1295 The Dead

[Beloved Aunt]

Are there any other changes made to the story you're aware of (even tiny ones)? The exact degree of faithfulness of Tony Huston's screenplay is a question mark, it's been so long.

[denti alligator]

I need to rewatch. I only remembering it capturing the mood of the story very well.

[Beloved Aunt]

Would make a good double bill with A Prairie Home Companion.

[MichaelB]

I though that it would be a nice touch to include the story, which is PD, but I guess everyone who cares has it.

It's here for those who don't.

[Tuppence]

Thrilled that this new edition coming, but it's a shame it doesn't include the trailer, which is a rather lovely and imaginative piece of work.

[Roger Ryan]

Thrilled that this new edition coming, but it's a shame it doesn't include the trailer, which is a rather lovely and imaginative piece of work.

Um, maybe it doesn't matter since it's an adaptation of a well-known short story that had been around for 70 years prior to the release of Huston's film, but that trailer, essentially, is a spoiler for the end of the story! On second thought, even if you know the story by heart, why would you want the way the ending is handled spoiled for you before seeing the adaptation?

[Tuppence]

I mean, it's only a spoiler if you know what the precise context is. The trailer's quite impressionistic and I don't think it would be clear to anyone unfamiliar with the material how or why the narration (which is heavily trimmed down, obscuring its full meaning) would fit into the story in the way they've used it here.

[FrauBlucher]

A short review from HTF

[kekid]

My order of "Th e Dead" is now pushed off to February 19 by Amazon.com.
Has anyone received this item?
This is the second occurrence (after "Eyes Wide Shut") when Amazon has delayed the order by weeks.
What's going on? Mor importantly, who is the most reliable supplier within the US of Criterion issues at a reasonable price?

[domino harvey]

Orbit gets them fairly early and breaks street date

[mfunk9786]

Criterion.com shipped my copy, but it came with Birth so it's still en route. I think this is out there and there aren't any major production delays. Sounds like a supply chain problem that's been plaguing Amazon for a while, kekid.

[Finch]

It's not just Criterion, it's affecting other labels too, apparently.

[swo17]

I thought the whole point of bowing down to fascism was supposed to be to keep the trains running on time

[hearthesilence]

Turns out, it depends on what the trains are for.

[jazzo]

Oddly enough, I was told by a friend who works for a video store in Toronto that a lot of Criterion’s 4Ks are getting held at the border, but for some reason the blu-rays are going through without issue.

He had no idea why.

I mention this only because, for the fourth time in row, the Criterion 4K of a movie I preordered with the store (The Dead, in this case) didn’t arrive on release date, but the blu-ray did.

[FrauBlucher]

Chris’ review has me really pumped for this. I haven’t seen this in years and years. So, this will be a revelation

[TVC 15]

I am not sold on the yellow tint being correct. Is there evidence to corroborate that?

[Beloved Aunt]

Looks excessively dark to my eye.

[Tuppence]

Well, the DoP supervised the 4K directly. It's certainly darker and more yellow than earlier transfers, but I think that's in-keeping with the film's gaslit interiors (and indeed streetlamp-lit exteriors). I'm willing to accept the earlier transfers were overly bright and colour-neutralised. Also Huston has form with bold colour washes for atmosphere (specifically, Reflections in a Golden Eye).

[Beloved Aunt]

I never really know what to think about these things, really, other than that I am somewhat leery of certain institutions, including Criterion, and that I know what I like.

[Finch]

Rewatching the film in the 4k restoration, the darker grade with strong yellow hues certainly felt appropriate to me, and there were times where, like the two shot of Freddy and his disapproving mother at the dining table, it looked like a moving painting to me. I was completely transfixed by it. The closing scene's reveal, the flash forward and the shots of wintry Ireland as you hear the mournful voiceover hit even harder this time. If you asked me which director made one great last film, Huston would immediately come to mind. The Dead is absolutely a personal favorite along with The Asphalt Jungle and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. I'm grateful they got this one from Lionsgate because I really doubt we'd have seen it at all otherwise. Between The Dead and The Blade, Criterion has an early front-runner vote from me for rescuing films like these, and the wonderful 4K transfers are just the icing on top.

[Roger Ryan]

Are there any other changes made to the story you're aware of (even tiny ones)? The exact degree of faithfulness of Tony Huston's screenplay is a question mark, it's been so long.

Both Hustons behind the camera (John and Tony) readily admitted that they freely deviated from Joyce's short story when they felt it appropriate. Having just rewatched the film (and checking out the bonus features) after acquiring the disc during last week's flash sale, the biggest change appears to be the addition of a new character (Sean McClory's "Mr. Grace") who reads an Irish poem early on in the film that Anjelica Huston had admired for years but is not found in the original story. On-set improvisation also added to the story as demonstrated in the fantastic hour-long behind-the-scenes documentary John Huston and the Dubliners included as a bonus feature. One scene shows John Huston's inspired suggestion for adding a new line ("I hope we shared the same wish") at the end of the wishbone-breaking scene just before the cameras roll. The aforementioned scene where Aunt Julia performs her nostalgic song is handled brilliantly: true, the character's rendition is not very good, but Huston lessens the embarrassment, and heightens the song's impact, by allowing the film's viewers to step away from the performance as the camera goes upstairs to pan across various mementos and photographs adorning tables and walls while the singing is heard in the distance.

... If you asked me which director made one great last film, Huston would immediately come to mind...

The Dead is far and away the best last film of any director with a 40+ year career. The only one that comes close, for me, is Buñuel's That Obscure Object of Desire. But, while Buñuel is effectively revisiting themes he had toyed with before, Huston's last film feels like something completely new for the filmmaker: a quiet chamber drama ruminating on the passage of time and the pretense we can struggle to prop up in social situations and, even, with those closest to us. Whatever changes or additions the Hustons brought to the film version of Joyce's story, they are integrated beautifully.

[Maltic]

The Dead is far and away the best last film of any director with a 40+ year career. The only one that comes close, for me, is Buñuel's That Obscure Object of Desire.

There are some very well-regarded films in that category (7 Women, L'Argent, Eyes Wide Shut...), but maybe The Dead is the most "surprising" one.

BTW, there hasn't been a poll for last film in the list forum, has there? Only for best debut.

[domino harvey]

No poll but we did discuss this a bit when Tarantino made some comments about the phenomena

[diamonds]

The Dead is far and away the best last film of any director with a 40+ year career. The only one that comes close, for me, is Buñuel's That Obscure Object of Desire.

There are some very well-regarded films in that category (7 Women, L'Argent, Eyes Wide Shut...), but maybe The Dead is the most "surprising" one.

BTW, there hasn't been a poll for last film in the list forum, has there? Only for best debut.

Some very great films there indeed. Thinking about it some, 40+ years is a tough bar to clear. No Aldrich, or even Ozu! That doesn't seem fair. I would be interested in a Last Films list.

I liked The Dead when I saw it years ago, but didn't find it as revelatory in the context of Huston's career as many others seem to. I feel like I'm missing out! The film reminded me a lot of Bertrand Tavernier's A Sunday in the Country, with which it shares many similarities. Both films are adapted from a literary source with action that takes place over the course of a few hours and is largely confined to one place. The plot movement in each film involves the coming together and dispersal of a family gathering, and both contain

Spoiler

a premonitory glimpse of death, along with lyrical endings which reach beyond the context of the plot and into the infinite.

But I find Tavernier's direction much stronger and richer than Huston's. In Dave Kehr's essay on Sunday, he writes of Tavernier's "wandering, curious camera" which facilitates his "descriptive, analytic, and at times choreographic aims." This strikes me as precisely what Huston's film so often lacks; I find much of the main party sequence in The Dead stodgy in that familiar Huston way. The ending is pretty undeniable though, and I recall one simple shot of

Spoiler

a dead plant in the snow that made me audibly gasp.

I'm quite intrigued by Finch's description of the painterly look of the film, as that's certainly not something that could've come through on the dated copy I watched originally. I'm very curious if viewing the restoration will change my assessment of the film's visual style; it certainly looks beautiful based on the available screen caps. As of now though, I'd place the film around the middle of Huston's work, below The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Reflections in a Golden Eye, and Judge Roy Bean.