TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN! (Almodovar, 1990)
Criterion Collection, Blu-ray, Release Date August 19, 2014
Review by Christopher S. Long
Sometimes you just don't connect with a
film in any way. A half hour into “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!”
(1990) I was wondering why anything that was happening was actually
happening. After that, I focused mainly on checking how much running
time was left. This puts it in the same group with just about every
other Pedro Almodovar film I've seen, as well as almost every film by
any director who speaks about a “vision of desire” as a central
theme in his or her work.
I've spent a week searching for
something to say about a film I have almost nothing to say about, and
I stumbled on this quote from the late, great Roger Ebert:
“Almodovar's polarities are so perfectly lined up in opposition to
my own that it is quite possible for one of his movies to shoot right
through my brain without striking a single cell.” Sometimes Mr.
Ebert knocked it out of the park.
You probably want to know at least a
little bit about this cult hit, however. Recently released mental
asylum patient Ricki (Antonio Banderas) kidnaps B-movie actress
Marina (Victoria Abril). Ricki's plan, to the degree he is capable of
forming a plan, is to force Marina to get to know him which he is
certain means she will grow to love him, no matter if it takes
bondage and a few murderous threats to keep her attention. Lo and
behold, Ricki's plan actually works. Marina loves him. The end.
From that description, you can
understand why the film generated considerable controversy on its
initial release. It was slapped with an X-rating in the States, a
ruling which Miramax fought but lost, eventually releasing it unrated
to considerable box office success. The lawsuit helped lead to the
implementation of a new NC-17 rating which would first be used later
in 1990. Other groups protested the film's depiction of a woman who
enjoys being violently abused.
Any perceived controversy was likely
based more on a summary of the film than the actual experience of
watching it. While Ricki can be brutally menacing from time to time
(Banderas is marvelous at switching instantly from sweetly naïve to
violently psychotic), the film's tone is so campy and off-kilter it's
hard to take any of it seriously. If it's possible for a movie in
which a woman gets punched in the face, tied up, and repeatedly
threatened with a knife to be too precious and slight (on a related
note, Wes Anderson is a big fan), this one pulls it off.
It's equally hard to find any of it
particularly funny, at least for me (one exception is a very amusing
fake advertisement explaining the difference between the Spanish and
German ways of planning for retirement). Which explains why I was
left with that feeling of opposed polarities. It's just 102 minutes
of some pictures and some noise and then it's over. Hey, if you love
every movie you see and “get” every idiosyncratic director, you
have a serious disorder.
But the film has its devoted fans (what
film doesn't anymore?) whose polarities, I guess, are more closely
aligned to Almodovar's. Banderas and Abril give it their best and the
movie is dominated by some gorgeous saturated colors so that's
something at least.
Video:
The film is presented in its original
1.85:1 aspect ratio. Red is the warmest color here and it absolutely
radiates on this restored transfer, lots of vibrant greens as well.
Image detail is sharp throughout in this nearly flawless
high-definition transfer.
Audio:
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround
track has its dynamic moments and is crisp and clear throughout. I
sheepishly admit that during the film I was thinking that the
soundtrack was pretty lousy only to find out it's by Ennio Morricone
so let's just chalk that up to being bored by the rest of the film.
In any case, the lossless audio presents the score very well.
Optional English subtitles support the Spanish audio.
Extras:
There's not a ton of material, but
Criterion has put together enough to give fans an hour of engagement.
“Untied!” (28 min.) is a 2014 feature consisting of interviews
with Pedro Almodovar, his brother and producer Agustin Almodovar,
Banderas, Abril, and other cast and crew members. We also get a new
2014 interview (15 min.) with Michael Barker, co-founder of Sony
Pictures Classics, who helped bring to market some of Almodovar's
earlier features. The disc also includes a 2003 conversation (26
min.) between Pedro Almodovar and Banderas. The short feature
“Resistré” (4 min.)
shows the cast and crew breaking into song at the 1989 Madrid
premiere of the film. The last feature is a Theatrical trailer (2
min.)
The 24-page insert booklet includes an
excerpt from the 1989 press book written by Pedro Almodovar, a
separate interview with Almodovar conducted in 1989, and a
conversation between critic Kent Jones and filmmaker Wes Anderson.
Film Value:
This seems to be Criterion's month to
release titles that everyone other than me loves. Which means you'll
probably love this. And if you do, you'll no doubt be pleased with
the fine job Criterion has done on the transfer as well as the
extras.
No comments:
Post a Comment