107 Mona Lisa

[Martha]

Mona Lisa



The brilliant breakthrough film by writer-director Neil Jordan journeys into the dark heart of the London underworld to weave a gripping, noir-infused love story. Bob Hoskins received a multitude of honors—including an Oscar nomination—for his touchingly vulnerable, not-so-tough-guy portrayal of George, recently released from prison and hired by a sinister mob boss (Michael Caine) to chauffeur call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson, in a celebrated performance) between high-paying clients. George's fascination with the elegant, enigmatic Simone leads him on a dangerous quest through the city's underbelly, where love is a weakness to be exploited and betrayed. Jordan's colorful dialogue and eye for evocatively surreal details lend a dreamlike sheen to Mona Lisa, an unconventionally romantic tale of damaged people searching for tenderness in an unforgiving world.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Neil Jordan and director of photography Roger Pratt, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary from 1997 featuring Jordan and actor Bob Hoskins
• New conversation with Jordan and actor Cathy Tyson, moderated by critic Ryan Gilbey
• Interviews from 2015 with screenwriter David Leland and producer Stephen Woolley
• Interview with Jordan and Hoskins from the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by Gilbey

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

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[Narshty]

Davis DVD are reporting this will be released by Anchor Bay alongside The Long Good Friday on April 4. This should provide a more economical chance to pick up one of the finest films of the 1980s.

[Gregory]

I hope they do a better job on the transfer than Anchor Bay UK did.

[HistoryProf]

No specs yet, but the anchor bay release is up at amazon, with a truly awful cover in the same vein as the new Long Good Friday one...April 4..........

[LightBulbFilm]

I just got this brand new for 20 bucks from an Amazon seller. I have only heard good things and Neil Jordan is an extremely interesting film maker. Im looking forward to receiving this.

[Murdoch]

I recently watched this and enjoyed the relationship of the two leads, along with the noir-ish story. However, the one complaint I have is the very ending with Hoskins and his friend fixing up the car and then they and Hoskins' daughter walk away as the credits roll, with Hoskins telling the story to his friend it made all the events that transpired before seem as if they had no effect on his character. It seemed like a strange way to end the story, and for me it detracted from an otherwise exhilarating experience. I thought that the movie would end with Hoskins walking along the beach, after Simone's shooting spree, since it captured the melancholy of his character and presented Simone as someone destroyed by those that have manipulated her, that she killed these two men but reached no relief from them. Jordan himself in the commentary only gave a reason for this part as a way not to leave George on this sour note, and I didn't want to see him in such a state either, but I felt as if there were no other way to end it with what had happened to him and how he had been betrayed.

Also, and this may not get a response based on the little discussion the film has garnered, but was Cathy meant to be portrayed as not in love with Simone? By which I mean when Cathy is talking with George in the restaurant she points to Simone out the window and says, "Her, she really likes me," is this sort of indifferent tone that made it made it seem like she didn't share the affection Simone had for her.

Otherwise this was a very well made film, with exceptional performances, especially Michael Caine as the sociopath boss. I really think this film could be a great discussion since it has so much deeper meaning and the characters have a lot of depth.

[Antoine Doinel]

Get ready for a remake starring Mickey Rourke and directed by Larry Clark.

[Fiery Angel]

That could definitely be a train wreck worth watching.

[knives]

I wonder who in their right mind would think that is a financially sound investment?

[mteller]

Blu-Ray coming from Image 8/24

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[Ashirg]

According to Image web site, the only extra is a trailer.

[Minkin]

Criterion Contraption

As a side note, is there any indication that the Image Bluray (along with Time Bandits, etc) is meant to be similar to the Universal deal (Image release followed by Criterion later on)?

[DeprongMori]

Just watched this last night. The DVD is non-anamorphic. Not sure what the current relationship is between Criterion and Hand Made Films, but the film could certainly use a solid Blu upgrade from Criterion. The current single-layer Blu from Image Entertainment has been getting mediocre reviews.

Bob Hoskins was terrific in this. I would love to see this and "The Long Good Friday" (another Hand Made Film from the Collection) come back into the fold.

[EddieLarkin]

Arrow are currently planning/working on a new 2K scan (along with The Long Good Friday as well).

[MichaelB]

They are indeed - I'm producing both, and while release dates haven't been set yet I suspect it'll be earlier rather than later in 2015.

[bainbridgezu]

I would love to see this and "The Long Good Friday" (another Hand Made Film from the Collection) come back into the fold.

Criterion recently acquired the HandMade catalogue, beginning with a new edition of Time Bandits. Expect the remainder of their previous releases to follow: The Long Good Friday, Mona Lisa, Withnail & I, and How to Get Ahead in Advertising.

[flyonthewall2983]

It sounds like Arrow beat them to the punch on this and Long Good Friday though.

[swo17]

Well, we still don't know anything about release dates from either company yet.

[swo17]

Sep 14

[Gerald Christie]

Terrific film, but I already have the Arrow boxset and see no reason to upgrade.

[MichaelB]

It's close to a racing certainty that it's the same restoration - if Neil Jordan and Roger Pratt had supervised another one since, it would undoubtedly have been 4K, otherwise what would be the point?

I'm similarly assuming that the two 2015 interviews are the ones that Daniel Bird shot for the Arrow disc - if I remember rightly, he edited those (I edited the Neil Jordan one, although that's presumably redundant in the light of Criterion's new piece) so he'd still have the masters.

[Randall Maysin]

This is the most unexciting upgrade ever! Only one new piece. Would it have killed Criterion to include some scholarly stuff? Aren't there at least several people they could have contacted for that?

EDIT: Although I do appreciate the inclusion of Cathy Tyson..!

[yoloswegmaster]

Considering how Arrow's release also doesn't contain any scholar interviews, I wonder if Neil Jordan has requested both companies to not to add any in

[Drucker]

Considering how Arrow's release also doesn't contain any scholar interviews, I wonder if Neil Jordan has requested both companies to not to add any in

"No nerd shit."-Neil Jordan