- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 17,443
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
From everything that I've read, Kelly Reichardt is a filmmaker that eschews convention, and does what she desires to do.
I "discovered" her, when I saw her film Night Moves, not to be confused with Arthur Penn's film of the same name, a couple of years ago.
It's taken some time, but I've finally gotten the chance to see her 2010 production, about a tiny wagon train heading west through the Oregon desert in 1845.
And I've been thoroughly impressed.
It's not only a tiny wagon train, but a tiny film. Very sparse dialogue. Doesn't need it.
Beautifully shot by Chris Blauvelt, in 1.37, which seems to tie in with the ability toward peripheral vision of the women travelers and their bonnets.
Watching a modern film in 1.37 is rathe like visiting an old friend. And it reminds us, that at least part of the time, conventions of time aside, that there always were, and are today, specific rationales toward the selection of an aspect ratio.
Performances are toned down. Time is taken for the audience to almost live with the characters - Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson, and Rod Rondeaux - and their painful journey.
I mention the actors, as most films concerning wagon trains, have a cast thousands, and wagons moving across the screen from fore to background. Huge films.
Meek's Cutoff has three.
And the list of cast members above is in its entirety.
The Blu-ray comes from Oscilloscope, and short of a trailer and ten minutes of basically raw footage taken on set, it's a very sparse release. No interviews. No commentaries. No featurettes with cast and crew telling us how much they love on another, and how this shoot was the best of their careers.
None of that.
Beautiful packaging.
Meek's Cutoff is not your normal production, it's tiny, and packs a wallop.
And it's nice to get away from alien creatures and super heroes occasionally.
Image - 5
Audio - 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH
I "discovered" her, when I saw her film Night Moves, not to be confused with Arthur Penn's film of the same name, a couple of years ago.
It's taken some time, but I've finally gotten the chance to see her 2010 production, about a tiny wagon train heading west through the Oregon desert in 1845.
And I've been thoroughly impressed.
It's not only a tiny wagon train, but a tiny film. Very sparse dialogue. Doesn't need it.
Beautifully shot by Chris Blauvelt, in 1.37, which seems to tie in with the ability toward peripheral vision of the women travelers and their bonnets.
Watching a modern film in 1.37 is rathe like visiting an old friend. And it reminds us, that at least part of the time, conventions of time aside, that there always were, and are today, specific rationales toward the selection of an aspect ratio.
Performances are toned down. Time is taken for the audience to almost live with the characters - Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson, and Rod Rondeaux - and their painful journey.
I mention the actors, as most films concerning wagon trains, have a cast thousands, and wagons moving across the screen from fore to background. Huge films.
Meek's Cutoff has three.
And the list of cast members above is in its entirety.
The Blu-ray comes from Oscilloscope, and short of a trailer and ten minutes of basically raw footage taken on set, it's a very sparse release. No interviews. No commentaries. No featurettes with cast and crew telling us how much they love on another, and how this shoot was the best of their careers.
None of that.
Beautiful packaging.
Meek's Cutoff is not your normal production, it's tiny, and packs a wallop.
And it's nice to get away from alien creatures and super heroes occasionally.
Image - 5
Audio - 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH
