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291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:52 am
by MichaelB
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
(Anthony Harvey, 1972)
Release date: 16 January 2023
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)
The stellar duo of George C Scott (The Day of the Dolphin) and Joanne Woodward (The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds) headline They Might Be Giants, an eccentric and touching comedy.
Grief-stricken widower Justin Playfair begins to believe he is Sherlock Holmes. Briefly institutionalised, he teams up with his doctor – coincidentally named Watson – and, together, they follow a string of clues across New York City as they search for their elusive arch-enemy, Moriarty...
Based on a play by award-winning writer James Goldman (The Lion in Winter, Robin and Marion) and directed by Anthony Harvey (Dutchman), They Might Be Giants is an innovative reworking of Don Quixote, and is presented here in three variant cuts.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• High Definition remaster
• Three presentations of the film: the original US theatrical cut (91 mins); the UK theatrical cut (86 mins); and the extended television version (98 mins)
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with director Anthony Harvey and film preservationist Robert A Harris (2000)
• Audio commentary with writers and film experts Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman (2023)
• Madness… It’s Beautiful (1971): archival promotional documentary
• Kim Newman on Sherlock Holmes (2023): the critic and author of Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles discusses the many cinematic adaptations and interpretations of the famous fictional detective
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition booklet featuring a new essay by Chloe Walker, archival interviews, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK
Extras subject to change
#PHILE291B
BBFC cert: PG
REGION B
EAN: 5060697922646
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:34 pm
by MichaelB
Final specs:
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:35 pm
by beamish14
MichaelB wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:34 pm
Final specs:
Shame they couldn’t keep the television version for whatever reason.
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 4:31 pm
by Maltic
I keep forgetting that I need to watch The Hound of the Baskervilles and Tess in a double feature
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2023 8:10 pm
by rapta
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:32 pm
by DeprongMori
beamish14 wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:35 pm
MichaelB wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:34 pm
Final specs:
Shame they couldn’t keep the television version for whatever reason.
Has anyone seen a good description of what was different in the “television version” edit?
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2026 1:16 pm
by domino harvey
I’m kind of surprised at the blasé response this film has garnered from others judging by the relatively low ratings from my LB friends and the lack of discussion here. I thought this was absolutely wonderful, an impossibly charming romantic fantasy that never makes a wrong move into any “serious” consequences or intrusions into the shared delusions of its central couple. The film is functionally the kind of entertainment you might make for an audience of children (non-derogatory) only directed at adults, and I admired the film for staying true to its tone and never tipping over into fashionable miserableness or ironic distancing. And of course even while not taking itself too seriously, it in fact does reveal itself to be a great film about what I’ve long defined “love” as: the acceptance of the flaws of others in the hopes that they do the same for you. My favorite part of the narrative here, though, is the collection of oddballs and average Joes alike whom Scott collects, all of whom accept his delusion without hesitation. What a great depiction of the love of a friend, too!
(Whoever bought the last copy on Orbit last night right as I was checking out, though, I have limited love for! Luckily eBay came in clutch)
I also found it interesting that this film essentially ends the same way
Take Shelter
does 40 years later, though I don’t recall anyone ever making the connection before (prob because you could not pick two more disparate films in tone!)
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2026 3:01 pm
by therewillbeblus
I decided to give this another spin on your praise, and came to find out that I had mistaken it with another film and never seen it before! I loved it when that happens and I loved this too, as a kind of lost Hal Ashby film (though between this and Dutchman, Anthony Harvey clearly has a knack for filming plays). I was hooked by the balanced tones - this is as much a comic-tragedy about how adults process trauma as it is an adventure pic - and I thought it nailed many elements of the limitations and possibilities of what a provider can do for a client as much as what a client does for their provider, a real 'relationship' that's often discounted as one-sided. I also enjoyed how the absurdities pile up within the context of an ostensibly filmic 'reality': some plot threads completely disappear (including the major one!), fatal injuries are brushed off, and a mass' goals are collectively abandoned for consumerist tricks! More than anything, I loved the characters: Scott and Woodward are playing to their respective perfect pitch, and I could've easily spent another 90 minutes with these characters
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2026 3:13 pm
by domino harvey
Yes, it is something of a kindred spirit to something like Harold and Maude, or even the much meaner-spirited Little Murders for how it depicts an alternate world of early 70s NYC
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2026 3:50 pm
by DeprongMori
They Might Be Giants is one of my favorite romantic comedies, for many of the reasons others have elucidated. Scott and Woodward are in top comic form here.
The film’s one flaw is the “supermarket riot” scene, which is utterly superfluous at that point of the film and totally disrupts the shifting narrative mood and rhythm as the film moves toward the final scene of romantic “folie à deux”. Indicator fortunately remedied this by including the version without the scene, and retaining it as a separate “deleted scene”, which instantly elevates the Indicator release over the contemporaneous Kino Lorber release. Without it — chef’s kiss!
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2026 3:58 pm
by therewillbeblus
I like that scene. Not only is it fun, but the film's rhythm pitches its intrusive absurdities as constantly escalating in contrast to the stably-illustrated reality of its milieu, and this feels like the logical conclusion - that is, until its actual final moment pushes everything to its zenith, in a non-comic direction (all the more powerful because of the tonal shift from slapstick that came before)
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2026 4:06 pm
by domino harvey
I like the scene too for how it fully pushes us into recognizing this is all a fantasy and not to be read literally, but I understand the detractors because it really is rather blunt in its absurdity (almost like a proto Stella bit)
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2026 4:11 am
by therewillbeblus
Harvey's Grace Quigley is worth checking out if you're a fan of this film's central dynamic. It's more of a mother-son bond this round, and there's also an eccentric motive informing the narrative that's in step with They Might Be Giants' internal logic (and I love how, like that film, so many characters embrace its recurring gonzo idea). It's not nearly as good -stuff like the therapist's role is a superfluous and wasted piece of dressing, and the picture is a bit too shaggy and silly without much of a dissonant tone for balance (though when it comes, it's Hepburn's show - about two scenes of brief dramatic acting isn't enough, but it's powerful all the same). Ultimately it's just fun to see Harvey and co. once again make something psychologically dark feel so light. As in They Might Be Giants, the juice is in the central duo's idiosyncratic performances, and Hepburn and Nolte are both game to fully adopt their parts in this macabre goof-off
Re: 291 They Might Be Giants
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2026 9:43 pm
by domino harvey
Thanks for the tip on Grace Quigley. Looks like KLSC put it out but it’s gone OOP. Found a cheap copy on eBay, though!