PIC of the Week - 1917 and Knives Out

PIC of the Week – 1917 and Knives Out

Article series by Ray Schillaci

I’m a little behind on my PICs since this whole pandemic panic has hit all of us. While rushing out for eggs, TP, PT (paper towels), and fast active yeast (used for baking bread), many of us have been learning how to really live with one another under one roof, which has proven an unfortunate strain for some. People have turned to their iPads, PCs and Macs for entertainment, crushing Candy Crush and herding up on Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. Others have become more social, playing cards or board games. Some are actually talking with one another and having real conversations, human interaction rather than texting.

Those with families, perhaps married without kids or even single have also turned to the movies and countless shows on network, cable and streaming channels. The use of a Roku streaming device has never been more popular, providing not only Amazon’s library of films and shows, but 100s of streaming channels with different libraries including the ever popular VUDU, Apple TV and Redbox – without having to go to an actual location.

VUDU usually offers up to three options as far as purchasing a movie: Standard (DVD quality – 720×480), HDX (Blu – 1080p) and UHD (4K – 2160p), and is generally less expensive than purchasing a disc. The only drawbacks – many times supplemental materials are not available, and there are cinephiles that prefer owning the physical medium (like myself). Is VUDU trouble free? Like most streaming services, there can be glitches at times which makes owning the physical medium all the more attractive.

I’ll continue to make suggestions, but I will also tap into some lesser known films in the coming weeks that I have discovered since staying at home. But, this week I could not help promote two outstanding films that are so diametrically opposed on an emotional scale yet they will be thrilling viewing for many of you, Universal’s 1917 and Lionsgate Films’ Knives Out.

Sam Mendes, who brought to the screen one of the best James Bond movies with Skyfall, and produced the sin-sational gothic TV series, Penny Dreadful, delivers 1917 which places us smack dab in the middle of WWI with a harrowing account of two soldiers given the impossible task to cross enemy lines and put a stop to an attack on the Germans that is actually a trap that could kill 1,600 British troops. I’m exhausted just writing and remembering that experience.

Then, there’s Rian Johnson’s delightful murder mystery with a cast to die for, Knives Out. Johnson, who previously gave us the powerful crime drama, Brick, and the unforgettable sci-fi action mind game, Looper, turns the drawing room murder mystery on its ear with as much thrilling drama as there is laughs. Both films together garnered a staggering twenty Academy Award nominations, and depending on your mood, either could be a perfect movie night.

1917, most notable for its nearly seamless one-take shot is an exhausting experience that may not be for everybody’s appetite. Five minutes into the film we are taken on a dizzying journey through endless trenches, barbed wire, mud-soaked burial grounds teeming with death both animal and human, abandoned haunting artillery graveyards, underground rat-infested barracks, and eventually a battlefield with hundreds of soldiers running. about to be slaughtered unless someone gets word out to stop the insanity.

With ten well-deserved nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, 1917 brings to the forefront the futility and desperation of war. But, it’s not just any war film. This is drama of the highest order that nearly ranks with Peter Weir’s classic, Gallipoli. The big difference here is the technical aspect of this film which is truly a marvel that garnered wins in cinematography, visual effects and sound mixing.

The 4K presentation is downright stunning compared to the theatrical release I had originally seen. This disc comes in Dolby Vision which is also a vast improvement over the Blu. Not to say the Blu is inferior (for those still having not graduated to 4K), but the clarity, color palette, and the sheer power of the resolution quality far surpasses the 1080p Blu.

The Dolby Atmos sound is an engineering dream. The disc utilizes all its power to surround you with every experience big and small from the quietest, peaceful moments that make your heart ache to the bombastic explosions and the rush of men rising out of the trenches to confront the enemy. You can nearly feel the impact of the gunfire.

As far as extras, Universal drops the ball on this with just over a half-hour of bonus material. Is that really a bonus to us from a film that is so technically savvy, and a film that is based on the director’s grandfather’s stories? Sure, these bonuses come in 2160p, I just wish we could have been given more for the price tag. What we get is two commentary tracks, one from Director/Co-writer Sam Mendes and the other from Director of Photography Roger Deakins. Other extras include:

• The Weight of the World: Sam Mendes: Mendes discusses his screenplay technique as well as his passion for and personal connection to the material. Plus his on set work ethic is examined.

• Allied Forces: The Making of 1917

• The Score of 1917

• In the Trenches: Casting relatively unknown actors in lead roles, their performances and screen presence, commitment, and more.

• Recreating History: Discussion with Mendes and his collaboration with Dennis Gassner, Production Designer. How they crafted the world of 1917. The challenges, the exhausting preparation, the lighting challenges, and more.

Lowest Price – $27.99 – Amazon or own it digitally on VUDU for $19.99

Rian Johnson’s Knives Out is pure pleasure. It’s an absolute joy for murder mystery fans. The film has a wonderful dark and biting sense of humor, and, believe it or not, a novel idea, having us care about the killer! I cannot tell you anything more about the story at the risk of spoiling the fun. Half that fun is Rian Johnson’s incredibly clever screenplay, and his Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride-like directing along with a cavalcade of characters we will not soon forget.

At the center of it all are two outstanding performances by Cuban born Ana de Armas, soon to be the new Bond girl, and Daniel Craig. De Armas is so charming and innocent yet has an off-kilter humor about her that catches us off guard and had me cheering and falling in love with her at the same time. Craig sheds his British super spy suave demeanor for a more eccentric Southern sleuth who tends to talk in riddles, and I might have detected a hint of Truman Capote. The two of them may make the best comical sleuth team since the original Holmes & Watson (for you baby boomers – legendary team of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce).

A famous murder mystery writer, Harlan Thrombey, charismatically played by Christopher Plummer, has supposedly committed suicide, but when Craig’s famous detective Benoit Blanc enters the scene, all is not what it appears to be. This especially holds true after interrogating the help and the very bizarre family members. Just about everybody has a secret and a motive.

Our beloved Jamie Lee Curtis gets to exercise her comic timing that she proved so well in Trading Places and True Lies playing Harlan’s daughter, a bitch on wheels. Don Johnson is her brow-beaten husband, and Chris Evans, our very own Captain America, is their worthless, use of a son, Ransom Drysdale. Toni Collette, Harlan’s daughter-in-law, is on her own planet communicating with god-knows-who. You can’t help but laugh with every exaggerated expression, and Michael Shannon appears to be a man close to coming unhinged as the harried youngest son running his father’s publishing empire that he adamantly claims to be his own.

There are a host of other secondary players, all making good use of their screen time for our enjoyment. The entire cast plays off each other so well that it becomes a near ballet of riddles, clues, murder and comic mayhem. This is one of those rare movies that may require a second and maybe even a third viewing for some to catch every precious nuance that everyone involved provides. It could get a bit dizzying with all the back-and-forth of scenarios, but stick with it and I guarantee you’ll fall in love with this film.

This 4K may rub you the wrong way with its dedicated look of film rather than the razor sharp clarity that so many are used to from UHD. This is not a slight against the disc. This was the intention of the filmmaker. There are moments where the Dolby Vision really shines and colors pop. But, some may opt to not spend the extra money, and just stick with the Blu which is showcase quality for a 1080p picture.

The Dolby Atmos track is clear and crisp, never having us strain to listen to the much important dialogue. But, this is also not a film that requires a lot of bells and whistles. No splashy sound effects other than a “thump” from above. The ambient sound and bouncy score is quite nice. But, this is not a reason to show off your sound system.

Lionsgate Films packs this 4K/Blu with nearly two generous hours of extras and delivers all of it on both discs, but only in 1080p. The only advantage here is you do not have to switch the discs to see the supplemental material. We also get an audio commentary from Writer/Director Rian Johnson, Director of Photography Steve Yedlin and Actor Noah Segan who plays a very funny Trooper/fanboy of Harlan’s. The rest of the bonuses include:

• In Theater Commentary with Rian Johnson

• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Rian Johnson.

• Making a Murder – featurette – aspects of production; writing, casting and the shoot.

• Rian Johnson: Planning the Perfect Murder – how Johnson laid out his plans for murder.

• Director and Cast Q & A – 2019 screening in Westwood, California.

• Marketing Gallery

• Teaser Trailer

• Theatrical Trailer

• Final Trailer

• Ode to the Murder Mystery – “faux” trailer with Rian Johnson hosting.

• Meet the Thrombeys Viral Ads

• Thrombey Real Estate