pay $30 for One From The Heart. Does it have its own packaging? I can just go sell off the other discs besides Tetro I suppose, but if its several discs in a sleeve as a set that can't easily be broken up, then I think I'll wait for a potential single release of this one.

Originally Posted by Dick /t/325665/a-few-words-about-one-from-the-heart-in-blu-ray#post_4008086
This is an interesting movie. Unlike Mr. Harris, I do not love it, but I think it has superlative visuals. I actually saw this in a theater, and was at the time disappointed, as it felt very much like Coppola was just trying to add another genre to his repertoire without having a real understanding of musicals. Kinski is a very beautiful women, but I do not feel she is a good actress (in spite of her effective turn in TESS -- but that was Polanski). But I will probably purchase it when/if it becomes available serparately, as I have the other four BD's.

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Of course, Coppola had already directed a movie musical by that time: Finian's Rainbow, and he did very well by it, too.

I saw this one on original release in a virtually empty theater. I could admire the craft that went into different elements of the production even 30 years ago, but dramatically it seemed somewhat flat to me. But I was 17 at the time and rather easily bewildered. From the same year, iirc, I liked Pennies From Heaven better, which was also a strangely epic attempt to bring the musical back to life, and which failed at the box office just as spectacularly. Both theaters were equally empty, if memory serves. But I'm glad I saw each of these at least once.

In reading a biography of Coppola they make a good case that Columbia, who was contracted to distribute, had a vested interest in seeing the film not do well. They didn't have much upside if the film did business and the studios didn't want Zoetrope to get off the ground.
Columbia smothered another wonderful film with terrible distribution a few years later, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

MattH. said:

Of course, Coppola had already directed a movie musical by that time: Finian's Rainbow, and he did very well by it, too.

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This fan of musicals agrees wholeheartedly. It's funny to me that on the commentary to "Finian's Rainbow" Coppola seems to think his movie wasn't very good. Of all the musicals released in the wake of "The Sound of Music" I think "Finian's Rainbow" is one of the best. For someone who had never made a musical it's quite alright.

Eric Vedowski said:

This fan of musicals agrees wholeheartedly. It's funny to me that on the commentary to "Finian's Rainbow" Coppola seems to think his movie wasn't very good. Of all the musicals released in the wake of "The Sound of Music" I think "Finian's Rainbow" is one of the best. For someone who had never made a musical it's quite alright.

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Finian came in near the Dr. Doolittle end of the post-Sound of Music big-budget studio musical where, as the Golden Turkeys put it, "everybody runs down hills singing to overhead cameras soaring panoramic aerial shots".
I can appreciate there's been a few changes from the stage show (saw the original in high school), but since the movie had been out-of-sight/mind since its box office, think most of the weary genre hate hadn't been updated since the 70's. Always grew up watching the movie on TV, and it never seemed too bad. (Tommy Steele had to have one good movie, and it wasn't "Happiest Millionaire".)
But then, that was an actual musical. And we were visibly starting to forget what those were, by 1983.
A disembodied Tom Waits and Bonnie Raitt groaning on the soundtrack over a couple of David Mamet-y type losers is NOT a musical. It's not even an intentional deconstruction of a musical. Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis had disembodied songs on the soundtrack, and that one felt like a musical.
MGM house Kelly musicals were set up as excuses for dance numbers and studio-owned songs, and think we got one of those actual things in the movie. Only post-Apocalyptic Coppola would think it was "all about stage sets and studio moguls". And that's how the mogul lost the big stages to put them in.

ONE FROM THE HEART is a bold experiment that won me over right away. I admire Francis Ford Coppola for attempting it. He has courage. The composition and transitions dazzled me when I saw it. The editing dazzled me, too. Technically the film is without peer. Frederic Forrest is at his underrated best, and Teri Garr was never more enchanting than she is here. Raul Julia, who astounded me playing Dracula in the theatrical revival a few years before, leaves a strong impression. Everybody should give this film a chance to work its spell.
Is there any possibility ONE FROM THE HEART will be released individually?
I already bought the other blu-rays included in this set.

I love Coppola's film of "Finian's Rainbow" This film had a modest budget and was pretty inventive for it's time as it didn't have the over produced feeling of other musicals released at the time - and some great chemistry between Petual Clark and Don Francs - two singing actors who did not need to be dubbed! Astaire was wonderful and this film should have been better recieved

Really beautiful film to look at and always loved Teri Garr....Will pick this up if it is ever released separately.

What's the aspect ratio for this one. ?

Moe Dickstein said:

Is the version of Apocalypse the one that includes Hearts of Darkness?

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I would doubt it. That documentary was on Disc 3 of the "Full Disclosure Edition" set. I would imagine that Lionsgate just packed Disc 1 into this Coppola collection.

FoxyMulder said:

What's the aspect ratio for this one. ?

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1.37:1

Originally Posted by Robert Harris /t/325665/a-few-words-about-one-from-the-heart-in-blu-ray#post_4008395
1.37:1

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That's how i have always seen it in the past, just wanted to be sure.

I originally saw this when I was a teen because I wanted to see every film that had Natassja Kinski in it.
I could not make heads or tails of this film, but I was never bored looking at it.
The Blu-ray boxed set price point makes this an easy purchase for me.

Count me in as an admirer of "One From The Heart" too. Though there have been a number of versions over the years. The one I saw in the theater was different in some ways than what was presented on DVD a few years back. Structure is a little different and I believe Coppola pulled a scene or two (not sure). Regardless, it was a bold step whose production somewhat overwhelmed the small story. But I love it. I loved the style, look, and music. And I loved Coppola's audacity and creativity. The camera moving between walls and scenes--brilliance. This is one of those movies that grows on you and has an unstated sweetness to it. I actually paid homage to it in a (very small) film I directed last year.

owen35 said:

Count me in as an admirer of "One From The Heart" too. Though there have been a number of versions over the years. The one I saw in the theater was different in some ways than what was presented on DVD a few years back. Structure is a little different and I believe Coppola pulled a scene or two (not sure). Regardless, it was a bold step whose production somewhat overwhelmed the small story. But I love it. I loved the style, look, and music. And I loved Coppola's audacity and creativity. The camera moving between walls and scenes--brilliance. This is one of those movies that grows on you and has an unstated sweetness to it. I actually paid homage to it in a (very small) film I directed last year.

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The only alternate of which I'm aware was the opening sequence with sand nudes.

How does it compare to the earlier standard-def DVD edition Fantoma put out? Does it port over the same special features? Does it look like a new transfer?