A Few Words About A few words about...™ U Turn -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Oliver Stone's U Turn (1997) is one of those rare darkly-humored noirs set under the brightest sunlight imaginable -- the very insular small town of Superior, Arizona, which came into being at the time of the great silver rush in the last quarter of the 19th century. If it looks familiar, the town has been used in films such as How the West Was Won, Eight Legged Freaks, Blind Justice, The Prophecy and The Gauntlet.


Spending just the shortest time with the locals in the film, will push any visitor not to spend another minute amongst them.


A quick check of the cast should tell you that something odd is going on in town -- Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Claire Danes, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Bob Thornton, and Jon Voight, are the featured inhabitants, but not the only ones we don't want to get to know better.


U Turn was a film that didn't receive raves from most critics. It might be a bit over the top for the genre. But for those who appreciate the darkness, and the constantly downward spiral, it's definitely worth the two hours.


​Both image and audio quality as presented by Twilight Time's new Blu-ray are superb. Robert Richardson's cinematography captures every bit of the beauty and squaller. The track is strong, crisp and clear.


While not a film that will be appreciated by all tastes, I find that once you enter the maze, you have a difficult time leaving.


Image - 5


Audio - 5


Pass / Fail - Pass


Recommended


RAH

Robert Harris said:

U Turn was a film that didn't receive raves from most critics. It might be a bit over the top for the genre. But for those who appreciate the darkness, and the constantly downward spiral, it's definitely worth the two hours.

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I saw it in a near empty theater back in 1997 and have been a big fan since. I love the craziness, the pitch black comedy and The Twilight Zone sense of justice.


And big thumbs up to Twilight Time for getting a commentary from Oliver Stone since it was one of his only pictures to not have had one on DVD.

TravisR said:

I saw it in a near empty theater back in 1997 and have been a big fan since. I love the craziness, the pitch black comedy and The Twilight Zone sense of justice.


And big thumbs up to Twilight Time for getting a commentary from Oliver Stone since it was one of his only pictures to not have had one on DVD.

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Twilight Time does everything in their power to create a special release -- inclusive of the monographs.


RAH

Love this film and something sort of funny when I watched this blu-ray. I was thinking "Wow this must have been one of January Jones' first roles and I did not even remember she was in it!"







Really she and Claire could be sisters...

I agree, I didn't get to see it in theaters but I bought the DVD the day it was released. I was intrigued by the film and it was a crazy trip I went on during that viewing. I didn't know what to expect. I thought the film was just brilliant. so many genius moments in this film. One of my favorites was the sound effects dealing with the crowbar moment.


I loved the reversed film stock technique used, and that piece of music Ennio M. used when Jennifer Lopez's character was introduced. Those who own the Criterion BLU for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion will love it also.


I can't say enough good things about this film. It pained me to hear Stone mention how the film was rec'd and the theatrical non life of the film. I still to this day believe this is one of the few Ebert reviews I never agreed with. Stone mentions part of the review in his commentary track. Maybe Ebert was in too serious a mood for the film at that screening.


Great cast parts in every role. I just LOVE Aida Linares as Jamilla the grocery store lady. She steals the show and the shot of her show and the meat cut is just priceless. Little insert pieces like that make this film a lot of fun.

TravisR said:

I saw it in a near empty theater back in 1997 and have been a big fan since. I love the craziness, the pitch black comedy and The Twilight Zone sense of justice.


And big thumbs up to Twilight Time for getting a commentary from Oliver Stone since it was one of his only pictures to not have had one on DVD.

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One of the other striking things when I watched this was during the introduction by Oliver Stone he seemed to get very emotional and about to breakdown and cry. He indicates that he was at a low point in his life while making this film and was on the verge of giving up on filmmaking altogether. Personally, I love his work right up through Alexander but from World Trade Center on his feature films almost seem like they were made by another filmmaker.

My oh my oh my, how some films will age like an oak-casked brandy.


I hadn't seen U-Turn since its all-too-brief theatrical run back in '97. At the time I recall being entertained, but left thinking "what a pity this potentially great neo-noir was undermined by so much post-modern humour...just too aware-of-itself to be taken seriously". In retrospect, what a sad mis-characterization of what Oliver Stone and company were actually up to here. Truth is, some works just need that second or third pass to get beyond our self-constrained genre expectations*. Now I'm actually flirting with the 'C'-word**...I think this is a brilliant work, and among Stone's short list best. Ditto for the performers, some of whom have rarely been better on screen (especially Jennifer Lopez).


I haven't yet watched this disc with Oliver Stone's commentary; after my re-acclimatization with the film itself, I jumped straight to Nick Redman's session with Mike Medavoy. That track yielded some fascinating insights into the industry forces shaping studio production both then and now, very little of it dovetailing with specific scenes in this film. But overall, I felt like I'd just finished reading a candid little industry insider retrospective, and am now even more eager to hear what Mr. Stone has to say about his film.


Overall, a savvy, underappreciated acquistion by TT treated with much overdue respect. When they first announced this title, I thought "Yeah. Okay. Good flick. Not exactly burning to see it again though." Happy to report that I couldn't have been more wrong about that - this one is definitely a keeper which will be haunting movie fans for many years to come.


* This always happened to me with Joni Mitchell's music - she was never where I thought she'd be, so typically it wasn't until the third or fourth listen of her albums, that began to get over my expectations and truly appreciate - then invariably come to love - the work on her terms.


** Classic

ROclockCK said:

My oh my oh my, how some films will age like an oak-casked brandy.


I hadn't seen U-Turn since its all-too-brief theatrical run back in '97. At the time I recall being entertained, but left thinking "what a pity this potentially great neo-noir was undermined by so much post-modern humour...just too aware-of-itself to be taken seriously". In retrospect, what a sad mis-characterization of what Oliver Stone and company were actually up to here. Truth is, some works just need that second or third pass to get beyond our self-constrained genre expectations*. Now I'm actually flirting with the 'C'-word**...I think this is a brilliant work, and among Stone's short list best. Ditto for the performers, some of whom have rarely been better on screen (especially Jennifer Lopez).

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Like you, I appreciate U Turn much more now than I did when I saw it during its theatrical run.

I think it's a classic case of "How could anything this gull durn entertaining actually be any good?" But what a qualitative leap it took in terms of impact during those intervening years.


Of course it hadn't changed; I just finally caught up to it.