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Blu-ray Review Eating Raoul Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

Matt Hough

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Paul Bartel’s black comedy Eating Raoul is the very definition of a cult film: off-kilter, dry as dust, and at its best hilariously funny even on repeated visits. A droll, satiric look at middle class sex mores and modern societal conditioned responses in which the ends justify the means, Eating Raoul  has certainly stood the test of time. The swingers in the film may scream late 1970s, but the themes are universal and certainly current.





Eating Raoul (Blu-ray)
Directed by Paul Bartel

Studio: Criterion
Year: 1982
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1   1080p   AVC codec
Running Time: 83 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: PCM 1.0 English
Subtitles:  SDH

Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.95


Release Date: September 25, 2012

Review Date: September 25, 2012




The Film

4/5


Determined to open their own country restaurant, Paul (Paul Bartel) and Mary (Mary Woronov) Bland don’t have the money to make a down payment on the property they want to buy, but they get the bright idea that by advertising for swingers to take part in their kinky sexcapades (the couple is actually asexual; it’s all a ruse), they can kill the perverts who arrive to take part and steal their money. In order to assure no one will interrupt their murders, the Blands hire a locksmith Raoul Mendoza (Robert Beltran) to put stronger locks on their doors and windows. But Raoul is himself a con man, and when he sees what the couple is doing, he has an idea that can bring in money much faster for all of them: sell the dead bodies for meat at a dog food processing plant (Raoul is also fencing their cars as a side business for himself) and split the earnings. The operation is a smashing success as there is no shortage of perverts interested in sex games with the Blands, but Raoul begins to develop feelings for Mary, and that can’t end up being a good business arrangement for Paul even if he isn’t sleeping with his wife himself.


The bland Blands are an inspired creation of co-writers Paul Bartel and Richard Blackburn: their brother-and-sister style marriage is perfect to allow Mary to be the sex kitten luring in these sex-obsessed saps while Paul bashes them over the head with a frying pan, all done with a deliciously deadpanned demeanor with not the slightest bit of remorse. Director Bartel wisely keeps blood and guts out of the equation: these are the most bloodless and gore-free murders you’re ever likely to see on the screen. And Bartel’s group of real-life friends like Buck Henry, John Landis, Hamilton Camp, and Ed Begley Jr. drop by to play sex fiends or charlatans of all types increasing the fun of looking to see who else famous might drop in next. Though made for half a million dollars, Bartel manages to give the film a slick look (their 1950s-style apartment is chock full of interesting bric-a-brac) and stages a wonderful assassination scene where Raoul tries to run down Paul filmed interestingly from different angles including a high perch that has some tricky stunt work which belies the low budget. The film’s title gives away a late film sick joke, but it’s about the only misstep in this delightful tongue-in-cheek comic creation (apart from the writer-like addiction of characters repeating each other’s names in all the dialogue scenes).


Paul Bartel is delightfully droll as the practically pokerfaced Paul, rarely getting hot under the collar even after some precious wine is stolen from him and his life is threatened. Partner in crime Mary Woronov gets to wear a succession of outfits for her lurid activities (she's hilarious as Minnie Mouse) and plays the comedy straight with wonderfully hysterical results. Robert Beltran is the perfect Raoul, a slickster who’s too confident of his own machismo and allure to think anyone could get the better of him. In smaller roles, Susan Saiger gets to do some huckstering of her own as Doris the Dominatrix whose stock in trade not only gives the Blands the idea for their method of murder but who also helps Paul later in the film sort out what’s actually going on. Buck Henry is squeamishly perverse as a bank manager with sex on the brain while Edie McClurg and John Paragon each have a scene to show what wonderful improv they can do: she’s a swinger at an orgy the Blands attend and he’s a sex shop clerk where Paul goes to shop for party favors.



Video Quality

4.5/5


The film has been framed at 1.78:1 for this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Apart from a few softer looking shots, this is a sensational transfer: very sharp and clean and with deeply saturated color which never goes out of control. Flesh tones look very natural and are consistently handled throughout. Black levels are certainly more than acceptable. The film has been divided into 23 chapters.



Audio Quality

4/5


The PCM 1.0 (1.1 Mbps) sound mix has average fidelity for such a low budget affair with very little on the low end of the sound spectrum. Still, engineers have cleaned up the soundtrack beautifully, and there are no age-related artifacts to betray the age of the movie. Dialogue, music, and sound effects effortlessly occupy the soundfield without ever intruding on one another.



Special Features

4/5


The audio commentary is by co-writer/assistant director/actor Richard Blackburn, production designer Robert Schulenberg, and film editor Alan Toomayan. It’s a wonderful track as the men reminisce about the film’s production and their own histories with writer/director Paul Bartel about whom they tell many funny and revealing stories. Fans of the movie will really enjoy this commentary.


Unless otherwise noted, the bonuses are presented in 1080p.


The Secret Cinema is Paul Bartel’s 1966 short film showing his very imaginative ideas at work on a pseudo-Twilight Zone style film where a woman named Jane becomes aware that she’s trapped in a movie about herself that others are watching. It runs 27 ¼ minutes.


Naughty Nurse is a 1969 short featuring an operating room nurse using her lunch hour to engage in some kinky fun with a neat twist at film’s end. It runs 9 minutes.


“Cooking Up Raoul is a 2012 compilation of interviews with co-stars Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, and Edie McClurg recalling their memories of getting cast in the movie and various aspects of the production that stand out to them all these years later. It runs 24 ½ minutes.


The film’s gag reel runs 5 ¾ minutes.


An archival interview with Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov shot in 1982 has an enthusiastic interviewer who has seen the movie discussing its making and its themes with the two stars (though most of the questions are directed to and answered by Bartel). It runs 21 ¼ minutes and is presented in 1080i.


The theatrical trailer runs 1 ¾ minutes.


The enclosed flyer is done in the style of Paul and Mary’s County Kitchen menu and contains a cast and crew list and film critic David Ehrenstein’s loving critique of the movie and follow-ups on the careers of Bartel and Woronov.


The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentary that goes along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.



In Conclusion

4/5 (not an average)


A cult film that’s lots of fun and not just weird for the sake of being weird, Eating Raoul is a fun viewing experience. Even with a low budget, the seat-of-your-pants production values never prevent the movie from being a completely entertaining viewing experience. Recommended!



Matt Hough

Charlotte, NC

 

bryan4999

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I'm excited about this one, I have never owned a good looking copy of this film. I hope someone releases a decent blu-ray of SCENES FROM THE CLASS STRUGGLE IN BEVERLY HILLS, another outrageous Bartel film with some of the same cast.
 

JohnS

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I didn't think I was going to like this film.
Then I saw it one night on Showtime.
I quite enjoyed, Odd but funny.
Thanks for the review. I was curious about the commentary.
I'll be adding this to my collection.
 

Ruz-El

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I blind bought this on Criterion's flash sale. always wanted to see it, and liked Bartel's other films. Looks like I made the right decision provided this is half as fun as Death Race 2000.
 

Chuck Anstey

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My curiosity is piqued. I remember when this came out to the theaters but I never did see it. Now that you have mentioned Death Race 200 in the same sentence I may just have to try to find it for a good price. This and Death Race 2000.
 

MatthewA

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The DVD supposedly had some problems with stretching, which I don't see in the screenshot.

I love the film and it looks like, as usual, Criterion went above and beyond. It's already on order.
 

deedeenova

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The old DVD sucked, plain and simple. A terrible faded print, coupled with horrible stretching and squishing.
The new Criterion Blu-ray is perfection.
 

Radioman970

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My old DVD is still in plastic. only ever saw this on cable in the 80s then a rented VHS in the 90s.
I'll have to watch that DVD once to be sure I actually want to upgrade. I felt it had lost something when I watched it in the 90s.
 

obscurelabel

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Originally Posted by Radioman970 /t/324013/eating-raoul-blu-ray-review#post_3980878
My old DVD is still in plastic. only ever saw this on cable in the 80s then a rented VHS in the 90s.
I'll have to watch that DVD once to be sure I actually want to upgrade. I felt it had lost something when I watched it in the 90s.
The Sony DVD is pretty much unwatchable, the image isn't encoded correctly. If set for 16x9 playback, the image is stretched; if set for 4x3, the image is squeezed. The only way to watch it undistorted is if your playback device has adjustable AR, set it for 1.5:1 and the image has the correct proportions (if not the correct 1.85:1 framing, the sides are cropped off). And even after this workaround, the transfer is still a murky, noisy mess.
 

SilverWook

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I took a peek at my old DVD before putting it in the thrift store pile, and it looks like Sony took a really old transfer and tried to polish a turd. There are telltale telecine marks on the right edge of the screen I usually only see with really old Laserdiscs from the early 80's. You'd never see it on an old tube set with overscan of course.
 

Radioman970

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Well that's not good. I guess I'll hold off until I get a storm and need something to watch on my old Sanyo tube TV I use when lightning is about. That thing just keeps going. I'll bet it could get hit by a direct bolt and just laugh at mother nature's silly antics. :D
 

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