A Few Words About A few words about...™ Cutter's Way -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Some Blu-ray releases need a bit of hand-holding, as the public at large isn't familiar with them, or the received short shrift in their theatrical, and / or poor reviews.

What they need is a re-discovery.

Vertigo was one such film.

Cutter's Way is another.

A low-budget film, directed by Ivan Passer, it was released by a financially ailing United Artists with little to no fanfare as Cutter and Bone. It was renamed Cutter's Way, and finally got attention via UA's new art division, when it won awards at the Houston Film Festival, followed by others.

You don't hear a lot about it.

Thing is, it's a really good film.

Twilight Time has had the good sense to give it a shot on Blu-ray. I was going to get to it in time, but Kevin Koster insisted that I do it immediately.

Jeff Bridges and John Heard are terrific in the film, which demands your attention. Just go with this one. From the terrific main title sequence on, it will hold your attention.

How does it look?

Generally, terrific. A bit of sparkle, and that's about it. Nice grain structure, good color and shadow detail.

Image - 4.5

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 4.5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH

 

[Kevin EK]

What he said.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

I saw it when it was first released and can't remember a thing about it- all I remember is an eye patch. What is it about? Pass.

 

[Kevin EK]

Cutter's Way is a 1981 dramatic thriller with a touch of mystery. Bridges plays Richard Bone, who may have witnessed a killer dumping a body. Heard (in a career-best performance) plays Alex Cutter, a fairly bitter Vietnam veteran who blows up Bone's situation into a major conspiracy theory. And Cutter may well be right. Cutter's the one with the eye patch. He has a monologue in the middle of the movie that is alone worth the price of admission. They also have Stephen Elliott as a tycoon - in the same year that he played one in Arthur. The character here is definitely not the Burt Johnson we saw in the comedy.

I should also mention that the cinematographer is Jordan Cronenweth, and it's a good looking movie.

Ivan Passer has repeatedly stated that UA's treatment of his movie killed it. When he was interviewed by Film Comment in 1981, he said "You can assassinate movies as you can assassinate people. I think UA murdered the film. Or at least they tried to murder it."

I found the movie on the late, great Z Channel in Los Angeles back in the mid-80s. Something tells me it's another of the movies that Z Channel retrieved from obscurity. (There were many of those)

This is not an upbeat film by any means, but it is one that I really love.

 

[Charles Smith]

What he said.

And when you both say it, there's a trigger waiting to be pulled.

And just look at that sly reference to the Z Channel, placed there to push one over the edge. That's not sporting, sir. Now I'm buying on sentimentality.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Ah, yes, the Z Channel. I assume you both have that documentary. I enjoyed it a lot more than the recent Tower Records doc for L.A. media inspiration nostalgia.

http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Magni...UTF8&qid=1461800810&sr=1-1&keywords=z+channel

I actually saw the film at the theater with a writing buddy who identified a bit too closely with the Alex Cutter character.

 

[Kevin EK]

To Charles - See what I did there?

To Wayne - I just re-watched A Magnificent Obsession a month ago. I regularly return to it. And I still have a few of my old Z magazines from the late 70s and early 80s. I understand that the Los Angeles Public Library has preserved them in downtown LA for the real hardcore fans. But there are some great shots of various Z magazine covers available on google if you look.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I also have to check-in as a big fan of Cutter's Way. I don't yet have this new blu-ray from Twilight but I will. The performances in the film are fantastic and this is an excellent story well told on film. I have to say Jeff Bridges has been an excellent actor for a very long time and he appears in a lot of films I would call under appreciated classics. He seemed to have excellent taste when choosing his roles.

 

[The Drifter]

Re-watched Cutter's Way a couple of years ago. Definitely believe that this film features John Heard's best performance - he's very convincing as the disabled, drunken, but still extremely intelligent Cutter; he definitely disappears into the role to a great extent.

The film definitely has a late '70's feel/vibe, which makes sense since it was probably filmed in 1980. Nice Santa Barbara, CA setting as well.

The genuine friendship between Cutter & Bone (the Jeff Bridges character) is interesting, especially given that they have so little in common; Cutter is a disabled Vietnam vet, while Bone is little more than a beach bum. However, you can tell there's a mutual respect there & they definitely stand up for & look out for each other throughout the film.

Excellent & unexpected ending as well.