High Art
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Synopsis
Picture 9/10
Lisa Cholodenko’s High Art receives a new Blu-ray edition from The Criterion Collection. The 1080p/24hz high-definition presentation is delivered on a dual-layer disc in the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is sourced from a new 4K restoration by the Academy Film Archive and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, created from a scan of the 35mm original camera negative.
Not that I had any doubt this was going to look good, but I still found myself rather stunned by the results. The presentation looks great, beautifully rendering the slightly hazy, dreamy look the film was going for while still maintaining a wonderfully film-like texture. That look was apparently achieved—according to Cholodenko in the included supplements—through a similar method Robert Altman and director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond employed on McCabe & Mrs. Miller, by flashing the negative before exposure, though not to the same extreme. Whatever the case or how it was accomplished, this new restoration captures the look perfectly, and Criterion’s encode does a superb job rendering it.
This ends up being one of their cleaner high-definition encodes in a while, too. The flashing may have contributed to the heavier grain structure, but it really looks terrific here. Not once did I notice any blocking patterns or mosquito noise, even in the highlights. The digital presentation remains incredibly clean throughout while also doing a wonderful job maintaining contrast, especially when it comes to the shadows. There are darker moments in the characters’ lofts, but there is a lot of depth in the shadows, and the gradations in between are rendered smoothly. The film’s color scheme is also limited, leaning more toward silvery tones, but even the colors exhibit a wide range within those hues. It’s quite impressive and very photographic in the end.
The restoration work has also been thorough, and there is no significant damage to speak of. All in, this is a very solid, very clean high-definition presentation, one of Criterion’s better Blu-ray encodes in recent memory, and it’s honestly a real shame they didn’t see fit to also give it a 4K UHD release. A very nice surprise.
High Art - Screen Captures
Audio 8/10
Criterion presents the film’s surround soundtrack in 5.1 DTS-HD MA. The mix ends up being a bit surprising considering the subtle nature of the film, and a lot of that comes down to the score by Shudder to Think, which never has any moments of outright bombast but still brings a surprising level in range while also being wonderfully directed through the channels. A handful of moments throughout the film also get a little aggressive, from office settings to scenes around gatherings and parties, yet on the whole it remains a relatively quiet soundtrack with easy-to-understand dialogue and no obvious damage or distortion.
Extras 9/10
This gets a solid little special edition, starting with an audio commentary featuring Cholodenko and recorded for the 2004 DVD edition. This one ends up being quite good, with Cholodenko covering the development of the script (done in a scriptwriting workshop) and the road to actually getting it made. It’s also interesting to hear about casting, including the discovery of Radha Mitchell and being approached by Ally Sheedy, who had somehow got hold of the script and asked to audition for the role. What proved more fascinating, though, are the more technical details, from getting the film’s look, which was to imitate what Sheedy’s character may have shot (partially accomplished through briefly flashing the film stock), to creating the lived-in world of all of the characters. It was also great fun hearing Cholodenko talk about Patricia Clarkson, who you can tell she was thrilled to have cast in the film (and who I have to say steals most of the scenes she’s in). Through that, and getting into the thought process and the various happy accidents that happened along the way to solve unexpected problems, it’s another one of those film school kind of tracks that I feel filmmakers-to-be may get quite a bit of value out of. I liked this one a lot.
Building off of that is a new 35-minute interview between Cholodenko and director Karyn Kusama. This builds nicely off the commentary, with Cholodenko expanding on some of the film’s visual approach and story details, prompted by Kusama’s questions. What I most enjoyed, though, was how the two, who appear to have come up in their careers together, talk about this period in New York and the art and filmmaking scene at the time, a topic also covered in other recent Criterion releases, like their one for Fresh Kill.
Also good is a new 23-minute program featuring interviews with actors Radha Mitchell and Ally Sheedy, filmed separately. In her commentary and the previous interview, Cholodenko talks about working with the two and how they were cast, touching on Sheedy’s reasons for wanting to do the film, but both expand on that here, particularly Sheedy, who is very open and honest about that point in her career, the disillusionment she had developed from her experience in the industry, and how that all led to her relating to her character in the film and her passion for wanting the role. Mitchell’s reasons were a little different, as she was primarily looking for a way into the American film industry after moving from Australia (and doing one film in her home country), though she quickly realized how strong a project this was. She admits she was nervous about the love scenes with Sheedy, but Sheedy was great to work with and made sure she felt safe during these moments, something Sheedy confirms, mentioning she never felt that when doing similar scenes in other films. Mitchell also shares a fun story around the Cannes showing, where she was almost not let into the country due to a visa issue. It’s a shame the two couldn’t be filmed together, as it would have been great to have them recollect their experiences together, but as it is it’s still a very insightful program.
As is an 11-minute program about the photographs of High Art, a video essay featuring photographer JoJo Whilden. Whilden was tasked with not only creating the photographs meant to represent Sheedy’s character’s work, but also every other photograph that appears in the film. She explains the process of creating two distinct periods for Sheedy’s character, a kind of before-and-after around the turning point in her career, before talking about how she brought in other photographers to supply the remaining work. Some of it was newly created, while other pieces came from their existing portfolios, all to showcase a variety of distinct styles. This one proved to be a really fascinating addition and may be my favorite inclusion on here out of a lot of excellent material.
Or maybe the next feature is my favorite: Cholodenko’s 1997, 9-minute short film, Dinner Party. It focuses on a young woman played by Erin McMurty heading over to the apartment of her ex-girlfriend (Sarita Choudhury), rehearsing in her head how she’s going to explain why she’s there, trying to make it seem like she’s “just in the neighborhood.” Once there, though, she discovers her ex has moved on and is already with another woman, played by Roni Givigliano. There’s clearly a sense of disappointment, maybe even jealousy, but things then take an unexpected turn for our lovelorn hero. I found this one to be quite a bit of fun, tightly edited and told briskly.
(It may be worth noting, but Sarita Choudhury talks about this period of her career in an interview found on Criterion’s edition of Fresh Kill, having moved to New York when nothing came from starring alongside Denzel Washington in Mississippi Masala, and she picked up roles in films being made by those in the local filmmaking community, which apparently included this. She also appears, uncredited, in High Art. Also worth mentioning, McMurty also appeared in Fresh Kill, with both her and Choudhury playing a couple there as well.)
The release then includes an insert featuring an essay on the film by B. Ruby Rich. The cover of the insert also replicates the Frame magazine cover that appears at the end of the film.
All around, this is a really terrific special edition for the film, going above and beyond what I really would have expected, and is probably one of the few releases in recent memory where I genuinely enjoyed going through all of the supplementary material. I guess if there was one disappointment it's that there wasn't more, like an interview with Clarkson, which I can only imagine would have been great.
Closing
A really great Blu-ray release, featuring a fantastic collection of supplements alongside a wonderful high-definition presentation. I have a feeling this one may end up flying under the radar, but it’s a genuinely terrific edition and one well worth seeking out.
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