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| Tom
Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Ellen Barkin, Nicoletta
Braschi |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Roberto (Roberto Benigni):
I scream. You scream. We all scream. For ice cream.
A small-time pimp, a failed musician
and an Italian trying to master English are made to share a cell
and escape from prison together.
 Having
more or less sired the contemporary American indie film scene with
his low-key masterpiece Stranger than Paradise, New York-born
writer/director Jim Jarmusch moved on to increasingly ambitious
features, without however losing his characteristic deadpan style
or sense of humor. Down by Law, his second major feature,
takes his previous film's basic situation of two morose, deadpan
loners, places them in a jail cell and then tosses the exuberant
Roberto Benigni into the mix as an Italian immigrant determined
to master the English language. The effect his disarmingly infectious
enthusiasm has on his two cellmates is a little miracle that never
fails to charm an audience. Not only does it show thematic development
and stylistic growth from his previous film, its stunningly controlled
style and magical conclusion makes it a unique fable that's both
moving and deeply funny. |
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Available for Region 2 in the UK as
a bare-bones release with an average transfer. The Region 1 release
is a two-disc edition from the Criterion Collection with many extras
and a pristine high-def transfer. The Criterion release served as
a basis for this review.
The anamorphic widescreen image
is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 1.77:1. Robby Müller's
gorgeous black-and-white cinematography has been meticulously restored
and cleaned up for the brand-new high-definition master from which
this transfer was drawn. The result is nothing short of stunning:
deep, solid blacks, a subtle range of greys and a previously unseen
level of detail in every shot.
The mono sound mix is presented in Dolby Digital 1.0, and sounds
clean without hiss, pop or major distortion. The music has neither
the range nor the spread of a high-fidelity stereophonic mix, but
its understated nature does suit the film's deadpan atmosphere.
Jarmusch himself was a major contributor
in the production of this immaculate two-disc set, popping up in
explanatory audio segments all over the place on both discs. He
mentions that he is most excited about this DVD for its image quality,
but there's plenty more on board for the film's many avid fans.
Disc one carries the feature itself, with an isolated music track
(in 1.0 mono, like the main soundtrack). The audio setup menu screen
includes a brief audio segment with Jarmusch's thoughts on the French
dub that's been included, explaining why he finally allowed a dubbed
version of this picture to be released. There's no audio commentary,
but there's a lengthy audio track with Jarmusch's thoughts and
reflections on the film. This can't be viewed along with the
film, but the track is dense and lively enough to sustain interest
even without any accompanying visuals. The major topics he discusses
are conveniently listed as chapter stops. The film's theatrical
trailer, with image quality that shows how much the new restoration
has improved the film's image quality, is also included on the first
disc.
Disc two holds everything else, highlighted by a new 22-minute interview
with cinematographer Robby Müller and a video of the 1986
Cannes Film Festival press conference with Jarmusch, John Lurie,
Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi. There is also a Q&A
session with Jarmusch, where he answers a select group of queries
submitted by the fans themselves. These are also broken down
by subject for easy access. You can also listen in on Jarmusch's
2002 phone calls to each of his three stars; Lurie, Waits
and Benigni, who is unsurprisingly the most animated of the three.
There are also outtakes, including an alternate ending, and
a Tom Waits music video for It’s All Right With Me,
directed by Jarmusch for the Red, White and Blue project.
An elaborate gallery of production photos and location
stills rounds out this excellent package. The animated menu screens again demonstrate
how the Criterion Collection remains the absolute world leader in
DVD design and production.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
November 20, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Down
by Law.
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