64 The Landlord

[Finch]

In 1970s Brooklyn, gentrification is already beginning to take hold in the predominantly black neighbourhood of Park Slope. Spoiled trust fund kid Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges) buys an apartment block in the area with the intention of evicting the tenants and building himself a bachelor pad. But upon moving in and unexpectedly befriending the inhabitants, he decides to let them stay and become their landlord. Rebelling against his rich, racist family, he embarks on affairs with two black women, causing uproar in the country clubs and the ghetto tenements of Park Slope alike. This outrageous satire marks the debut of Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) as director, with a wicked script from Bill Gunn (Ganja & Hess) and stunning photography from Gordon Willis (The Godfather). The Landlord is a scabrous and unflinching look at race relations far ahead of its time, and a unique and important work in the annals of American screen comedy.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
2K transfer by Kino Lorber
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
The Racial Gap - An interview with star Beau Bridges (2019, 25 mins)
Reflections - An interview with star Lee Grant (2019, 26 mins)
Style and Substance - An interview with producer Norman Jewison (2019, 29 mins)
A new interview with Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson (2024)
An interview with broadcaster and author Ellen E. Jones (2024)
Trailer
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vincent Wild
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Jourdain Searles, plus an archival piece with Hal Ashby

[rapta]

So happy to see this announced, been suggesting it to basically any label with an MGM deal (but usually Eureka, figured they'd do it for MoC at several points and they never did). This was the 'TL' clue from the teaser list.

Never seen this as I was patiently waiting for a decent UK Blu-ray, and my patience looks like it paid off. Best transfer to date, plus plenty of great extras. A must for any Ashby fan, and Beau Bridges of course. Love the artwork they've gone for too, an immediate purchase from me.

[Beloved Aunt]

stunning photography from Gordon Willis

haha. An interesting movie, though I think it's probably a testament to how bad Ashby was at eliciting worthy improvisation from his actors. The material is fairly strong in all of its quieter observational moments, but whenever it goes big, the whole thing really goes to hell, in an incongruous, jarring way that smacks of bad improv. Not that I know how the material, good or bad, was arrived at. I wonder if either of the two new interviews with focus at any great length on Bill Gunn or Diana Sands?

[swo17]

Fran has clarified that this is a UK-only release

[ChunkyLover]

Fran has clarified that this is a UK-only release

I'm surprised that Radiance hasn't tried to setup an MGM deal for the US. This would of been a fitting "debut" for a theoretical US deal since Kino let their release go OOP.

[Michael Kerpan]

I took my never-quite-girlfriend to this back when it was newly-released and I was in high school. I have never really been tempted to re-watch this.

[therewillbeblus]

Revisiting this, I was struck by how layered and eclectic this film is. Ashby takes many big swings: the way he forces integration between two opposing forces in race relations is made deeply uncomfortable by a combative, lurid, sometimes jagged style - and this contrasts with deeply intimate moments that linger with lucid grace. I'm not sure I've ever seen a better performance from Bridges than during these quiet moments when he can tap into his gentle side. The directorial approach is all over the place, but makes for a much richer portrait of the humanity Ashby is trying to grasp. There's distancing satire and flippant, airy attitudes on display, but it's all in the service of focused, grounded maturity in the end. I'm not convinced everything works.. it's a long film, but feels like it should be even longer to connect its threads more closely. Though perhaps that lack of cathartic sewing of its attributes is allegorical for the messy reality of unresolved race relations. Looking at it from that lens, it's a masterpiece.