Best Picture nominee Licorice Pizza comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Universal, distributing for MGM.
The Production: 3/5
Ever come across a movie that your friends and critics rave about, and then when you finally sit down to watch it, two hours or so later, you just say to yourself, “eh?” For me, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza is one of those movies. It’s a good movie, full of wonderful performances, but as a whole, I felt rather indifferent about it, and that is after screening it twice. Sorry, PTA fans.
The film opens in 1973 in the San Fernando Valley, as 15 year old child actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) is waiting in line at high school for his school photo. It is here that he first meets 25 year old photographer’s assistant Alana (Alana Haim). Gary is a bit of a smooth talker, and quickly strikes up a conversation with Alana, and while Gary develops a crush on her, Alana manages to keep him at bay as the two strike up a friendship that will lead to them being business partners, first in a fledgling waterbed business (which inexplicably leads them to a confrontation with celebrity hairstylist and future movie producer Jon Peters, played over the top by Bradley Cooper) and eventually a pinball arcade within days after they became legal again in California. It’s a coming of age story told in episodic form, starting with a press junket, to the waterbed story, to the pinball story and political campaign, with lots of 1970s pop references, such as the gasoline crisis from that time period. My biggest issue with the film was my inability to really connect or become fully engaged in the story, likely more my fault than the filmmaker’s.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
Licorice Pizza was shot on 35mm film stock with Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2 cameras, finished photochemically with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The DCP for the film, as well as the master used for this Blu-ray, were created from a 35mm interpositive, giving the film a more 1970s look to it. This results in a slightly soft image by design, and a warmer color palette as well. Compression artifacts and other anomalies were non-existent.
Audio: 4/5
The default DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is quite good, having a bit more active surrounds than most films of this genre, but still relatively front-heavy with good front stereo separation. LFE is used where needed, such as the motorcycle jump sequence. Dialogue is clear and understandable.
Special Features: 2/5
The video supplements are kind of just thrown together, with no real substance or actual behind the scenes documentaries. Granted, the movie was made during the height of the COVID pandemic, but still…
Camera Tests (1080p; 4:14): Mostly just rehearsal footage of actors.
The Handman Scene (1080p; 2:19): A deleted scene.
Fat Bernie’s Commercial (1080p; 0:58): The commercial in its entirety.
Behind the Scenes (1080p; 10:37): A montage of clips and photos from the production.
Limited Edition Poster: A foldout replica of the cover art.
DVD Copy
Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a 4K digital copy on Apple TV/iTunes.
Overall: 3.5/5
The director’s fans will likely appreciate Licorice Pizza more than I did. The presentation on Blu-ray is quite good, but the extras are very ho-hum.
Licorice Pizza – Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
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Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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