DVD DETAILS:
Vision
As mentioned, the visual design is the most impressive aspect of this film. Although it has been outdone since, the film is a technological achievement and something of an historical curiosity. The transfer is presented in a fullscreen version (apparently the original aspect ratio) and whilst clear lacks absolute precision. The lush, near-surrealistic production design is captured intact, the recreation of Vegas on soundstages is thrilling and the totally free-to-roam camerawork is often stunning. In terms of set design, colour and lighting design it is deliberately artificial, though is more subdued in the couple’s house: as if this is where their stability has its only possible basis. The film uses stylized coloured lighting for different sets and between shots and looks spectacular at night when the colours are allowed to interplay with darkness. Visual barriers are created and the camera effortlessly surmounts them – such is the freedom of cinema. Amidst this flow is a startling use of fore and background actions (two separate actions in different locations appear to be simultaneous on screen for instance) and there is an exceptional use of merging sets. Neon lights are vivid and there are nice reflective surfaces to add to the slick, glossy, layered textures on show. Some moments feel rusty but otherwise this is a mostly competent transfer, if not as spectacular as would be ideal for such a lavish experimental style.
Sound
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound transfer is mostly thrilling although short of true home-theatre spectacle. However, the film makes telling use of the music by Tom Waits, whose gravely, bluesy voice is thankfully well preserved on the transfer. With the accent on artificial stylization and with Waits’ music throughout, the film feels like an extended and experimental music video narrative of sorts, before MTV went over totally to its hyperkinetic editing style. In those terms it is perhaps brilliant and rarely bettered, despite its flaws as drama. This music score also signals the film as a valuable cultural document of sorts and a particular must for fans of Tom Waits. The transfer evidences a full, lavish sound, with problems only at upper volume level settings where it may reveal a minor hiss. The film is arguably revealing in its aural textures, ceaselessly charting the flow between the voices and the music, with Waits’ singing a bridge of sorts between narrative and feeling. The music evolves as much as the visuals do, combining neatly so that the film is an auditory treat, capturing a rare mood of vivid and flowing melancholy amidst the gloss and despair of a sensational city. The nice sound of a roulette wheel spinning recurs and neatly sums up the film’s theme of fate or luck involved in interpersonal bonding: is all emotional commitment thus a gamble? And are two people ever really meant to be? read more
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