Changes made to Review for Orlando

Revision 1

Created on Tuesday, 4th April 2017, 14:34
Change Submitted by Jitendar Canth

List of Changes:

• Change #1 - <newline>Review[heading]Introduction[/heading] <newline>I’m too young to have a bucket list, or at least I think I’m too young, but prominent on my list of films that I have to see before I depart this mortal coil was Orlando. Ironically a bucket list would be the last thing this film’s protagonist would have. But ever since I heard about the story’s concept of an apparent immortal’s life through the ages, I’ve wanted to see it. I caught the last few minutes of the film one time on television which only made me want to see it more, but I think the biggest incentive for me to watch this film was the striking promotional art that accompanied its theatrical release some twenty years ago. That artwork adorns the cover of this Blu-ray and it’s no less affecting today. And with this Blu-ray release, I finally get to scratch that itch, and take in a film which has always passed me by up till now. <newline> <newline>Orlando begins life as a noble in the Elizabethan court, expected to make a life for himself, get into a couple of portraits, and little more, the same as any young male member of the nobility. That’s until he catches the eye of Queen Elizabeth herself, who quickly adopts the striking young man as her favourite. She even grants him title, lands and property, but on the condition that he never age, never wither. And somehow Orlando obeys. Over the next 400 years, Orlando searches for love and freedom, a journey that will take him across the world and across the gender divide as well. <newline> <newline>[heading]Picture[/heading] <newline>Orlando gets a 1.85:1 widescreen 1080p transfer on this Blu-ray disc, and at first glance it isn’t all that impressive. The film stock of the period typically has muted colours, and a higher level of grain, while there is a slight softness to the image. All of this is apparent on this disc, as are the odd flecks of dirt and spots of print damage. This isn’t a film that has had a significant restoration before coming to Blu-ray. That said, the image is stable throughout, colours are consistent, and once you get used to it, you begin to appreciate the level of detail in the period production designs and costumes. The richness of the film really is enhanced on the Blu-ray medium. The only real nitpick that I might have would be a lack of detail in darker scenes, and blacks being crushed a little too far. Other than that it’s a very agreeable viewing experience. <newline> <newline>[heading]Sound[/heading] <newline>The sole audio track on this disc is a PCM 2.0 English track at 1.5Mb. It’s a robust, if unimpressive stereo track that gives the film a suitably consistent presentation. The dialogue is mostly clear, and the audio presents the film’s eclectic music score to good effect. Unfortunately subtitles are absent from this disc. <newline> <newline>[heading]Extras[/heading] <newline>The disc gets an animated menu that features that iconic imagery that I mentioned earlier. <newline> <newline>The extras are in SD format, and mostly of the same vintage as the film. As it is, it makes it a little bizarre to watch VHS quality video on a Blu-ray. <newline> <newline>In the documentaries you’ll find Orlando Goes to Russia, which lasts 33 minutes. This sees the production team visiting Russia over the space of a year or so in order to do pre-production for the film. Orlando’s story isn’t the sort that attracts immediate financial backing, and the plan was to considerably shrink the budget by making the film entirely in the Soviet Union. This interesting featurette shows the initial meetings and location scouting in the USSR over the year of 1991, and the effort to work in a different mindset. Of course in the end, real world events intruded and compromises had to be made. <newline> <newline>Orlando in Uzbekistan lasts 52 minutes, and follows the cast and crew as they shoot the Middle East sequence of the film in the very Islamic Soviet Republic. There are interviews with the cast and crew, and a fly on the wall perspective as they face the trials and tribulations of filming in Uzbekistan. <newline> <newline>The final documentary is Jimmy Was an Angel, which lasts 8 minutes and goes on location where Jimmy Somerville gets hoisted up into the trees dressed as an angel. <newline> <newline>There are two featurettes in Venice Film Festival running to a total of 37 minutes. <newline> <newline>The longer is the press conference, where Sally Potter, Tilda Swinton and four of the film’s producers field questions from a very appreciative Italian audience. <newline> <newline>Interview with Sally Potter runs to just over 13 minutes and is a nice detailed chat about the film. The one flaw in both of these featurettes is that the audio isn’t all that clear, and subtitles would have been of help here. <newline> <newline>Finally a selected scene commentary lasts 10 minutes, and comes from a BBC documentary made some time after the film’s release, with director Sally Potter on screen talking about the film as she re-watches certain scenes. <newline> <newline>[heading]Conclusion[/heading] <newline>After watching Orlando, I’m left feeling more strongly than ever that the film industry is busted. I remember Orlando’s cinema run back in the early nineties, it felt as if it was in every theatre, and the press was filled with its imagery, people were talking about it, yet it’s as far from a mainstream film as you can get. What I have noticed thus far about recessions and the film industry, is that films get lower budgets, but also get more creative, more experimental. In the recession of the early eighties, a whole new genre came into being, as filmmakers realised that teenagers could be an audience, while at the same time, with home video killing off theatres, cheap schlocky action movies redefined the medium, replacing Westerns as the escapism of choice. There’s a creativity and vibrancy about mid-eighties film that resonates today. The same thing happened in the downturn of the early nineties, a period where creativity in British cinema seemed to blossom, with films like Trainspotting, Brassed Off, and The Full Monty all reflecting and capturing a societal mood. It’s in a climate like this that films like Orlando, with its thoughtful subject matter, and art house sensibilities could be made, and indeed could thrive. And today, we’re in the worst recession since the Second World War, yet Hollywood is still making 9-figure lowbrow blockbusters, and squeezing any independent production out of the cinemas and out of business. You wouldn’t get an Orlando today, which is a crying shame. <newline> <newline>Orlando is a fascinating and thought provoking film which has much to recommend it, and as with the best such independent productions, I was met with a film that defied my expectations. I suppose art house is a simple way of categorising Orlando, but it is a film that definitely works to invoke feelings in the viewer, is an emotional journey and exploration of character, far more than it is a conventional narrative. It offers no explanation for its fantastic story, the way its continuity is constructed focuses more on imagery than it does on logic, and on the whole it appears a whimsical fantasy, evocative, stylish and unreal. <newline> <newline>It’s the exploration of gender roles through the eyes of an immortal character through 400 years of history, and a search to define one’s place in the world. Orlando is born a man in the Elizabethan age in an era where a slender feminine appearance is something that men aspire to. Blessed in that department, it’s no wonder that Orlando catches the eye of the Virgin Queen, and when she orders him to stay eternally youthful, he does. He’s expected to behave as an heir to a noble estate should, with a suitably arranged union, but becoming infatuated with the daughter of a foreign dignitary goes against societal expectations. It’s a love affair that doesn’t end well either, and when scholastic pursuits fail to provide an insight into the enigma of women, he becomes a diplomat and heads East to get away from it all. There he encounters the Khan and experiences another kind of love, that of brotherhood and fellowship. <newline> <newline>It’s also there that the trauma of war (another masculine pursuit?) causes a change in Orlando, shifting his gender from male to female. Now she has to face life in a world where she is a second class citizen, yet weighed down by her experiences as a man. She finds herself living in a world where her role in society is defined only in relationship to men, a world where only a husband can own property, where she is expected to marry lest she be condemned to life as a spinster. Her search for her place in the world becomes a search for freedom, a search for a way to express her individuality without the filter of gender expectations. <newline> <newline>It’s an interesting idea for a film that causes us to question our place in the world, both in terms of gender, and in terms of who we are as individuals. It’s just that I felt somehow detached from the film, as if viewing it from a distance. That’s despite (or maybe even because of) the fourth wall crumbling early on as a means to invite viewers to empathise with Orlando, and see his/her experiences in a modern context. The stylised unrealism of the film also created a distance for me, with whole years passing by as Orlando slept, or in a simple cut, yet those Orlando interacted with would apparently remain just as ageless during the time that they were together, making trying to understand the continuity of the film a distraction. Now knowing that Orlando is supposed to a stylised fantasy, the next time I watch it I’ll know not to be distracted by such a pointless exercise, and will concentrate on the film more. Orlando is a very appealing film, but not simple to engage with. <newline><newline><newline> Review<newline> [heading]Introduction[/heading]<newline>I’m too young to have a bucket list, or at least I think I’m too young, but prominent on my list of films that I have to see before I depart this mortal coil was Orlando. Ironically a bucket list would be the last thing this film’s protagonist would have. But ever since I heard about the story’s concept of an apparent immortal’s life through the ages, I’ve wanted to see it. I caught the last few minutes of the film one time on television which only made me want to see it more, but I think the biggest incentive for me to watch this film was the striking promotional art that accompanied its theatrical release some twenty years ago. That artwork adorns the cover of this Blu-ray and it’s no less affecting today. And with this Blu-ray release, I finally get to scratch that itch, and take in a film which has always passed me by up till now.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181591"][imgmc=0000265441.jpg][/url]<newline>Orlando begins life as a noble in the Elizabethan court, expected to make a life for himself, get into a couple of portraits, and little more, the same as any young male member of the nobility. That’s until he catches the eye of Queen Elizabeth herself, who quickly adopts the striking young man as her favourite. She even grants him title, lands and property, but on the condition that he never age, never wither. And somehow Orlando obeys. Over the next 400 years, Orlando searches for love and freedom, a journey that will take him across the world and across the gender divide as well.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181589"][imgmc=0000265439.jpg][/url]<newline>[heading]Picture[/heading]<newline>Orlando gets a 1.85:1 widescreen 1080p transfer on this Blu-ray disc, and at first glance it isn’t all that impressive. The film stock of the period typically has muted colours, and a higher level of grain, while there is a slight softness to the image. All of this is apparent on this disc, as are the odd flecks of dirt and spots of print damage. This isn’t a film that has had a significant restoration before coming to Blu-ray. That said, the image is stable throughout, colours are consistent, and once you get used to it, you begin to appreciate the level of detail in the period production designs and costumes. The richness of the film really is enhanced on the Blu-ray medium. The only real nitpick that I might have would be a lack of detail in darker scenes, and blacks being crushed a little too far. Other than that it’s a very agreeable viewing experience.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181592"][imgmc=0000265442.jpg][/url]<newline>[heading]Sound[/heading]<newline>The sole audio track on this disc is a PCM 2.0 English track at 1.5Mb. It’s a robust, if unimpressive stereo track that gives the film a suitably consistent presentation. The dialogue is mostly clear, and the audio presents the film’s eclectic music score to good effect. Unfortunately subtitles are absent from this disc.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181595"][imgmc=0000265445.jpg][/url]<newline>[heading]Extras[/heading]<newline>The disc gets an animated menu that features that iconic imagery that I mentioned earlier.<newline><newline>The extras are in SD format, and mostly of the same vintage as the film. As it is, it makes it a little bizarre to watch VHS quality video on a Blu-ray.<newline><newline>In the documentaries you’ll find Orlando Goes to Russia, which lasts 33 minutes. This sees the production team visiting Russia over the space of a year or so in order to do pre-production for the film. Orlando’s story isn’t the sort that attracts immediate financial backing, and the plan was to considerably shrink the budget by making the film entirely in the Soviet Union. This interesting featurette shows the initial meetings and location scouting in the USSR over the year of 1991, and the effort to work in a different mindset. Of course in the end, real world events intruded and compromises had to be made.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181597"][imgmc=0000265447.jpg][/url]<newline>Orlando in Uzbekistan lasts 52 minutes, and follows the cast and crew as they shoot the Middle East sequence of the film in the very Islamic Soviet Republic. There are interviews with the cast and crew, and a fly on the wall perspective as they face the trials and tribulations of filming in Uzbekistan.<newline><newline>The final documentary is Jimmy Was an Angel, which lasts 8 minutes and goes on location where Jimmy Somerville gets hoisted up into the trees dressed as an angel.<newline><newline>There are two featurettes in Venice Film Festival running to a total of 37 minutes.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181599"][imgmc=0000265449.jpg][/url]<newline>The longer is the press conference, where Sally Potter, Tilda Swinton and four of the film’s producers field questions from a very appreciative Italian audience.<newline><newline>Interview with Sally Potter runs to just over 13 minutes and is a nice detailed chat about the film. The one flaw in both of these featurettes is that the audio isn’t all that clear, and subtitles would have been of help here.<newline><newline>Finally a selected scene commentary lasts 10 minutes, and comes from a BBC documentary made some time after the film’s release, with director Sally Potter on screen talking about the film as she re-watches certain scenes.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181607"][imgmc=0000265457.jpg][/url]<newline>[heading]Conclusion[/heading]<newline>After watching Orlando, I’m left feeling more strongly than ever that the film industry is busted. I remember Orlando’s cinema run back in the early nineties, it felt as if it was in every theatre, and the press was filled with its imagery, people were talking about it, yet it’s as far from a mainstream film as you can get. What I have noticed thus far about recessions and the film industry, is that films get lower budgets, but also get more creative, more experimental. In the recession of the early eighties, a whole new genre came into being, as filmmakers realised that teenagers could be an audience, while at the same time, with home video killing off theatres, cheap schlocky action movies redefined the medium, replacing Westerns as the escapism of choice. There’s a creativity and vibrancy about mid-eighties film that resonates today. The same thing happened in the downturn of the early nineties, a period where creativity in British cinema seemed to blossom, with films like Trainspotting, Brassed Off, and The Full Monty all reflecting and capturing a societal mood. It’s in a climate like this that films like Orlando, with its thoughtful subject matter, and art house sensibilities could be made, and indeed could thrive. And today, we’re in the worst recession since the Second World War, yet Hollywood is still making 9-figure lowbrow blockbusters, and squeezing any independent production out of the cinemas and out of business. You wouldn’t get an Orlando today, which is a crying shame.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181608"][imgmc=0000265458.jpg][/url]<newline>Orlando is a fascinating and thought provoking film which has much to recommend it, and as with the best such independent productions, I was met with a film that defied my expectations. I suppose art house is a simple way of categorising Orlando, but it is a film that definitely works to invoke feelings in the viewer, is an emotional journey and exploration of character, far more than it is a conventional narrative. It offers no explanation for its fantastic story, the way its continuity is constructed focuses more on imagery than it does on logic, and on the whole it appears a whimsical fantasy, evocative, stylish and unreal.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181611"][imgmc=0000265461.jpg][/url]<newline>It’s the exploration of gender roles through the eyes of an immortal character through 400 years of history, and a search to define one’s place in the world. Orlando is born a man in the Elizabethan age in an era where a slender feminine appearance is something that men aspire to. Blessed in that department, it’s no wonder that Orlando catches the eye of the Virgin Queen, and when she orders him to stay eternally youthful, he does. He’s expected to behave as an heir to a noble estate should, with a suitably arranged union, but becoming infatuated with the daughter of a foreign dignitary goes against societal expectations. It’s a love affair that doesn’t end well either, and when scholastic pursuits fail to provide an insight into the enigma of women, he becomes a diplomat and heads East to get away from it all. There he encounters the Khan and experiences another kind of love, that of brotherhood and fellowship.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181613"][imgmc=0000265463.jpg][/url]<newline>It’s also there that the trauma of war (another masculine pursuit?) causes a change in Orlando, shifting his gender from male to female. Now she has to face life in a world where she is a second class citizen, yet weighed down by her experiences as a man. She finds herself living in a world where her role in society is defined only in relationship to men, a world where only a husband can own property, where she is expected to marry lest she be condemned to life as a spinster. Her search for her place in the world becomes a search for freedom, a search for a way to express her individuality without the filter of gender expectations.<newline><newline>[url="http://www.myreviewer.com/default.asp?a=181618"][imgmc=0000265468.jpg][/url]<newline>It’s an interesting idea for a film that causes us to question our place in the world, both in terms of gender, and in terms of who we are as individuals. It’s just that I felt somehow detached from the film, as if viewing it from a distance. That’s despite (or maybe even because of) the fourth wall crumbling early on as a means to invite viewers to empathise with Orlando, and see his/her experiences in a modern context. The stylised unrealism of the film also created a distance for me, with whole years passing by as Orlando slept, or in a simple cut, yet those Orlando interacted with would apparently remain just as ageless during the time that they were together, making trying to understand the continuity of the film a distraction. Now knowing that Orlando is supposed to a stylised fantasy, the next time I watch it I’ll know not to be distracted by such a pointless exercise, and will concentrate on the film more. Orlando is a very appealing film, but not simple to engage with.<newline><newline>

Initial Version

Created on Friday, 3rd August 2012, 17:00
First Submitted by Jitendar Canth