Performance
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Synopsis
The grimy criminal underworld and hedonistic rock-and-roll counterculture of late-1960s London collide in this mind-scrambling, kaleidoscopic freak-out. On the run from his vengeful boss, a ruthless gangster (James Fox) hides out in the Notting Hill home of a reclusive rock star (Mick Jagger) and his companions (Anita Pallenberg and Michele Breton), who open the doors of his perception as the lines between reality and fantasy, male and female, persona and self, dissolve in a hallucinogenic haze. Built around Jagger’s most magnetic narrative-film performance, this visionary collaboration between enigmatic artist Donald Cammell and first-time director Nicolas Roeg is a daringly transgressive, endlessly influential journey to the dark side of bohemia.
Picture 9/10
The Criterion Collection brings Donald Cammell’s and Nicolas Roeg’s Performance to 4K UHD, presenting it on a triple-layer disc with Dolby Vision in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition master is sourced from a new 4K restoration, created from scans of the 35mm original negative and, for some sections, the 35mm internegative. The release also includes a standard dual-layer Blu-ray featuring the film in high-definition (from the new restoration) along with all of the special features.
Criterion’s 4K UHD presentation delivers a significant improvement over Warner’s Archive Collection Blu-ray, which used a decent but dated master. The new transfer is far more film-like in appearance, with the increased resolution capturing an exceptional amount of detail beautifully throughout most of the film. It only “falters” when limitations baked into the original photography come into play—such as filters or the dreamy, hallucinatory editing style. Film grain is natural and clean, contributing to a sharp, textured image that retains a natural apperance.
While the majority of the film is sharp and pristine, a few shots—particularly those involving optical effects, like the bullet shot at the end—look a bit softer or “dupey.” These moments, along with a handful of other shots, were likely sourced from the internegative, but they still look terrific. Overall, the restoration work has impressively cleaned up the image, leaving behind minimal blemishes, largely limited to the aforementioned optical shots.
Color timing is notable, coming out a little greener than before (heavier in some shots than others, though it’s not distracting, and whites still pop when needed. This look also looks authentic to the period and could have possibly been achieved through a photochemical process. Criterion based the color grading on two prints provided by the BFI: a 35mm IB dye transfer print and a 35mm safety print from 1990, so I feel the end result is more than likely true to what was intended.
HDR and Dolby Vision do add a nice visual pop, improving black levels and shadow details, most notably in Turner’s (Mick Jagger) flat, where deep shadows in the background contrast with more intense lighting in the foreground. The neon tubes occasionally scattered throughout these scenes are particularly striking, including one moment where Turner waves one around. The film’s trippy, colorful lighting is also beautifully enhanced, with the wider dynamic range giving a bold boost to colors—especially the reds.
Performance is loaded with fragmented, surreal imagery, and Criterion’s presentation handles it all remarkably well. This is the best the film has ever looked on home video.
Audio 7/10
Criterion presents Performance with its original British audio track in lossless single-channel PCM, marking the first time this version has been made available on home video in North America. Previous North American releases dubbed over Harry Flowers’ (Johnny Shannon) dialogue, fearing his thick cockney accent would be difficult for audiences to understand. That may still be the case for some viewers, but the rest of the dialogue (at least) remains clear and intelligible throughout. The soundtrack delivers impressive range and fidelity, with sharp and well-balanced music and sound effects.
The highlight is the musical sequence near the end featuring Memo from Turner, which sounds as though it’s been remastered, delivering the sharpest and most dynamic audio in the film.
Overall, a sharp improvment.
Extras 9/10
Criterion packs in quite a bit (all found on the included standard Blu-ray), starting with the 1998 documentary Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance. Running 70 minutes and featuring interviews with many of Cammell’s collaborators—including Performance alumni James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and Nicolas Roeg—it explores his work in the 60s and his transition into filmmaking before covering several of his films. The documentary focuses primarily on Performance, detailing its genesis, production, and eventual release—two years after a screening that left Warner Bros. executives flustered (another documentary on this disc refers to the screening as the “great cinematic disaster”). It also touches on other works like Demon Seed and White of the Eye (unsurprisingly skipping over his final film, Wild Side), before examining his suicide. The film delves deepest into Performance, even exploring its literary, cinematic, and musical influences. At times, the documentary can feel a bit disorienting—likely as a nod to Performance’s own editing style—and only touches the surface of the filmmaker’s life and career, but as an introduction to Cammell, it works quite well.
Criterion also ports over two featurettes from Warner’s previous DVD and Blu-ray editions. Memo from Turner is a 5-minute archival promotional featurette from the time of the film’s release, largely focused on marketing Mick Jagger’s role in the film. Influence and Controversy: Making “Performance” is a 25-minute documentary from 2005 covering the film’s production. Although it follows the standard format of most studio-produced documentaries, it does a fantastic job recounting the film’s long and troubled journey to release, touching on technical aspects not covered in the Cammell documentary.
One noteworthy detail mentioned is how Chas (James Fox) was partially inspired by real-life London gangster David Litvinoff, who was closely connected to the Kray twins. Criterion expands on this with a new 20-minute video essay, The True Story of David Litvinoff. This feature thoroughly explores Litvinoff’s background and provides context on London’s criminal underworld during the 1960s. It also makes direct comparisons to moments in Performance inspired by Litvinoff or his associates. Litvinoff even served as a “consultant” on the film and was reportedly responsible for many of the smaller, authentic details scattered throughout. It’s a fascinating piece that shows how, despite the film’s heavy fantasy elements, much of it is rooted in reality.
Criterion then includes Performers on “Performance,” which presents 35 minutes of excised interview footage recorded for The Ultimate Performance documentary. The footage is wonderfully edited together here and features Fox, Jagger, Pallenberg, Stanley Meadows, and Johnny Shannon. Unlike the documentary, which keeps the discussions more general, this footage is focused almost entirely on Performance. For example, Fox explains his gut feeling that drew him to the project, and Jagger reflects on preparing for the role by taking acting classes. Pallenberg offers insight into the contrasting directing styles of Roeg and Cammell (she found Roeg distant and Cammell more hands-on), while Meadows humorously admits he was cast solely because of his head shape—and also admits he doesn’t understand the film. This is a fantastic addition, giving fans even more context about the film’s production.
Criterion then goes the extra mile by including a short 5-minute piece, The Two Cockneys of Harry Flowers, exploring the differences between the North American and International soundtracks. Nicely assembled, it compares all the sequences dubbed over for the North American release, highlighting how the changes affected the character’s Cockney accent. Unlike The Long Good Friday, it doesn’t seem like any slang was altered, but the accent was significantly toned down. While it would have been nice to have the alternate soundtrack as an option for the main feature, this supplement does a great job exploring—and preserving—the changes.
The disc wraps up with the original theatrical trailer, while the included booklet features a new essay by Ryan Gilbey and a reprint of a 1995 essay by Peter Wollen commemorating the film’s 25th anniversary.
A commentary would have been a great addition, but Criterion has otherwise assembled a well-rounded, insightful edition that thoroughly explores both the film and its director. Nicely done.
Closing
Criterion has assembled a wonderful new edition for Performance that also happens to feature a knockout 4K presentation. Highly recommended.
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