Blu-ray Review: The Birdcage (1996)

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Blu-ray Introduction:

"I feel like I’m insane!" Gene Hackman’s conservative senator exclaims mere moments after he had been so fooled by Nathan Lane’s drag masquerade as an old-fashioned housewife (while pretending to be the prospective mother-in-law of Hackman’s daughter played by Calista Flockhart), that the senator had raved, "they don’t make women like that anymore."

And although he’s in a state of shock because he’d been hoodwinked as a straight man, one of the most endearing aspects about The Birdcage is how well the filmmakers and actors worked together to establish characters that we instantly understand even without language.

For example, in an earlier act when Lane enters the frame wearing a suit – initially ready to play the part of "the uncle" of the biological son (Dan Futterman) of his partner (Robin Williams) whom he'd raised his whole life – we can feel the heartbreak, tension and dismay practically waft from the screen directly into our living room.

A film about being true to who you are and the true (and evolving) definition of family, while The Birdcage may have been behind in the times with regard to gay stereotypes, it was ahead of its time in foreshadowing the progress this country has made in the fight for equal rights.

Nearly twenty years ago when the MGM/Fox film was released, a modern family that’s accepted on the same level as the one on Fox’s contemporary ABC sitcom Modern Family was just a hopeful fairytale that gay parents would’ve undoubtedly raised their child on, telling him tales of future acceptance to ensure sweet dreams at bedtime.

Roughly twenty years later, that dream has become a pop culture reality even if the U.S. is still slow to grant gay couples the equal rights they deserve in life.

And while yes, it’s slightly dated, it’s also anachronistic given its forward thinking approach as we watch the gay leads plan for their future together (signing palimony papers and discussing joint burial plots) and marvel at the realization that the 1996 blockbuster is in all actuality a remake of a foreign film that had been released nearly twenty years before that. Thus The Birdcage is part of a much larger conversation that's been going on for over forty years on screens both big and small.

Optically The Birdcage has always been bombastic and bright as noteworthy cinematography and an emphasis on visual storytelling has been a trademark of director Mike Nichols since the beginning of his auspicious career, as evidenced in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate in particular.

But now that the film has been transferred to stiletto-sharp Blu-ray high definition, the vibrant world of not only Miami but also the dream factory of the "fairy dust, fairy dust, fairy dust" and "Fosse, Fosse, Fosse" filled club the men run below their South Beach apartment comes wondrously alive.

Not only can you see each and every sequin, seam, and false eyelash but you can practically feel the texture of the fabric of The Birdcage’s costumes, with which the onscreen actors and offscreen filmmakers (including future helmer Rodrigo Garcia who worked on the film as a camera operator) brought so delightfully to life.

And while it might threaten to drive a straight-laced, right-wing senator crazy, it’s exactly the thing to drive a mainstream audience into crazy fits of laughter with enough empathy and open-mindedness to help ensure that a prejudicial society (rather than its characters) are the recurring punchline.

Original Review:

(Published 6/22/10)

Mike Nichols’s old comedy partner Elaine May adapted this wildly raucous remake of the ’78 foreign film La Cage Aux Folles that managed to remain both true to the plot and even a majority of the dialogue of the original work but ensure that leads Robin Williams and Nathan Lane would have plenty of room to improvise.

Despite its tremendous box office returns, upon its release reaction to the work was somewhat divided. Namely, half of the audience seemed unable to look past the stereotype embodied particularly by Lane as Albert, the partner of Williams’ Armand who also works as the headliner at their Miami South Beach drag club.

Meanwhile the other half of the audience was extremely impressed by the way the actors transcends the stereotype to truly get straight audiences to look past orientation and empathize with the couple when Armand’s son begs them to play straight for his fiance’s extremely conservative parents (Gene Hackman and Dianne Weist).

While I can see both sides of the argument, I tend to lean towards the latter reaction as Nichols’ film marks the first gay-themed film that I ventured to the theatre to see growing up as a straight, suburban teen.

The fact that I wasn’t alone in the audience as a heterosexual fully involved in the plight of the characters to me makes the film a resounding success in subtly getting the message out about tolerance, acceptance and respecting everyone’s rights to live as equals.

Yet by adding in a spoonful of sugar, the filmmakers manage to consistently leave viewers in hysterics – smiling and laughing at something we may not have otherwise experienced while opening our eyes to other points-of-view.

With a far superior third act to the original film that works better on both a comedic level with Lane managing to win over a clueless Hackman as the son’s old-fashioned homemaker "mother" and likewise winning back our respect for their selfish son with some tender declarations, The Birdcage remains one of Williams’ most triumphant comedies in a decade that also scored the actor a hit in another drag related comedy, Mrs. Doubtfire.

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Blu-ray Review: A Mighty Heart (2007)

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It’s something that we take for granted as it arrives on our stoop in the morning causing us to leave newspaper ink fingerprints as we go about our day; scan the bottom of the channel CNN to view the crawl instead of listening to be endless and repetitive pundits; or read online via The Huffington Post, The New York Times, etc.

But what we don't realize in this age of readily available information is that the news has to come from somewhere and it's derived from the tireless and courageous pursuits of journalists around the globe where -- even in the 2000s -- someone can get into a cab and disappear into a horrific nightmare which leads to their death. No, this is not the stuff of a novel but a hellish page one feature that resulted in the true and heart wrenching story of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and eventual beheading which took place in the winter of 2002.

For what Variety called his first studio film, director Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People), helmed the emotionally riveting and compelling docudrama A Mighty Heart and in doing so, set about tackling the true account of Pearl’s life and disappearance as captured in nonfiction form by his widow, Mariane Pearl.

Adapted by Band of Brothers screenwriter John Orloff, A Mighty Heart is a devastating and tense work that brings us into the investigation via Winnterbottom’s astute cinematic approach that on the surface seems technically similar to The Constant Gardener but quickly evolves into its own startlingly realistic rhythm.

The film from Paramount Vantage and produced as a project of love by Brad Pitt whose partner Angelina Jolie takes on the role of Mariane is supremely enhanced by a plentiful employment of cuts from editor Peter Christelis that never gives us the opportunity to settle into any given moment as nary a shot lasts more than a few seconds to ratchet up the urgency even further. Likewise, Winterbottom strictly adheres to his style, throwing viewers off balance via fast close-ups and cinematographer Marcel Zyskind’s constantly moving high definition handheld camera.

However, all of this was picked up on during my second viewing of the work as it hits Blu-ray in a transfer that seems entirely fitting to move Winterbottom's film that was shot in high definition to the newsreel, docudrama, hellish home movie style high definition format.



For, like most viewers, the first time I caught A Mighty Heart I was less conscious of the seemingly effortless artistry and instead incredibly overwhelmed by the dynamic yet subtle performance by Angelina Jolie as Mariane who-- very pregnant-- kisses her husband goodbye as he steps into a cab, never to see him again.

Although one of the hurdles of the work’s success which some critics argued was that it may have been completed a bit too soon after Danny's demise since we all precisely we know how it will all turn out as officials, government specialists, colleagues and others wait alongside Mariane using a wide variety of journalistic and detective based techniques to try to follow Daniel’s final story about Richard Reid in Karachi, Pakistan. Simply put, Pearl’s alarming and highly publicized disappearance and shocking end to his young life horrified citizens around the globe and some questioned whether or not this should be captured on celluloid while the wounds were still left unhealed.

However, although we know what coming, it’s all the more upsetting when we are placed by Winterbottom in the house of his soon to be widow. A finely crafted film that features Jolie’s best work since her Academy Award winning turn in Girl, Interrupted-- the Blu-ray’s technical efficiency is very impressive boasting a natural sound balance even when using a simple HDMI cord which nicely matches the heightened picture that seems far crisper given Winterbottom's tendency to use (as he shares in the making-of-featurette) as little light as possible.

Angelina Jolie

The thirty-minute minute behind-the-scenes documentary “A Journey of Passion,” displays not only Winterbottom's masterful craftsmanship that served the intimate location well during its five-week shoot but also the ensemble cast’s fierce commitment to be as authentic as possible in bringing Daniel and Marianne Pearl’s story to life. In fact, if you've are a seen the film before, you may actually want to begin the Blu-ray experience by taking in this featurette first as it makes you appreciate even more the supporting work by actors such as Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi, and Will Patton.

Also containing an optional but highly informative 2007 public service announcement introduction with Christiane Amanpour as she discusses the sad facts that journalists are not only targets for what they write but what they represent which is bringing the news, and the facts from some of the farthest reaches of the world straight to your driveway every morning.



In order to counter the ignorance and hatred that led to the murder of Daniel Pearl as well as (“some 230 other journalists [that] lost their lives at the time of Pearl's kidnapping” as Ebert referenced from Pearl’s memoir) which Amanpour, Mariane Pearl, and Roger Ebert conclude “means… [that journalists had a] proportionately… higher death rate than combat soldiers,” the Daniel Pearl Foundation (http://www.danielpearl.org) was started in an attempt to use journalism, music and the arts to break down barriers and encourage tolerance, acceptance, and understanding-- namely everything that was lacked when journalists lose their lives.

Additionally, the Blu-ray disc also offers a mini-featurette that charts the historical inception and efforts made in the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) which began a little over 25 years ago with the mission to protect journalists as in some countries the First Amendment we so enjoy in this nation does not exist and the freedom of the press is an unfamiliar phrase and what journalists report may in fact lead to not just persecution but death in their respective homelands.

And yes, admittedly I grant you that audience’s tolerance of any post-9/11 films has been virtually nonexistent as several high-quality, thought provoking cinematic explorations have either crashed and burned at the box office or been left to gather dust on video store shelves. Likewise, even as a critic who tries to be open to watching as many types of films as possible, I was hesitant to take in some of the extremely depressing Oscar bait fodder served up into theatres last fall and winter.

However, A Mighty Heart remains timelier than ever as the line between the media and the public is increasingly blurred with Twitter updates filling the bottom of CNN screens and bloggers around the globe starting to report the stories that matter while some of our most lauded institutions such as Roger Ebert’s Chicago Sun-Times declare bankruptcy.

In other words, in this day and age-- whether it's via YouTube or podcasts-- more individuals than ever before are taking advantage of the idea of the “freedom of the press” and so it is necessary for all of us to honor the sacrifices made by the men and women who did this to help bring truth and justice to light by taking time out to learn more about story of Daniel Pearl whose attempt to bring us the news that transfers from the ink pages to our fingers now transfers to our keyboards on a regular basis.

So, given the unparalleled democracy of the world wide web when we all have the chance to become Daniel Pearl, let us remember the way he lived and his reasons for his work rather than the way he died being the type of snippet of information we take for granted on the CNN crawl.