Customer Reviews

Ironweed [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

In highschool I came across a poem called The Projectionist's Nightmare, I don't recall the name of the poet but the poem's message is still very much with me. It described a wayward bird inside a movie theatre, where an audience was watching two poeple "being nice to each other". The bird crashes into the screen, its blood slithering onto the image, the spell is broken, the fantasy dispelled and the audience screams. Hector Babenco had already made this poem in substance in 1985s Kiss Of A Spider Woman where his lead character, a prisoner, escaped his miserable surroundings through memories and fantasies of a propaganda film. Two years later Bebanco would make Ironweed, and his lead character Frances Phelan (Jack Nicholson) is well past the dreaming stage, the only fantasies he has are of ghosts from his past.

Ironweed is a film many people would find slow. Nothing much happens and the characters don't change. The stark grim atmosphere and the dead end conditions unrelenting. There is no hope in the story of Frances Phelan. He has abandoned his family 22 years ago after dropping his 13 year old baby to its death. The film starts with him visiting his dead baby's grave for the first time, and then follows him around as he joins his companion Helen Archer (Meryl Streep) and his friend of sorts Rudy (Tom Waits). All three of them are alcoholics, and we watch as they wade through the alleys of Albany 1938 looking for a place to sleep . They get robbed, they see a homeless prostitute from Alaska die of cold and they get into fights. But there is no emotional release in their anger or in their better moments. You'd expect there to be emancipated joy when Streep sings in a bar in front of a full house, or rage when a bunch of kids rob them of all their money. But Streep is quickly back to her depression, and Nicholson shrugs off the robbery. All the characters in Ironweed are infact dead, they live off their memories, do what they have to do to stay alive as they await their physical death. Meanwhile there are quietly affecting scenes of closure as Nicholson visits his abandoned family and Streep remember her "musical days". Nicholson's and Streep's Oscar nominated performance are among their best.

Babenco holds his camera on his characters for a long time, as if waiting for them to crack. They never do because Ironweed is not angry, it doesn't have an agenda, it is just mournful. As I watched it for the first time tonight I became aware that the episodic cyclic nature of the film develops in the end to a complete whole. When the end credits roll you feel like you were standing too close to a painting, and now for the first time you are far enough to see it for the sad beautiful image it is. The famed author John Fowles said that we are all poets but few of us can write it. From the rhetorical dialogue of these hobos, the ugly poverty they endure, the dark allyways they inhabit and the ghosts that haunt them, Ironweed emerges as a sad and deeply affecting poem.

No, this is not a typical Nicholson project, but it's the better for that. I mean -- "About Schmidt" or "Ironweed" -- the former is good, the latter nearly great. The fact that Nicholson is playing so off-character makes this a role well worth seeing him in. Streep is good, Tom Waits is GREAT as Rudy. The film is not for depressives, however. PLEASE RELEASE THIS IMPORTANT FILM IN DVD FORMAT!! With all the toppings, please.

This film has been released for the first time on DVD in a horrid Full Screen only version. Not sure why, but I thought the days of non-original aspect ratio releases were over. Apparently not.

This film never received the attention it deserved. Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep both have fine performances, but Nicholson's stands out as he demonstrates a range of emotion and pathos not seen in his other work. The cinemaphotography and lighting as he drifts from the dreary reality of life on the streets to his inner world of neurotic fears, joys, and memories is fantastic. You will not forget this movie.

I received this response from Lionsgate when I inquired about the Full vs. Wide screen question:

Thank you for contacting the Lionsgate Customer Service Department. At this time we are only releasing the Full screen version.
Unfortunately we have no immediate plans to release Widescreen.

So, there ya go. Don't know about y'all, but this is one Streep DVD that won't be hitting the shelf in my library.

This is a great film. Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson were given a great story (by William Kennedy), and they responded with greatness. I've been waiting for it to come out in DVD, largely because my VHS copy is a pan-and-scan, fullscreen (1.33:1) version, and this film deserves to be seen in its glorious widescreen (1.85:1) theatrical version. Unfortunately, the "product details" indicate that this DVD is "fullscreen", and it has been confirmed (2-24-09) by two people (Neil and Brad) that it is the fullscreen version. [Brad even commented that it looked like a copy of the old VHS pan-and-scan tape].

August '09 EDIT: Butch Johnson, a projectionist, gave the film a 3 star rating (on Feb. 27, 2009); he commented that this film was originally filmed in a fullscreen (1.33 : 1) aspect ratio, and "cropped" on the top and bottom for commercial "widescreen" theatrical distribution. Comparing this fullscreen version with the widescreen version (which can be seen on youtube in installments, numbered: 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) Mr. Johnson's claim appears quite valid. Consequently, although there's certainly something to be said for a film that fills our widescreen television screens, this DVD does not appear to be a pan-and-scan; it actually lets us see more of the "original" film, in--paradoxically--a smaller "blackboxed" 4X3 area.

IT IS VERY SAD FOR A VERY BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED MOVIE TO BE RELEASED ON "DVD" IN FEBRUARY 2009 WITHOUT USING TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY TO RESTORE IT!

I saw this movie on cable many years ago and did not get it.

Fast foward to about ten years later and I discovered William Kennedys "Albany Trio" at the library. When I finally got to the last of the trio tales I read "Ironweed" in one day and then went out and rented the vhs version at my local video store. Jack Nicholson does an outstanding job in his role as "Francis Phelan" a man haunted by the ghosts from his past.

Tom Waits as "Rudy the kraut" was my favorite character. Meryl Streep is outstanding as usual in her role as Francis Phelans girlfriend. Yes it is sad, depressing and not for all tastes (especially mainstream moviegoers) but, the performances by all are heartfelt. One of the few movies brought to the screen from a great story by William Kennedy who also wrote the screenplay.

Great soundtrack by John Morris and Hector Babenco directed this wonderful adaption. Now with all the garbage DVD's on sale I can not understand why this movie is not available on DVD.

I managed to find an old vhs copy for $3.00 at a small video store here in Heidelberg, Germany where I currrently reside, but I will still wait patiently for this film classic to be released on DVD.

Before everyone freaks out about the aspect ratio, be aware that this film was shot flat and hard matted at 1.85:1 for its theatrical run (I know because I was a projectionist who ran it back in '87). In a nutshell, this means that it was shot at 1.33:1 and then shown with an aperture plate cutting off the top and bottom so it fit the theatre screen.

The version on this DVD is full frame. There are doubtlessly small bits of the sides cut off, but much more is shown at the top and bottom. Is this the way the director intended it to be seen? I don't know (some directors such as Kubrick preferred full frame). I'd be happier knowing what Hector Babenco's thoughts were on the release, but at least the film's not a 2.35:1 pic that really IS pan and scan and missing lots of peripheral info.

And more importantly, I'm happy to have the damn film in ANY ratio on DVD finally.

... it's in a DVD case but make no mistakes. It's a VHS tape. I'm not just saying this because it isn't a widescreen presentation. It actually may not have been shot in a widescreen format to begin with. Stanley Kubrick shot the shining in 1.37: 1, and up until it's latest DVD/Blu-ray release it had only been available on home video in it's original negative ratio (fullscreen). No. This is a VHS tape. It was clearly transfered from a VHS tape. It looks just like a VHS tape. It sounds just like a VHS tape. Horrendous video and audio quality. Shame on Lionsgate. After waiting for X amount of years for a DVD edition of Ironweed, what do I get? A second VHS copy in disguise!

If you haven't seen Ironweed, then don't let this shoddy edition stop you. It is definitely worth watching even if you've been spoiled over the last decade or so by the picture/sound quality that 99% of DVD's generally offer. Just know what you're in for with this DVD, quality wise. Rent it, but don't pay money to own it. It's a sham(e).